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The Morning After: Kentucky vs. Houston

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Take a deep breath and check your heart rate.

Tyler Herro and PJ Washington entered Kentucky folklore as the Wildcats survived and advanced with a 62-58 victory over the Houston Cougars.

While the win wasn’t pretty, a win is a win. However, there are plenty of things to look at and learn from as we look forward to Sunday’s game against Auburn.

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Tyler Herro THE Hero

After Herro only scored 9 points on 2-11 shooting, it was a good sight to see Tyler “Bucket” Herro back in full swing as he scored 19 on 7-13 shooting. Including the three to give Kentucky the lead with 25.8 seconds left.

After missing a free throw earlier in the half, Mr. Clutch went on to sink two free throws to give Kentucky a comfortable four-point lead with 15 seconds to go.

Herro took Kentucky fans back to Aaron Harrison’s 2014 run with that shot and with that shot, he will always be remembered.

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PJ Washington, We Don’t Win Without Him

Before the game, there was still speculation on whether PJ Washington would play or not. On Friday, he was back in full form, and that foot didn’t look to bother him one bit.

In two games without PJ, Kentucky definitely missed his offense. In his return, PJ played one of his most efficient games of the year. Coming off the bench and in 26 minutes, PJ recorded 16 points (6-8), 2 rebounds, and 1 assist.

After the game, Calipari noted that PJ didn’t participate in pregame shootaround due to pain and was unsure if he was going to play. PJ wanted to play, played through the pain, and got two of the most critical plays of the game with the and-one and the block leading to Herro three.

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In Calipari’s postgame words, “we don’t win without him [PJ]”.

Great Defense

In three NCAA tournament games, the Wildcats have yet to give up more than sixty points or let a team shoot over 40% FG from the field.

After limiting Flethcer “Oofer” Magee to 0-12 on three point shooting last weekend, the focus shifted to Houston’s Corey Davis Jr. on Friday night.

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Davis came into the game averaging 23.5 points and five made three-pointers in two NCAA Tournament games. Tyler Herro had another great defensive performance limiting Davis Jr. to just 14 points (5-16) and 1-7 from three.

On Sunday, the Cats will face off against the Auburn Tigers for the third time this season and will have to limit their guards, Jared Harper and Bryce Brown who have both played great since SEC play.

Rebounding Battle

Coming into the game, Houston was top-10 in every rebounding category and many had anticipated the Cougars to put up a fight on the boards, but that just wasn’t the case.

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On Thursday, Houston’s Chris Harris, told Kyle Tucker of The Athletic:

“I believe that will be the game. Whoever wins the rebounding battle, that will be the game.”

In the end, it wasn’t too much of a battle and Harris’ comments rang true. Kentucky’s size was too much to handle for the Cougars as the Wildcats outrebounded Houston by 13 (36-23) and escaped with the win.

Offensive Struggles

Kentucky has played one and a half games of good offense in three tournament games and that needs to change in a hurry.

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After putting up 37 points in the first half, Kentucky only scored 12 points in just under 17 minutes which allowed Houston to regain the lead down the stretch. Kentucky went on to score 13 points in the final three minutes to win the game.

Simply. that just can’t happen again if the Cats want to win a national title.

On Sunday, the Cats will take on the Auburn Tigers for the third time this season and are playing their best basketball of the season. Auburn is a great offensive team, as they are ranked 6th in offensive efficiency and has scored 78 or more points in all three of their NCAA Tournament games.

Auburn truly lives and dies by the three. As we have seen in Kentucky’s two games against Auburn this year, they can lose by thirty or win the game, there’s no in between. Kentucky has to be ready for their best shot.

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Survive and advance. The Cats are one step closer to Minneapolis.

Men's Basketball

Mark Pope’s Honesty Is a Rarity in College Basketball, “He’s Not Going to Sell You BS”

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Players say Kentucky coach Mark Pope's honesty and authenticity is what separates him from other college basketball coaches.
Chet White | UK Athletics

College basketball has changed with the advent of NIL and the transfer portal. In some ways for the better, and in others for the worse. That said, when money is introduced, it can complicate things, and even give opportunities for people to deceive young athletes.

It has already been seen in college football, as multiple athletes have opted to sit out the remainder of their seasons after not receiving NIL money they were originally promised. According to Kentucky transfer guard Kerr Kriisa, it is happening in college basketball too.

“In the college industry, kids are getting lied to,” Kriisa told Kentucky Insider. “They’re getting sold something that’s not true, that’s not there.”

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As of now, there are few bylaws and guidelines that the NCAA can enforce, leading to the current landscape. However, Mark Pope is separating himself.

“With Coach Pope, that’s not the case,” he added. “He’s honest. He doesn’t tell you something that’s not there. He’s not going to sell you some BS. He’s going to tell you how things are. That’s the thing I appreciate most, especially in this college industry. That is a very big thing about Coach Pope.”

Pope presents himself as honest and authentic, and that is apparent very quickly upon meeting him. Kriisa suggests that is why he has had early recruiting success.

Kentucky’s most recent commitment Acaden Lewis said as much following his accountment this past weekend.

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“[Mark] Pope, he was in the hood with me,” Lewis said. “He came to my barber shop and everything. It felt like a home. Felt like somewhere I should be.”

Talking to the father of another Kentucky prospect, “Everything is super personal with him [Pope]. It’s super cool.”

That authenticity is why Big Blue Nation and recruits have fallen in love with Pope. Now, will it lead to success? Time will tell.

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Men's Basketball

Mark Pope Named Most Impressive Coach of Opening Day of College Basketball

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Jordan Prather | Imagn

What a Kentucky coaching debut for Mark Pope, as the Wildcats routed Wright State 103-62 to tip off the season.

The 41-point margin of victory was not only the second-largest margin of victory in a Kentucky coach’s debut, only behind Adolph Rupp, but also a number of divine intervention. Of course, the margin matched Pope’s jersey number from his playing days at Kentucky.

“41, really special to me,” Pope said after the game. “That is really sweet. Kentucky magic, ain’t nothing like it.”

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Kentucky fans weren’t the only group impressed, as ESPN’s Myron Medcalf named Mark Pope the most impressive coach of day one of this college basketball season.

Medcalf writes:

Mark Pope kicked off his first year at Kentucky impressively. In the first half of his team’s matchup against Wright State, the Wildcats made 58% of their shots, 44% of their 3s. Five players had at least eight points before the break. Kentucky finished with 103 points. Jaxson Robinson is a potential future pro, but the program doesn’t have a clear star yet. Which is OK, as long as UK continues to play selflessly in the former BYU coach’s offensive scheme that spreads the floor — 50% of BYU’s shots last season were 3s — and encourages players to push the pace and attack the rim. It’s a fun style.

Of course, this is a long season, but the vibes are high and the excitement is building ahead of Kentucky’s first real test of the season as they take on Duke in the Champion’s Classic next week.

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Men's Basketball

Mark Pope Provides Promising Injury Update on Amari Williams

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Kentucky basketball coach Mark Pope provides an injury update on Amari Williams ahead of the Wildcats season opener against Wright State.
Jordan Prather | Imagn

Kentucky tips off the season on Monday against Wright State, however, they could be down an important player.

Amari Williams, who is expected to be the starting big man for the Wildcats this season, suffered a hip injury just minutes into Kentucky’s exhibition against Minnesota State last week. While the injury did not look too severe at the moment, his limp to the locker room was worrisome.

“I think he’s fine,” Mark Pope said after the game. “X-rays came back solid but we’ll get some more imaging tomorrow. We’re hopeful he’ll be back soon.”

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On Friday, Pope provided another update.

“Imaging was really good, really positive. He’s day-to-day right now,” Pope said. “He won’t do anything – you know, just do free throws today. We’re hopeful that he’ll be back soon but we’ll kind of proceed with all the caution and urgency that we possibly can.”

Long term, this is a positive update. However, in the short term, Williams could be out for Kentucky’s first couple of regular season games, depending on how cautious he and team are being. We saw Kerr Kriisa sit out for the Blue-White event and Kentucky’s first exhibition following a “tweak” in practice.

The sooner the better for a return. Kentucky will certainly hope to be at 100% as they take on seventh-ranked Duke next week in the Champion’s Classic.

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