Oscar Tshiebwe says he is ready to fight for the win at Kansas. (Vicky Graff Photo)
Maybe in an odd way, having to go to overtime to beat Mississippi State 82-74 Tuesday night was the perfect tune-up game for Kentucky before playing at No. 5 Kansas on Saturday night.
“Look, we’re going to Kansas, and they have been in a bunch of close games. We had to be in this kind of game to understand how we finish it off,” Kentucky coach John Calipari said after the win.
Kellan Grady, the overtime star Tuesday with eight points, agreed with his coach.
“It was good for us to get a game like this and prove that we’re equipped to make the right plays, get imperative stops down the stretch, and close out the win,” Grady said after beating Mississippi State.
“So, you have to take the good with the bad tonight, and I’m really proud of our team.”
Oscar Tshiebwe, UK’s double-double machine, broke the news after the Mississippi State win that he was “pretty sure” injured guard TyTy Washington, UK’s leading scorer, would be ready to play at Kansas.
Tshiebwe already seemed confident of what it would take for UK to pull off the upset win, too. Kentucky gave up 51 second-half points in a loss at No. 1 Auburn and then gave up 48 points in the second half at Mississippi State to blow a 16-point lead.
Tshiebwe knows the defense has to get fixed.
“We get loose out there, we get lost out there. Because there’s a lot of pressure, and if you don’t know how to take your pressure, he’s going to be tough for you to get it to be in a game like that,” Tshiebwe said.
“That’s why Coach was trying to calm everybody down and see if we were good. We were good.
“I think Kansas is going to be a great matchup for us. We’re going to go play and go fight. If you’re not really willing to go die and fight for your life and fight for these people, you’re never going to get anything in your life. You’ve just got to fight for everything.”
7 Responses
We don’t have anyone who can guard a straight line drive to the basket. Ty is the only one who can and will make a post pass, but he is showing durability issues. We have one guy, Dontaie, who could really help this team at tourney time, but he is not one of Calipari’s pets. The way teams keep double and triple teaming Oscar, it’s only a matter of time before he comes down on someone’s foot and rolls an ankle or worse. Louisville got rid of Coach Mack in very short order. There must have been more issues than not winning games there. I am beginning to see this team unravel. How many double digit loss seasons will we have to endure before our regents do the same?
Dontae Allen is a good guy, good player. But you say he’s not one pf Calipari’s pets, insinuating Calipari is purposely choosing to hurt the team by playing the wrong players. You are a fool if you think Coach is purposely hurting the team.
Explain please what he would gain by purposely hurting his team by playing his "pets".
Why are you so obsessed with Dontae?
Lance Ware has played less minutes than Dontae. Why aren’t you whining about him?
So again, why are you so obsessed with Dontae?
You sound like one of those parents I use to hear, whimpering because their 10 year old child didn’t get enough playing time.
Try this. Set down, shut the F up, quit your armchair coaching and try to enjoy UK basketball like the rest of us.
You are a nobody. We don’t care what a nobody thinks about our professional coach.
Only a FOOL would say Calipari doesn’t have pets. Can you say Andrew Harrison? Calipari’s love affair for him cost us another national title…just ask anyone in BBN. Can you say Brandon Boston? He single handedly wrecked our season last year, but Calipari kept playing him at the expense of the team….again ask anyone in BBN. It’s the Calipari lovers like you that has allowed this flim flam man to drive our program into a ditch. Idiots like you are so afraid we will get another Billy Clyde that you will cling to Calipari forever. It’s too bad the UK regents don’t have the stones that Louisville does or Calipari would already be gone. Any coach who puts players first vs. his obligation to his employer is evidence enough that he always has and always intended to put the NBA interests of his pets ahead of winning games for the University of Kentucky…again, ask anyone in BBN you dumbass.
Dontaie has not shown the ability to guard consistently, or make shots consistently hes not everything some people thinks he is, I wish he was but truth is truth.
Whodat you thinking to negative, this team is the best we had since the Monk and Fox team. Yeah there’s some issues that needs to be straighten out but there’s plenty time of corrected those and once get everybody healthy i think it will cure some of our problems. GO cats!!
Only a fool wouldn’t know every teacher coach etc has favorite,but our coach brought back the Kentucky allure,the fear of playing us, everyone super bowl,….do I agree with everything coach does,no I’m a fan but I’ll take him over anybody until he retires then the next
Most Of the above comments are a waste of breath and accomplish nothing to help the team , and cause strife .