Olivier Sarr said he had to fight for his 24 points against Vanderbilt Tuesday night. (SEC Photo)
Maybe that “buzzard luck” John Calipari insisted his team had earlier this season is finally starting to even out for Kentucky. The Wildcats got 24 points from Olivier Sarr along with double-digit scoring from three other players but still needed Vanderbilt to miss two 3-point tries in the final six seconds to beat the Commodores 77-74 Tuesday night and avoid the first three-game losing streak in Rupp Arena history.
“It was just like, ‘Please let us win. Don’t let it go in,'” Sarr said. “We fought, so I thought we deserved to win. It was stressful being out (with fouls).”
Kentucky after a 1-6 start now finds itself 2-0 in Southeastern Conference play and maybe, just maybe, gaining some momentum. Granted, a home win over Vanderbilt is normally not a momentum builder for UK but this year it is what it is.
“We have to fight now,” Calipari said. “We have got the best teams in the league coming up but in January we are 2-0.”
Sarr was 5-for-10 shooting from the field and 14-for-17 at the foul line as Vandy never really had an answer for him if he got the ball near the basket. He also had seven rebounds, two blocks, two assists and one steal despite playing only 28 minutes because of foul issues.
“We try to do things with the bigs a little different each game but we understand we have got to get Olivier some touches on the block,” senior guard Davion Mintz, who hit the game-winning 3-pointer, said. “He is a big guy and when he can get the defender on his back he can do a lot of things and be crafty. It really opens our offense when he gets it in those areas.”
Dontaie Allen, the SEC Freshman of the Week, was not as spectacular as he was in Saturday’s win when he made seven 3-pointers and had 23 points. However, he was still a big contributor. He had 14 points on 5-for-10 shooting from the field and 4-for-4 at the line, five rebounds and one block in 32 minutes.
Calipari noted defensive mistakes he made but said there was no doubt UK needed his offense in the game
Perhaps the unsung hero was sophomore Jacob Toppin, who had six rebounds and six points and took over the defensive challenge on Scotty Pippen because guards Devin Askew and Mintz both got in early foul trouble. Pippen had 18 points, eight rebounds and eight assists but he was only 3-for-9 from the field in the second half when Toppin was on him a lot.
“Jacob Toppin was ridiculous,” Calipari said. “I told them whoever fights I am leaving in the game. Just like we did at Mississippi State. We need fighters.”
Mintz is one of those fighters. He had 11 points, three rebounds and two assists in 35 minutes. He didn’t flinch when Calipari took a timeout and drew up a play for him to get the 3-point shot from the corner that he buried to break the 74-74 tie.
“My heart was dropping (on those last two Vanderbilt shots). They kind of experienced what we were going through. They had a good look and got the rebound and it (the last shot) hit every part of the rim,” Mintz said.
“I don’t feel like I played my best game but a win is a win. It doesn’t matter what I do. I don’t care if it is a middle school team, we are happy. It was huge for our confidence. We are going to fight to the end. We are going in the right direction.”
