Kentucky reacts to NCAA bracket, plus a look at UK’s first-round opponent
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Selection Sunday: Both UK teams headed to Indiana for NCAA Tournament
Click below for more of the Herald-Leader’s and Kentucky.com’s coverage of Selection Sunday.
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There’s an ironic twist to Kentucky’s reaction to Selection Sunday’s announcement of seeding and bracketing for the 2022 NCAA Tournament.
Although an unusually experienced team by standards set in the one-and-done time with John Calipari as coach, Kentucky does not have an abundance of NCAA Tournament action. Of course, UK did not get a bid last year and the coronavirus canceled March Madness in 2020.
Kellan Grady spoke of the loss to Tennessee on Saturday in the Southeastern Conference Tournament semifinals throwing the Cats further off kilter.
“We understand adversity is going to hit,” he said. “We’ve got to understand that we need to respond in a positive way when adversity hits. Stay together. Stay mellow. And stay connected, and be ready for the moment.”
That did not happen against Tennessee, which Grady expressed in an attention-catching way.
“We weren’t playing for each other …,” he said.
In responding to a follow-up question, Grady said this disconnection extended to UK’s defense.
“We weren’t as connected as we were in the past,” he said. “Like on the defensive end people — me included — were out of rotation. …
“I think that was the main reason why we didn’t win the game.”
Calipari spoke of lessons learned in the loss against Tennessee that can benefit Kentucky in the NCAA Tournament. UK opens play in Indianapolis on Thursday night against Saint Peter’s, which finished second in the Metro Atlantic Athletic Conference behind Rick Pitino-coached Iona. In 6-foot-7 forward KC Ndefo, the Peacocks have the MAAC’s Defensive Player of the Year.
If Kentucky beats Saint Peter’s, a second-round game against Murray State looms as a possibility. Murray State plays San Francisco in the first round.
Calipari spoke of that as a teaching tool.
“I’m trying to keep them focused on the little pod …,” he said. “You don’t really need to worry about San Francisco or Murray because we don’t know who’s winning that game.”
Another lesson he mentioned was players seeking a consistent level of play unaffected by the successes and setbacks associated with basketball, which is often referred to as a game of runs.
“My hope is we’ve been teaching them to be a machine,” the UK coach said. “So that you’re never up or down. You just keep playing.”
Perhaps to ease the burden of responsibility players might feel for the loss to Tennessee, Calipari said he might deserve the biggest part of the blame for the defeat. That was deciding not to have the team do the customary shoot-around earlier in the day.
An unspecified “bad time” at the arena originally had Calipari deciding to conduct the shoot-around at a nearby gym. Then he wondered if maybe the players should follow the routine of a shoot-around.
His staff asked what his gut feeling was, Calipari said. It was to do the shoot-around, but he then decided not to.
“Mistake,” Calipari said. “Did that lead to how we played? … We will not know.”
The UK coach said he would meet with players individually Monday. He had an agenda in mind: player roles.
“I want guys to be stars at their roles,” he said. “Stars for what they’ve got to do for the team.”
Breakdowns late in the game suggested deviation from roles, he seemed to suggest.
One player, whom he did not identify, let missing shots affect his confidence.
“Missed two shots and wouldn’t shoot the ball,” Calipari said. “He had been playing great. He missed two shots and he was done.”
The lack of confidence on offense adversely affected UK’s defense as reflected in Tennessee getting two clutch baskets off backdoor cuts to stifle a late Kentucky rally.
“Those two backdoors were, like, back-breakers,” Calipari said. “Why did they happen? Why did you stop playing? You were probably still thinking of how you were playing offensively.”
Calipari and the players made available for a video teleconference spoke of the loss to Tennessee as a chance to reassess and regroup moving forward.
“Thankfully we’ve got time,” Grady said. “Try to avoid the distraction of looking ahead. We have the luxury to have time to reset.”
While NCAA Tournament play is relatively new, Jacob Toppin reminded listeners that Kentucky players had a wealth of experiences this season.
“I feel we’ve seen everything,” he said. “We’ve been through every scenario. So, we just need to lock in on the things we need to fix.”
Calipari spoke of how he’d like to see this Kentucky team reemerge.
“You’ve got to have a little swagger going into this thing having that Kentucky uniform on,” he said. “OK. Let’s go.
“But the swagger is what’s in the uniform.”
Kentucky’s tournament opener
No. 2 seed Kentucky vs. No. 15 seed Saint Peter’s
What: NCAA Tournament East Regional
When: 7:10 p.m. Thursday
Where: Gainbridge Fieldhouse in Indianapolis
TV: CBS-27
Records: Kentucky 26-7, Saint Peter’s 19-11
ABOUT SAINT PETER’S
Location: Jersey City, N.J.
Enrollment: 3,197
Nickname: Peacocks
School colors: Blue and White
Head coach: Shaheen Holloway (61-53 in four seasons at Saint Peter’s and overall)
Conference: Metro Atlantic Athletic
NCAA berth: Automatic (Saint Peter’s defeated Monmouth 60-54 in the MAAC Tournament championship game. The Peacocks finished second in the conference in the regular season behind Rick Pitino’s Iona squad.)
All-time series: First meeting with Kentucky
Common opponents with Kentucky this season: None
Other notable games this season: The only other team in the NCAA field that Saint Peter’s played this season was Providence, an 85-71 defeat on Nov. 27 at Providence.
This story was originally published March 13, 2022 at 9:25 PM.
