After falling behind by 24 points, the UK Wildcats fell to Notre Dame by a single point
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UK press athletics
It was a tale of two halves.
After the first 20 minutes, most of Big Blue Nation was turning off the channel and had zero hope or faith in the 2020-21 University of Kentucky Wildcats. Adding to the frustration of Pendleton County fans was that despite falling behind by 24 points, Head Coach John Calipari could not find an opportunity to play Dontaie Allen.
In the second half, the Wildcats showed a spark and a furious type of play that lead to them fighting back to a one-point deficit and a shot to win the game. Olivier Sarr's 15-foot jumper would bounce off the rim and Devin Askew's putback would be after time had expired. The Cats' would fall to 1-4 but now there was a hope and a spark of faith in who this UK team might be.
"Look, there's hope now. If that's who we are those 20 minutes, there's hope. All right, now we got to play 40," said Calipari about the second half.
Trailing by 22 at the half, the Wildcats would score the first five points of the half to get within 48-31. Notre Dame would go scoreless for more than nine minutes while the Cats were on a 16-0 run to cut the gap to 53-49.
After UK got within four points again at 55-51, Notre Dame would make its first three pointer of the second half after hitting six in the first half.
A basket-and-one by Davion Mintz would get Kentucky to 62-59 with 94 seconds left in the game.
A Wildcat steal, followed by an Isaiah Jackson layup got UK within a single point at 62-61.
UK's defense forced a shot-clock violation with 12 seconds to go with them trailing 64-63.
UK would outscore Notre Dame 37-16 in the second half.
"We picked up and pressed and we became the aggressor. That's what happened," said Calipari about the difference in the second half. "But we're picking up and making them play. Getting into their legs a little bit. Maybe that's who we are.
It would be the first time in the Calipari era that his team has lost two games in a row at home. It is also the first time a UK team started at 1-4 since the 1984-85 team. That team finished 17-13.
Despite the final basket that went long, Sarr led the Wildcats with 22 points, his most as a Wildcat, seven rebounds and 3 blocked shots.
“I mean, for me, I am just trying to fight. I am just trying to get lost in competing, helping my team however I can. What I get from that game is that second half, the way we fought, the way we competed, the way we shared the ball, the energy that we had. That’s something that we’ve got to keep and bring on every game for both halves now," said Sarr.
Terrence Clark played most of the second half at point guard and scored 14 points, with four rebounds, three steals and two assists.
"I like Terrence (Clarke) at point guard, I like having his hands on the ball. Four turnovers, he left his feet and he knew it and I told him -- we have been working on it -- but I like him at point," said Calipari about his freshmen.
It was a point echoed by the Wildcat center, "“I mean, Terrence has size and he’s really aggressive in the lane. I think it opens up a lot of things, a lot of options. He can pass the ball, he has great vision. So, I think going forward, he’s really good at that position.”
Despite the poor start, Calipari was happy for the opportunity to be coaching this team.
"Look, I said this morning, I told the guys, I woke up this morning and what I said was, Lord, thank you for giving me this opportunity. Thank you for giving me this opportunity to coach here, to coach these young people. And I know, I told them, adversity is going to make you tougher, it's what it is, and this comes at you, especially at Kentucky. Losing games in a row here is like a natural disaster. And you know what? I'm not buying it, I don't listen to it, I never have. Whether we're winning games or losing games, my focus is on how do I help these guys get better."