Kentucky Took Frustration From MSU Loss Out on SC State

South Carolina State was the recipient of some pent-up Wildcat frustration on Thursday night.

Frustration is a powerful thing. 

It's "the feeling of being upset or annoyed, especially because of inability to change or achieve something," according to Oxford Languages English Dictionary.

No. 4 Kentucky was very annoyed at its inability to achieve a win over Michigan State in the Champions Classic on Tuesday. That's frustration. 

Often times, frustration finds a way to seep, sinking into whatever it finds, causing a lingering negative impact. So what's the best way to remedy frustration? 

The Wildcats found that answer...just hop back on the horse and play a bottom-20 team in the nation according to KenPom. That'll do it. 

"They are really athletic. I’ve never played against players that tall and athletic in my life before," South Carolina State guard Shaman Alston said following a 106-63 loss to Kentucky on Thursday night. “You can really tell they are really physical and that’s what they preach in practice for their team."

Alston and the Bulldogs were the recipient of some pent-up frustration from the Cats, who shot nearly 60 percent from the floor across 40 minutes. SC State head coach Erik Martin and Co. have Tom Izzo and Michigan State to blame for the stomping.

"We kind of had a bad taste in our mouths. Some stuff that we did, we kind of gave away the game," UK forward Lance Ware said of the MSU loss. "You know – you can’t do much after the game is over besides watch film and get better. Yesterday was a big film day – watching film, going over some of the mistakes we made, and fixing those things.”

CJ Fredrick poured in a team-high 17 points in the win over SC State, a nice bounce-back for the shooting guard after making just a pair of jumpers against Sparty. He was frustrated after Tuesday: 

"It was definitely frustrating, we had plenty of position to put ourselves in a position to win the game, we just kinda had some breakdowns," he said. "Went over some things in practice, cleaned some things up to get ready."

True freshman small forward Chris Livingston had just one point in 12 minutes in Indianapolis. Frustrated? You bet:

"It was very frustrating. It's understandable, as a competitor, anybody is going to be frustrated, especially after the way we lost. Think it was good to come out and be able to dominate the way we did."

Not only did UK light up the basket on Thursday as a result, it also continued to play with that physicality that was brought for nearly 50 minutes just 48 hours earlier. That became quite the mismatch for the Bulldogs. 

“We emphasized rebounding and getting the ball out quick, something that we didn’t do too well against Michigan State, which is something that we’re known for and we’re good at," Ware said. "They kind of just got a lion that came off a tough loss and we were ready to get that taste out of your mouth and just get a win.”

SC State center Dallas James provided a simple answer when asked what it was like to play a Kentucky team fresh off a close loss:

“I’ve never been hit so hard before in my life," he said. "At the very beginning, even on plays they were taking off, it felt like they always had an arm on you. So, in all honesty, it encouraged me to hit them more because I’m not just going to sit here and take it but it wore me down very fast.”

If there's even any left, the Wildcats will take their remaining frustration on the plane to Spokane, hopeful to unleash another helping of it, this time onto No. 2 Gonzaga. 

More on the win over SC State here.

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