Pass the word: The Cats are back.
No more lost leads, scoring droughts or turnover tsunamis. No more disappearing acts. No more checking and re-checking of the recruiting rankings to figure out where it all went wrong. None of that 9-16 nonsense. COVID is still around, but last season is officially in the rearview.
You could say you didn’t see it coming, Kentucky’s 40 minutes of fabulous on Saturday night at Allen Fieldhouse — 12th-ranked Kentucky 80, fifth-ranked Kansas 62 — but the truth is there were bread crumbs along the way.
Here’s Western Kentucky Coach Rick Stansbury after his Hilltoppers were bludgeoned 95-60 by the Cats in Rupp Arena on Dec. 22: “When they play like that, they were the best team in America today.”
Here’s Tennessee Coach Rick Barnes after the Cats shot a blistering 67.9 percent to trounce his Volunteers 107-79 in Rupp Arena on Jan. 15: “It was almost like they had a magnet in the rim.”
Now here’s Kansas Coach Bill Self joining the hype chorus after his previously 17-2 Jayhawks trailed by as many 24 points on their home floor: “The team that we played tonight could win it all.”
From the outhouse to the penthouse? It could happen. It could definitely happen with this Kentucky team, now No. 3 in the Kenpom efficiency rankings behind Gonzaga and Baylor. It can happen if these Cats are (a) healthy, (b) locked in and (c) believing they have a point to prove. The SEC/Big 12 Challenge trip to the heartland provided all of the above.
“We knew we had an opportunity to get everybody back healthy,” junior forward Keion Brooks said afterward. “We wanted to see how good we were. And we went in and made a statement tonight.”
Keion Brooks was a bad man Saturday night. The Indiana native was 9-for-16 from the floor and 9-for-10 from the foul line for a career-high 27 points. He grabbed eight rebounds. He had just one assist, but it was a beauty — a wraparound entry pass to teammate Oscar Tshiebwe for a dunk.
“I don’t know, I just felt good tonight,” he explained afterward.
During one stretch, Brooks scored 15 consecutive points. “We were dying,” said John Calipari of a second-half stretch when Kansas sliced the visitors’ lead to 14. “And he made something out of nothing.”
Brooks had help from his friends. Tshiebwe finished with 17 points, 14 rebounds and the sight of Kansas center David McCormack banished to the bench. Sahvir Wheeler dished eight assists. Returning from a one-game absence, TyTy Washington was 1-for-9 from the floor, but he still dished five assists. Kellan Grady was 4-for-7 from three-point range. And backup center Lance Ware scored four points and grabbed four rebounds in 10 minutes.
“How about Lance,” Calipari said.
Defensively, the Cats put the clamps on Kansas star Ochai Agbaji. The smooth 6-5 guard had scored 66 points in the Jayhawks’ last two games. He scored a career-high 37 in KU’s 94-91 double overtime victory over Texas Tech on Monday. Saturday, Agbaji was held to 13 points, eight below his average. He was 4-for-14 from the floor, including 2-for-6 from three.
“I just really couldn’t get in a groove,” Agbaji said afterward. “Stuff wasn’t falling tonight.”
Kentucky’s got its groove back. And then some. The road losses at LSU (Wheeler missed 36 minutes with a neck injury) and now No. 1-ranked Auburn (Washington missed 29 after injuring his ankle) were regrettable but understandable. The performances against Western Kentucky and Tennessee have proved repeatable. A virtuoso at Rock Chalk Jayhawk sealed it.
To be sure, sharp curves still lie ahead. Tough road games at Alabama (Feb. 6), Tennessee (Feb. 15) and Arkansas (Feb. 26) remain on the schedule. Kentucky could still get dinged a time or two between now and March. Come the Big Dance, however, these Cats will be a major player. Like it used to be.
“We play like a team like (tonight),” Tshiebwe said Saturday, “I don’t think anybody can stop us.”
Kentucky basketball is back.
