FAYETTEVILLE, Ark. — As a rule, John Calipari downplays the annual SEC men’s basketball tournament. Deems it unnecessary. Claims it rarely changes seeding for the Big Dance. Says it’s primarily for the fans. The Kentucky coach always says his team will try to bring home the trophy, of course, but if it loses, no big deal. The important stuff comes next.
This year might be a bit different, however. This year, as the No. 3 seed in this week’s gathering at Bridgestone Arena in Nashville, Tenn., the Cats might have something to prove, not just to the NCAA Tournament selection committee, or the public at large, but to themselves.
We know what this team is capable of doing. We saw it again Saturday at Bud Walton Arena in Fayetteville. Playing without a traditional point guard in a hostile environment against a team in the top 20 in the NCAA NET rankings, Kentucky took apart the Arkansas Razorbacks in impressive fashion 88-79.
Now here’s the trick: Can they keep it up? Can they be consistent? Game after game. Half after half. Possession after possession. Now that we are in the win-or-go-home section of the season, can this Kentucky team string enough wins together, be it in Nashville this week or sites thereafter, to make some noise?
With its back to the wall, this team responds. After suffering an embarrassing home loss to South Carolina, it defeated No. 5 Tennessee in Knoxville to kick-start a four-game win streak. After losing on the road at lowly Georgia, it ripped off four straight wins, including the completion of a sweep of Tennessee and a 32-point win over Auburn. After stubbing its toe against Vanderbilt, it rolled the Razorbacks.
As you might have heard, it did so without point guards Cason Wallace and Sahvir Wheeler. The former suffered a leg injury early in the second half against Vandy. The latter hasn’t played since Feb. 4. With both missing, Kentucky returned to the positionless basketball Calipari has talked about in the past. Players who didn’t normally handle the basketball had to handle it a lot. Players who didn’t normally get many minutes got many more minutes.
Best of all, Antonio Reeves delivered a peak performance. The Illinois State transfer followed an unusually poor shooting performance against Vanderbilt with a razor sharp one against Arkansas. Reeves was 12 of 17 from the floor, 2 of 4 from three-point range and a perfect 11 of 11 at the foul line. His 37 points were a career high, topping a 34-point effort he produced as a Redbird.
Reeves didn’t go it alone. Toppin scored 21 points. Oscar Tshiebwe traded elbows with different Razorbacks on the way to 12 points and 13 rebounds. With Wallace out, Adou Thiero played a season-high 24 minutes. Lance Ware played 17. Despite being “banged up,” according to Calipari, CJ Fredrick contributed 15.
Not just the outcome, but Kentucky’s level of play Saturday should give the team a confidence boost heading to Music City. Then again, we’ve been fooled before. Just when it looks like these Cats have it all figured out, along comes a clunker to make us question what we thought about this team in the first place.
That’s what makes Nashville important. Victories count, of course. Level of play might count more. Look at last year. After closing the regular season with a win at Florida, the Cats had to scrap to hold off a 17-15 Vanderbilt team in the SEC Tournament quarterfinals, then lost to Tennessee 69-62 in the semifinals. Five days later came Saint Peter’s.
Wallace’s health is an obvious concern. As is his way, Calipari claimed Saturday not to know the freshman’s availability this week. From the coach’s previous statements, it appears unlikely that Wheeler will be on the floor in Nashville. The Cats proved Saturday they can go on the road and beat a good team without those two players.
Ah, but there’s more to prove at a time when proof is all that matters. We’ve seen what this Kentucky basketball team can do. Can the Cats prove they can do it consistently?
