There’s just something about the Kentucky Wildcats and playing in the Southeastern Conference Tournament. Four years running, head coach John Calipari and his teams have taken home the trophy. This year, the team’s goal wouldn’t be any different.
Kentucky drew Alabama after the Crimson Tide knocked off Ole Miss on Thursday, lending the Wildcats their opportunity to avenge their SEC opening loss in Tuscaloosa.
From when the ball was tipped to when the clock hit zero, it wasn’t difficult to tell Calipari had his team fully prepared. While Alabama head coach Avery Johnson always has his players compete hard, Kentucky simply played at a higher level.
Early on, the two teams played a bit of tug-of-war. However, Kentucky shooting guard Tyler Herro wouldn’t let that last. He poured in 11 first half points, accompanied by veteran center Reid Travis and sophomore forward PJ Washington blocking three shots a piece on the defensive end, to give Kentucky a 39-29 advantage.
In the second half, Kentucky had their sights set not on their potential game on Saturday but simply finishing off the Crimson Tide (something the Wildcats had struggled with throughout the regular season).
Calipari’s team finished off Alabama by a score of 73-55, earning their advancement to Saturday’s semi-finals.
While Herro’s 20 points wowed the 95% of people in Bridgestone Arena, the story of the night was written by Kentucky’s bench. With Travis leading the second unit, they scored 35 of the team’s 73 total points.
‘Twas a feat the team hadn’t consistently seen all season, which is a comforting sign as the Wildcats move further into the postseason. Immanuel Quickley scored 12 points, hitting all four of his shots to finish second to Herro in scoring. Travis scored eight points, grabbed seven rebounds and blocked three shots in a triumphant return from his knee injury.
An inspiring sight was captured in the first half, as starting center EJ Montgomery missed a three pointer, but corralled his miss and found Nick Richards for the alley-oop slam. The “twin towers” combined for 11 points, five rebound and two blocks while successfully allowing both Travis and Washington a rest.
“I saw him as soon as I got the rebound and I just tried to drive, throw it up to the big guy and he went to go get it,” Montgomery said. “It was a good feeling, Nick’s my guy and we got the crowd involved.”
Jemarl Baker’s performance most likely flew under the radar, but most certainly impacted the Wildcats when he was on the floor. Kentucky was +17 when Baker was on the court, which was the third-highest +/- of any Wildcat.
“I just wanted to come into the game, bring energy, play as hard as I could and just make an impact any way I could,” Baker said.
When asked about the bench’s performance, Baker he said the team’s greatest success will come as a team effort.
“We just know that we’re going to need everybody to win, every body to play well so if anyone does have a bad game we can just pick them up and we can still win games,” he said. “Not everybody is going to have a great game every game so we just need to continue to make an impact and continue to try and play well to held the team win.”
That spoke true to Friday’s action, as starters Ashton Hagans, Keldon Johnson and PJ Washington had off-nights shooting the basketball.
Although, despite shooting 4-12 from the floor, Washington did finish the game with 10 points, 12 rebounds, four assists and as many blocked shots to record a game-high +20 in 35 minutes.
It’s rare for either Johnson or Washington to have consecutive nights where they don’t shoot the ball well, which should be good fortune for what lies ahead on Saturday afternoon.
After Kentucky’s victory over Alabama, the Tennessee Volunteers and Mississippi State Bulldogs tipped off for the right to play Kentucky in the semi-finals. Though the contest was close early on, Tennessee’s veterans pulled away late in the game to score the third matchup between Kentucky and Tennessee this season.
The first came soundly in Lexington, a game of which Kentucky was never truly threatened. They knocked off the-then top-ranked Volunteers, 86-69 as PJ Washington had a party in the painted area.
Two weeks later, the second matchup wasn’t as promising for Kentucky. The Wildcats traveled down to Knoxville for a rematch but were without Reid Travis, leaving a gaping hole in the Kentucky defense that worked so well against Volunteers star Grant Williams in Lexington.
Early foul trouble for Washington plagued Kentucky’s offense, along with Herro and Johnson struggling from the field, leading to a 71-52 defeat.
Now, with top-seeded LSU being knocked off by the Florida Gators Friday afternoon, Kentucky and Tennessee appear to be fully-healthy and the winner will be the heavy favorite to not just take home the SEC trophy but grab a No. 1 seed in the NCAA tournament.
If Friday was any indication of what we should see on Saturday, Big Blue Nation should expect a thriller. Kentucky’s defense appears to be back playing at a high level and their offense looks more balanced than it has all season. With a few of Calipari’s star players looking to bounce back, there won’t be a better way than against Tennessee.
Tip-off is set for roughly 2:30 PM central time, or 25 minutes after the conclusion of Auburn-Florida.