The Kentucky Wildcats returned to the victory track on Saturday, with a convincing 92-64 victory over the South Carolina Gamecocks.
Davion Mintz and Brandon Boston drew with 41 combined points while maintaining the Gamecocks’ pace for long periods.
Kentucky’s defense was strong, forcing South Carolina to have 17 hits and less than 40% field shots.
Now seated at 9-15, the Cats won a spot in the 8 against 9 seed game at next week’s SEC tournament. Here’s what you need to know about today’s fun win!
Another stroke of luck or something else?
I am writing this paragraph at the beginning of the game for good reason.
Regardless of how Saturday’s game left you feeling about Cats – you might as well forget. This team proved to be painfully inconsistent, and their guess is as good as mine as to the UK team that will appear in Nashville next week for the SEC tournament.
For a few moments this year, it looked like John Calipari had positioned his team to turn the corner just to get back to reality with poor performances.
What do we know?
Kentucky will have to win four consecutive games to win the SEC tournament – something they haven’t done in the entire season yet.
Still, it was great to finish the regular season on a high note. It is not yet known if this translates to a good performance at the SEC Tournament, but winning is always good.
Jacob Toppin gets his first start.
Better late than never, I think?
Many people would say that Jacob Toppin’s move to the starting lineup should have been a long time ago, considering the impressive season he has had so far. Despite not being polished, the Rhode Island transfer has undoubtedly contributed energy and its share of electrical moments throughout the year.
Entering the South Carolina game, Toppin averaged 5.5 points and 3.7 rebounds, playing just over 17 minutes per game.
Unfortunately, Toppin struggled to produce today, despite playing more than 20 minutes. He only made a field goal and never looked really comfortable on the offensive side, although he did have some good moments defensively.
Anyone who has watched Kentucky basketball this season knows that Jacob Toppin is an important part of advancing this program. When he arrived in Lexington, almost everyone knew that his pedigree and athleticism were there, but there were doubts about how these tools could translate on the court.
It is obvious, after his first year, that he could be a special player at the University of Kentucky. Starting today for the first time at the Rupp Arena may be a topic starting in 2022.
The Cats threw the ball well.
Fed by BJ Boston, who hit his first three shots, the Cats had a great start on the field.
At the beginning things were going to Kentucky, although it got a little cool during the first 20 minutes of the game. The UK would drop a total of five trios in the first half – a number that I think would please most fans.
Half No. 2 started out as the Davion Mintz show. The veteran gave a volley of long-range shots that set the few thousand people on fire at the Rupp Arena. It is something to see when Mintz starts. He would end the game with 20 points.
Kentucky would make 13 (!) Three points in the game.
When this team gains points behind the three-point line, it makes them much more difficult to beat. Fortunately, the hot footage makes the trip to Nashville because, if it does, things can get interesting.
Kentucky closed AJ Lawson
If there is one thing this team has proven they can do this season, it is defending. When cats are trapped, they have some special defending talent that can really disrupt the pace of an opposing team. That argument was made today when Kentucky eliminated South Carolina’s best player.
AJ Lawson came into play with an average of more than 17 points per game, which was good for third place in the SEC. He would finish today’s competition with just six points from 2 out of 10 shots, one of his worst games this season.
This is the type of defense Kentucky needs to win several games in Nashville.
All aboard for Nashville
As mentioned earlier, Saturday’s game against South Carolina was of little significance.
But building some momentum was certainly not a bad thing. especially when you think it was a sweeping victory with an offense that builds confidence. Kentucky won and won convincingly one of the few times in the entire season. Whenever you can dominate a team coached by Frank Martin, you should feel great about the effort your team has put in.
If the UK is going to make some noise next week in Nashville, then the hot footage will be present as it is today. Even if the Cats fall, it will be nice to see you in a game where they can still put some points on the board.