John Calipari explains the final play call against Gonzaga
Kentucky hosted the Gonzaga Bulldogs in Rupp Arena and lost 89-85.
This was Kentucky's third straight home loss which is the first time this has happened in the history of Rupp Arena. Once again, the Wildcats were scoring points but couldn't find a way to stop Gonzaga's big me down low. The thought that this team can win by scoring a lot of points and not playing defense has been proved not possible. If this team wants to find a way to turn this season around ahead of March, they have to defend.
One play call that was a tad bit suspect was the final play where Kentucky was down two points with a little over ten seconds on the clock. Reed Sheppard tried to throw a lob all the way across court to Adou Thiero, and it was stolen by Gonzaga. This play call left many scratching their head as Kentucky had another shot to tie/win a game as time expired.
Coach Calipari had this to say about the decision on the final play, "The plan was Antonio if the lob wasn't there, and obviously wasn't, was to go to the top of the key. But that didn't lose us the game. 18 offensive rebounds. Fifty points in the paint. We thought we could guard them one-on-one. We probably needed to trap more. But then you are freeing up some other guys."
The Wildcats have struggled in late-game situations all season long, and it seems like every time they have a shot to tie or win a game late, they don't get anything competitive. This Kentucky team has a lot to figure out and not much time to do it.
