Closing out the regular season with a final record of 9-15, Kentucky failed to break the ten-win mark for the first time since 1926-27 and finished with a losing record in the Southeastern Conference for the first time since 1966-67. It was a nightmare 24-game slate for the program, one the players and coaches would like to forget right away.
Luckily for them, they’ll get that opportunity at the SEC Tournament next week, starting with a fresh 0-0 record and controlling their own destiny from that point forward. Four wins in Nashville gets you into the NCAA Tournament.
And coming off a 92-64 blowout victory over South Carolina in the regular season finale, teams aren’t going to be thrilled to take on the Wildcats, especially knowing they’re desperate to keep their season alive.
“It’s one game at a time. Our first game can be one of four or five teams. That first game is going to be ridiculously hard, but good, it’ll be hard for that other team too,” John Calipari said after the win. “I’m not thinking they’re looking forward to seeing my team, especially coming off this kind of game. It’s one game, four times. … It’s one game, then you go.”
For Calipari, it’s all about going in with a positive mindset and having confidence.
“The last two games, we had a chance to win both of those games. If we had done that and smacked (South Carolina), we’d all be saying ‘wow,'” Calipari said. “I keep coming back to, when you’re in this boat – and it’s hard for young kids – you have to take the approach of, “How would you feel if you won those two games? Where would my mindset be?” That’s where it’s got to be, you’ve got to have that kind of confidence. … It’s a good send-off for us.”
After a historically bad start to the season, why not close things out with a historically good finish?
“That’s a good momentum-builder going into next week for the (SEC) Tournament,” freshman forward Isaiah Jackson said. “We’re going to go out there, try to have fun, keep doing what we’re doing.”
“It’s never too late. I’ve got faith,” graduate transfer guard Davion Mintz added. “God is real and things happen for a reason. If we have a chance to go out there and play for 40 minutes, it’s never too late. We’ll see next week.”
The team will get one day of rest before ramping up practice on Monday and Tuesday. From there, the team will head to Nashville, where Calipari hopes he’s joined by a solid group of Kentucky fans to help keep the momentum rolling.
“Now it’s one day off, then two days to get ready to try and play in a tournament we’ve had success in,” Calipari said. “I wish it was a full house because we’d have 17,000 fans there. My hope is our fans find a way of getting in anyway. Sneak in, jump through windows, do whatever. Have your mask on so they don’t know it’s you [laughs], get in there.”
Four wins to an NCAA Tournament bid. Might as well start now.
The Link LonkMarch 07, 2021 at 04:30AM
https://kentuckysportsradio.com/basketball-2/kentucky-excited-for-fresh-start-at-sec-tournament-its-never-too-late/
Kentucky excited for fresh start at SEC Tournament: "It's never too late." - kentuckysportsradio.com
https://news.google.com/search?q=fresh&hl=en-US&gl=US&ceid=US:en
No comments:
Post a Comment