By LARRY VAUGHT

How important is guard Phil Pressey for Missour?

“He’s a great player. He’s really effective and efficient, doesn’t turn it over that much, goes in that lane and find people. He can score it when he needs to, but his whole thing is, ‘I’m going to get in here – I’ll drive baseline and hit that corner; I’ll drive right and throw it over my left shoulder and hit a guy on the weak side for a three.’ Defensively, if you’re lazy or loose or cute with the ball, he’s taking the ball from you. He’s just taking it from you,” Kentucky coach John Calipari said Friday

“I think our guards will be fine. It’s just a challenge. And then it’s a challenge for him to stay in front of our guards – if the court’s open and they want to attack and play. There’s no excuse now. The court’s open, get by him. He’s getting by you, get by him. He’s putting you in pick and rolls, put him in pick and rolls. The basic thing is, you got to take everything off the table. Play. We have no excuses, no cop-outs. No one wants to hear it. Play. We have an opportunity. We have enough. We’re a good enough team. We’re just going to have to play.”