John Calipari: Kentucky "needed" scare to prepare for Kansas

Kentucky’s 82-74 overtime win vs. Mississippi State definitely wasn’t pretty, but it may have been the perfect way to prepare for Saturday’s showdown at No. 5 Kansas. The Jayhawks are now experts in close games, winning four of their last five by three or fewer points, including Monday’s 94-91 double-overtime win vs. No. 13 Texas Tech. It feels weird to say that Kentucky needed to survive blowing a 16-point second-half lead to prepare for a game vs. a top-five opponent in arguably the best atmosphere in college basketball, but John Calipari said exactly that last night.

“We needed this game. We said it after. I told the guys that we needed to be in a game like this where we had a chance to end it. We did not dive on the floor for a loose ball. If we got that ball, the game would have been over. We had a guy not go for it. We needed to be like ‘Now we’ve got to fight to get back in it.’ How about you’d better make free throws? How about you guard? We had a guy break down twice late in the game and moved it to overtime, and then Kellan [Grady] made two ridiculous shots.

“Look, we’re going to Kansas, and they have been in a bunch of close games. We had to be in this kind of game to understand how we finish it off.”

Grady: “Our last 10 minutes of that game were atrocious”

Even without TyTy Washington (ankle), Kentucky looked good for the majority of the game, leading by 15 points with 12:25 to go and 10 with 8:07 remaining. From there, the Cats let go of the rope, allowing Mississippi State to tie up at the 4:16 mark. Kellan Grady, who missed 2-8 threes in regulation, came alive in overtime, scoring eight of Kentucky’s 10 points to secure the win.

“It shows that we’ve got some resilience and we’re able to stay poised when, let’s be frank, our last 10 minutes of that game were atrocious,” Grady said.

When asked what made the final ten minutes so bad, Grady went into detail.

“I think we were always playing not to lose. I thought there were a couple of rebounds and loose balls that we might have missed out on. We got stagnant on offense, and it didn’t result in good things, evidentially. So atrocious may be a little too harsh, but we did not play well in the final 10 minutes. I think we were up 53 to 38 at one point, and it kind of just went south from there.  We didn’t put our feet on their throats and finish the game.

“But, on the contrary, it was good for us to get a game like this and prove that we’re equipped to make the right plays, get imperative stops down the stretch, and close out the win. So, you have to take the good with the bad with tonight, and I’m really proud of our team.”

Oscar: “I think Kansas is going to be a great matchup for us”

A 15-point win over the Bulldogs would have been easier on the heart rate, but last night’s scare underscored what the Cats need to focus on ahead of this weekend’s trip to Lawrence. Having TyTy Washington back would obviously be huge. Calipari was mum on Washington’s status after the game, but Oscar Tshiebwe slipped an encouraging injury update into his remarks.

“We’ve got to be engaged. I’m pretty sure TyTy [Washington] is going to be with us in Kansas,” Oscar said. “This game is better for us so we can get ready for Kansas. Kansas is not going to be an easy game; it’s going to be a game like this. Now, we know what we’ve got to do to win a game like that.”

First, the players have the day off to recover from the late night. Calipari doesn’t want to hear from any of them until Thursday.

“I told the guys, I don’t want to see anybody. Don’t call me. We’ve got an off-day. Leave me alone. Let me get my mind set for what we’ve got to do. We’ve got to travel to Kansas.”