Three takeaways from Kentucky basketball’s overtime win at Texas Tech
Three takeaways from Kentucky basketball’s 76-74 overtime win at Texas Tech on Saturday:
1. These Wildcats can now be called Road Warriors
Bring it on, baby. White Out! Black Out! Free tickets! Free T-shirts! Free hats! Or in the case of Texas Tech: Free beer! “That’s a first for us,” cracked UK Coach John Calipari after the game on Saturday. Doesn’t matter. It might have been the first time in more than 50 years that Kentucky had come to Lubbock to play Texas Tech in basketball, thus the fuss, but for the Wildcats it’s old news.
Sure, Calipari’s Cats stumbled a couple of weeks ago, blowing a 14-point lead against an inferior South Carolina team to take an L in Columbia. But what the Cats learned against the Gamecocks they put into practice last week in Fayetteville when they fought through the decibels and defeated the rising Razorbacks 73-66. And one Saturday later, they did the same thing against the rowdy Red Raiders.
“This was a terrific win for us,” Calipari said afterward.
It wasn’t always pretty. There were shades of South Carolina when UK let a 10-point lead in the second half turn into a 64-64 tie at the end of regulation, mainly on the basis of Kentucky failing to score a single field goal in the final 6:13. There were too many careless turnovers, rushed shots and — give credit to the home team — good defensive plays by Chris Beard’s well-coached team to escape with a win over 40 minutes.
But, as Beard said in his postgame press conference, Kentucky was the more aggressive team in overtime. The Cats got to the foul line, where Nick Richards was money. Nick Sestina, coming off a season-low six minutes against Georgia on Tuesday night, hit a key three with 3:18 left. And the Cats were able to leave Lubbock with a good win — UK was a four-point underdog — over a good team in a unique environment.
“There are a lot of happy guys in our locker room,” Calipari said.
2. More of the Nick and Quick Show
You can make a strong case that Richards, UK’s 7-foot junior, was the difference in the game. He scored 25 points, grabbed 14 rebounds and blocked four shots. He also did not commit a turnover in 39 minutes of play. And, best of all, he made his final seven free throws, all seven in crucial spots.
Then there was Quickley, the sophomore guard, who scored 21 points, grabbed six rebounds, drilled four three-pointers and made key contributions on a night when teammates Ashton Hagans and Tyrese Maxey struggled. Especially Maxey, who was 2-for-10 from the floor and committed five turnovers.
“They’ve got experienced guys,” Beard said. “They only start one freshman (Maxey) and he didn’t have a particularly good night. But they’ve got guys who have been through it before.”
Richards made seven of 10 shots and was 11 of 14 foul line. He took advantage of his size against the smaller Red Raiders to grab key rebounds, none more key than his rebound of Terrence Shannon’s miss with under 20 seconds left in overtime. Fouled on the play, Richards walked to the other end and sank two free throws.
As was pointed out in the postgame press conference, the play of Kentucky’s veterans happened just one day after freshman Kahlil Whitney announced he was leaving the program, presumably over a lack of playing time. Calipari said he wished the freshman well and told him Friday to “make it” no matter what he does.
And as Beard said Saturday, “Everyone runs their own race.”
3. Back to SEC play with an eye to March
No sooner had the Cats claimed the win, Richards began talking in the postgame press conference about UK’s game next Saturday at Auburn. True, the Cats play host to Vanderbilt on Wednesday, but when Richards was asked about how Texas Tech compared to other road venues in which Kentucky plays, Richards began talking about how much fun it is to play at Auburn. “The crowd,” he answered when asked why.
Texas Tech’s crowd was great. Calipari called it one of the classiest he had been around. He said he took his team by the students’ tents lined up outside United Supermarkets Arena on Friday night. And for Kentucky to get the win against an 18th-ranked team, one that played for the national championship last year, on its home floor, surely helps Kentucky’s résumé for March.
There will be more chances for accomplishments that will catch the eye of the tournament committee. Home-and-home with Florida. Home-and-home with Auburn. A road game at LSU. A home-and-home with Tennessee, always a tough place for Kentucky to play.
And Texas Tech is not as strong as it was a year ago, but the Red Raiders are still pretty good with a pretty darn good coach. This win in this place against this team should mean something when it comes to March.
