John Calipari questions Kentucky's will to win after loss to Georgia
If ESPN’s announcers mentioning it every ten minutes wasn’t reminder enough, today’s game was a can’t-lose for Kentucky. The Cats are already perched on the NCAA Tournament bubble and this afternoon’s 75-68 loss to the Georgia Bulldogs puts them on the outside looking in. Barring some big wins and a very strong run in the SEC Tournament, it’s going to be another sad March in the Bluegrass.
It didn’t have to be this way, especially today. Kentucky trailed Georgia by ten at half, 42-32, but slowly worked its way back into the game, taking a four-point lead with 11:53 remaining. What happened from there is what caused Calipari to vent his frustrations in the postgame press conference, even banging his fist on the table at one point.
“We had two breakdowns defensively that led to six points,” Calipari said. “And they were critical. We get up four and I’ve got to go back because I thought we got great looks. We miss, they make. I call it a will to win. You can’t lose a ball in a three-point game. ‘I am not losing it.’ And we lose it.”
Kentucky was shorthanded, without CJ Fredrick and Sahvir Wheeler due to injuries. That said, the Cats still should have taken care of business vs. a team they beat by 14 last month.
“Let me give Georgia credit. Mike [White] had them ready. They, physically, [Kario] Oquendo, just went right at people’s shoulder. Had 20 [points] at half. And we did what we do. We came back in the second half, we’re up four. Alright.”
“My teams win that game,” Calipari said, smacking the table between words. “Alright, what happened? Now, I have a couple of guys out. So, would they have made a difference? Maybe. But give Georgia all the credit. They deserve it.”
Calipari: “Today, Cason was not very good”
In recent games, Cason Wallace has stepped up as Kentucky’s bucket-getter in the clutch. Today, he didn’t do that until the game was pretty much over, scoring five points in the final minute. Wallace picked up two fouls early in the game and spent most of the first half on the bench. When talking about his team’s will to win, or rather, lack thereof, Calipari mentioned Wallace by name.
“I’m telling you, it’s a will to win,” Calipari said during his postgame radio interview with Tom Leach. “We lost the ball. We missed the shot. They made the baskets. That’s that will to win that we’ve got to just get from this team. And then, who is it? Today, Cason was not very good. I mean, he fouls right away two times. Kind of reminded me of Alabama. Like, what just happened? We’re talking to you. You’re the only guard we have here. What are you doing? So, you know, he didn’t play well. But they’re not machines, they’re not robots. I told him, we’ll get the next one.”
It’s hard not to think of Wallace when listening to this quote from Calipari in the postgame press conference. Antonio Reeves is another dagger-thrower and got Kentucky off the mat in the first half with 15 points; however, Reeves played a full 40 minutes, fatigue clearly showing down the stretch.
“The guys that had to make some daggers missed every shot. Didn’t get a basket until there were three minutes left in the game. Think about that. You have an opportunity to throw the dagger. Whether you don’t shoot it, whatever it may be.”
Calipari, Reeves on the bench’s energy
Once again, Kentucky started the game flat, allowing Georgia to jump out to a 13-5 lead at the 12:44 mark. The Cats had only one field goal, a three by Reeves. Aside from the second-half rally, which quickly collapsed, the energy on the floor and Kentucky’s bench seemed low to those watching at Stegemean Coliseum and at home. That’s not what you want to see during a game in which the Cats were fighting for their postseason life.
“We were down a couple of points, the energy was just drained because we’re not at home,” Reeves said when asked about the bench. “We’re away and the crowd is here. That’s probably what it was. But the guys are definitely still into it and still trying to win.”
“I’ll look at it,” Calipari said. “Obviously, I’m not looking at the bench. We got a lot of guys out and when I get on the bus I’ll say, this was said to me and I’ll ask them.”
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