Three takeaways from Kentucky basketball’s wild win at Arkansas
Three takeaways from Kentucky basketball’s 73-66 win at Arkansas on Saturday:
1. So did John Calipari get thrown out on purpose?
I’m betting no. But I’m also betting that the Kentucky coach didn’t mind getting tossed when he picked up two quick technical fouls and was shown the way back to the UK locker room with 8:19 remaining at the thunder dome — especially when Cal was getting the old heave-ho — that was Bud Walton Arena.
The reason I don’t think Cal was thrown out on purpose was because he had a legitimate beef. To that point, the foul differential had been decidedly lopsided in both halves. To start the second half, Kentucky was called for seven fouls before Arkansas was whistled for its first foul. Cal had been carrying on a dialogue with officials Anthony Jordan, Patrick Evans and Brian Shey. When EJ Montgomery was called for a foul on the offensive end, Cal had quite frankly had enough.
So I think when an enraged Calipari complained to the officials, I think there was a point when he said to himself, “Oh, what the heck, just keep going.” And so he did, in the interest in his team, and there was no turning back. If Calipari didn’t know what he was doing when the argument started, I think he knew by the time it ended.
The game was tied at 44 at the time. After Arkansas’ Mason Jones made three of the four technical foul free throws, the Razorbacks led 47-44. After that, however, Kentucky went on a 17-2 run for a 61-49 lead with 2:40 left and basically won the game. Struggling to score up to that point, the Cats scored on nine of 11 possessions.
So did Calipari’s ejection spark the Cats? Possibly. But what it really did was put the pressure on Arkansas. The Razorbacks were making their run. Bud Walton was going nuts. The opposing coach had been tossed. It was all set up for Arkansas to finish the deal. Alas, Eric Musselman’s team couldn’t pull it off. The home team went nine straight possessions without scoring. All set up to win the game, Arkansas ended up losing.
2. Kentucky’s zone defense was a game-changer
It’s a known fact Calipari is not a fan of the zone defense. The reason we know this is because Calipari has told us. He has joked that assistant coach Tony Barbee keeps lobbying for the Cats to play more zone, and Calipari keeps resisting. When Cal does relent, and the other team scores over the UK zone, the head coach is quick to go back to the man-to-man defense he prefers.
But the Cats were in a second-half pickle Saturday. Point guard Ashton Hagans had four fouls. The smaller Razorbacks were continually able to drive the ball to the basket, much like South Carolina did during the second half of the Gamecocks’ 81-78 win over Kentucky on Wednesday night in Columbia. Something had to give.
So, with Calipari back in the locker room, Barbee and associate head coach Kenny Payne decided to go to the zone. Not a true zone defense. As center Nick Richards explained it, the defense was almost a box-and-one, with four defenders covering an area and the fifth UK defender tracking a particular Razorback.
How much had Kentucky even practiced this zone defense? “I think we did a little bit yesterday,” said guard Tyrese Maxey after the game on Saturday.
No matter. It worked to perfection. As mentioned, Arkansas went nine possessions without a point during that key stretch from the 6:53 mark all the way until there was just 2:28 left and Kentucky had taken a 61-49 lead.
“I don’t think he’s anti-zone,” said Payne afterward of Calipari. “Basically our hands were tied. One of our best players, our leader, Ashton Hagans, had four fouls. How do we keep him in the game? If we stay man, they’re going to drive him and he could get a foul and he’s out. If we go zone, he’s guarding an area. So that’s what we decided to do, which really helped us.”
3. Kentucky gets a road split in unexpected fashion
You knew this was going to be a tough week for the Cats. Two conference games on the road. South Carolina has been a house of horrors for the Cats in the Calipari era. When Cal got tossed Saturday, the Arkansas writers were quick to ask if the coach had been thrown out before at Kentucky. Oh yeah, South Carolina. Twice. First in 2014, then in 2016. After the trip to Columbia, UK was slated for Fayetteville, where Calipari was just 2-3 as the Kentucky coach. And under Musselman, the Razorbacks were 14-2.
Still, you would have thought that South Carolina would be the easier of the two. The Gamecocks were struggling, having lost three in a row, including a home game to Stetson. And Kentucky had a 14-point lead over the home team in the second half before the trap door opened and down, down Kentucky went. South Carolina banked in a three-pointer at the buzzer to win 81-78 and suddenly Kentucky felt its back against the wall.
Meanwhile, Arkansas couldn’t wait for the Wildcats to come to a sold-out Bud Walton. After doing a stellar job at Nevada, Musselman has revitalized the Razorbacks in his first year. He’s squeezed the most out of a smallish team, carrying a 3-1 conference record into Saturday. Arkansas sported new uniforms. The place was loud. And jumping.
And Kentucky stood up to the test. The Cats overcame the environment, the foul trouble, the unique way Arkansas plays with a four-guard lineup, the head coach getting tossed, all of that to win a key league road game. Kentucky is now 13-4 overall, 4-1 in the SEC. Better still, after the slip-up at South Carolina, it probably also proved something to itself Saturday.
“As I’ve been saying before,” said center Nick Richards “this team has a will to win.”
This story was originally published January 18, 2020 at 8:19 PM.
