COLUMBIA, S.C. — It’s easy to have short-term success when your roster is littered with five-star talent and a few hot hands each night.
See: 2011-12 national champion Kentucky Wildcats, 2013-14 national runners-up Kentucky Wildcats.
See also: 2014-15 Kentucky Wildcats.
It’s easy to define any John Calipari-coached Kentucky team as one with a bevy of future NBA lottery picks. This year’s team is no anomaly, but instead, the Wildcats are defining themselves from the other side of the ball. Let Tyler Ulis explain: “When we’re in the zone, it’s hard to score on us.”
Just ask Montana State, who struggled to score 28 points. Or Missouri, held to a season-low 37 points. South Carolina became the most recent team to falter against the Wildcats’ defense, tallying just 43 points on Saturday.
The Gamecocks made just four field goals in the second half of the 58-43 loss despite 18 offensive boards. Typically, the team that wins the rebounding battle — in Saturday’s case, South Carolina outrebounded Kentucky, 40-28 — wins the game, but that’s just a testament to the Wildcats’ ability to control their opponent in other ways.
If South Carolina got a second-chance shot, it was a mid-range jumper instead of a layup. Kentucky’s quick hands disrupted ball rotation and screens were rendered ineffective by Wildcat defenders glued to their man.
Trying to drive in the lane? Good luck shooting over that seven-foot wingspan in your face. This is who they are.
“When you’re driving to the lane, you can’t see the passes out, and if you can, they’re so long,” said South Carolina forward Sindarius Thornwell. “Long enough to deflect the ball and big enough to get there on the catch.
“We had a lot of missed floaters and bunny shots and stuff around the rim, which is difficult when everyone around there is seven-foot. It’s tough shooting over top them. When you’re jumping, all you see is their hands.”
That applies anywhere on the court, too.
Willie Cauley-Stein and Trey Lyles challenge perimeter shooting and passing lanes, and in zone, four blue jerseys crowd the lane. It’s not a coincidence Cauley-Stein became the first player in Kentucky history to record 200 blocks and 100 steals in a season. And the numbers reflect it.
On the season, Kentucky has held opponents to 50.4 points per game, a nation-low 31.7 percent shooting and is outscoring teams by 24.2 points per game — all better from a season ago.
“What happens when you’re playing Kentucky’s defense is if you don’t score early, you better not try to attack it on the first or second pass,” said South Carolina head coach Frank Martin. “But if you’re down 10 or 12 late in the game, you can’t run possessions for 30 seconds. You have to start attacking sooner. If you don’t make some of those, then their defense is so good and start attacking you.”
This is who the Wildcats are.
Kentucky hasn’t been without a test, though. Both Ole Miss and Texas A&M challenged the team's perfect record down to the final possessions in overtime. South Carolina had the Wildcats on edge late in the first half, when Thornwell hit a three to give the Gamecocks the lead. Each time, Kentucky responded with defense. Three straight possessions in overtime the Rebels were stifled and South Carolina was held to a 9:48 field goal drought that spanned a significant portion of both halves.
What was the difference?
“We defended and made it hard,” Calipari said. “This is who we are.”
