UK looks to make history against Georgia
March 3, 2015
By Joshua Huff
A tough rematch against Georgia awaits UK on Tuesday as the Cats travel to Georgia for their final road game of the regular season.
After defeating the Bulldogs 69-58 on Feb. 3 in Rupp Arena, UK looks to become only the 23rd team in college basketball history to go 30-0. However, Georgia will usher in a starting lineup different from the one UK faced in February. Returning is Georgia’s leading scorer, Marcus Thornton, who missed the first matchup due to a concussion.
“They’re a better team and they’re playing better,” UK head coach John Calipari said of Thornton’s return. “Hopefully we’re playing better. We have Trey (Lyles) now.”
Lyles missed the first game against Georgia, and his return has provided UK with a huge boost on offense. The SEC Freshman of the Week had consecutive 18-point games last week to propel UK past Mississippi State and Arkansas. The win on Saturday against the Razorbacks also clinched the outright regular SEC Championship for UK.
The regular season, however, is not yet over. And as UK can attest, no team in the SEC should be overlooked, especially a Bulldog team that has won three in a row and five of its last seven.
“Well, they know going in it’s going to be a hard game, so they may focus a little more,” Calipari said, which Arkansas can confirm is not a good omen for Georgia. “Every game we play is an event,” he continued.
In this stage of the season, the rigors of the SEC are a gift and a curse. Weekly battles against competent conference opponents help UK prepare for the grind of the NCAA Tournament, but close, physical games wear down a team late in the season.
UK, however, has the antidote for the wear and tear of a brutal conference schedule: depth.
Depth in the form of a roster that has pulled in 11 SEC Freshmen of the Week awards and an Oscar Robertson Award finalist in Willie Cauley-Stein.
“The differences that you have,” between Calipari’s previous teams, “are there are a lot of guys and a lot of room for error,” Calipari said. “I only need five guys to play well. You have nine guys that you are playing and you have another guy or two if you need them.”
That depth has helped UK nearly complete what has been a historic season for Calipari’s Cats. UK’s 29-game winning streak is the second-longest overall in program history, and the 29-0 start is the best of any Calipari team.
But if Calipari is bothered by the undefeated talk, he refuses to show it.
“I’m not worried about it and if we get dinged, then I’m fine,” he said. “It doesn’t have any bearing on what we’re doing.”