LOUISVILLE, Ky. (WDRB) – Kentucky is a problem.
When it is healthy. When it is engaged. When it is at home.
Well, maybe you can strike that last one. On Saturday, in historic Phog Allen Fieldhouse, on historic James Naismith Court, against historic . . . blah, blah, blah.
Kentucky blew Kansas' doors off. It flicked Kansas off its shoulder like an irritating fly. It solved Kansas' switching defenses like an easy Wordle. It humiliated Kansas on cable television. It tossed Kansas aside like, I can't think of something you toss aside right now, but believe me, they tossed them.
Rock. Chuck. Jayhawk.
Kentucky 80, Kansas 62. And it wasn't really that close. It was the Wildcats first true road win against an AP Top 5 team since winning at Louisville 58-50 in 2014. And it was their largest margin of victory in a true road game against a Top 5 team ever. The loss ended an 18-game home-court winning streak for Kansas.
"That was a great basketball team we played tonight," Kansas coach Bill Self said after the game in his radio interview. " We weren’t very good at all. But I’m not sure how good we could be to keep them from being that great. They were terrific. That team that we played tonight could win it all."
Kentucky got a career-high 27 points from Keion Brooks, who not only made big shots but waded in for key offensive rebounds and at one point scored 15 straight points for Kentucky when Kansas cut a 24-point deficit to 13.
"This is when you know we're becoming a good team," Calipari said. "We were dying and they went zone, they went triangle-and-two and then they went 2-3. And we were struggling. Keion made basket, basket, free throw, free throw. And I walked down and Jacob (Toppin) says, 'Coach just leave him in. Don't take him out now.' . . . How (Jacob) play? He played well. And as a teammate, he's telling me to leave (Brooks) in. That's when I know they're becoming empowered."
Kentucky led 23-13 after nine minutes behind 6 quick points from Oscar Tshiebwe and four from Brooks and Sahvir Wheeler. By halftime, that lead had doubled. Beginning at the 17:24 mark of the second half, Brooks scored 15 straight points for Kentucky. He made jumpers. He drew fouls and made free-throws. He grabbed offensive rebounds and was fouled.
"Please stop with the 27 points," Calipari said. "It doesn't matter. Like that it happened. It's all about that energy, that spirit, that competitiveness that fight, that, 'I'm beating that other guy.' He got beat on one rebound and he walked over to me and said that was my fault. So, you know, there's some habits that he's creating, a new habit of playing that way and if he does it, you'll see offensively, he scores. You know why? Because he's skilled. He's as good a two-point shooter, I hate to say this, he and Oscar are probably our best two-point shooters. . . . After the game they gave him the I don't know, Gatorade shower and everything else, to Keion and it tells you how happy they are for each other and how happy they are he broke through."
Kansas, meanwhile, unable to close its gap in the second half, simply broke, and Kentucky pushed its lead to 24 late.
And unlike in losses at LSU and Auburn, its entire backcourt didn't get injured. That, Calipari said, was perhaps the biggest difference between Saturday's win and a couple of Kentucky's recent road losses.
"They asked me after the game what was the difference? And I said our guards were healthy," Calipari said. "Now Keion played well. Jacob played well. Oscar was a beast. But those guys have done that all season. But we were healthy at guard."
Tshiebwe finished with 17 points and 14 rebounds. Kellan Grady had 12 points on 4-7 three-point shooting. Toppin had 11 points in 11 minutes. Wheeler finished with 7 points and 8 assists. Kentucky pounded Kansas on the glass, 41-29.
"They were dominant," Self said. "They were athletic. They shot it. They were unselfish. They were mature, focused, didn’t celebrate after one basket. They got back and guarded, made us uncomfortable. And when we got behind, the rims shrunk, obviously, and we didn’t do anything to get back in it."
Unlike most Calipari's team, this one is experience. They're seasoned. They don't rattle easily. If they can stay healthy, they're dangerous. How are they different to coach?
"They're on time," Calipari said. "They have an idea of what I'm talking about because they've done it before. You can lean on them. Sahvir, Kellan, even Davion (Mintz), Oscar, Keion. I mean, we got veteran guys and they're playing well enough that that's part of the thing with freshmen Bryce (Hopkins) and Damion (Collins). I mean those guys in front of you are playing so well, you've almost got to accept it. And then when you get your chance you got to bust out which is hard to hard deal."
Kentucky is still improving. It is finding its roles, fitting its pieces together. Each week or two seems to see another player come online with a big performance. The key will be to stay healthy, and to keep building.
"We've won a lot of games won a lot of games against ranked teams," Calipari said. "We've done it all kinds of different ways. The one thing I told our guys, I said, 'I've done this a long time. And I've been in many of these games on the road where it's (ESPN's College) GameDay. All the pressure is on that other team. . . If you play for 40 minutes you watch what happens.' It's a hard deal. You're supposed to win. You got GameDay, everybody's jacked up, the kids feel it. And again, they're not machines."
Though sometimes, when Kentucky is firing, you might be tempted to wonder.
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