Not getting calls doesn’t really surprise Richards: ‘You go to Kentucky, it is what it is.’

In Kentucky’s victory over Vanderbilt on Saturday, Nick Richards felt pain three times in a span of barely more than two minutes of the second half. The first of the three times involved getting elbowed in the face by Vandy’s Matthew Moyer.

In each of the three instances, no foul was called. On the third, Richards held out his arms as if wondering why there was no call.

Of the elbow to the face, Richards said, “I’m surprised I didn’t get a flagrant (foul) or something.”

Well, maybe not that surprised.

“You go to Kentucky, it is what it is ...,” he said. “But it’s basketball. You’ve just got to move on.”

As a sophomore, Richards said he is used to Kentucky “not getting the calls that we want.”

When asked why he believed Kentucky did not get these calls, Richards said, “I don’t know, man. I can’t tell you that.”

Richards’ words echoed something UK Coach John Calipari said on the Jan. 7 airing of his radio show. It seemed the UK coach meant that his players should not be distracted by the referees rather than he believed there was an anti-Kentucky bias in the officiating.

“We’re not getting any calls ..,” Calipari said. “Just play. No body language. No nothing.”

Winning ugly

When a reporter used the words “win ugly” in asking about UK’s uneven play in recent games, Reid Travis had no problem with that description.

“It’s easy to get caught up in we should have done this better, we should have done this better,” he said. “A win is a win. You should have fun with that. You should celebrate that. I think the coaching staff has done a good job with that. ... Be happy you were able to pull out a game.”

Sellout crowd

During the telecast of Georgia’s game against Vanderbilt last Wednesday, the announcers talked about “a buzz in the air” and “more juice in Athens” generated by Tom Crean’s arrival as coach.

Tickets for the game against Kentucky sold out on Oct. 24. Georgia’s game against Florida on Saturday also sold out that day.

And the Jan. 26 game against Texas sold out on Oct. 26. These are the earliest sellouts ever for Georgia, spokesperson Mike Mobley said.

Before this season, Georgia never sold out more than one home game. The UK game is the first of six straight sellouts at Georgia.

“Tom has engaged the fan base, and made sure fans knew support was a real priority if they are going to make progress with the program,” said Bruce Pearl, who has done similar work first as Tennessee’s coach and now at Auburn. “It’s like the chicken or the egg. Which one has to come first? Do you have to win first before the fans will come out? But you can’t win without the fans.”

Where are they now?

Although not leading a college team, former Georgia coach Mark Fox is keeping a hand in basketball.

Fox worked as a scout and later an assistant coach for the USA World Cup Qualifying Team coached by Jeff Van Gundy. The team played in June, July and November.

The team will play in Greensboro, N.C., against Panama and Argentina in February. It has qualified for the 2019 FIBA World Cup.

Fox also worked as a “guest assistant coach” for a Milwaukee Bucks’ summer league team. His son, Parker, is a freshman walk-on at Clemson.

Looking ahead

The 2019 Final Four will be played April 6 and 8 in Travis’ hometown of Minneapolis.

Of playing for UK in the Final Four, Travis said, “It’d mean the world. That’s kind of why we’re working hard every day. Hopefully, we get that chance.”

Still looking ahead

Georgia presents a significant stylistic challenge than UK’s last opponent. Vanderbilt played zone, tried to shorten the game by slowing the tempo and put a priority on getting back to limit UK fast breaks rather than try for offensive rebounds.

Georgia will play mostly man-to-man, try to score as quickly as possible and send four players to the offensive glass, Calipari said.

This divergent approach mimics the NCAA Tournament, where opponents’ styles can vary wildly in a setting of two games in a three-day period.

“So it is good for our team,” Calipari said of the Vandy-Georgia contrast. “But it challenges young players.”

Etc.

Former UK star Tony Delk will substitute for Mike Pratt as analyst on the radio broadcast of the game. Louisville radio analyst Bob Valvano tweeted last week that Pratt would be dealing with a medical issue. ... Karl Ravech, Jimmy Dykes and Laura Rutledge will call the game for ESPN.

This story was originally published January 14, 2019 at 6:11 PM.