By Joshua Huff

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UK head coach John Calipari wanted the SEC Tournament to be over and done with, be it with a loss or a conference championship.

Fortunately for an SEC record 20,315 fans in Bridgestone Arena, the vast majority UK fans, the latter became reality as UK blew past Arkansas 78-63, in route to the SEC Conference Championship. Spurred on by the play of Willie-Cauley Stein, Aaron and Andrew Harrison, the Cats used an efficient offensive game and lockdown defense to stifle Arkansas.

It was the continued depth of this UK team, however, that has allowed it to achieve levels that few teams reach.

“Willie, the last couple of games was ridiculously good, but there were a couple of games before that that he was ridiculously bad,” Calipari said. “But we still won, because I played Marcus Lee, Dakari Johnson and Karl-Anthony Towns played out of his mind. Karl gets in foul trouble, we’re still ok.”

Much like the Auburn game, Towns found himself in early foul trouble and was forced to sit on the bench for the majority of the game. But for Calipari’s sake he had the 15 points from both Cauley-Stein and Andrew Harrison to counter the lack of productivity from Towns, Devin Booker and Lee.

The twins shot 6-for-8 from three and UK as a whole shot 7-for-12 from beyond the arc.

“I’m so proud of Andrew and Aaron right now,” Calipari said. “Because of all the guards in the country, they’re playing as well as anybody in the country. It’s nice that they have Tyler Ulis with them and Booker with them … but they’re performing.”

The first half was one that Arkansas hopes to forget as UK used an 8-0 run to open the game and a 22-6 run before halftime to steady the nail before hammering it in the coffin.

“With a team like that you have to make a run early,” Cauley-Stein said. “You have to keep on them early because they’re a streaky team. So at any time they can come back and hit three threes and get an and one, and next thing you know you’re only up by two.”

As offensively geared as the contest was, it was the physical nature that defined the game. At one point, three Cats, Cauley-Stein, Ulis and Aaron Harrison sat on the bench together with minor injuries. But UK was not rattled, pushing its lead to 20 before Arkansas tried to chip away. After not trailing once during the SEC Tournament, the Razorbacks never led in the game, and never led UK in both contests this season.

“This team has a lot of dog in it,” Calipari said.

UK showed its tenacity, physically manhandling the Razorbacks. Arkansas’ Bobby Portis, Alandise Harris and Michael Qualls were all on the receiving end of blocks that sent them sprawling to the ground.

“If the other team is angry, mad, hateful, jealous, the physiology of that is close to fear,” Calipari said. “So when a team comes in that way, if you can just play and that thing turns to fear you separate yourself. The love of playing always beats angry, hateful, mean and jealous. That love of the game will always win.”