Kentucky Wildcats improve to 20-0 by playing physical

The last time the Kentucky Wildcats faced the Missouri Tigers, they embarrassed them 86-37.  Last night would be a little different as the Tigers had Kentucky on their home court and had revenge on their minds.  And it was a different type of game, although revenge was far from happening.  Apparently, the new memo on how to beat the Kentucky Wildcats is to try to play physical and bring all the grace and beauty of a rugby scrum to the basketball court.

Well, that did not work as the Kentucky Wildcats improved their record to 20-0 with a 69-53 win on the road at Missouri.  

"Facing a physical Missouri team on the road in which a dozen fouls and a double technical were called less than five minutes into the second half, Kentucky connected on 73 percent of its foul shots (27-37), including 20 of 27 in the second half. “We made free throws and drew fouls,” Coach Cal said. “They got physical, so we played in to their physical play. We told them we’re going to get the ball in different spots on the court and drive right at that rim. Be strong with the ball and they’re going to foul, and they did. “I guess that’s the M.O.: be really physical, body to body and we’re going to have to figure out and play through it.” The player who played through it the best was sophomore point guard Andrew Harrison. The oft-critiqued floor general of the Cats recorded team highs in points (15) and assists (three), and tied for the team high in steals (three). Harrison was selective in his shots from the floor, connecting on 3 of 4 attempts, and hit 9 of 11 from the charity stripe. Harrison’s 15 points were one shy of his season high, which was set in the Cats’ season opener vs. Grand Canyon."

Mandatory Credit: Jeff Blake-USA TODAY Sports

It was not pretty but in the end, the Kentucky Wildcats won by 15 on the road in a game where perhaps their best player disappeared.  It was definitely a night to forget for Willie Cauley-Stein.    In 23 minutes, WCS had just 2 points, 3 rebounds, and missed all f FT attempts.

"Cauley-Stein looked out of it all night and finished with just two points, three rebounds, no blocks and no steals – most alarming, as he’s typically a devastating defender. An early contender for National Player of the Year, the junior is fading fast. He’s managed just 10 points and two blocks combined in the last three games. “Come on,” Calipari said. “You’re one of the best players in the country. Go do your thing.” Vanishing for stretches is not new for Cauley-Stein, but halfway through his third season in the program, it seemed he might finally be past those lulls. His coach, though, isn’t surprised. “No. No. All these college players in every program, including mine, you think they’re all these confident guys – until they miss three shots or a rain drop hits them on the shoulder,” Calipari said. “And all the sudden it’s like, ‘Oh, my God, what? I, uh, eh …’ Every college player is the same, and the tough ones fight through it.”"

Mandatory Credit: Jeff Blake-USA TODAY Sports

As we can expect, this type of physical play is what we are going to see for a while as teams think that the Kentucky Wildcats are vulnerable with this style.  John Calipari pretty much said the same in his post game comments.

"On what was different for Andrew Harrison tonight: “He had more confidence. It’s like I said, ‘You have the green light to go play basketball. But not mess around with the ball. Go by people, get fouled. No one’s stopping you. But just don’t mess around with the ball.’ ” On if this is a dangerous/difficult stretch of three games in six days: “Yeah, and we’re trying to get out of here. I told the guys, ‘Get back on that bus. Let’s go.’ They got class tomorrow. We’ll probably have a later practice tomorrow, 5 or 6 o’clock, and it’s probably gonna be really light, because then we come back and play Tuesday.” On what he worries about with the turnaround: “Everybody’s gonna be – it’s gonna be like you saw today. We just got to play through the physical play. Again, we didn’t guard in the first half. I thought we did a better job in the second half. The last two baskets you give them change the percentages, but I thought we guarded better in the second half.” On why the M.O. is to be physical with them: “Because we’re young. Got a bunch of young guys. Karl Towns was so good in the first half and then just started fading away and didn’t attack the glass the same way. I don’t know. But I thought in the first half, wow, if that’s who he is, in the first half. And I was hard on these guys, and I told them after. I said, ‘Look, I’m not backing up. I don’t care what the score is. We’re worried about us. I’m worried about each individual here getting better. And if you step back, I’m gonna be all over you.’ I thought Devin, again, I should have recognized that he was gonna struggle in this venue."