The Kentucky Wildcats took on the Bears of Baylor today in the Elite Eight round of the NCAA Tournament. The winner would punch their ticket to New Orleans and take on Louisville in the Final Four.
Starting Five: Marquis Teague, Doron Lamb, Michael Kidd-Gilchrist, Terrence Jones, and Anthony Davis.
Anthony Davis got things going for the Wildcats with a mid-range jumper and a lay-in via Terrence Jones’ assist. Following a Baylor turnover, Jones was off and running in transition when Quincy Acy committed a flagrant 1 foul to prevent the dunk.
Though Kentucky was playing strong and had forced three early turnovers, they missed seven shots in a row and found themselves down by five after four minutes. This was the biggest deficit the Cats had faced thus far in the tourney.
Baylor presented UK with a physical challenge they had not often seen this year, perhaps since the UNC game. But Michael Kidd-Gilchrist was just the man to respond. He took it to the rack on the next three possessions, and despite being called for a charge on the last, you could feel the momentum of the game change.
On the next trip down, Marquis Teague hit a three to tie it back up. Then, off of Baylor’s second consecutive turnover, Anthony Davis dunked in transition to the screams of the crowd.
Time out, Baylor.
Baylor’s next two possessions ended in Terrence Jones rebounds and UK was able to capitalize. All of the sudden Kentucky was on a 16-0 run and had an eleven point lead. Baylor had committed six turnovers and missed five shots in a row.
The Wildcats were sure footed and rolling on both ends of the court. They hit ten shots in a row, and Terrence Jones recorded the team’s 320th block on the season, setting a new NCAA record.
With about five minutes to go in the half, Marquis Teague drew his second foul and had to sit down. So Doron Lamb slid over to the point and the Wildcats continued to cruise. They were up by nineteen points and had not missed a shot in ten minutes. Michael Kidd-Gilchrist had seventeen points to lead the Cats when he sat down with his second foul just before four minutes to go in the half. He had tied Baylor in offensive production.
The Cats went to the locker room with a twenty point lead, 42-22, and the souls of the Baylor Squad.
A minute and twenty seconds into the second half, Anthony Davis collided with Perry Jones III and came down holding his knee. Though the crowd collectively gasped as he writhed in pain, Davis did not immediately retreat to the locker room. After working it out for a moment, Davis checked back in, having only missed a couple of possessions. Whew.
Where Kentucky had been running in transition during the first half, they spent the early part of the second working from the set. Some nice ball rotation, found Doron Lamb on the wing for a trey. Doron had been scoreless in the first half, but poured in fourteen in the second.
Baylor tried to turn up the heat on UK defensively but Kentucky did well protecting the ball. Every team who tries to press Marquis Teague finds out he doesn’t break. Keep that in mind for the Louisville game.
No sooner than I typed that, Marquis Teague drew his third foul and sat down. Baylor had gone a bit of a quick run and cut the lead from 23 to 15 points before Kentucky stretched it back out via Lamb and Miller. Kentucky’s seven man rotation has officially become seemless.
Coming up on eleven minutes, Michael Kidd-Gilchrist committed his second charge and his fourth foul. He sat down for all of thirty seconds, apparently just long enough for Calipari to remind him that this is not football.
Baylor was sacrificing life and limb to get back into the game, though the number of fouls they were committing in the process were keeping the CATS coasting just out of reach. Due to what had been a twenty three point lead, UK was coasting, taking their foot off the gas pedal. And as Anthony Davis drew his fourth foul at the ten minute mark, Perry Jones III hit two free throws to pull Baylor within fourteen points.
As Kentucky’s engine seemed to stall on the offensive end behind a Perry Jones III block and a subsequent UK shot clock violation, Darius Miller took a charge at the other end for the team as if to crank the ignition.
On the next possession, Teague took it to the rack to break a five minute UK stretch without a field goal. The Cats started running again, and three straight layups gave UK a seventeen point lead with six minutes to go.
From here the game was over, whether Baylor wanted to admit it or not.
Michael Mann-Gilchrist was the player of the game again today, he had nineteen points and five rebounds, really breaking the game open for UK in the first half. MMG was joined by Davis, Jones, and Lamb in double figures.
Terrence Jones turned in a great all around performance with twelve points, nine rebounds, three blocks and three steals.
Anthony Davis had a modest eighteen points, eleven rebounds, and four blocks… sorry couldn’t resist, you all know we are spoiled right?
Today’s game was supposed to be about matchups, and it started out looking that way. But you can play Jon Rothstein and compare this player to that all day. Today these Wildcats proved there is no substitute for the genuine article and they are just that. Kentucky annihilated Baylor and used their spirit as fuel in the locomotive.
UK moves on to the Final Four, facing the Louisville Cardinals in New Orleans next weekend.
