Uninspired No. 4 Kentucky Receives 88-72 Beatdown From No. 2 Gonzaga in Spokane
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Tennessee laid the blueprint to defeating No. 2 Gonzaga during an exhibition in late October. Texas showed that blueprint off on a national scale just four days ago in Austin.
No. 4 Kentucky must've either lost that blueprint, thrown it away or never saw it in the first place, because the Wildcats approached its 88-72 loss to the Bulldogs in all the wrong ways.
Gonzaga (3-1) turned the ball over 18 times on Sunday, but a horrifically slow start from the Wildcats plagued any chance of victory on the road.
"We missed every shot. So you can say what you want. We missed every shot," UK head coach John Calipari said after the loss. "You don't have to make them all. You just can't miss them all, and expect to be in the game with a good team."
Kentucky (3-2) shot 39 percent from the floor, including a poor 6-25 effort from 3-point range. Sharpshooters CJ Fredrick and Antonio Reeves were held in check by the Zags' defense, as the pair shot a combined 5-22, with just one of the buckets coming from Fredrick. He canned just one of six attempts from deep in the loss.
Oscar Tshiebwe led the way with 20 points and 15 rebounds, while a sound second half from Jacob Toppin propelled the senior to a 16-point night.
Three Bulldogs eclipsed 20 points, lead by 24 from guard Rasir Bolton, who landed eight shots, including four 3-pointers. Superstar forward Drew Timme put 22 points, seven rebounds and three assists while Julian Strawther added a 20-point, 14-board double-double.
Gonzaga built a 16-point lead heading into halftime thanks to an 8-0 run to open the game, as well as a 9-0 run later in the period. The Cats never found a groove offensively early on, as they shot 8-32 (25 percent) in the first 20 minutes, failing to make a 3-pointer (0-8) along the way.
"Offensively in the first half it was so embarrassing that we couldn't even run a play. Couldn't run a play. Not one. And it wasn't just Oscar. It was our guards too," Calipari said.
There was some hope in the second half, as three-balls from Cason Wallace, who finished with 14 points and four steals, as well as Reeves cut the Zags' lead all the way down to four with just over 10 minutes to go in the game.
The Bulldogs stayed the course down the stretch, eventually building the lead back to double-digits, dodging one final run from the Wildcats, thanks in-part to dominance on the glass. GU out-rebounded Kentucky 39-29, one of many statistics that show how the Zags out-worked Calipari's team in front of a home crowd in Spokane Arena.
"I don't want to speak for any guys but ... in some moments guys can't step up ... me included," Toppin said. "I didn't make shots in the first half at all, I didn't rebound, I got to be better, my teammates got to be better, we all got to be better. You can say what you want, but at the end of the day we're going to put this on ourselves."
The loss is the second disappointing performance this week for Kentucky, as it was looking to bounce back from a tough double-overtime loss to Michigan State in the Champions Classic on Tuesday.
Instead, a bland effort led to a long, bruising defeat that saw Gonzaga lead for over 39 minutes of game time.
"Give Gonzaga credit," Calipari said. "Because when we came back in that environment, it was a great environment by the way, in that environment, we had a chance to win that game. And we let go of the rope and they finished us off. So you got to give them credit."
The 3-2 Wildcats will return to Lexington for a small break before getting back at it inside Rupp Arena this Wednesday, Nov. 23 where they'll take on North Florida. Tip-off is set for 4 p.m. EST and will air on the SEC Network.
Takeaways from the Gonzaga loss can be found here.
Watch: Calipari speaks post-game after the defeat.
Game Notes on the loss can be found here.
