Cats’ first true test ends in UK win
The UK bench celebrates a big play late during the second half of the University of Kentucky vs. Kansas University men’s Basketball game at Bankers Life Fieldhouse in Indianapolis , In., on Tuesday, November 18, 2014 Kentucky won 72-40 over Kansas. Photo by Jonathan Krueger
November 19, 2014
By Kyle Arensdorf
UK head coach John Calipari’s platoon-style offense got its first true test Tuesday when UK Basketball took on Kansas in front of a packed house at Banker’s Life Fieldhouse in Indianapolis.
While the chants of “Go Big Blue” and “C-A-T-S” sounded throughout the arena – drowning out any cheers from the heavily-outnumbered Kansas fans – this was UK’s first game away from home, but the Cats were up for the task.
“We kind of bum-rushed them,” Calipari said. “Every time they looked, there was another tank coming over the hill.”
Kansas came out ready to weather the storm that the No. 1 team in the nation conjured.
Against UK’s starting platoon, which Calipari admitted last week had a difficult task taking on everything its opponent throws at it early in games, Kansas managed six points.
With an 8-6 lead, the second platoon entered the game at the 14:50 mark of the first half and increased the lead to five, setting up a huge moment for the first platoon.
Led by sophomore point guard Andrew Harrison, who had 10 points on 3-for-5 shooting in the game, the first platoon reentered the game and tightened the clamps on Kansas and didn’t allow a Kansas field goal for more than five minutes.
“Both teams were turned up early,” Kansas head coach Bill Self said after the game. “(UK) stayed turned up for 40 minutes.”
The defensive clinic made way for a 12-1 UK run and a 26-10 lead. Kansas never got within nine points in the half and the Cats took a 38-28 advantage into the locker room.
UK beat up Kansas inside in the first half, allowing only five baskets on 25 attempts from inside the 3-point arc and 8-for-33 altogether (24 percent shooting in the half).
“No matter how bad we shot in the first half, we proved we could shoot a hell of a lot worse in the second,” Self said. “Anybody who said ‘there’s no way they can shoot 24 percent,’ they were right – we shot 13 (percent).”
The second platoon began the second half on the floor and in five minutes of play held the Jayhawks scoreless and added six points to the Cats’ total.
The crackdown on defense continued as the first platoon reentered the game and opened up an 18-point lead on a Kansas team that never recovered.
Calipari reinserted his two platoons into the game at will from then on, each inflating UK’s lead larger and larger, and the blitz was on as the Cats ran away with a 72-40 victory to end the night.
