Kentucky Finds New Gear to Stop Losing Skid

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(Vicky Graff Photo)

Kentucky might have played for a while like it was stuck in the mud, but this time the Cats found a new gear when it counted most.

Kentucky fell behind 40-38 early in the second half and forced coach John Calipari to call a timeout just 36 seconds into the half. However, UK regrouped behind the play of P.J. Washington to beat Mississippi State 78-65 and remain in the hunt for a SEC championship.

Kentucky is now 15-5 overall and 5-3 in SEC play. Florida and Auburn each have just one league loss while Tennessee and Alabama are also both 5-3 now.

Washington had a career-high 22 points on 6-for-10 shooting from the field and 10-for-14 at the foul line. He also had six rebounds, three steals, two blocked shots and two assists. He had a steal and blocked shot in the final two minutes to help seal the win.

Kevin Knox had 19 points on 5-for-6 shooting from the field, including 4-for-4 from 3-point range. He had six rebounds, two steals and one assist to more than offset his four turnovers.

Shai Gilgeous-Alexander added 16 points, six assists and four rebounds as Washington, Knox and Gilgeous-Alexander combined for 57 of UK’s 78 points.

“Less than 10 minutes we were right there with them. When they played small it bothered us and Washington was able to take advantage of the matchup,” State coach Ben Howland said. “It’s disappointing. We had a golden opportunity we felt going into the last 10 minutes of the game.”

After trailing 52-49, UK closed the game on a 29-13 run over the final 12 1/2 minutes and finally came closer to finishing a game the way Calipari wanted.

“We made free throws. That makes a big difference,” Calipari said. “We ground it out, got the ball where we wanted and got layups.”

Kentucky also held its fourth straight opponent below 40 percent shooting from the field (26 of 67) and under 25 percent from 3-point range (5 of 29). Kentucky didn’t scorch the nets going 25 for 58 from the field and 5-for-14 from 3-point range. Kentucky was 23 of 30 at the foul line compared to 8 of 10 for Mississippi State.

“Their length is a problem. They do a really good job getting their hands up and playing to their strength — which is length — when they are playing in the zone. We had some good looks. Of the 24 misses, 10 to 12 were shots we liked but they just didn’t fall,” Howland said.

Calipari knows the defense was maybe not as good as the numbers indicated.

“We have to be better defensively man to man. If we want to be one of those teams advancing (in the NCAA), you have to guard man to man. Can’t say got to go zone, we can’t guard them,” Calipari said. “Most of our problems are we don’t talk. We have to be better defensively. We were against Florida. Today not so much.”

If the first half was not Knox’s best half of the season, it had to be close. He had 13 points on 4-for-5 shooting from the field, including 3-for-3 from 3-point range. He also had one rebound and one assist in 17 minutes.

He hit two 3-point shots early in the game and then actually banked one in from the wing. But it was two other plays that maybe lifted Knox’s play.

First, he was double teamed after Sacha Killeya-Jones set a pick for him. However, instead of looking to dribble, he saw Killeya-Jones rolling to the basket and got him the ball for a score.

Later Knox had a chance to take a 3-pointer. Instead, he faked, took two dribbles and pulled up to hit an open 15-foot jump instead of taking the contested 3-pointer.

That’s the kind of offensive play Knox can produce but has not always done this season. In the second half he went almost 12 minutes without getting a shot before making another 3-pointer.

“Kevin is getting better. Now he has to rebound and go get balls,” Calipari said.

He noted that State got more physical in the second half with Knox, one reason he didn’t have as many shots.

“We tried to get him the ball in the post a little bit. But in the flow of the game we didn’t run a lot for him the first half. In the flow of the game, that is when you score,” Calipari said.

* * *

Kentucky returns to action Saturday at 7 p.m. when it plays at No. 7 West Virginia.

(By Larry Vaught)

 

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