Advertisement
basketball Edit

UCLA offers some matchup challenges for young Kentucky team

Kentucky coach John Calipari says UCLA presents a matchup challenge for his young Wildcats.
Kentucky coach John Calipari says UCLA presents a matchup challenge for his young Wildcats. (Jeff Drummond/Cats Illustrated)

The two programs with the most NCAA championships between them will clash for the fourth consecutive season when Kentucky and UCLA meet Saturday at the CBS Sports Classic in New Orleans.

A reinvigorated rivalry between the Wildcats and Bruins has seen them split four games since 2015, including Kentucky's 86-75 win in the NCAA Tournament's Sweet 16 last year in Memphis.

Many of the names and faces have changed since that March Madness showdown, most notably NBA No. 2 draft pick Lonzo Ball and fellow first-rounder T.J. Leaf from UCLA and almost the entire UK roster, which had three first-round picks of its own.

No. 7 Kentucky (9-1) has reloaded with another elite recruiting class while UCLA (8-3) is trying to blend in several newcomers with a couple of talented veterans. Five of players in Steve Alford's eight-man rotation did not play for the Bruins last season.

The UK boss can relate.

"When you say to me, 'How do you think they're going to play?' your guess is as good as mine," UK coach John Calipari said Thursday. "I mean, they're young. I can only tell you that they're trying every day. I'm walking out of practice feeling good. Don't know what that means. Does it mean we're good enough to beat UCLA? I don't know. When I watch the tape, I'm scared to death."

Two of the Bruins' most experienced players likely cause Calipari to fret the most. Junior guard Aaron Holiday (17.4 ppg) and senior center Thomas Welsh (13.2 ppg, 10.6 rpg) have played a combined seven games against the Cats.

Welsh, a 7-footer with face-up perimeter skills, has consistently played well against UK. He had a memorable 21-point, 11-rebound effort in an 87-77 upset of the No. 1 Cats on Dec. 3, 2015, at Pauley Pavilion.

It's a difficult matchup for UK sophomore center Sacha Killeya-Jones or freshman center Nick Richards, Calipari said, "because he's going to take Sacha right next the basket and bang him, and he'll try to take Nick outside. I imagine that's what they're going to do based on who's guarding him."

"And then, how do we play?" Calipari continued. "Do we scramble the game up? Do we double-team (Welsh) which makes the game easier for some of these other guys?"

UCLA's pick-and-roll/pick-and-pop ability makes it even tougher on young defenders, Calipari noted.

"They really create havoc in spacing and their pick-and-rolls," he said. "They're different. They're more of a pick-and-pop team. Their big kid, now, is way stronger. They'll go 4-around-the-post and throw it to him. He's a terrific passer but maybe their best shooter."

Kentucky has been utilizing some 2-2-1 full-court pressure in recent games to give opponents another look. This may not be the best matchup to use the press, Calipari said, but he likes what it has done for the Cats.

It helped spark a 93-86 win over Virginia Tech, the nation's top scoring team, last Saturday at Rupp Arena. The Cats have averaged 91.6 points per game over their last five outings compared to just 71.0 during the first five.

"To get us more aggressive," Calipari said of the tactic. "If you get us in the halfcourt and space us the right way, kids will get confused at some point because they're all freshmen. So if we can make us the aggressor instead of them having us on our heels, I think it's better for this team.

"... My whole day is trying to figure out 'How can I do a better job to keep these guys going in the right direction?'"

Tipoff for UK and UCLA is slated for 4 p.m. ET on CBS from the Smoothie King Center, home of the NBA's New Orleans Pelicans.

Advertisement