table of contents
SCHEDULE BREAKDOWN
02 04 14
OLE MISS RUPP ARENA LEXINGTON, KY 7:00 P.M.
OLE MISS BREAKDOWN OF THE REBELS AT RUPP
02 MISSISSIPPI STATE 08 HUMPHREY COLISEUM 14 STARKVILLE, MS 1:30 P.M.
12
02 12 14
AUBURN BREAKDOWN OF THE TIGERS IN AUBURN
AUBURN AUBURN ARENA AUBURN, AL 8:00 P.M.
14
FLORIDA
02 15 14
FLORIDA RUPP ARENA LEXINGTON, KY 9:00 P.M.
Illustration: Jody Beamer | Underground Design
INSIDE: 8 | Player Profile: Derek Willis 9 | Player Profile: Jon Hood 10 | Player Profile: Brian Long
BREAKDOWN OF THE GATORS AT RUPP
16
Cover Photo: Jonathan Krueger | Staff
02 18 14
OLE MISS
12 | Breakdown: Ole Miss
TAD SMITH COLISEUM OXFORD, MS 7:00 P.M.
14 | Breakdown: Auburn 16 | Breakdown: Florida
SOUTH CAROLINA
02 22 14
BREAKDOWN OF THE GAMECOCKS IN COLUMBIA
18
ALABAMA BREAKDOWN OF THE CRIMSON TIDE AT RUPP
02 27 14
LSU RUPP ARENA LEXINGTON, KY 4:00 P.M.
ARKANSAS RUPP ARENA LEXINGTON, KY 7:00 P.M.
18 | Breakdown: South Carolina 20 | Breakdown: Alabama 21 | In Action: Must-See UK Basketball Photos 31 | Road woes be gone: Are the Cats over their away-game struggles? 33 | It’s a Numbers Game
20 Volume 5 | 5
player profile
Recruiting services have rated Derek Willis as the top recruit in the state of Kentucky since his junior year of high school. Willis played at Bullitt East High School, where he averaged 17.4 points and 9.4 rebounds per game as a senior.
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PHOTO | ELEANOR HASKEN
UK senior forward Jon Hood has done almost as much as a college basketball player can do at UK. He has won an NCAA National Championship game, has been a part of three SEC Championships and has played in multiple NCAA Tournament games.
PHOTO | TESSA LIGHTY
Volume 5 | 9
player profile During the Vanderbilt game, CBS flashed a graphic stating that Brian Long scored 7 points while shooting 100% from the field. We here at B Three do not remember this happening, but we think it is great. Go Brian!
PHOTO | SCOTT HANNIGAN
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PHOTO | EMILY WUETCHER Volume 5 | 11
MCT File Photo
Breakdown: 02.04.14
OLE MISS
HEAD COACH
ANDY KENNEDY
REBELS
NR SEC in scoring and top-five in both assists and field goal percentage. Senior G Marshall Henderson leads the SEC and ranks second in the nation averaging 4.28 3-pointers per game. Henderson has hit a 3-pointer in a school record 54-straight games and became just the fourth player in school history to join the 1,000-point club in two seasons.
Please welcome
marshall Henderson
per game. Junior G Jarvis Summers is one of the most improved players in the SEC as he ranks eighth in the league in scoring at 17.8 points per game and has increased his scoring 8.7 ppg over his last season average . He also ranks fifth in the conference with a 51.9 field goal percentage and third in assists at 3.9/game. He is the only player in the league to rank in the top-10 in the
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Head coach Andy Kennedy, Ole Miss’ all-time winningest coach, has led the Rebels to six 20-plus win campaigns in seven years. Ole Miss had only posted seven 20-plus win season in the 96 years before Kennedy’s arrival.
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STARTING 5 FORWARD
AARON JONES FORWARD
ANTHONY PEREZ FORWARD
SEBASTIAN SAIZ GUARD
JARVIS SUMMERS GUARD
MARSHALL HENDERSON THE EDGE > KENTUCKY
KEVIN ERPENBECK
Texas A&M Athletics | aggieathletics.com
Ole Miss is 26-9 (.735 winning percentage) over its last 35 games versus SEC opponents dating back to 2012, which is the best mark in school history. It is also tied with Florida for best mark in the SEC over the last 35 games. Ole Miss has blocked 142 shots this season, and ranks second in the SEC fourth in the nation averaging 6.8 blocked shots
AP RANKING
MISS AN ISSUE? EMAIL JBEAMER@KYKERNEL.COM OR CALL 859.257.2872 FOR DELIVERY INFO
staff file photos | file story
MCT File Photo
Breakdown: 02.12.14
AUBURN
HEAD COACH
TONY BARBEE
TIGERS
AP RANKING
NR UK’s offense was up to the task in Columbia, Mo., in out-scoring Brown and Clarkson. Freshmen Aaron and Andrew Harrison combined for 35 points, Julius Randle added 18 and James Young added 20 points. One problem that UK might face is foul trouble. Freshmen Dakari Johnson and Andrew Harrison and sophomores Alex Poythress and Willie Cauley-Stein all had four fouls against Missouri.
war eagle
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STARTING 5 FORWARD
ALLEN PAYNE FORWARD
showing life 28 points and Brown dropped 33 points on the Cats. Auburn senior guard Chris Denson leads the team with 19.6 points per game. Junior KT Harrell is right behind him with 19.3 points per game. Both are in the top five in scoring average in the SEC. Neither can shoot the ball quite like Brown from Missouri, but Harrell is more of a deep threat. Both guards combine for nine three point attempts per game.
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The game could have gone in a different direction if Missouri hit free throws. Auburn will have to learn from Missouri’s struggles at the line if they hope to have a shot against UK. Denson and Harrell do not have a strong supporting cast. If they have an off night, UK should come away with another conference victory on the road.
MATT OVERING
ASAUHN DIXON-TATUM GUARD
KT HARRELL GUARD
CHRIS DENSON FORWARD
TAHJ SHAMSID-DEEN THE EDGE > KENTUCKY
Georgia Athletics | georgiadogs.com
UK travels to Auburn, Ala. to play their second straight road contest and their fourth in five games. Auburn is similar to another Tiger team in the SEC: the University of Missouri. Both teams have a dynamic guard duo that they rely upon to score points. Missouri junior guards Jabari Brown and Jordan Clarkson combined for 61 points in UK’s 84-79 victory on Feb. 1. Clarkson scored
MCT File Photo
Breakdown: 02.15.14
FLORIDA
HEAD COACH
BILLY DONOVAN
GATORS
AP RANKING
#3 to have to find a way to get around Florida’s No. 13 ranked field-goal percentage defense. Players like senior forward Casey Prather and senior center Patric Young have made it a nightmare for opposing teams to get to the basket, and they’ll look to continue the same against UK. One area that Florida struggles with is their offensive game. Besides Prather (their best shooter) and Young, no consistent player has an average shooting close to .500. The Gators often win their games with a point total in the 60s because that is all they usually need. If the Cats want to win in Lexington, they will have to exploit this weakness. Did we mention that Florida will also get five-star freshman Chris Walker on their roster (suspension) by the time they face UK? Just another uphill challenge for the Cats to overcome.
Here’s where we find out how good we really are.
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KEVIN ERPENBECK
PROJECTED
STARTING 5 FORWARD
WILL YEGUETE CENTER
PATRIC YOUNG GUARD
SCOTTIE WILBEKIN FORWARD
MICHAEL FRAZIER GUARD
KASEY HILL THE EDGE > PUSH
LSU Athletics | lsusports.net
The University of Florida is seen as one of the best teams in the nation while proving they are the best team in the SEC. The Gators sport a perfect 8-0 record in the conference and have won every game by an average of 15 points. Yeah, they’re that good. While Florida has shown to be the consistent winner, UK has displayed inconsistency throughout much of their season. The Cats will go on a stretch of three or four well-played games at a time, and then turn in a dud the next. Not the kind of play a nationally ranked team should stick with. UK has also had problems getting out to a fast start in a majority of their games, often trailing by as much as 10 before having to pull off a comeback to secure their wins. While this ill-conceived strategy may work against some of the lower level SEC teams, it won’t necessarily work against a team like Florida. If the Cats want to start their match against the Gators off right, they’re going
MCT File Photo
Breakdown: 03.01.14
SOUTH CAROLINA
HEAD COACH
FRANK MARTIN
GAMECOCKS
NR
resume, and with just one high-quality opponent remaining, UK may not be able to make that ground up. On the other side of the coin, UK could build momentum with a dominating performance over the Gamecocks. The Cats finish the regular season at Florida, a game that has huge implications for seeding in the SEC and NCAA tournaments. Last season, UK beat South Carolina by 22 in Lexington. The Cats have won six
can frank martin get it together? At the beginning of February, South Carolina was the worst team in the SEC. The beginning of March might not be much different. The real question facing this game will be how UK will look in the eyes of the NCAA tournament selection committee. If last season was any indication, the Cats can’t afford to have any slip ups late in the year. A loss at South Carolina would be the proverbial “bad loss” on UK’s tournament
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straight games against the Gamecocks. Their last win came on Jan. 26, 2010 when Devan Downey scored 30 points on John Wall and company. It may take a Downey-like performance from Thornwell or Williams for South Carolina to have a chance.
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STARTING 5 FORWARD
MINDAUGAS KACINAS FORWARD
DEMETRIUS HENRY GUARD
DUANE NOTICE GUARD
SINDARIUS THORNWELL FORWARD
BRENTON WILLIAMS THE EDGE > KENTUCKY
MATT OVERING
Missouri Athletics | mutigers.com
In Frank Martin’s second season as head coach at the University of South Carolina, the Gamecocks haven’t shown winning form. South Carolina has a roster dominated by youth. Freshman guard Sindarius Thornwell leads the team in scoring, but senior guard Brenton Williams is right behind him. Williams is the only senior on the team after Bruce Ellington declared for the NFL draft, ending his basketball eligibility.
AP RANKING
MCT File Photo
Breakdown: 03.01.14
ALABAMA
HEAD COACH
ANTHONY GRANT
CRIMSON TIDE UK staved off Alabama, again and again and again, for a 77-71 win. This game tested UK’s ability to play a full 40 minutes, something players have recently talked about needing to do better. UK had a slim advantage for the vast majority of the game — its largest lead was 8 points in the
NR
against UK — Alabama made 5 of 7 (71.4 percent) after entering the game last in the SEC at 26.9 percent. “Every time we play a game, the team we play against makes shots we know they don’t make,” Doron Lamb said. “That team did that today. We knew that and didn’t pay it no mind...” It is like that every year. Alabama, despite a putrid out-of-conference record, despite
Despite bad record, the tide will surely shine for the Cats middle of the first half — and any time the Cats stretched its lead and looked like it was about to go on a game-busting run, Alabama hit a big shot to answer. So the Cats couldn’t let up, couldn’t wilt. Not with Alabama sinking nearly everything it could throw up, making 65 percent of its shots in the second half. That extended to the 3-point line, where — predictably, for Calipari, who always expects teams to outdo their season averages
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losses to undersized teams, they show up for Kentucky. This year likely will be no different. The Crimson Tide are long, athletic, and senior guard Trevor Releford has plenty of experience knocking off the Cats. Anthony Grant teams always play tough. Let us see if the Cats are tougher.
JODY BEAMER
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STARTING 5 FORWARD
SHANNON HALE CENTER
CARL ENGSTROM GUARD
ALGIE KEY GUARD
TREVOR RELEFORD GUARD
RODNEY COOPER THE EDGE > KENTUCKY
Missouri Athletics | mutigers.com
The last time the Cats beat the Crimson Tide was in 2012. And even that was a tough game. Here is a look back at the victory:
AP RANKING
JULIUS DRIVES Julius Randle works for a basket against the Georgia Bulldogs in Rupp. Randle is averaging close to a double-double. PHOTO | JONATHAN KRUEGER
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in action
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C’MON
REF With new rules and emphases this season, the frustration from John Calipari has been at an all-time high.
PHOTO | JONATHAN KRUEGER
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in action
MAN
TO MAN James Young guards a Georgia ball handler. As journalist Bomani Jones would say, “zone is for cowards.”
PHOTO | JONATHAN KRUEGER
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Volume 5 | 25
in action
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OH NO Dominique Hawkins went down hard fighting for a rebound against Missouri at Mizzou Arena. PHOTO | MICHAEL REAVES
Volume 5 | 27
Volume 5 | 31
a deeper look
RESILIENCY DESPITE THEIR PREVIOUS ROAD STRUGGLES THE CATS FOUND A WAY TO WIN IN COLUMBIA.
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WORDS | NICK GRAY PHOTOS | MICHAEL REAVES
With the opponent difficulty and the crowd noise notched up an extra few ticks, UK again faced a dogfight on the road late in the second half. The Cats broke through the wall of noise for the first time on Saturday. UK’s backcourt shouldered the offensive load en route to the Cats’ second road win of the year, a 84-79 victory over the University of Missouri, a team who had lost twice in two seasons at home in Mizzou Arena. A trio of freshman guards – James Young, Aaron Harrison and Andrew Harrison – tempered Missouri’s attempt at a large comeback. The Tigers were down by 16 at one point, and cut the lead to three points on two occasions due to the play of Tigers junior guards Jabari Brown and Jordan Clarkson. With 51 seconds left, UK controlled possession with the one-possession lead, running the clock down. Aaron Harrison swung
to the left, drove under the basket and finished the ball and the hopes of the Tigers. Aaron Harrison finished with a team-high 21 points, including his vital driving layup. Along with Aaron Harrison, Andrew Harrison (14 points) and James Young (20 points) controlled the tempo and ball on the offensive end in ways that did not happen Tuesday night in Baton Rouge. The three players turned the ball over twice, which is the lowest number all season. “Andrew did a great job of running the team. Had a feel for where to go with the ball, what to do,” Calipari said. The win came three days after the team gathered for a players-only meeting called
by sophomore forward Alex Poythress before a flight out of Baton Rouge. Freshman forward Julius Randle thought no one else knew about the meeting, and disregarded the thought that the meeting was called to cater to their head coach. “It was just something that we needed to do. It wasn’t to impress anybody,” Randle said. Missouri head coach Frank Haith had his jacket off from the get-go on Saturday and berated game officials throughout the first minutes of the game. He picked up a technical foul – his first in 85 games at the school – after a foul on Tigers guard Earnest Ross that ended over three minutes of yelling towards any official that came near the Missouri bench. Haith’s technical initially paid off for the Tigers as UK picked up three fouls in the next 48 seconds, including Cauley-Stein’s third foul with 11:46 left in the half. UK managed through the rest of the half without freshman center Dakari Johnson – who started but picked up two fouls before the game’s first timeout – or Cauley-Stein. In their place, freshman forward Marcus Lee provided nine minutes, during which the Cats powered to a double-digit lead through their guards. “UK fought as hard as I’ve seen them fight all year. They were very, very aggressive,” Haith said. A trend reared its head in the second half when Missouri had the ball. Clarkson and Brown began to drive to the right side of the basket, and it worked even with the Tigers struggling to defend on the other end. “We weren’t going to let them just blow us out,” Clarkson said. Once it worked once, the pair continued on attacking the right side of the basket with the Cats big men in foul trouble. “(The UK coaches) kept saying don’t let them drive right,” Calipari said. “And they kept driving right, driving right and driving right. So I imagine the next team we play will drive right.” The Tigers’ drive-right-or-shoot-a-three offense pushed them to the brink of completing their 16-point comeback, down a possession with under a minute left and needing a stop that never came. Brown and Clarkson finished with a combined 61 points on 21-of-34 shooting, including 26 of the Tigers’ final 29 points. UK’s players were asked after the game whether or not the Tigers’ duo could win in a “shootout” later on in the season. “I think we just had one like that,” Aaron Harrison said. ”And we won.”
Volume 5 | 33
interesting stats
IT’S A
#NUMBERS GAME
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ALEX POYTHRESS’ POINTS-PER-GAME OVER THE LAST FIVE UK GAMES.
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