Davion Mintz hit a late 3-pointer to give UK the lead but the Cats still lost 81-80 to Arkansas. (SEC Photo)
Kentucky hit a season-high 14 3-pointers on only 26 tries, outrebounded Arkansas 42-33, and got to the foul line 25 times. Yet even that was not enough to stop it from happening again — UK lost 81-80 and a turnover in the final seconds cost the Cats a chance to even take a potential game-winning shot.
It was a case again of Kentucky not quite doing enough right to win a game it could have. The Cats are now 5-13 and have lost seven of the last eight games, including the last four.
Yet Kentucky coach John Calipari was not near as distraught as he had been. He was not happy with losing but he finally thought he saw some fight in his team after it wiped out a late Arkansas 12-point lead and even took an 80-79 lead when Davion Mintz hit a dagger — a 3-pointer with only 12.3 seconds to play.
“That is the best we have finished a game,” Calipari said. “I can’t be that upset.”
Can’t be that upset with the seventh loss in eight games? That says all that needs to be said about what has happened to Kentucky basketball this season. Calipari didn’t call it a moral victory but he sure made it sound that way and I never ever remember a Kentucky basketball coach saying anything like that in the last 40 years.
“This team fought,” Calipari said. “BJ (Boston) played better. We took open shots and we flew up the court. We posted it. We did some things different defensively. Just trying to bring out the aggressiveness.”
Boston played perhaps his most efficient game of the season. He scored 17 points on only 10 shots. He went 4-for-5 from 3-point range — an amazing feat considering he was shooting 20 percent from long range this season. He also had seven rebounds, three assists, and just one turnover in 34 minutes.
The freshman guard was not overly discouraged by the loss, either.
“I love how we fought. As long as we keep fighting that way and play with each other we won’t lose,” Boston said.
Boston admitted the team had shifted its focus to what it would take to win the SEC Tournament in March — the only way UK can get into the NCAA Tournament now after starting the year ranked in the top 10.
“Just can’t worry about the losses. Just take those as lessons,” Boston said.
ESPN analyst Jimmy Dykes has watched and learned his lessons about UK.
“Kentucky has the talent to play with those (best) teams (in the SEC). They just don’t have the talent to beat those teams,” Dykes said.
He noted how UK’s freshman class is “good” but has no John Wall, Michael Kidd-Gilchrist, Anthony Davis, or anyone like other stars Calipari has had.
“This year it (UK’s freshman talent) is not better than the other ones (in the SEC),” Dykes said.
That’s why Calipari used a baseball analogy to describe his team.
“We are looking for singles and bunts. I don’t need home runs. We are not capable of home runs. Let’s just do bunts and singles,” Calipari said.
The problem is it is hard to win without the home-run hitter Calipari has always had and that’s why no matter how hard UK fought, the result was the same — another loss.
