Kentucky’s ‘will to win’ eases the disappointment of loss to Utah
John Calipari’s message to the Kentucky players after Wednesday’s loss to Utah was a flashback to a surprising defeat from last season: Consider it a victory.
As with the 84-83 overtime loss to Seton Hall last December, Calipari chose to accentuate the positive in the 69-66 loss to Utah. The positive came in the form of a rally from 17 points down with about 12 minutes left.
“We have a will to win,” Calipari said he told the UK players. “We showed it for 10 minutes. I’m good, now. Now, we need to handle this like we won this game.”
Calipari added that 10 minutes probably won’t be sufficient to actually win when Kentucky plays No. 5 Ohio State here Saturday.
“The last 10 minutes, I felt really good,” Calipari said of the Utah game. “We competed to win. Now, we’re playing against, in my opinion, the best team in the country.”
Ohio State (10-1) presents a physical challenge, Calipari said. He described big man Kaleb Wesson, the Buckeyes’ leading scorer (14.1 per game) and rebounder (9.3), as playing a “strong, physical, bully ball” game. Plus, Wesson has been a capable three-point shooter (13 of 29).
“When they set a screen, there’s no spinning out,” he said. “You know you got screened.”
Kentucky must answer muscle with muscle, Calipari said. “We’ve got to screen them. If you watch the tape (of the Utah game), we screened nobody.”
Sestina returns
Graduate transfer Nate Sestina played nine-plus minutes against Utah. That was his first action since fracturing his left wrist in a practice fall. He was sidelined three games.
“First couple trips down the court, I was a little winded getting my knees back under me,” he said. “Other than that, I felt good.”
Sestina acknowledged thinking about the wrist as he tried to “shake off the rust” against Utah. The wrap he continues to wear is a preventative measure, he said.
When asked to explain his role, Sestina said, “It varies game to game. I, obviously, haven’t been shooting the ball well (three of 13 from three-point range). But it’s not going to deter me from doing what I’m trying to do for the team. If I need to be an energy guy, I’m going to be an energy guy. If I need to be somebody who’s going to be physical, bump guys around, I’m going to do that. If I need to shoot, I’m going to shoot the ball.”
Sestina anticipated what his role will be against Ohio State.
“With this game,” he said, “it’s going to be really, really physical.”
Long term, Calipari spoke of Sestina helping improve UK’s three-point shooting threat.
“We’re trying to figure out what we need him to do. …,” the UK coach said. “But he adds that be guy that maybe we’ve been missing that can make two or three and get other guys’ confidence (up).”
Shooting, well or poorly, can be contagious, Calipari said.
“It’s so hard at this point of the season to really know definitively how you are relative to all the other teams that are kind of forming their identity,” Ohio State Coach Chris Holtmann said. “So I don’t really put too much stock in anything in terms of the polls.”
While Ohio State has had good moments, particularly a victory over North Carolina, there has been adversity. Holtmann mentioned how the Buckeyes did not score in the first eight minutes of the opener against Cincinnati.
“At that point, I was thinking,. ‘Are we going to score a basket in this half?” Holtmann said.
UK-Ohio State history
Ohio State has eliminated Kentucky from the NCAA Tournament more times than any opponent. The six times came in 1945, 1961, 1962, 1964, 1968 and 1987. The games in 1961 and 1968 were played in Louisville and Lexington, respectively.
Holtmann, who grew up in Lexington and Nicholasville, reminded that NCAA Tournament disappointment is a two-way street. Ohio State felt pain in losing to Kentucky in the 2011 Sweet 16.
“You could argue one of the best teams to ever play here at Ohio State was beaten in the Sweet 16 by Kentucky,” Holtmann said. “That was the Jared Sullenger-led team that had won 24 straight to open the season. … That’s one of those I think Buckeye fans always remember because so much was expected of that team. That was a crushing one, I think, for all Buckeyes.”
Etc.
Brad Nessler, Bill Raftery and sideline reporter Jamie Erdahl will call the game for CBS.
This story was originally published December 20, 2019 at 9:29 PM.
