Kentucky had to fight to pull out Wednesday's 82-78 victory at Vanderbilt. (SEC Photo)
Kentucky made a school-record 24 of 25 free throws, had five players score in double figures, and had a 17-point lead in the first half — yet still barely survived at Vanderbilt Wednesday night. The Wildcats got away with an 82-78 win thanks to some clutch foul shooting at the end when the defense could not stop Vanderbilt. The Commodores got 48 points in the second half after scoring only 30 in the first half.
Still, nothing was going to put Kentucky coach John Calipari in a bad mood after his team won a second straight game for only the second time this season, scored at least 80 points for the third straight game, and didn’t blow a game in the final four minutes.
“That is a happy locker room. We didn’t fold. That is big for this team,” Calipari said. “Everybody is going to make runs. That’s what I told them. They make a run and you got to make a run back at them. Make the last run.”
This time Kentucky did that in large part because the Cats made 24 of 25 free throws. Calipari was not happy with a few calls late in the game and noted that Vanderbilt also made 22 fouls shots (in 28 tries).
“You can’t play not to lose. You play to win,” Calipari said. “Devin (Askew) made free throws, Jacob (Toppin) made free throws but so did Vandy.”
Askew (six), Toppin (five), and Davion Mintz (four) were a combined 15-for-15 at the foul line and both Askew and Mintz were clutch in the final three minutes.
Toppin said it was “just a mentality” at the foul line that enables players to hit clutch shots.
“If you have the mentality you are going to make the shot, there is no doubt in yourself. I had all the confidence in the world I would make free throws when they mattered,” he said.
Mintz led UK with 18 points, including a late 3-pointer shot before the shot clock expired that was huge. Toppin had 16 points on 5-for-9 shooting. Isaiah Jackson had 15 points — all in the first half before foul issues limited his second-half playing time. BJ Boston got off to a red-hot start with eight early points when UK was building a 17-point lead and finished with 12. Olivier Sarr had 10 points.
Mintz is clearly UK’s offensive and floor leader. He was 4-for-9 from 3-point range before fouling out late. He also had five rebounds, three assists, and just one turnover in 36 minutes. He’s fully embraced the no-fear attitude Calipari wants his players to have when shooting.
“I am trying to make it so these kids play loose and free,” Calipari said. “If you don’t shoot open shots you are coming out. If you are guarded, don’t shoot it.
“A guy that is throwing daggers is not afraid to miss a game-winner, not afraid to miss a shot that changes a game because he is not thinking in those terms. It takes a confident person, a mentally tough person to be able to do that. Those free throws were daggers, too.”
One other statistic jumped out at Calipari after the win.
“We had 17 assists,” the UK coach said. “Think about it. Only a month ago we were having five assists and nobody would pass and we couldn’t score 55 points.”
Kentucky had five players with two or more assists led by Keion Brooks’ five.
