John Calipari on how game changed towards end of first half
All things considered, John Calipari was pleased with how Kentucky finished the first half against Auburn, and it’s easy to see why.
Kentucky lost a huge contributor a mere few minutes into the contest, putting a dent in Calipari’s gameplan, as TyTy Washington went down with an apparent ankle injury.
Washington, who is averaging 14.2 points, 4.2 rebounds and 4.6 assists in his freshman season at Kentucky — all while maintaining a 50.5 field-goal percentage — played just nine minutes in Saturday’s 80-71 loss, scoring four points on 2-of-4 shooting before the Wildcats were dealt a tough hand. Washington appeared to land awkwardly on Oscar Tshiebwe’s foot, forcing his ankle to twist uncomfortably, and needed the help of two trainers to walk off the court. He entered the locker room shortly thereafter and was declared out for the rest of the game. Despite his injury, Kentucky took to the locker room for halftime with a four-point lead — and for that, Calipari was pleased.
“I love how we started the game,” Calipari said. “We were the aggressor. We were the team who was running really good stuff. Hated the end of the half. Hated it. We were in good shape.”
Calipari is certainly right about that. The Wildcats led by double digits over No. 2 Auburn at one point in the first half; their lead didn’t squander until the second half, when Kentucky’s defense allowed 51 second-half points to Auburn en route to a loss.
Oscar Tshiebwe: Not having TyTy Washington was ‘big thing’ for Kentucky
Kentucky forward Oscar Tshiebwe knows that the Wildcats were playing at a disadvantage in Saturday’s loss at Auburn, given a first-half injury that sidelined TyTy Washington for the rest of the contest.
“Missing TyTy was a big, big thing for us,” Tshiebwe said. “I think that really hurt us a little bit. I think we had a chance to still win the game even without him. We just gave up some easy buckets.”
Kentucky certainly had a chance to win the game without Washington; the Wildcats closed out the first half nicely, entering the locker room at halftime with a four-point lead, despite Washington not appearing in the entire latter half of the half. Tshiebwe finished with 16 points on 7-of-12 shooting, adding 14 rebounds, two steals and four blocks to his total — but he was far from satisfied with Auburn’s nine-point victory.
In fact, Tshiebwe wants another shot at Auburn, which will most likely find itself in the No. 1 spot of the next AP Poll on Monday. Why?
“Because I don’t think they’re better than us,” he said. “I think we’re going to beat them. I want to play them again.”