Kentucky basketball’s 1-4 start is not a ‘natural disaster,’ but it’s close
This was John Calipari after his team’s 64-63 loss to Notre Dame on Saturday in Rupp Arena:
“Losing games in a row here is like a natural disaster,” the Kentucky basketball coach said. “And you know what? I’m not buying it, I don’t listen to it, I never have. Whether we’re winning games or losing games, my focus is on how do I help these guys get better.”
I would quibble with that slightly.
Kentucky’s 1-4 start is more like a man-made disaster.
Truth be told, even Kentucky basketball has lost four games in a row before. Such a streak reared its head most recently in February of 2018. Missouri, Tennessee, Texas A&M and Auburn all topped the Cats. By March, however, Calipari had pulled his team out of the ditch and put it back on the road toward an SEC Tournament title and an NCAA Sweet 16 berth.
And, yes, Kentucky has started 1-4 before. It has been awhile. You have to flip the record book back to 1984-85, Joe B. Hall’s last year as the Wildcats’ coach before his retirement. That team had Kenny Walker. It, too, reached the Sweet 16 before running into Chris Mullin, Walter Berry and St. John’s.
But this is 2020-21. Different game. Different world. Much, much different year. And Kentucky’s approach is much different, with Calipari relying even more heavily on freshmen and newcomers, betting on raw talent over seasoned veterans. Most years that has worked. This year, well, the Cats are 1-4. As Bill Parcells so famously said, you are what your record says you are.
Saturday’s first half was a natural disaster. Notre Dame drained four straight three-pointers on four straight possessions during one sequence. With 9:10 left in the half, the team picked to finish 12th in the ACC led the team ranked 10th in the AP’s preseason Top 25 by 33-9 on Kentucky’s home floor.
Georgia Tech’s 48-26 lead at the break was the largest halftime lead by an opponent on Kentucky’s home floor in the history of the program, the largest anywhere since Feb. 16, 2013, when Tennessee led UK 50-26 at half in Knoxville — one game after Nerlens Noel tore his ACL at Florida.
Second half, backs to the wall, or having been embarrassed, or having hit the “rock bottom” Calipari mentioned a couple of weeks back, Kentucky rallied. It showed spirit. It showed fight. It even made three-pointers, going 4-for-10 the final 20 minutes after missing 12 of 13 attempted threes in the first half.
It might have found a point guard, not in Saturday starter Davion Mintz or freshman backup Devin Askew but in freshman wing Terrence Clarke. In the postgame Zoom conference with the media, Calipari repeatedly said he liked Clarke at the point.
Still, it was too little, too late. Notre Dame went 13 possessions, covering nearly nine and a half minutes without a point in the second half, allowing Kentucky to cut a 53-33 deficit to 53-49. But in one stretch, the Cats went four straight possessions without scoring themselves.
Bottom line: They made just enough mistakes to lose. And Saturday’s second half is no guarantee the switch has been flipped and all is now right in Big Blue Nation’s world. Young teams tend to be erratic teams.
And, sorry, I’m not completely buying Cal’s talk about not buying into losing streaks. That’s what you say when you’re in the midst of a losing streak. Yes, he wants to improve, but Calipari wants to win. Every game.
Here’s the thing: Kentucky has plenty of teams left on its schedule better than Notre Dame. Some are much better. Many of those games will be played on the road, and while a lack of fans might lessen the home-court advantage this season, you’d still rather be playing at home. And this is a Kentucky team that has dug itself quite the early hole.
Breaking news: Analytics guru Ken Pomeroy now projects Kentucky to finish 12-14.
Saturday, the Cats almost dug themselves all the way out of that 24-point hole. Almost. Now as far as the season is concerned, can they pull themselves all the way out?
Even Calipari admitted, “We’ve got to win some games.”
