By LARRY VAUGHT
Kentucky’s Kenny Brooks has already set the school record for Southeastern Conference wins by a head coach in their first season but the Cats and Brooks want a lot more going into today’s game with No. 7 LSU at 4 p.m. in Memorial Coliseum.
Kentucky (21-4, 10-3 SEC) will host No. 15 Tennessee on Thursday and then play at No. 6 South Carolina a week from today to end its season.
LSU (26-2, 11-2 SEC) has been one of the nation’s best teams in recent years and has another strong team
“We feel like we’ve got a great LSU team coming into Memorial,” Brooks said after UK won at Missouri last week. “And we feel like we’ve got a great basketball team, as well.
‘And yeah, I like my chances when we get to play at home, just like anybody in the SEC. Some people will look at that situation as a gauntlet, but we’re looking at it as an opportunity. We’re going to go out, we’re going to play.
“If you want to be the best, you’ve got to beat the best. And this is a great opportunity for us to play in front of a sold-out crowd.”
Texas and South Carolina lead the SEC with 12-1 marks followed by LSU at 11-2. Kentucky is 10-3 and Alabama, Oklahoma, and Ole Miss are all 8-5.
The top four teams get a double bye in the SEC Tournament. If UK ends the season tied with Oklahoma or Alabama, it wins the tiebreaker because they beat them both. If it is tied with Ole Miss, the tiebreaker would go to Ole Miss because of its win over UK.
Alabama has games left with Auburn, LSU, and Oklahoma. Ole Miss still has to play South Carolina, LSU and Missouri. Oklahoma has games left with Alabama, Florida, and Arkansas.
Sa’Myah Smith and Jersey Wolfenbarger both had double-doubles for LSU in its 79-63 win over Georgia Thursday night. Smith had 11 points and 12 rebounds while Wolfenbarger finished with 16 points and 12 rebounds. Flau’Jae Johnson led the Tigers with 28 points, her 37th straight game scoring in double figures, and had three steals. Mikaylah Williams scored 12 points and also had five assists and four rebounds. Kaylin Gilbert also scored in double figures with 15 points
If that is not a potent enough lineup, Aneesah Morrow missed the win over Georgia — her first missed game after playing in 130 straight games. She is expected to be back for today’s game at No. 14 Kentucky.
Kentucky is led by All-American point guard Georgia Amoore, a Virginia Tech transfer. This will be UK’s “Senior Day” game for her and starting guard Dazia Lawrence.
Kentucky will need a huge game from sophomore Clara Strack against the Tigers. She had her 12th double-double of the season — 22 points, 12 rebounds, two blocks — at Missouri in what Brooks thought was just an “OK” game for her.
“I work with her every day,” Brooks said. “We watch film every day, and I know what she’s capable of doing. So I know some of the plays that she probably wishes that she had back, and that is just the expectation is very high.
“I had a great center (Liz Kitley) at Virginia Tech, and it was the same way. Sometimes you had to pinch yourself because she would come out and she would get 25 and 12, and you’d be like, ‘Oh, it’s a ho-hum 25 and 12.’ Clara Strack has a ho-hum 22 and 12, and I know she can be better.
“She knows she can be better, and that’s what we’ll continue to push her to. And that’s how you become great.”
Strack has scored at least 20 points in six games and has had 13 double-digit rebounding games. Strack is also just three blocks away from breaking the UK single-season record of 66.
“I’m very proud of her and what she did on both ends of the floor,” Brooks said. “She caught a couple of cheap shots to the neck area early (at Missouri), but she didn’t back down, and she did a really good job.”
Even with Strack grabbing 12 rebounds, Missouri still out-rebounded UK and dominated on the offensive boards just as Ole Miss and Texas had done the two previous games when they beat Kentucky.
“We can’t just rely on two people (Strack and Teonni Key) to rebound the basketball,” Brooks said after the Missouri win. “We have to almost, like, you know, the expression is ‘gang rebound,’ and so everybody’s gotta be a part of it.”
