Might Kentucky use a classic UCLA strategy to beat the Bruins?

As its 10-championships-in-12-years dynasty got started in the mid-1960s, UCLA popularized a 2-2-1 full-court press.

In its last game, Kentucky used the 2-2-1 press to beat Virginia Tech. Might UK benefit from a role reversal, albeit 50 years in the making, when it plays UCLA on Saturday in New Orleans?

PJ Washington seemed to think so.

“Oh, it was great against Virginia Tech,” he said Thursday. “We tried to slow them down a little bit and get an easy turnover. And I felt we did that. And we’re looking to do the same thing against UCLA.”

Although UK Coach John Calipari pooh-poohed the notion, the Bruins seemed susceptible to pressure earlier this week. They committed three turnovers in the final 30 seconds while trying to blunt a frantic full-court South Dakota rally.

“I think we just got sped up at the end,” guard Aaron Holiday said of a 24-point lead that got reduced to an 85-82 victory. “That’s a learning process.”

After the Virginia Tech game, Calipari said he had dusted off the 2-2-1 press he had used 10 years earlier.

When asked Thursday why UK used that press rather than some other form of full-court pressure, he said, “It’s the only one I knew. Because my stuff is very basic.”

Basic is better with UK’s freshman-dependent team.

“I don’t think we can do it for a (whole) game,” Calipari said of the press. “I think there are spots in the game we should do it.”

With Jarred Vanderbilt, Jemarl Baker and possibly Tai Wynyard sidelined, Kentucky doesn’t have the depth to press continually, Calipari said.

When asked why he used the 2-2-1 press against Virginia Tech, Calipari said, “Just to get us more aggressive. . . . If we can make us the aggressor versus them having us on our heels, it’s better for this team.”

UK versus UCLA

A matchup of the two programs with the most national championships commands attention.

“It’s special,” UCLA center Thomas Welsh said. “It’s UCLA versus Kentucky. It’s what college basketball is all about. So we’re really excited coming into the game. I know they’re going to be fired up, too.”

UCLA Coach Steve Alford endorsed the series with Kentucky, which has included games on each other’s home courts, neutral sites and the NCAA Tournament in the last three years.

“Anytime those two programs play each other, I think it’s great for college basketball,” he said. “And I think it’s great for both our programs.”

Ranked records

Beginning with the 2005-06 season, UCLA has a record of 41-41 against ranked teams. That includes an 0-1 record this season (a 77-63 loss to Cincinnati last Saturday).

In that same span of time, Kentucky has a 57-48 record against ranked teams. That includes a record of 50-23 in Calipari’s nine seasons as coach. The Cats had a record of 7-25 against ranked teams in the four seasons prior to Calipari’s hiring in the spring of 2009.

Calipari’s only losing record against ranked teams (5-7) came in 2013-14, the season he has likened to the current Cats.

Love, LaVar-style

Of course, LaVar Ball has been an involved father, to put it delicately. He recently announced he was arranging for his middle son, LiAngelo Ball, and youngest son, LaMelo Ball, to play in Lithuania. LiAngelo had been a freshman for UCLA until being among three players arrested for shoplifting during a team trip to China. LaMelo, who is still in high school, had committed to the Bruins.

When asked how he would handle such a father, Calipari said he wasn’t sure.

Calipari said he might disagree with how LaVar Ball “presents stuff.”

But, the UK coach added, “what I do love is he loves his sons. He’s a father who loves — loves! — his sons, and you’ve got to respect that. I mean, there are many kids out there who would love to have a father that paid that much attention to them.”

Court to be donated

The court used for Saturday’s CBS Sports Classic doubleheader — which also features North Carolina taking on Ohio State — will be donated to the YMCA of Greater New Orleans afterward.

The court will become the centerpiece of the Belle Chasse YMCA after construction on an expansion is completed in 2019.

Etc.

▪ Dick Vitale’s take on UCLA: “I don’t believe they are what they were last year. But they’re still a very good team. . . It’s a good test for the kids of Kentucky.”

▪ Brad Nessler, Bill Raftery and sideline reporter Allie LaForce will call the game for CBS.

This story was originally published December 22, 2017 at 3:07 PM with the headline "Might Kentucky use a classic UCLA strategy to beat the Bruins?."