Cats proud of No. 1: Players don’t think pressure will change

Everything has changed for the UK men’s basketball team, yet everything is the same.

For the first time since the end of the 2002-03 regular season, the Cats (19-0, 4-0 Southeastern Conference) are the No. 1 team in the land. But the players don’t think being No. 1 will be any different than it has been all season.

“I feel like it’s the same pressure as it was when we were number two or number three,” UK freshman guard John Wall said. “All it is, is you’re number one in the country, you’re a couple spots up.”

The Cats have stressed the entire season that they are every team’s Super Bowl because of who they are and the name on their jersey. The fact that the Cats are the No. 1 team in the nation will be a new challenge to a team that UK head coach John Calipari said is maturing.

“I think our kids are excited about it and I think they wanted to be number one, which is a good sign,” Calipari said. “Now we’re trying to teach them what it means to be number one.”

Calipari has become just the second coach in NCAA history to lead three teams to a No. 1 ranking, the other being Frank McGuire.

The Cats will play their first game as the No. 1 team on the road in Columbia, S.C., against the Gamecocks. South Carolina (11-8, 2-3 SEC) hasn’t had as strong a year as many had expected, due in part to two key losses.

Senior forward Dominique Archie was lost for the season with a knee injury after just five games. Archie was averaging 14.4 points and six rebounds per game before the injury. The Gamecocks then dismissed Mike Holmes from the team after playing in six games. Holmes was averaging 11 points and 4.8 rebounds.

Their absences have forced senior guard Devan Downey to take more of a leadership role on the court. Downey leads the SEC in scoring with 21.9 points per game overall and 31.6 points per game in the Gamecocks’ five conference games.

“He’s their main scorer, he’s the person they’re looking for to make big plays and make shots down the stretch,” Wall said.

The Cats should be used to guarding such a player. On Saturday the Cats went up against the second leading scorer in the SEC, Arkansas’ Rotnei Clarke. Clarke didn’t hit his first 3-point shot until nearly 25 minutes into the game and finished with only 13 points in front of the rabid UK fans that packed Rupp Arena.

On Tuesday evening the Cats will face the South Carolina faithful in Colonial Life Arena. While many teams struggle playing on the road, Wall said road games are fun and wished the Cats played more away games.

“Like Coach said, it’s great to go down to a road game and ruin their weekend,” Wall said. “That’s what you try and do — ruin peoples’ weekends. Their fans are crazy. They’re just like our fans here so we like the excitement.”

GameDay tickets nearly sold out
Calipari wanted to sell out Rupp Arena when ESPN College GameDay comes Feb. 13 for UK’s game against Tennessee. He might get what he asked for.

UK athletics spokesman DeWayne Peevy said seats in the lower bowl of Rupp Arena sold out within 45 minutes of going on sale.

Four lower level GameDay tickets were on sale on eBay for $199.99 as of 7 p.m. Monday.

If tickets sell out, the crowd will be the largest to ever attend College Basketball GameDay. Fans will receive a commemorative UK2K poster, be able to interact with former UK players and hear Calipari and UK President Lee Todd speak.