Cal Teams Excel In Showdown Games Late In Season

Tomorrow is what I like to call a “showdown game” in Knoxville between 2 of the best teams in the SEC, and probably the country. There are no storylines to break down or excuses to be made at this point in the season. Just 2 teams with high aspirations facing off. Everybody is healthy and we’ll see who brings it in Round 2 of this rivalry.

I come into the game fairly confident. Kentucky is certainly playing better than they did in February when the 2 teams battled at Rupp Arena. And the Cats showed, even then, they can score on this Vols team. Now UK will have to figure out how to defend significantly better tomorrow if they have any chance but I think they have shown flashes of positive defense in the last couple weeks.

Calipari also seems to have a better grasp on the rotation and how to play this team. Plus, these kinds of games are spots where UK has really played well during his tenure. In fact, UK has played a ranked opponent 12 times in the last 2 weeks of the season. A breakdown of results:

SHOWDOWN RESULTS

*Games against ranked opponents in the last 2 weeks of the season

2010: #19 Tennessee 74, #2 Kentucky 65 (Knoxville)
2011: #22 Kentucky 76, #13 Florida 68 (Lexington)
2011: #20 Kentucky 68, #21 Vanderbilt 66 (Lexington)
2012: #1 Kentucky 74, #16 Florida 59 (Gainesville)
2013: Kentucky 61, #11 Florida 57 (Lexington)
2014: #1 Florida 84, #25 Kentucky 65 (Gainesville)
2015: #1 Kentucky 84, #18 Arkansas 67 (Lexington)
2017: #11 Kentucky 76, #13 Florida 66 (Lexington)
2019: #7 Tennessee 71, #4 Kentucky 52 (Knoxville)
2020: #8 Kentucky 73, #15 Auburn 66 (Lexington)
2021: Kentucky 70, #19 Tennessee 55 (Knoxville)
2022: #18 Arkansas 75, #6 Kentucky 73 (Fayetteville)

UK is 8-4 against ranked opponents in the last 2 weeks of the season. That includes just a 2-4 record on the road though. A couple of those losses came in Knoxville during the 2010 and 2019 teams, both squads that still went to the Elite 8. So a win tomorrow is not something that UK needs to make a run in the tournament. But I would be very shocked, and concerned, if UK is not very competitive tomorrow.

These kind of showdown games used to be where Calipari excelled, whether it was at the beginning, middle, or end of the season. But there is so much on the line tomorrow in Knoxville. Obviously SEC seeding for the Cats will be dramatically affected. Superiority as a program in the SEC could be on the line. The best player in the league could be determined. But I think one underappreciated aspect of this game is the coaches. Does John Calipari still have the juice to get his team across the finish line in a game of this magnitude. Or does Rick Barnes just have his number?

Showdown time in Knoxville. Let’s get it.