Kentucky Leaves Kansas Loss Optimistic for Final Stretch of Regular Season
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LEXINGTON, Ky. — As losses began to pile on top of Kentucky, each defeat felt more damning than the next. Another season that began with hopes of hanging banners quickly puckered, as the Wildcats suffered through a gut-wrenching string of games that began to leave the gold standard on the fringe of the NCAA Tournament field.
Disappointment overflowed after South Carolina drained the energy out of Rupp Arena on Jan. 10. The decaying Cats appeared as hollow shells, simply mimicking the acts of a basketball team — one that, at the time, managed only a woeful 10-6 record.
That was, until a trip down to Knoxville as next on the docket. The then fifth-ranked Tennessee Volunteers awaited the writhing Wildcats like pallbearers, ready to carry Kentucky to it's future burial site — the NIT.
Down two players, the Cats were overcome by a storm of rejuvenation and grit. Along with the help of some timely missed layups from the orange undertakers, UK inched its way to a victory of cosmic proportions, kickstarting a four-game winning streak that saw a once-decrepit team sear its sights on the light that suddenly appeared at the top of the hole that it had dug itself during the first half of the regular season.
Hard-fought wins over Georgia and Texas A&M paved the way for a comfortable road smushing of Vanderbilt, setting the stage for the Wildcats to reassert themselves in the national spotlight against a ballyhooed foe, welcoming the Kansas Jayhawks to Lexington for the final go-round of the Big 12/SEC Challenge.
Thanks to the recent burst of enthusiasm on and off the court, Kentucky appeared to be the heavyweight champ its often proclaimed to be over the years. Kansas, however, entered an ear-piercing Rupp Arena looking to avoid a four-game losing streak, searching for the necessary muscle it carried just a couple of weeks ago.
The two winningest programs in the history of the sport went blow for blow. Kentucky landed the harder punches first, clinging to a tiny lead through the first two media timeouts — a welcomed change for a team that's had to come from behind due to slow starts all season long.
Kansas had become all-too familiar with the taste of defeat, however. All three of its consecutive losses came against ranked opponents in Big 12 play, so the challengers were well-regarded and worthy, at least more-so than the Wildcats, who turned out to be carrying fools-brawn on its shoulders.
The Jayhawks punched back, slowly learning Kentucky's movements in the ring, slipping the occasional strike, quickly firing back with an effective combination. As the rounds drew on, the black and blue eyes of KU didn't portray that of a beaten-down team, it instead portrayed a seasoned and well-zested group of veteran players that knew how to win a close fight.
Kentucky continued to fire its jabs like a piston, but Kansas was always quick to return with a straight of its own. Unfamiliar to the feeling, the Cats' punches slowly lost their steam, creating an opening for the Jayhawks to put its fellow blue-blood on the canvas.
KU's Gradey Dick, Jalen Wilson and Kevin McCullar Jr each buried a 3-pointer, serving as a flurry of uppercuts, with each one connecting more flush than the last. Kentucky had its chances to cement its position back in the mix of the college basketball landscape, but it instead saw stars as it watched Big Blue Nation file out of the building, still hankering for that season-turning victory.
Kentucky coach John Calipari told reporters after the 77-68 loss that his team was "crushed."
"They came in, and we fought. I mean, they are a Top-10 team and we're trying to re-establish who we are and I was hoping we could get this but you know what, kids fought and tried," he said.
"They deserved to win the game because they made three threes down the stretch. You've got to make those kind of plays, and they made them."
While another golden opportunity got away from UK, it wasn't due to a lack of effort this time. Many — if not all — of the problems that had faced the Cats throughout the season were related to a lack of toughness and fight. Saturday night was different.
The old Kentucky would've lied down and accepted defeat after Kansas answered the first few attempts at making a run in the second half. That version of Kentucky would've folded under the pressure.
This version of Kentucky had some of the answers, but not enough. Just four offensive rebounds and two made 3-pointers provided an inevitable downfall against a unit as tough as KU's.
The result, though, leaves a feeling that is far from that "sky is falling!" mentality that had clouded the program. The end goal is becoming clearer to see, even if it you still might have to squint to see it.
"Considering we could have still won the game, obviously it's not the end of the world," forward Jacob Toppin said. "We understand that we're still together. We're just going to, like I said before, watch film and get better."
"No, I don't think it changes at all," shooting guard Antonio Reeves said of the team's mentality moving forward. "It's just us getting back to the basics, really. Figuring out what we need to do on the floor next time. You know, it's a marathon. it's really just not one game. It's multiple games. So, you know, we just got to figure it out."
No talk of rock bottom. No heading back to the drawing board. Oscar Tshiebwe remained his normal glass half-full self, not the disappointed version who criticized his teammates after the aforementioned South Carolina loss.
"Kansas is a really good team," he said. "For us to come in and fight the way we fought, it just gives me more confidence. We just gotta go fight, get better and keep going."
Calipari and the UK program have never been in the business of moral victories. They would've never made it this far if they were. But sometimes you just have to tip your cap, take the positives from the game, wear the defeat on the chin and gear up for your next challenge.
"We never stopped playing. We fought the whole time, and we got a lot of games left. This is a marathon. We've got games and we've just got to keep getting better," Calipari explained postgame.
Kentucky isn't that legendary prize fighter just yet, but Saturday night's loss showcased that it can become a tough out, if it irons out the kinks over the final five weeks of the regular season.
More on Kentucky's loss to Kansas HERE.
Everything John Calipari said after the defeat can be found HERE.
WATCH: Tshiebwe, Reeves and Toppin talk KU defeat.
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