LOUISVILLE, Ky. (WDRB) — On Friday morning, Kentucky’s John Calipari was named one of 10 semifinalists for the Naismith Men’s Coach of the Year Award.
At 1 p.m. Saturday, in Gainesville, Florida, Calipari can enhance his award credentials by directing the Wildcats to a bounce-back victory over a Florida team the Wildcats defeated 65-59 two weeks ago in Rupp Arena.
Kentucky has clinched the Southeastern Conference championship and the top seed for the SEC Tournament next week in Nashville.
So, what will the bounce-back factor be for UK at the Stephen C. O'Connell Center? The Wildcats surrendered a 17-point lead at Rupp Arena and had an eight-game winning streak snapped with a 81-73 loss to Tennessee on Tuesday. Tennessee outscored Kentucky 47-22 in the final 16:54 and handed Calipari's team its first loss since Feb. 1.
After the game, the spotlight turned to point guard Ashton Hagans — and not because he scored only 11 points with three turnovers. He and teammate Nick Richards appeared to exchange words on the court. There was also a report that Hagans told Calipari that he did not want to return to the game at one point during the second half.
Calipari was asked about Hagans during his media availability Friday.
"Look, I’ve done this before," Calipari said. "There are sometimes I’ll go to a guy and ask him, 'Do you want to go in?' If he says, 'No,' I say, 'OK,' we move on. Some of it’s late-game stuff, because I had to sit there when I played and there’s 25 seconds left in the game and you go, ‘OK, go in and get that guy.’
"And then there’s the clock running down and no one does anything," he continued, "and then five seconds to go you walk into the game and you walk in and he subs, so I’ll do that. We’ve got a young team that’s growing and learning and learn from every situation."
As concerning as the situation with Hagans was, the reality is that Tuesday's collapse against Tennessee was Kentucky's fourth loss to a team that is unlikely to make the NCAA Tournament. Perhaps the Wildcats were flat because they had already clinched the SEC title, but their focus did not wane until the second half.
“This is a game-to-game team more than any other team that I have coached,” Calipari said. “Every team is different. Normally, you’ll have an idea of who we’re going at, but this team is different.”
In the Friday posting at Bracket Matrix, a compilation of NCAA Tournament bracket projections, Kentucky was listed as a No. 4 seed. Florida is a No. 9 seed.
Prior to the stumble against Tennessee, some bracketologists predicted that UK could climb to as high as a No. 2 by winning its final two regular-season games and winning the SEC Tournament.
At 19-11 and 11-6 in conference play, the Gators are trying to finish strong in a season that has been a disappointment to many because Mike White’s team was ranked No. 9 in The Associated Press' preseason Top 25. Florida is tied with Louisiana State and Auburn for second place in the SEC.
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