Kentucky still sees a reason to believe despite its sixth straight loss
Before every home game, Kentucky proclaims itself THE GREATEST PROGRAM IN THE HISTORY OF COLLEGE BASKETBALL!!
Speaking of history, on Saturday that program lost a sixth straight game for only the fourth time ever (and only the second time since 1923).
That program’s record fell to 1-6 for only the third time (and first since 1926-27). For those keeping score at home, the only worse start to a season in Kentucky was eight losses in the first nine games of 1926-27.
The latest loss came by a score of 62-59 at … LOUISVILLE!!
“Let me say this again, losing stinks,” UK Coach John Calipari said.
But …
Calipari and the UK players on a postgame teleconference spoke of progress. Kentucky got more work at executing in late-game situations. And, Calipari said, these chances will continue.
“There are no moral victories,” he said. “We lost. And hats off to Louisville. They played well.”
With that Calipari stated what seemed obvious after a sixth straight game that came down to a test of wills against an older, more experienced opponent.
“Our margin (for error) is not high,” Calipari said. “We’re going to be in a bunch of close games. We’re not beating people by 30.
“Now it becomes, how do we play to help us win as a team? How do we limit the breakdowns? And many of them were defensively.”
Calipari almost gushed about one improvement that he said showed itself a week after he advised freshman Cam’Ron Fletcher to take time to think about putting the team’s well-being ahead of his own.
“You know what was great about (the game)?” Calipari said. “I could just coach. There was no back and forth (with players). … I was able to coach basketball. … I didn’t have to worry about subbing a guy (who would then say), ‘Why did you take me out?!’
“Like that stuff is over. Done!”
Calipari linked the losing to what sounded like an overabundance of self-awareness.
“I believe a lot of it is, ‘how am I playing? And if I’m not playing well, I can’t concentrate,’” the UK coach said.
Kentucky trailed 52-45 with less than six minutes left. The Cats got points on seven straight possessions to reduce the deficit to 59-58 with 2:34 left.
Meanwhile, Louisville stumbled down the stretch. The Cards had two baskets in the final 6:04.
After UK tied it at 59-59 with 1:05 left on an Isaiah Jackson free throw, U of L took a 60-59 lead with 18.9 seconds left on a Dre Davis free throw.
After a Louisville timeout, Kentucky chose to have Olivier Sarr take a shot nearly identical to his miss in the final seconds against Notre Dame. Again, Sarr missed, this time the ball spinning off the rim.
Fouled on the rebound, U of L guard Carlik Jones made two free throws with 5.1 seconds left. He led all scorers with 20 points.
Brandon Boston’s potential game-tying three-point heave did not come close.
Jacob Toppin, whose 10 points and six rebounds helped fill the void created by an unproductive Sarr, came away encouraged.
When asked if he still believed in Kentucky’s team, he said, “One hundred percent. You could tell by this game we’re moving in the right direction. As we play more games, we’ll get better at that. We made mistakes down the stretch that we’ve just got to fix. But that just comes with experience.
“We’re definitely moving in the right direction.”
Before the game, SEC Network analyst Jimmy Dykes said this was a must-win situation for Kentucky. During the telecast, Dick Vitale echoed that sentiment.
Toppin stopped well short of agreeing.
“Let’s look at the positives …,” he said. “Even though we lost, we see improvement in this team and individually. Yes, our backs are against the wall, but that just makes us hungrier. We just want to get a win. And once we got that first taste of victory, I think we’ll be good.”
Calipari second-guessed himself for setting up a starvation diet of a schedule. The six straight losses have come against five teams from a Power Five conference plus Richmond, which has been ranked or received votes regularly in The Associated Press top 25 poll.
“You’ve got to play games you can win to build confidence …,” Calipari said. “And this was the stupidest schedule I ever put together. And I’d like to smack myself in the mouth.
“We should have played games up front that we had a chance to win, four or five of them. Not (six straight) hard games. And we still have Texas left.”
Calipari asked “true fans” to continue believing.
“Everybody says it’s over,” he said. “OK. I don’t believe it’s over.”
Next games
Kentucky at Mississippi State: 6 p.m. Saturday (SEC Network)
Louisville at Boston College: Noon Saturday
