By Kevin Erpenbeck

[email protected]

With a perfect record come high expectations.

The No. 1 team in the nation still has a zero in the loss column with nine games remaining in the regular season. But the unblemished record doesn’t mean UK will play perfectly every game, head coach John Calipari said.

“‘You need to be perfect. You’re Kentucky,’” Calipari said, imitating the scrutiny he’s heard towards UK.

It also does not mean the Cats are as bad as the scrutiny suggests.

“A friend called me this morning and said, ‘Someone went on a show and said Kentucky is not that good offensively.’ Really?” Calipari said. “We’re like ninth in the country in efficiency, and that’s our issue. I’m happy if that’s our issue.”

UK sits near the top of the conference in several statistical columns before its game against Florida Saturday. The Cats have 848 rebounds this season, just one away from LSU’s SEC-leading 848. They’re also .01 away from leading the conference in assists-per-turnover.

That will not stop people from overanalyzing the team though, Calipari said.

“We’re not shooting 88 percent (from the floor), 99 percent from the free throw line,” Calipari said. “We don’t rebound every missed shot, which is crazy. I don’t know why we don’t; I’m on these guys about it.”

For UK, it’s about playing consistent basketball for an entire game. In Tuesday’s win over Georgia, the Cats’ biggest lead was 18 points early in the second half. But the Bulldogs battled back, trailing by just five points with two minutes remaining before UK pulled away.

Freshman guard Tyler Ulis said the team has to keep its focus throughout the game if it’s going to improve on its few imperfections.

“I feel like we’re playing good in the first half,” Ulis said. “We just have to extend that and try to do our best for both halves of the game and don’t come out the second half slowing the game down.”

Ulis also said it’s about coming into a game expecting to get the best from their opponents, even from a 12-10 Florida team.

“I expect them to come out playing the best they’ve ever played, hitting shots, making threes,” Ulis said. “We just have to come out ready to play no matter what their record is.”