Headline then: Has John Calipari at Kentucky run its course?
The day before, Kentucky had lost at Alabama by 26 points. Two days later the Wildcats would lose at home to lowly South Carolina, dropping their record to 10-5 overall and 1-3 in the SEC. “Please Go To Texas” read a sign displayed by a patron among the unusual number of empty seats at Rupp Arena. Factor in a 9-16 COVID season followed by a first-round NCAA Tournament loss the next and popular conjecture had Calipari’s UK era hanging by a thread.
Nearly two months later, Kentucky is back from the dead. The Cats are 20-9 overall. They are 11-5 in the SEC, entrenched in third place with an outside shot at second. They have beaten Tennessee twice and Saturday trounced Bruce Pearl’s Auburn Tigers 86-54 at Rupp. They have climbed from the 50s to No. 20 in the NCAA NET rankings.
No more complaining. No more empty seats. No more signs of discontent.
Question now: Do we owe John Calipari an apology?
The season isn’t over, of course. March is what counts. But we are a day or two away from March. And this 2022-23 Kentucky basketball team is easily playing its best basketball of the 2022-23 season. To that, there is no doubt.
Saturday’s performance was living proof. Auburn is no juggernaut this year. The Tigers have flaws. But after a 6-1 SEC start, Bruce Pearl’s team slipped to 9-6 in league play. It was in need of a road win. Or at least a competitive performance against an opponent on the rise.
It got neither. Kentucky shot 56.1 percent from the floor. Went 8 of 13 from three-point range. Made 14 of its 15 free throws. Bashed Auburn on the boards 41-23. Outscored the Tigers 46-25 over the final 20 minutes. In fact, once Auburn took a 25-24 lead with 5:25 left in the first half, Kentucky outscored the visitors 62-29.
Oscar Tshiebwe scored 22 points and collected 17 rebounds. Antonio Reeves scored 21 points. Jacob Toppin earned his second consecutive double-double with 13 points and 12 rebounds. Cason Wallace scored 19 points, dished nine assists. Chris Livingston, so valuable in UK’s recent game, was steady as she goes.
In basketball terms, it was a complete game.
“They’re obviously really comfortable in their roles,” said Pearl, Calipari’s longtime and often contentious rival from their days at Tennessee and Memphis, respectively.
Indeed, UK’s current core five know exactly who they are at this point in time. They play hard. They play together. Because of injuries, they’ve been forced to shoulder a large load in terms of minutes. The good news from that is the five have developed that chemistry coaches look for and good teams require.
After Calipari finished his postgame press conference following UK’s 82-74 win at Florida last Wednesday, I walked with the coach to the locker room to ask one more question. At this point in the season, many freshmen hit the wall. Not Chris Livingston. Why?
“Confidence,” Calipari said. “He’s built his own confidence.”
The coach repeated that mantra Saturday, saying, “I’ve got a very intelligent team. Smart team. And they’re getting it. But you got to be confident.”
Tip your hat to the coach. Calipari has built that confidence. He has kept his eyes on March, on experimenting and pushing, all toward the time when you want your team to be playing its best basketball.
The season isn’t over, of course. Vanderbilt visits Rupp on Wednesday for the home finale. The Cats visit Arkansas on Saturday for the regular-season finale. The SEC Tournament begins March 8 in Nashville. Plenty more can happen and probably will. A basketball can bounce in funny ways. Still, March matters.
And Kentucky has gone from a team few fear to a team no one will want to see in its bracket on Selection Sunday. And John Calipari has gone from a coach whose future was in question to a coach who has his team right where he wants it to be.
