GETTING INSIDE
The season has yet to hit the halfway point, but Kentucky players already are talking about the possibility of going undefeated.
“We are really serious about it,” freshman forward DeMarcus Cousins told the Lexington Herald-Leader before the Wildcats stretched their record to 13-0 with an 86-73 win over Long Beach State.
“We take it one day at a time. But it’s definitely a goal we’re trying to reach and a part of history we’re trying to make.”
Nor is coach John Calipari discouraging such talk.
“I’m fine with it,” he was quoted as saying in the Herald-Leader. “I have no problem.”
No NCAA Division I team has made it through an entire season undefeated since Indiana finished off its 1976 championship season with a 32-0 mark.
UCLA (1963-64, 1966-67, 1971-72 and 1972-73), North Carolina (1957), Long Island (1938-39), Seton Hall (1939-40), Army (1943-44), San Francisco (1955-56) and North Carolina State (1972-73) also managed the feat.
Kentucky’s 1912 and 1953-54 teams also were undefeated, although the former played only nine games.
The present Wildcats, who gave the school win No. 2,000 with a pounding of Drexel, then made it 2,001 victories in its history by beating Long Beach State. They have 18 games remaining in the regular season.
They potentially would have three games in the SEC tournament before moving to the NCAA tourney, where they would have to win six more games to complete the run.
That’s a total of 40 games. Memphis is the record holder for wins in a season with 38, set in 2007-08. The NCAA champion with the most victories is Kansas. The Jayhawks were 37-3 in winning the 2008 title, beating Memphis in the final game.
“It’s a hard task to do,” Cousins acknowledged to the newspaper. “But, like I said, we have a chance to do it.”
NOTES, QUOTES
• The 13-0 start for Kentucky is the best since the 1977-78 team opened the season with 14 consecutive wins. That team went on to win the national title. The 1953-54 Wildcats have the school record with a 25-0 record but did not take part in the postseason. The NCAA had declared several players, who had graduated the year before when the team couldn’t play because of its involvement in a point-shaving scandal, ineligible for the postseason. Without them, the school declined the bid to the tournament that year.
• Freshman G John Wall was second in the SEC in scoring through games of Dec. 27 with his 17.9 average. He was shooting 52.2 percent from the field (10th in the league), had a league-high 82 assists (6.83 per game), was hitting 81.9 percent of his free throws (fifth in the league), and was averaging 2.5 steals, second in the league.
January At A Glance: The Wildcats finish the non-conference portion of their schedule with the traditional matchup against nearby Louisville on Jan. 2, then get into conference play. Their first six SEC games are equally divided between home and away with Georgia, Arkansas and Vanderbilt coming to Rupp Arena, and the Wildcats going to Florida, Auburn and South Carolina.
Quote To Note: “He’s impossible to guard. Shaquille O’Neal might be the only person who can contest his shot or his miss. He is very hard to deal with in practice.”—Senior F Perry Stevenson, on guarding 6-11 freshman F DeMarcus Cousins in practice.
STRATEGY AND PERSONNEL
Season Recap: The schedule softened considerably as December wore on, with the Wildcats becoming the first collegiate team in history to reach the 2,000-win level with an 88-44 pounding of Drexel. Kentucky got to the mark ahead of North Carolina (1,992) and Kansas (1,980). The Wildcats are 13-0 on the year and can match their best start since 1978 with a win over Hartford on Dec. 29.
Player Rotation: Usual Starters—F DeMarcus Cousins, F Patrick Patterson, G John Wall, G Darius Miller, G Eric Bledsoe. Key Subs—F Ramon Harris, F Daniel Orton, G DeAndre Liggins, G Darnell Dodson.
Game Review:
Kentucky 90, Austin Peay 69
Kentucky 88, Drexel 44
Kentucky 86, Long Beach State 73
Game Preview
vs. Hartford, Tuesday, Dec. 29
vs. Louisville, Saturday, Jan. 2
vs. Georgia, Saturday, Jan. 9
at Florida, Tuesday, Jan. 12
at Auburn, Saturday, Jan. 16
In Focus: The Louisville game always is big in the Bluegrass, and the Wildcats have a little extra incentive, having lost the last two meetings to the Cardinals. The Wildcats have never lost three in a row in the series, which they lead 26-14.
Roster Report:
• Freshman G John Wall has scored in double figures in all 12 games he has played in, and he has had at least two assists in each of the games. He also has made his past 11 free throws.
• Junior F Patrick Patterson registered his sixth double-double of the season with 15 points and 11 rebounds against Long Beach State. Through 13 games, Patterson was a rebound-a-game short of averaging a double-double (17.1 points, 9.0 rebounds).
• Freshman F DeMarcus Cousins has scored 66 points over his last 65 minutes of playing time. His double-double against Long Beach State (15 points, 10 rebounds) was his second in a row and sixth of the season.
