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John Calipari always emphasizes that he does not listen to the “clutter” and advises his players to do the same, especially when things are not going well for the Cats.
But that “clutter” may have had a big role in Kentucky’s 70-59 upset win at Auburn Saturday night.
Kentucky had lost three straight games at Rupp Arena for the first time before beating Ole Miss Tuesday. It also lost earlier at home this season to UNC-Wilmington.
“We knew people were going to doubt us going into the game but it’s only us on the court. We came out with a dub (win),” said UK sophomore Adou Thiero after his 14-point, eight-rebound performance in 31 minutes of play.
“Nobody believed that we were going to win the game,” sophomore center Ugonna Onyenso said after getting 11 rebounds, seven points, and two blocks. “Nobody really believed in us. So we came into the game with nothing to lose.
“That was the mindset we came into the game with. And we told ourselves that if we really want this, we can get it. It all depends on ourselves.”
Kentucky did what no other team has done this season to win at Auburn. The Tigers had trailed only 18 minutes in six previous SEC home games but never had a lead against Kentucky because the Cats had an intensity and focus on defense they had lacked all season.
Thiero said the Kentucky coaching staff showed the players “what people were saying” about the team on social media
“People were doubting us and disrespecting us,” Thiero said. “We are competitive. We didn’t take that lightly.”
Good. That shows the players care and if fan/media criticism helped inspire a more passionate defensive performance then so be it because the win over Auburn clearly puts UK back in the national title conversation.
A few hours before UK stunned Auburn the Tigers were projected as a No. 4 seed — and 13th ranked team — in the NCAA Tournament by the Division I men’s basketball committee.
“The metrics indicate Auburn would be a dangerous No. 4 seed. The Tigers rank among the top 10 nationally in offensive and defensive efficiency, as well as the predictive models,” the NCAA release about the Bracket Preview Show on CBS stated.
So if Auburn is potentially “dangerous” at tournament time then what does that say about Kentucky after its impressive road win over Auburn? It says UK at its best is plenty dangerous and maybe it took fans pointing out flaws they saw in the team to hit home with the players and inspire the type of effort UK had at Auburn.
13 Responses
Stay positive, stay positive is the motto for this team
Being doubted can be motivating. I am glad to do my part in urging on this team.
It can also add too much pressure. That is why they are losing at Rupp
That is not why they lost in Rupp
This kentucky team seems to play better when they are desperate for a win. It seems like every time we climb the rankings we start getting more cocky and don’t play as hard. Hopefully we can get on a roll down the stretch.
That’s because our coach loses focus so the players lose focus.
I doubt Cal and will continue to doubt Cal.
Sounds like we have a whole team of Mike Phillips’.
I don’t remember the game, but years ago some team made Phillips mad and he just destroyed them the rest of the game. Joe B. said something about needing to start making Phillips mad before every game.
If that’s what it takes, then so be it!!
Hope they have the desire to continue to improve on defense. If they do, they will truly be a contender in March.
You lost three winnable games in a row at Rupp. I’ll not get sucked in but I have my hopes.
Coaching young kids for one season is tough, no matter the talent. If Cal won back to back championships and then skipped out in the sweet 16, doubters would bitch. Just their nature.
That’s not a worry with Calipari. He only won 1 national title and will never win another one.
I love that they went down to the Plains of Alabama and beat an unbeatable team at their home. It seems they get to playing like a championship winning team and they forget about defense again. Hopefully Cal can keep them focused on the defensive end.
Every team has high points and low points during a season. UK had one of its highs yesterday, but Auburn had one of its lows.
That is the nature of game-to-game variations, and single games do not alter the overall situation for either team.
UK remains a Round 2 type team while Auburn remains an Elite 8 type of team.
Whatever motivated the players yesterday is good for the players, and hopefully, they will maintain the defensive intensity they showed yesterday for the rest of the season.
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