Kentucky dismantles Kansas, 72-40

By: LARRY VAUGHT

INDIANAPOLIS — So much for why Kentucky is considered the No. 1 team in the nation.

The Wildcats put on an overwhelming performance here Tuesday night to dismantle Kansas 72-40 in the Champions Classic. That was No. 5 Kansas that UK gave a butt-kicking. That was the Kansas team considered good enough by many to make the Final Four.

But Kansas had no answer offensively for Kentucky’s length and athleticism — Kentucky coach John Calipari said it was like “tanks coming over the hill.” Kansas probably agreed after managing 12 second-half points. That’s on top of Grand Canyon scoring 16 points in the first half earlier and Buffalo getting only 14 in the second half against UK after leading by five points at halftime.

When the Cats lock down on defensively, they can make it near impossible to score inside as junior center Willie Cauley-Stein predicted earlier when he said the only way to play with Kentucky was to get hot from 3-point range. Kansas tried going inside and had eight shots blocked in the first half.

“We were good today. What we did was we defended, and it makes your offense a lot easier when you guard the way we did. Eleven blocks. I mean, we only had six turnovers,” said Calipari. “Andrew Harrison was unbelievable today, his control of the game and how much energy he played with. Willie (Cauley-Stein) and Karl (-Anthony Towns), Dakari (Johnson) in the post — it made it hard on them to score in the post.

“We kind of bum-rushed them a little bit and every time they looked there were more tanks coming over the hill. It wasn’t substitutes; it was reinforcements. Here they come. It kind of gets to you a bit, and I think that’s what happened a little bit.”

A little bit? Try beatdown. That’s the word Kansas coach Bill Self used several times to describe having his team shoot 19.6 percent (11-for-56) from the field and score just 12 second-half points. That’s right. Twelve points in the second half for the nation’s No. 5 team.

“My team? It was pretty good. I got to go watch the tape and see, but we didn’t have a whole lot of breakdowns. What we did is we really covered for each other. We had the helper helping the helper. I mean, it was like, you know — and it’s nice when you have guys like Willie and Marcus Lee who can go guard guards,” Calipari said. “So now if there’s a switch or something or someone’s open, they just go out and guard the guy.

“And again, what I can’t tell you is the kind of kids we have. Couldn’t do what we’re doing. There’s no way if we didn’t have solid, selfless kids to do what we’re doing and giving them half a game. We’re playing them half a game and they’re accepting it. Unless they allow us to do this, we can’t do it. And that showed today what we’re about. You saw the bench cheering the other guys. But we got a long way to go.”

Maybe, but the Kentucky that played here Tuesday night certainly was impressive even though the Cats were just 6-for-18 from 3-point range and shot just 43.1 percent overall from the field.

But there was so much to like. Dakari Johnson led the team with 11 points, three rebounds and one assist. Andrew Harrison had 10 points, four assists and two rebounds. Towns had nine points, eight rebounds and four blocks while playing with the toughness inside that Calipari had been seeking. Cauley-Stein was Cauley-Stein. He had seven points, 10 rebounds and one block. Then there was Marcus Lee with four po ints, four blocks and seven rebounds.

Cauley-Stein said it was obvious the energy was much greater than it was Sunday, especially on defense, when UK trailed Buffalo by five points at halftime.

“It’s just energy. You can tell the games we don’t play like that – the games we’re not playing up on the ball, hard and bothering the ball. It’s just a slower-paced game and you can really feel it. Like that, it was so fast and the ball is moving from side to side. It’s just an energy factor,” Cauley-Stein said.

Self said his team was embarrassed — he even joked that he hoped the bottle of water on the podium had vodka in it when he arrived for his press conference.

“They were terrific,” Self said. “Both teams were turned up early. They stayed turned up. We never once did anything offensively. I ope they were the primary reason why. They were great. They have long athletes that like to guard and cover up mistakes. They were impressive.”

Good enough that Self did the unthinkable — he didn’t back off saying UK could go undefeated. He didn’t predict it, but he did not make it sound far-fetched. It wasn’t quite like Georgetown College coach Chris Briggs calling Kentucky a “NBA playoff team” after an exhibition loss, but Self’s statement certainly will resonate across the country — and likely with Calipari.

“I don’t think it is crazy to think that,” Self said when asked if UK could be unbeaten. “I don’t know if you would base everything on this game. I don’t know their schedule in and out. They will go somewhere and catch somebody playing great. But there’s no reason for that not to be a goal.”

No reason indeed after the way UK played in this game with 15 assists, five turnovers, 11 blocks and 30 points in the paint with 10 players playing between 17 and 21 minutes.

“No, we’re not that good,” Calipari said trying to tone down the hype after the 32-point win.

But on this night, Kentucky was that good.