Kentucky Survives Pesky LSU 74-71 for First Conference Victory
They say laughter is the best medicine, but victory would like a word.
Kentucky found a dose of winning last weekend when its rival Louisville came to town, but the Wildcats needed more than what was left inside the half-dead Cardinals. John Calipari's team oozed energy on Tuesday night, yearning for more of that precious feeling that had eluded them far too many times in 2022.
A rowdy Rupp Arena crowd provided a necessary spark that helped lead the Cats to their first win in SEC play, fighting off the valiant LSU Tigers 74-71.
The sunshine and rainbows that remained in Lexington after the New Year's Eve victory quickly vanished as new head coach Matt McMahon's group scratched and clawed at a middling deficit for a majority of the evening, never trailing UK by more than 10 points.
KJ Williams knocked down his fourth 3-pointer of the game to make it an 8-0 LSU run, bringing the Tigers to within 2 with just over six minutes to go. Jacob Toppin would answer on the other end, slamming home his second alley-oop finish of the evening. That two-play stretch was a microcosm of the back-and-forth matchup.
Sahvir Wheeler — perhaps the most reliable 3-point shooter on the Wildcats — banked home his third trifecta of the game to give UK a 67-61 lead at the 4:01 mark. LSU's Cam Hayes answered with a 3-pointer two possessions later, before a miss by Wheeler amounted to a tough finish from Trae Hannibal, bringing the Tigers within 1 with less than two to play.
On the next UK possession, Toppin would wind up with the ball on the left wing, hesitate for a moment then pull his 3-point attempt, canning his only look from deep, giving UK a 4-point cushion. LSU, as always, would go nowhere, as Hannibal found his second basket in a row.
Around and around they went, as Cason Wallace would slash to the cup and pour in his 13th and 14th point of the contest, putting UK (10-4, 1-1 SEC) back in front by 4, 72-68. On the other end, Williams would commit an offensive foul, sending Big Blue Nation into a frenzy.
The foul game would ensue with 19.6 seconds on the clock. Wheeler would miss the front end of a one-and-one. Freshman forward Chris Livingston would commit a freshman mistake, fouling Hayes on a 3-point attempt. The junior made all three free throws, shrinking the UK lead to 72-71.
It would be Toppin at the line next for one and the bonus. He would bury both, giving LSU (12-2, 1-1) just 3.3 seconds to try and send the game into overtime. The attempt from Williams would fall well short, giving the Cats a nail-biting victory.
"We're getting closer," Calipari proclaimed postgame. "You saw the end of the game, we've got stuff to figure out. But you know what's great about it? It's all fixable. So fixable. How we finish off what we do and how we play with 9-8 seconds on the clock."
Calipari trimmed the rotation
Unfortunately, Calipari already had a head start on shortening his group on Tuesday, as veteran forward Lance Ware would join CJ Fredrick on the shelf due to a left shoulder injury. During Kentucky's pregame radio show, he made it known that his bench players "aren't getting as many minutes" moving forward.
Against Louisville, just six players saw double-digit minutes on the floor, though 10 Wildcats made an appearance at some point. Calipari took it a step further against the Tigers, as just seven Cats took the floor, all of whom finished with a positive plus-minus. The same five — Wheeler, Wallace, Livingston, Toppin and Tshiebwe — that found victory on Saturday was penciled in once again, proving to be quite the impressive combination.
Less substitutions worked like a charm, as Tshiebwe's presence started as a problem for the Tigers, and persisted as so for the entire 40 minutes he was in the game, never checking out. The first sub of the game for UK didn't come until nearly nine minutes into the evening.
While the smaller rotation of Cats weren't getting as many breathers, it didn't impact many of the subpar statistics that have plagued them this season. UK turned the ball over just six times and put in one of their best performances from the free-throw line, connecting on 11 of 14 attempts.
"The ball's moving more deliberate," Calipari said. "We're more efficient now. The game was shorter, but you know i'm happy we won. Six turnovers? come on, and (LSU) is a terrific defensive team."
Toppin followed up a career-high outing with 21 more points in the win, while also adding three rebounds and three assists. Wheeler touted 11 points, nine assists and six rebounds, while Wallace contributed 14 points, four assists and three rebounds.
"Jacob making the 3, Jacob making the free throws, I mean, big deal," Calipari said. "Think about where he was three games ago, four games ago, five games ago."
McMahon was aware of Toppin's recent struggles, but was still willing to let him shoot the ball from midrange and beyond, given his past —yet still recent struggles.
"That's something we gotta live with," he said. "We got to force teams to take some non-paint 2's there and he was able to knock em' down ... it's basketball, 3-22 from 3 I think from the year, and he blasts that 3 to kind of ice that game there at the end."
Reminder of what's to come in the SEC
Kentucky moves to 1-1 in SEC play this season, but Tuesday was a stern reminder for what waits in the wings for the Wildcats over the next two months. Splitting matchups against Missouri and LSU were not in the cards for UK at the beginning of the year, but the sledding is only getting tougher.
Next up, a trip to take on the highly-touted Alabama Crimson Tide inside Coleman Coliseum will serve as a measuring stick to see if the Cats can actually hang with the elite of the elite. Just seven days after, a trip to Knoxville to take on Tennessee presents another set of challenges that currently appear insurmountable.
"It'll be sold out, you know that," Calipari said of the game in Tuscaloosa. "That's great. Let's go, let's see where we are with that."
Kentucky needed this win simply to see a 'W' on the board against a tough team. The road is treacherous moving forward, and the Tigers were just a small sample of the dangerous ball clubs that await in the lead-up to March.
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