Photos by Clay Jackson, and property of Schurz Communications, Inc., and vaughtsviews.com. All rights reserved; images may not be reprinted in print or online without permission of the owners. Reprinted images must be attributed to vaughtsviews.com and linked to the original site.
Kentucky guard Jarrod Polson (5) and Kentucky guard Julius Mays (34) react as Georgia guard Kentavious Caldwell-Pope (1) celebrates after a 3-point basket as time expired during the first half of an NCAA college basketball game in Athens, Ga., Thursday, March 7, 2013. (AP Photo/The Athens Banner-Herald, AJ Reynolds)
PAUL NEWBERRY, AP Sports Writer
ATHENS, Ga. (AP) - Kentavious Caldwell-Pope scored 24 points and grabbed 10 rebounds, leading Georgia to a 72-62 victory Thursday night that dealt another big blow to Kentucky’s NCAA hopes.
The Wildcats (20-10, 11-6 Southeastern Conference) took a second straight road loss and head into the regular-season finale against No. 11 Florida in desperate need of a quality win to bolster their resume.
After Georgia (15-15, 9-8) pushed out to a double-digit lead, Kentucky ripped off a quick 7-0 spurt capped by Kyle Wiltjer’s 3-pointer. That turned out to be the Wildcats’ last hurrah.
Nemanja Djurisic got inside for a run-stopping basket, Caldwell-Pope knocked down four straight free throws, and another Kentucky miss sparked a Georgia fast break that was capped by Caldwell-Pope’s rim-hanging dunk.
Just like that, the Bulldogs restored a 58-47 lead.
Archie Goodwin scored 20 points to lead Kentucky, but it was a miserable shooting night for the defending national champions. They were only 23 of 62 from the field (37.1 percent), connected on 6 of 26 from 3-point range, and made just 10 of 18 free throws.
Putting the perfect capper on the night for Georgia, Caldwell-Pope sliced off the wing for another thunderous dunk with a minute to go, finishing off any hopes of a Kentucky comeback. The sophomore posted his fifth double-double of the season.
Goodwin, Alex Poythress and Ryan Harrow all fouled out for Kentucky. The Wildcats, on the other hand, didn’t even get into the second-half bonus until just 7 seconds remained, long after it mattered.
By then, Georgia already had cleared its bench, giving everyone a chance to play in the final home game of the season.
The Bulldogs set an early tone when Goodwin had his driving shot swatted away by Donte Williams, sparking a Georgia fast break that ended with Sherrard Brantley laying it in at the other end.
Georgia raced off the court at halftime with even more momentum, knocking down a couple of 3s in the closing seconds.
After Brantley swished one from beyond the arc, Kentucky ran the clock down and appeared to deliver the final salvo when Wiltjer got inside for a lay-in with 6 seconds left. But the Bulldogs raced down the court and Caldwell-Pope got off a long trey that rattled around the rim, dropping in as the horn sounded for a 31-26 edge.
Willie Cauley-Stein had 10 points and 11 rebounds for the Wildcats. Wiltjer added 12 points, Harrow 11.
Djurisic scored 12 points for Georgia and Williams chipped in with 10.
KENTUCKY (20-10): Cauley-Stein 5-9 0-3 10, Poythress 1-3 2-3 4, Goodwin 7-15 3-6 20, Harrow 4-12 2-2 11, Mays 0-4 0-0 0, Hood 1-1 2-2 4, Polson 0-2 1-2 1, Lanter 0-0 0-0 0, Wiltjer 5-16 0-0 12. Totals 23-62 10-18 62.
GEORGIA (15-15): D. Williams 1-4 8-8 10, Florveus 1-5 0-2 2, Caldwell-Pope 6-19 10-11 24, V. Williams 2-4 3-5 8, Brantley 2-3 0-0 6, Mann 1-4 3-3 5, Dixon 0-0 0-0 0, Echols 0-0 0-0 0, Gaines 0-2 3-4 3, Morris 1-2 0-1 2, Cannon 0-0 0-0 0, Djurisic 5-9 0-0 12. Totals 19-52 27-34 72.
Halftime_Georgia 31-26. 3-Point Goals_Kentucky 6-26 (Goodwin 3-6, Wiltjer 2-11, Harrow 1-4, Poythress 0-1, Mays 0-2, Polson 0-2), Georgia 7-15 (Djurisic 2-3, Brantley 2-3, Caldwell-Pope 2-7, V. Williams 1-1, Gaines 0-1). Fouled Out_Goodwin, Harrow, Poythress. Rebounds_Kentucky 42 (Cauley-Stein 11), Georgia 40 (Caldwell-Pope 10). Assists_Kentucky 8 (Poythress 3), Georgia 13 (Mann 4). Total Fouls_Kentucky 26, Georgia 16. A_10,062.
Copyright 2013 The Associated Press.
Photos by Victoria Graff, and property of Associated Press, Schurz Communications, Inc., and vaughtsviews.com. All rights reserved; images may not be reprinted in print or online without permission of the owners. Reprinted images must be attributed to vaughtsviews.com and linked to the original site.
Photos by Clay Jackson, and property of Schurz Communications, Inc., and vaughtsviews.com. All rights reserved; images may not be reprinted in print or online without permission of the owners. Reprinted images must be attributed to vaughtsviews.com and linked to the original site.
Photos by Victoria Graff, and property of Schurz Communications, Inc., and vaughtsviews.com. All rights reserved; images may not be reprinted in print or online without permission of the owners. Reprinted images must be attributed to vaughtsviews.com and linked to the original site.
Photos by Victoria Graff, and property of Schurz Communications, Inc., and vaughtsviews.com. All rights reserved; images may not be reprinted in print or online without permission of the owners. Reprinted images must be attributed to vaughtsviews.com and linked to the original site.
UK coach John Calipari turns his back on referee Doug Shows during the Cats’ loss at Tennessee. (Victoria Graff photo)
By LARRY VAUGHT
Life without Nerlens Noel got off to a record-setting start for Kentucky here Saturday, but it was not the kind of records the Wildcats wanted to be part of.
Tennessee beat UK 88-58 — it’s biggest victory margin in 216 games against Kentucky — and snapped a six-game losing streak to the Wildcats. It was Tennessee coach Cuonzo Martin’s first win over Kentucky.
Tennessee’s previous biggest win over UK was 87-59 in 1968. The only other 20-point victories came in a 107-85 victory in 1992 and 30-10 win back in 1917.
Kentucky coach John Calipari came into this week with his worst loss being a 17-point setback to eventual national champion Connecticut in the 2010 Maui Invitational. Then UK lost by 17 points at Florida Tuesday and now by 30 points at Tennessee.
It was only the fifth time in Calipari’s college coaching career that he’s had a team lose by 30 or more points. The others were 88-56 to West Virginia on Feb. 16, 1989; 105-74 to Duquesne on Feb. 18, 1989; and 109-79 to Penn State on Jan. 5, 1989. All came when he was coaching at Massachusetts and all came in his first year. Calipari’s worst loss during his tenure at Memphis (2000-2009) was a 23-point loss against Stanford (83-60) on Nov. 24, 2000.
“We gave up four offensive rebounds in the first two minutes — you aren’t going to win. We have to go back to the drawing board. I’m going to have to figure out what we are going to do offensively, and we’ll go from here,” said Calipari after the game. “I’ll burn the tape from this one. I won’t watch it. I had to sit through it, so I’m not going to sit through it again.”
By LARRY VAUGHT
Auburn coach Tony Barbee said Monday that Kentucky “was as hot as anyone in the league,” a statement Kentucky coach John Calipari obviously would not agree with.
Kentucky is on a three-game win streak after wins at Mississippi and Texas A&M last week going into Tuesday’s home game with South Carolina. However, Calipari says UK remains in a “state of flux” in early February.
The UK coach noted that sophomore point guard Ryan Harrow missed games for personal reasons early in the season. Freshman center Willie Cauley-Stein has been out after needing knee surgery in mid-January but did play four minutes at Texas A&M in his first game back.
“We have been in flux the whole year,” said Calipari on the Southeastern Conference coaches’ teleconference. “We have not settled into who we are. We are playing harder, executing better. Individuals are playing better. But we are still in flux.”
Calipari again indicated that one major problem has been a lack of physical play. He said UK had “guys that don’t want that type of (physical) game” like UK survived in overtime at Texas A&M.
“Until you relish that, you look passive and soft,” Calipari said. “You have to want that.”
Calipari used Florida guard Scottie Wilbekin as a player who “relishes that kind of game” and how Florida’s success starts with him.
“You have to want to drive that man into the screen. You want that action,” the UK coach said. “If you don’t want that action, the physicalness has a big impact.”
Kentucky has the nation’s premier shot blocker, Nerlens Noel, after having Anthony Davis fill the same role last year. But Calipari said Miami (Fla.) have guards that make tough play as does Alabama, a team that beat Kentucky.
“They want a rough game. If you are trying to avoid contact, you are at a big disadvantage. If the game is called loosely, you have no chance to win,” Calipari said. “It wears you down and by the end of the game you are turning it over, missing shots, missing free throws.”
Calipari said his first UK team featuring Patrick Patterson, DeMarcus Cousins, John Wall and Eric Bledsoe welcomed physical play. The Final Four team two years ago had trouble with it and went 2-6 in SEC road games. He said even last year’s national championship team was not overly tough early in the season,
South Carolina coach Frank Martin is more impressed with the Wildcats’ guard play than what Calipari indicated he was.
“I think Cal has done an unbelievable job. You are talking two guys, one (Julius) Mays is a transfer and one (Harrow) sat out last year (as a transfer). I think Cal has done a tremendous job getting those kids to grow. Being a guard is hard. It’s not like they have upperclassmen around them to make the transition easier. For Mays, this is also his first year around Cal. I am sure he learns every single day something that he did not know before.”
Martin said having freshmen like Alex Poythress, Noel, Cauley-Stein and Archie Goodwin with no proven older player to lead them is difficult. However, Martin believes UK’s overall defense is better than some believe and is more than just Noel blocking shots.
“It starts up top with their ball pressure. It is hard to break them down and when you do it, it is not a big crack,” Martin said. “Then the human eraser (Noel) is back there to protect the rim. I think defensively they are very good. I don’t like speaking off the top of my head, but watching on film the times they have not had the success they want has not been because of their defense. They have missed shots or not executed the way Cal wants on the offensive end. But it definitely was not because of their defense.”
Willie Cauley-Stein sat on the bench in street clothes when the Cats beat LSU Saturday. (Clay Jackson photo)
By LARRY VAUGHT
I got a chance to ask Kentucky coach John Calipari for an update on Willie Cauley-Stein, who has missed three games after having knee surgery, for an update on the freshman going into Tuesday’s game at Ole Miss.
“He’s been going really hard. He will travel with us to Mississippi. I don’t know if he’ll play. Probably doubtful. But he’ll be on the court today some. Whether he’ll go a practice, I don’t know. But he will travel with us,” Calipari said.
Has the recovery taken longer than expected?
“No, no. It’s about what we thought,” Calipari said when I asked.
LEXINGTON, Ky. – The rivalry between two of the most tradition-laden basketball programs will renew next season as Kentucky and North Carolina have agreed to a two-year, home-and-home series beginning in the 2013-14 season.
The Wildcats will travel to Chapel Hill, N.C., in 2013-14 to take on the Tar Heels, and the series will return to Rupp Arena during the 2014-15 season.
Kentucky has won three of the last four meetings between the schools, while North Carolina holds a 22-13 edge in the all-time series.
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