UK has won seven straight, but Calipari’s ‘still worried about my team’
Although Kentucky defeated Texas A&M on Tuesday, John Calipari sees much room for improvement.
The end of each half drew the UK coach’s ire.
Two three-pointers inside the final four minutes kept A&M in the game and Calipari on edge.
“I let No. 1 shoot those last two threes on me,” said EJ Montgomery, the target of Calipari’s unhappiness. “And he didn’t want that to happen. He just kind of showed his emotion.”
UK’s hero, Immanuel Quickley, got a dose of this medicine because of how the final seconds of the first half unfolded.
“As a matter of fact, at halftime, I wanted to choke him,” Calipari said.
Quickley’s sin was not passing to an open Nate Sestina in the corner, which was the plan hatched in a timeout. Instead, Quickley shot and missed.
“I went crazy,” Calipari said. “Are you kidding me?”
Calipari said that Kentucky is not good enough to not use good judgment.
Earlier in the half with the lead at 55-42, Kentucky committed back-to-back turnovers when Quickley walked and Montgomery was called for an offensive foul in trying to establish post position.
“That’s a good lesson for these guys,” Calipari said.
On Monday, associate head coach Kenny Payne bemoaned the six- or seven-minute lulls that have marked UK’s play in games.
“I’m worried about my team,” Calipari said. “I’m just trying to get my guys across the finish line right now.”
EJ ‘outstanding’
EJ Montgomery had a busy stat line. His 10 rebounds equaled the season-high 10 he grabbed against Utah. His three assists were a career high. He also had two steals, scored eight points and had a memorable basket: a one-handed putback dunk.
“EJ was outstanding,” Calipari said, “as good as I’ve seen EJ play in a while.”
UK coaches had said recently that Montgomery was close to having a breakthrough performance. When asked if he “arrived” at A&M, Montgomery said, “I don’t think so. I’m still trying to break through and continue to get better every day.”
‘Trap game’
Calipari said he was wary about Kentucky’s game at Texas A&M.
“I was scared to death of this game,” he said. “This was a trap game. I knew it.
“We had a couple trap games the week before.”
Seven straight
Calipari suggested there was significance in Kentucky winning a sixth straight game. Actually, UK extended its current winning streak to seven straight games.
“Every year I coach, you’re trying to go on a run (of winning six or more straight) …,” he said. “The reason is to win a national championship, you’ve got to know you can win six in a row. And if you don’t win six in a row in your season, how in the world can you win six in a row in that tournament?”
Kentucky won six straight in late November and early December. But the teams UK defeated had an average NCAA Evaluation Tool rating of 229.7 going into Tuesday.
The current winning streak is against seven SEC teams with an average NET rating of 77.
More turnovers
Ashton Hagans committed five turnovers. That was the fifth time in the last nine games that he has had five or more turnovers.
On Monday, Payne was asked about Hagans’ turnovers. In the last four games, the sophomore guard’s assist-to-turnover ratio is one-to-one (18 assists, 18 turnovers).
“Ashton has to play better,” Payne said. “He has to eliminate — I hate to say — unforced turnovers. There’s a lack of concentration. Lack-of-discipline turnovers that for us at this point now we’re at a critical point … this is what we trained for. This is the moment now we have to be headed in the right direction.”
Payne credited the move-counter move nature of competition that puts the onus on Hagans to adjust.
“When he drives, defenses were collapsing, and he could make passes,” Payne said. “Now, the defenses are spreading out going to shooters and he’s having to make the read of do I shoot it or (throw) the lob. Well, they may take Nick Richards away. The lob is not there. We have to be under control and reading.”
8-91
Texas A&M’s all-time record against teams ranked in the top 10 fell to 8-91. The Aggies’ last such victory came on Feb. 7, 2018: an 81-80 road victory over No. 8 Auburn.
A&M’s last home victory over a top-10 team came on March 1, 2006: a 46-43 victory over No. 6 Texas.
This story was originally published February 26, 2020 at 12:02 AM.
