LEXINGTON, Ky. (WDRB) — You want to be perturbed by the way your favorite team played Saturday in the men’s basketball game Kentucky won 86-63 over Louisville at Rupp Arena?
You can certainly do that. The margin was 23 on a day when the point spread was either 23 1/2 or 22 1/2 points depending upon when and where you looked. Take your pick.
Kentucky jumped on the Cardinals 16-4 and then waited forever to knock out Louisville (2-12). The Wildcats started the second half as if they were convinced the game was already over. UK’s defense was less than extraordinary.
There were groans in Rupp Arena when Louisville rallied. Kentucky fans wanted that lead stretched to 30. Or more. UK coach John Calipari said he was not bothered.
"I was happy Louisville came out swinging," Calipari said. "Because I've got to know, 'Are you guys fragile?' "
Louisville watched UK start the game as the aggressor, the way the Cardinals have let the entire world of college basketball be the aggressor this season. The Cards played nearly 7 minutes before they bothered to grab their first individual rebound. What’s the rush?
Disappointing?
"Very," U of L coach Kenny Payne said. "Very disappointing. We spent three or four days working on rebounding."
Payne said he thought two areas of the game were vital.
"They scored 20 points off rebounds and 19 points off our turnovers," Payne said.
Allow me to add a third area: Team defense. Kentucky shot 60% overall. Check the fine print: The Wildcats were 29 of 42 on two-point field goals. That's 69%, a number the Cardinals had little chance to overcome.
You want to be energized by the way your favorite team played?
Well, you can do that, too.
Calipari put Jacob Toppin back into the Wildcats’ starting lineup and Toppin delivered his best game in weeks. Correct that. Toppin delivered his best game ever.
After scoring 9 total points in UK’s last four games, Toppin scored 24 in the victory. Toppin failed to score when Kentucky lost at Missouri last Wednesday. Calipari and his player talked about Toppin's slump at the team hotel in Columbia.
Calipari said he told Toppin, "I can't do this for you. You've got to be in a different frame of mind."
Against Missouri, Toppin missed his only two shots and had three turnovers in 13 minutes.Â
"What's the word above awful?" Calipari asked.
What's the word above spectacular? That's what Toppin was against Louisville.
Mid-range jump shots are supposed to be out of style in today’s game, but Toppin was terrific from 15-to-17 feet. He put the exclamation point on the victory by rushing from the left corner past two Louisville defenders for a two-handed rebound slam of a miss by teammate Oscar Tshiebwe.
And I don’t mean to slight Tshiebwe. Never slight Tshiebwe. He also had 24, along with his signature 13 rebounds.
Toppin and Tshiebwe combined to make 20 of 28 field goal attempts. That’s 71.4%. That is winning basketball, especially when the Cards got one field goal (in three attempts) and three rebounds from Sydney Curry and Jae'Lyn Withers.
Write this down: UK's starting front-court outscored the Cards' starting front-court, 53-15.
So what was the good news for Payne’s team in a 23-point defeat?
For the Cards the first three minutes of the second half were bliss. Down 45-30 at halftime, Louisville scored seven straight points and stirred some uneasiness in the building.
A layup by Brandon Huntley-Hatfield. A three-point field goal by Mike James. Two free throws by El Ellis.
With Kentucky missing its first three field goal attempts and the Wildcats throwing the ball away twice, the Cardinals had two opportunities to cut the lead to 5 or 6.
Nope.
Nope.
Turnover.
Turnover.
Kentucky scored the next six points. Louisville actually made four turnovers in five possessions. The uneasiness disappeared. So did any thoughts of a complete Louisville rally, despite another determined performance by Ellis, who led the Cards with 23 points.
As he has after nearly every Louisville game, Payne continued to preach that the Cardinals needed to compete with more urgency. More nastiness on the glass. More fighting for position on defense. Payne was asked if he feared that if the Cardinals have not fully responded over 14 games, it is not going to happen.
"Do I feel like they're closing their ears to what I say?" Payne said. "They have to answer that. Am I going to stop saying it? No."
It’s conference play for both teams next week. Kentucky will host Louisiana State Tuesday night before visiting Alabama Saturday. Louisville returns to the KFC Yum! Center for a pair of home games — Tuesday night against Syracuse and Saturday against Wake Forest.
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