QUICK TAKES: Saint Peter's 85, Kentucky 79
Kentucky coach John Calipari called for the Wildcats' Sahvir Wheeler to apply defensive pressure late in Thursday's game against Saint Peter's. (Jeff Drummond/Cats Illustrated)
Jeff Drummond • CatsIllustrated
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@JDrumUK
In our regular postgame feature, the Cats Illustrated staff offers its first impressions from Kentucky's 85-79 loss to No. 15 seed Saint Peters on Thursday night in the opening round of the NCAA Tournament in Indianapolis.
JUSTIN ROWLAND:
I thought Kentucky got tight at the end of regulation. Up 68-62 and with the momentum, they took the air out of the ball and Wheeler came apart. We've seen that so much in recent years. Kentucky's point guard play has not been good enough since Shai Gilgeous-Alexander's season in Lexington. It just hasn't been the same in the most important games. Oscar Tshiebwe is the only player who was good enough today. It's amazing how much a team can regress, from a team that looked like it had a great shot to win the program's ninth championship to where the bench was lifeless, the crowd was numb, and the team lacked fight and confidence. John Calipari even looked tight today. His team played tight. There has to be an honest conversation about the state and direction of the program under Calipari. What that means is open to interpretation but Kentucky has gotten, overall, replacement level results since the 38-1 season. This is UK's worst tournament loss of all-time, on the heels of UK's worst season.
JEFF DRUMMOND:
This one featured just about all the hallmarks of the worst losses in the Calipari era at Kentucky: terrible 3-point shooting; defensive lapses due in part to the offensive struggles; taking the air out of the ball with a lead late in the game; and, perhaps the granddaddy of them all -- missed free throws. It all resulted in one of the worst losses in program history. In many ways, it felt like we turned back the clock to last season. It looked like one of those losses. Unfortunately for Calipari, this humbling defeat comes a year after perhaps the worst season in UK history. This was supposed to be the "fix it" season, and it ends with a trainwreck. I suppose we'll start hearing all kinds of theories and "inside info" on what might have happened tonight, but none of it will explain what we just witnessed. Next season will mark eight years since a Final Four appearance and 11 years since the last national championship.
TRAVIS GRAF:
Kentucky peaked way too early this season before the injuries hit and haven’t been the same since. I’m guilty of blindly believing they could get back to that but they never came close. Saint Peter’s flex offense gave Kentucky a lot of problems that they never adjusted to. They were smart with throwing a zone look at the Cats. Calipari has struggled to attack a zone ever since he got to Lexington. The fan base is going to be breathing down Cal's neck this off-season, and the only thing that can make this loss coming off of a 9-16 season worse is if it’s compounded with a max exodus, including Shaedon Sharpe. This needs to be a "look in the mirror" off-season for Kentucky’s staff, because this now makes seven years without a final four appearance.
DAVID SISK:
This one is hard to explain. Red flags have gone up around this team the past few weeks, but nobody saw a first round exit to a 15-seed coming. Ever since TyTy Washington went down in the Florida game this team hasn’t been right. They are 5-4 since then which included an 0-3 mark versus ranked teams. In my opinion, TyTy had to be right for this team to be effective. He is the only perimeter player who can create his shot. When he is on the Sahvir Wheeler is as well because they work so well together. The other guards have to have him because they aren’t athletic enough. It also wore on them defensively. Saint Peter’s had quick guards and Kentucky struggled to keep them in front. In the end this team rode Oscar Tshiebwe. They wasted a 30-point, 16-rebound performance. Sahvir Wheeler was the top offensive option by the end of the year. Many thought he’d be the last choice . That tells you where this team was at by the end of the year.
