For Kentucky to win the SEC Tournament, these three things must happen
To tell you the truth, I might have as much chance appearing on “The Bachelor” as Kentucky has of winning this week’s SEC Men’s Basketball Tournament.
But in this unexpected season we have come to expect the unexpected. Still, for John Calipari’s Cats to pull off a Music City miracle and win four games in four days — “We just have to win one game four times,” the coach keeps saying — and earn a ticket to the NCAA Tournament, three things must happen:
1. Kentucky must make three-point shots
Sounds simple, doesn’t it. Shoot ball. Make shots. Win games. If only it were that easy. For much of the season, the Cats languished in the 300s out of 347 Division I schools when it came to the percentage of made three-point shots. An uptick at the end of the year pushed the percentage up to 33.2, rocketing the Cats to No. 205 in the rankings.
That arrow has to keep climbing. After all, the Cats’ best performances have come when they were throwing in threes. They were 6-for-13 in the 18-point win at Florida. They were 11-for-24 in the home win over Auburn; seven of 14 in the 15-point takedown of Tennessee in Knoxville; 13 of 27 in Saturday’s 92-64 smashing of South Carolina.
Though Alabama is the SEC regular-season champ, Arkansas is the conference’s hottest team with 11 straight league wins. Yet Kentucky came within a basket of snapping the Hogs’ streak, losing 81-80 to the Razorbacks at Rupp on Feb. 9. How did the Cats nearly pull off the upset? They went 14 of 26 from three, that’s how.
2. Isaiah Jackson must stay out of foul trouble
The 6-foot-10 freshman from Pontiac, Mich., has turned into the team’s most indispensable player. His averages of 8.6 points, 6.8 rebounds and 2.6 blocks per game are deceiving and then some. The high-energy Jackson has turned into an offensive threat at one end and a rim-protecting enforcer at the other.
Trouble is, his production has been limited by his bad habit of hacking. Nine of his 24 games Jackson has been called for four or more fouls. He’s fouled out of five games. In seven of those nine, he played 21 minutes or less. All four of his double-doubles this year came in games when he had three fouls or fewer.
Jackson’s latest double-double came Saturday when he scored 13 points and grabbed 10 rebounds, including four on the offensive end. He said he has locked himself in the video room to find a foul-avoidance formula. “I tried to play physical; the easy stuff I tried to let it go,” he said, hitting on something that needs to continue in Nashville.
3. Brandon Boston must have a terrific tournament
The Cats hope that Saturday was the start of something big for their highest-rated freshman coming into the season. Boston was the Cats’ leading scorer, going 7-for-13 from the floor, including 6-for-10 from beyond the three-point stripe on the way to a game-high 21 points.
Better still, Boston played with an ease he hasn’t always shown in what has been a tough rookie campaign. There has been the good BJ — 20 points against Richmond, 18 at Georgia and at home again LSU, a combined nine made three-pointers in back-to-back 17-point games against Arkansas and Auburn. And there has been the bad BJ — combined 13 points in two losses to Alabama, 2-for-11 at home against Tennessee, 1-for-9 in the loss at Ole Miss.
In Nashville, the Cats desperately need a very good BJ. This team has a tough time scoring points without a contribution from someone who has the tools to be its most productive offensive player. And we’ve seen in the past where highly-regarded Calipari recruits endured roller-coaster seasons only to shine under March’s bright lights.
“Let me tell you why I stick with him,” Calipari said Saturday. “Every day I look in that gym, whether it’s after practice or morning, he’s in there.”
The hope is the hard work pays off at just the right time.
Next game
No. 8 seed Kentucky vs. No. 9 seed Mississippi State
What: SEC Tournament second-round game
When: Noon Thursday
Where: Bridgestone Arena in Nashville
TV: SEC Network
Radio: WLAP-AM 630, WBUL-FM 98.1
Records: UK 9-15 (8-9 SEC); MSU 14-13 (8-10 SEC)
Series: UK leads 99-20
Last meeting: UK won 78-73 on Jan. 2 at Starkville, Miss.
This story was originally published March 7, 2021 at 11:56 AM with the headline "For Kentucky to win the SEC Tournament, these three things must happen."
