Kentucky loses ugly, viable game at Auburn as Calipari’s discontent grows

Kentucky loses ugly, viable game at Auburn as Calipari’s discontent grows

by

Shanna Lockwood / AU Athletics

Shanna Lockwood / AU Athletics

“We let one escape on the road.” This is one thing that John Calipari was right about on Saturday.

Days after letting Alabama drain 14 points from three points, he effectively kicked the SEC’s second best three-point team, but it still wasn’t enough to leave Auburn Arena with a win. The Wildcats lost at Auburn for the fourth time in five years, after the 66-59 loss dropped to 4-8 in the UK. There hasn’t been a Kentucky team with the worst record in 12 games since Adolph Rupp became the Cats’ coach.

The defeat at Auburn is more irritating than the previous seven for a number of reasons and John Calipari only made matters worse at his post-game press conference. Before we get to that, see how it all unfolded.

Horrible first half

“Ugly” cannot accurately summarize the first half. The score was 2 to 2 in the first media timeout. Kentucky missed its first six shots. Auburn started 1 of 15 from the ground. Both teams did not miss many contested shots; neither of them could make a tray. Fortunately, Dontaie Allen and Jacob Toppin joined the team and gave the UK something offensive, taking a 9-2 lead in the 11th minute. It all started with an emphatic finish on the edge by Allen.

Kentucky had a chance to get away with the game in the beginning, but could not find an offensive pace. At least they figured out who could score points, even if it wasn’t enough to win the minutes of the second half.

Where are Allen and Toppin?

It is the question that BBN was asking when none of the players, who led the Cats in scoring with eight points in the first half, was on the wood at the beginning of the second half. It took more than four minutes for Toppin to enter the game and more than six minutes for Allen to get some playing time. Why weren’t they playing?

“I want to win every game I train, but the other side is that I’m not trying to take anyone’s heart,” said Calipari, “so that you can finish them when you’re three, four minutes and done.”

They only have a few minutes at a time. Allen went cold in the final minute of the game, finishing in the eight minutes of the second half as the only player with a positive +/- in the last 20 minutes.

BJ Boston: Still not good

At the beginning of the season, BBN’s fascination with Dontaie Allen seemed to stem from his status as a hometown hero. Even though the head coach thinks that is still the case, now fans want him to play because he is one of the few players who can actually shoot. Frustration increases when BJ Boston is the reason Allen is on the sideline.

Boston scored five points, scoring just 2 of 9 goals in 27 minutes of action. It’s not that he’s just not helping – Boston is hurting the team when he’s on the ground. He committed five turnovers, two of which were in the most important stretch of the game. It is one thing to give the player a long guide. All that extra slack on the Boston leash is suffocating the rest of the team.

The turning point

Despite the Wildcats’ poor game, they actually led by one with ten minutes left and seemed to be struggling to win. So, the officers fell on the flop more flop, since Chris Jones set the standard for terrible flops in 2015.

It’s safe to say that Mintz was not happy with the call, sharing that in his Instagram story after the game.

The move was reviewed for a flagrant foul. Unlike college football’s target selection, officials cannot dispense with a reckless foul. Sharife Cooper’s performance gave Auburn the ball and started a 16-5 run in the next five minutes, fueled by transition points after some Boston turns. Despite a late push, that race changed the game.

An impressive final push

While Boston will attract the ire of most fans, Olivier Sarr was also a significant part of the problem. Sarr was -15 years old, the worst of the team, and uninspiring on the post when the Tigers caught 16 offensive rebounds. As soon as Boston and Sarr were pulled, Kentucky gave it a push that was almost enough to win.

With ten points less than five minutes to go, the Wildcats turned the defense into attack. Some roadblocks have led to transition layups for Mintz and Askew to reduce the deficit. With a minute to play, Toppin but a BODY in an Auburn defender. Unfortunately, the worst Wildcat dunk of the season was not called And One, but it was still a two-point game.

Despite giving up a tray for Cooper in possession of the ball that followed, Kentucky had one more chance. Askew made his first free throw, but missed the second. The rebound was cornered by Keion Brooks. Instead of scoring a foul on either of the two Auburn defenders who attacked the UK’s second year, the officials scored a ball in the air. The ball went to Auburn, the Tigers made their free throws and ended the game.

A harsh reality

Most likely, Kentucky will not participate in the NCAA Tournament. It is a hard pill to swallow, but it is the reality that we must accept after the loss at Auburn.

Even though the UK has fought at the Auburn Arena for the past five years, Tigers are not a great basketball team. This was only the SEC’s second win of the season. Every owner of advanced statistics considered this game a move up. This was a game that Kentucky needed to win, they were in a position to win and were unable to finish the job. John Calipari deserves all the blame for that loss.

Next week’s schedule will make it easier with Wildcats. After that, the first 25 teams await him. This team has done nothing to convince us that they can beat good teams and their coach has done nothing to suggest that he will make significant changes to ensure that the UK does not miss the NCAA Tournament.

.Source