Friday, January 11, 2002
Shaky Wildcat team looks to right ship
Failure down the stretch equals losses
The Associated Press
LEXINGTON — Concerned. Scared. Nervous. Kentucky coach Tubby Smith used all of those words to describe his players following Wednesday night's 88-84 loss to Georgia.
The setback wasn't just the eighth-ranked Wildcats' second straight. It also dropped them to 0-2 in the Southeastern Conference for the first time in 23 years.
“We've just been struggling to finalize games and make plays in clutch situations,” Smith said during the league's teleconference Thursday.
Kentucky (9-4) jumped out to a 21-2 lead Saturday at Mississippi State and led by as many as 16 with 12 minutes to play.
But the Bulldogs outmuscled the Wildcats inside down the stretch as sophomore Mario Austin scored 25 of his career-high 32 points in the second half en route to a 74-69 victory.
The pattern repeated itself against Georgia.
Kentucky led 79-75 with 4:30 remaining, but Ezra Williams' long 3-pointer and Jarvis Hayes' runner in the lane put the Bulldogs in front 80-79 at the four-minute mark.
Hayes, who made 12 of 18 shots and finished with a career-high 30 points, then scored off Keith Bogans' miscue inside to put Georgia on top for good 84-82 with 1:05 to play.
The Wildcats hit only one of seven shots in the final two minutes, making questionable decisions on several key possessions.
“This is the third game we lost where people are putting up big numbers on us,” Smith said following the game, also referring to Jason Williams' 38 points in a heartbreaking 95-92 overtime loss to then-No.1 Duke last month.
“We're not playing well defensively and we're not making plays. We just lack the toughness to make plays down the stretch.”
It hasn't helped that Kentucky's dynamic duo — Bogans and senior All-American Tayshaun Prince — has disappeared at crunch time.
Bogans has struggled with his shot all season but most noticeably in the Wildcats' back-to-back losses. He scored only seven points on 2-of-9 shooting against Mississippi State and had just six on 3-of-10 shooting against Georgia.
But it was his defensive mistake — an ill-advised save into the hands of Hayes under Georgia's basket — and not his tepid shooting that allowed the Bulldogs to get the upper hand in the game's closing moments.
“This is real low right here, both from a team and an individual standpoint,” said Bogans, who is shooting 40 percent overall and only 29 percent from 3-point range. “You've just got to keep getting after it and not give up.”
Smith said removing Bogans from the starting lineup could deal his teetering confidence a fatal blow.
“Keith's been struggling, but he's still giving us effort in other areas,” Smith said Thursday. “When your shot is not falling and you're making turnovers, it can mess with your psyche.
“Then I have to look at it and say, "Are you doing this because mentally you're out of the game because you're not scoring?' We need him to make better decisions and make some big plays.”
Prince hasn't been struggling. Kentucky just can't seem to get him the ball in critical situations.
Against Mississippi State, Prince scored 14 first-half points but was held to only four over the final 20 minutes. In the loss to Georgia, he finished with 15 but didn't take a shot in the final 4:30 with the game on the line.
“They were doubling him up every time,” Smith said of his star. “People are taking him away from us with double teams every time he touches the ball.”
Georgia coach Jim Harrick said Prince, Smith and the rest of the Wildcats had better get used to that type of attack.
“That was the plan the whole game — flat-out doubling him,” Harrick said. “I was going to make somebody else beat me. I won't let him beat me. He's too good. You let him go, I promise you he's going to beat you.”
Kentucky will have to find some answers quickly as it travels Saturday to face a rejuvenated South Carolina squad that has won eight of its last 10 games under first-year coach Dave Odom.
Kentucky hasn't been 0-2 in the conference since 1979. A loss to the Gamecocks (10-4, 0-1) would drop them to 0-3 in the league for the first time since the 1975-1976 season.
“Right now, everybody thinks they can beat us,” sophomore point guard Cliff Hawkins said. “Everybody watching and seeing us getting beat is saying: "Kentucky is weak. We can get Kentucky.' We've got to go out and prove to people we're still a good team.”
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