John Calipari hopes Kentucky can rebound against UCLA

John Calipari has plenty of smudges on his NCAA Tournament coaching resume. At that time, UCLA took control of the game at the midpoint of the first half, and never trailed again, once they secured the lead near the end of the first half.

“When we came back we were able to correct, not implement”, assistant coach Ed Schilling said.

This is not the time for that.

“You can stick him in the post when teams go four guards against us”, UCLA coach Steve Alford said. The Wildcats were freer, more aggressive. He isn’t a passer on Ball’s level (few are), but his defense was typically excellent, and if he can score at a high level in the National Basketball Association (even if it’s mostly around the rim like he did on Friday), he’ll be a two-way monster as a point guard.

After losing to Louisville, the Wildcats lost just three more times.

Fox has flown somewhat under the radar this season.

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“He’s learned to be physical”, Calipari said. “He’s learned to play through bumps”. Not just because they like me.

The only No. 2 seed to survive and advance, the Wildcats (32-5) won their 14th straight game. The most one-sided statistic of the game was Kentucky outscoring UCLA in points off turnovers, 14-2. The two are tied for second all-time with 17 Final Four appearances. The Bruins ran away from Cincinnati in the second half of their second round matchup.

Kentucky also loves to play fast. The game’s greatest player was a Tar Heel.

Playing defense is not entertaining. He’s likely to be pumped up for UNC and if he can help slow Joel Berry, he’ll be an important player in this one.

Of course, the biggest obstacle to a North Carolina showdown with Kansas is the presence of a talented, charging Kentucky team. During conference play, the two split meetings, with each winning at home.

You can expect that the Lakers will make at least one major trade before the start of the next season. Get to the basket as quick as you can. But avoid doing anything silly. King McClure also matched his career high of 17 points, knocking down five three-pointers. 1 Kentucky in Rupp Arena with a 97-92 win on December 3. He shot 15 percent for a while.

“It’s going to be high tempo too”, Fox said. He’s been one of the most frustrating parts for Kentucky fans in these last two losses to the Bruins. It’s hard to play defense when you have no idea where the ball is. He’s still really young and Kentucky isn’t exactly a great place for extended development, but in five years, assuming he gets some support in the National Basketball Association, he could be epic.

TJ Leaf had missed all five of his shots. Fox isn’t a 3-point shooter, but his quickness and cleverness got him to the foul line and beyond, and he used enough picks and enough savvy to bedevil the Bruins. Bruins led 11-8 and Fox had all of the Cats points.

The ‘Cats tried to rally late in this game, but a big shot from Ball (more on him in a bit) and two Thomas Welsh jumpers really iced this one away for the Bruins.

On Friday night, Fox, who glanced at Johnson in the first half, left the court as the biggest star on the oversize stage so many presumed would belong to Ball. If you are, you know we’re playing through De’Aaron Fox.

The Wildcats swallowed Alford with their length. After a Ball lay-up, United Kingdom got another offensive rebound that led to a Monk three pointer.

UCLA flew out of the blocks, getting Bryce Alford a clean look from 3 and Leaf his first of 5 made field goals in the first two possessions. Roy (Williams) has done a great job with his team and I’m looking forward to the game just because I like my team, and we’ve got a good group of kids and I’m like jacked up. On the other hand, A&M struggled on offense, going 9-of-30 (30 percent) from the field in the first twenty minutes. “Now, next game it may Bam or it may be Malik and they’ll be fine with it”.