Kentucky Basketball: Top 30 Wildcats games in John Calipari Era
Mar 26, 2015; Cleveland, OH, USA; Kentucky Wildcats forward Willie Cauley-Stein (15) against the West Virginia Mountaineers in the semifinals of the midwest regional of the 2015 NCAA Tournament at Quicken Loans Arena. Mandatory Credit: Andrew Weber-USA TODAY Sports
12. West Virginia Mountaineers vs Kentucky Wildcats
2015 NCAA Tournament
Didn’t they learn that these Wildcats don’t like smack talk?
"West Virginia freshman guard Daxter Miles Jr., tell us your thoughts on your Sweet 16 matchup with undefeated Kentucky. “Salute to them getting up to 36-0, but tomorrow they’re gonna be 36-1. They’re gonna be 36-1.” Ah, so you’re confident. Do you have anything else to say? “I don’t think they’ve played a team like us. To me, they don’t play hard. To me, they don’t play as hard as we play. Nobody is invincible, so their time will come, and I think we’re going to pull it out.” Okay then! The Wildcats, as you’ve probably heard, are undefeated and more or less untested during the NCAA tournament so far. With an entire starting five of future NBA players, they’re seeking to become the first team to go undefeated and win the national title since Indiana in 1976. Kentucky’s players seem to relish the trash talk from the opposing team. “That’s good. Adds fuel to the fire. Puts a little personal stuff into it,” UK 7-footer Willie Cauley-Stein told the Louisville Courier-Journal (supplier of the rest of the quotes in this post). “When teams talk like that, it puts a different mindset in your head. It’s not just playing to try to win the game anymore.” Said freshman guard Devin Booker: “A lot of teams have said things, but eventually they have to step in the ring. We’ll see how that turns out.”"
Wellllll, that didn’t go as planned for the Mountaineers. The Wildcats came out with a chip on their shoulder and dominated.
They were led by Trey Lyles’ 14 points, Willie Cauley-Stein’s 10 rebounds and Tyler Ulis’ 4 assists in their 78-39 win over the Mountaineers.
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