03 15 2015 Kentucky vs Arkansas SEC Championship 720p

[Music] championship week continues presented by dick sporting goods it's the sec on espn it's the sec tournament championship from nashville tennessee and bridgestone arena our matchup this afternoon the one and two seeds and the number one team in the country against number 21 kentucky and arkansas and in kentucky's case perfect and it's a chance for you to see again today a really good team i've had some really good teams this is a really good team anthony towns came over the top are you serious being a part of our undefeated team her team like this is incredible boy he was flying through the air just being our conference champs is a big deal [Applause] as a freshman to come in and win the sec tournament that would be a dream come true they left a bad taste in our mouth so we're not shining away from the moment we're not shining away from playing about put the wraps on this one can't play on our heels we got to go in there just like with a level head and just play our style of basketball the hogs and the cats for the sec tournament title and that sets it up for you from brickstone arena there's a whole bunch of blue in this building 18 000 plus on hand a sell-off crowd for the sec tournament championship welcome to nashville everybody brad nestler with dick bytel all right richard they started back in november they're still perfect 33-0 did they go to 34-0 today well that's their goal obviously they want to win the scc title something they have not done the last three years you look at this kentucky team that defense is absolutely scintillating you think about their defense it is off the charts we'll take a little look here as we take a look we talk about defense it's unbelievable when you think about the defense they play they have been absolutely super when you talk about kentucky i'll say one thing they have length in their defense brad here's the length unreal look at that they make it so difficult for you to shoot at three over the top that size becomes a major factor then watch them converge on the basketball look at the defense look at where they attack they attack the basketball with that great size again and then length and then they go the other way transition for the layup booker with the pass the lyles and they get a simple deuce inside this is a very special kentucky team look at the numbers they're staggering 35.2 field goal percentage and arkansas brad and the one thing they have going for them they believe well in the regular season they had a shot and they went up and down the court and they got run out of the gym by kentucky talk to my gamers before the game he said we are not changing our style our style basically is what he adopted from nolan richardson 40 minutes of hell they're gonna run they're gonna open the court and they feel very confident having beaten him twice last year before we tip we go to our pa announcer in the national anthem here's john george ladies and gentlemen would you please rise as we honor america with the plane of our national anthem the colors are being presented today by the 101st airborne division air assault honor guard and with over 40 years together and over 40 million albums sold singing our national anthem the legendary oak ridge boys [Applause] oh say can you see by the dawn's early life what so proudly we hail at the twilight's last gleaming whose broad stripes and bright stars through the perilous plot or the ram parts we watched were so gallons streaming and the rockets red glare the bombs bursting in air gave proof through the night that our flag was still there oh say does that star spangled [Music] and the home that's the way you do it in music city usa for a national anthem kentucky in its 112th season's already won 46 regular season sec crowns today they go for their 28th sec tournament title if they win it and you can pretty much grab the rest of the conference add it all up and they still come up to what kentucky has done over the years time to meet the starting lineups and we go back to our pa announcer john george good afternoon ladies and gentlemen and welcome to bridgestone arena here in nashville tennessee for the 2050 sec men's basketball tournament and this championship game between the arkansas razorbacks and the kentucky wildcats now it's time to introduce our starting lineups for our game for arkansas and guard a 6'5 senior from la panto arkansas number double zero rashad madden [Applause] [Music] for kentucky at guard at 66 sophomore from richmond texas number five andrew harrison [Applause] [Music] for arkansas edgard a six-foot freshman from north little rock arkansas number 31 anton beer for kentucky at guard a 66 sophomore from richmond texas number two aaron harrison [Applause] [Music] for arkansas and forward a 6-6 senior from little rock arkansas number two alandis harris [Applause] [Music] for kentucky and forward a 6-10 freshman from indianapolis indiana number 41 [Applause] for arkansas and forward a 6-8 junior from birmingham alabama number 22 jeff corey williams [Music] for kentucky at forward a 611 freshman from piscataway new jersey number 12 carl anthony towels fourth arkansas and forward a 611 sophomore from little rock arkansas number 10 bobby portis [Applause] [Music] and for kentucky head forward a 7-foot junior from olathe kansas number 15. willie our head coaches today for arkansas coach mike anderson and for kentucky coach john calipari [Applause] there's your lineups there's your coaches and the people back in fayetteville are going wait a minute on the starting lineups for the hogs there's a reason for that wait a minute let's check in with shannon spake well that's right brad you may have noticed michael claus from that starting lineup corey williams getting the start instead i checked the team and they told me not for any reason mikey anderson just shake looking up a little bit now you mentioned bobby portis earlier in the open he told me he felt his performance yesterday was close bad but said today is a new day and he's been looking forward to another shot at kentucky since they lost two weeks ago now the other big guy in this matchup of course is willie cauley stein the sec defensive player of the year he's coming off his best offensive performance in a month a performance he's told me he needed for his confidence but yesterday was yesterday today is today and coach calipari told his players it's quote time to get in the ring bobby did not have a good offensive game he did have 12 rebounds however yesterday [Music] so the one and two seeds in the sec tournament championship game arkansas 26 and seven kentucky 33 and 0. our officials pat adams doug and the master tony green who's got the ball in hand if we can get the cats on the floor the cats and hogs are set to have at it arkansas hasn't trailed in this tournament kentucky basically hasn't trailed all year hey i'll tell you this arkansas they got their first win in sec competition since 2008. i think the interesting matchup certainly could be portis and will equally stock defense against a guy with an offensive arsenal that could go inside outside towns in portis jump ball kentucky to start things off from nashville i think it's really a key for arkansas to have a good start brad you got to psychologically have that good start to feel you can beat kentucky lyle's bumped and kicked by jacory williams who normally isn't a starter so he gets in the scoreboard in the first 14 seconds i think the reason he's on the floor size i think they're trying to have a little more size on the floor to negate that incredible size that kentucky possesses quality quality's got to be chomping at the bit though he was our player of the game yesterday with 15 points and six rebounds in the win over georgia to get here kentucky beat florida and auburn and to get here it was tennessee and georgia the two that [Applause] they go to another level he's been up and down all year shooting the three surprised that what went through his head it was andrew harrison just to straighten things out for you the twins out there and one's number two one's number five you haven't seen kentucky play and if you haven't seen kentucky play you haven't been watching basketball here's a steal by townes entry pass carly stein going to the free-throw line i noticed the willy crawley stein i saw it yesterday and i see right here at the start of the game he's becoming a little more absurd about offense you're gonna watch right here harrison andrew gonna knock it down he's been really playing well you made that point yesterday brown a good point the harrisons have really i think they've elevated their game here in the last about 10 games andrew had 18 points in the regular season match-up in the win over arkansas willie cauley stein 18 points yesterday as shannon talked about seven rebounds couple of assists three block shots there's these numbers to the tournament he can be as good as he wants i really think sometimes he becomes too passive he's got to be a little more hungry and want the ball a 5-0 start for the pads [Applause] [Music] [Applause] what a great defensive play by quilly stein from the weak side lyles got it back andrew harrison again for three got it they've come back they've come to play these cats [Applause] baby i actually have a whole lot of unused vacation days but where am i gonna go i just don't have the money to travel right now i usually just go back home to see my parents so i can't exactly go globe trotting if i had friends to go with i'd go but i don't want to travel by myself someday there are no more excuses find the hotel you want and the flight you want and we'll find the savings to get you there eight nothing kentucky willie cauley stein on one end his 55th block shot of the season and it led to offense dick on the other end they do a great job going from defense to offense there's harrison making the big three they're a touchdown lead man to start the game here touchdown a two-point conversion two threes by andrew harrison paul's still on the bench mike anderson called that time out to try to just stop the momentum and you talk about quick momentum in a minute and a half that was a must timeout mike made a good call right there in the regular season meeting it took kentucky eight seconds to get the lead and they never relinquished it this time it took 33 seconds portis missed the jumper kept alive by williams ty madden trying to get out of trouble on the baseline those cats all over him beard three got it that was big that possession was big but coming up with that three by beer and that stops the bleeding momentarily first basket by the freshman anton beard he's a true point guard he's a creator moved into the starting role sharing [Applause] back to harrison there's that ball screen did a great job use those ball screens lyle's haven't stripped my beard nice play three on one right here gotta make something happen beard will do it with the left hand so the freshman's got the opening five for arkansas nice little comeback after that climb out by arkansas and having made the basket sets up their full-court pressure although kentucky has no problem with it that's going to build a little confidence warrant runner by aaron harrison towns rejected by porters and williams arkansas can cut it to one or tie it on this trip that's played by porter defensively a foul on andrew harrison this is what arkansas loves to do they come up with a steal and then they turn it into points on the other end there it is go defense to offense they can run baby i think of those great teams in the hall of fame ahead borla's missed the jumper and paulie stein clears it [Applause] andrew harrison got poked in the eye going through that double team [Applause] pounds to college that's unselfish basketball great interior pass double up on the ball find the open guy from the weak side just tremendous unselfish basketball and that's one of the keys in kentucky they are so unselfish beard fade away three mcduffie comes back leading by five [Applause] [Music] they're efficiency offensively is a thing of beauty they really work so well and then the second shots they really hurt trying to cross time trying to get you a double king portis i think is the guy that stripped it underneath harris scored this for arkansas [Applause] [Music] [Applause] just that one laps on defense and john calipari flew out of his chair and said you four are coming in as soon [Music] out of bounds i think to arkansas no it's going to stay with kentucky but arkansas has come back from trailing 8-nothing to a 10-7 kentucky lead 15-34 time out espn's exclusive presentation of college basketball is brought to you by dick's sporting goods sport makes of you this one simple question who will you be and the lexus command performance sales event now through march 31st see your lexus dealer [Music] well the platoon system has worked through 33 wins so far this year it's not quite what it used to be five and five out for arkansas going to give them credit they were down eight to nothing and all of a sudden anton beard the freshman hit a three then came up with a steal gave it away got it back and scored five straight points for the six-foot freshman and then underneath scoring again seven points to cut the lead to 10-7 right now hey beard made a big play that was a must-three when he knocked down that three for that they got to get portis going if they're gonna win this game portis has to be a star they won yesterday without him being a factor offensively but as i mentioned he did have 12 rebounds but uh an off day for him without a doubt yesterday six on the shot clock takari johnson's hook shot off the mark time madden with a rebound and double zero bumps double zero marcus lee with the final you know lee had a couple of real sloppy fouls yesterday and that was that was not a real heady play right there 60 feet from the goal let's check in with shannon when we see that second platoon in right now coach calipari he had some words for willie cauley stein after that last possession he said two hands he thinks yesterday you know it was a wow willie moment played to his potential he's really looking for these guys to be best individuals the best individuals that they can be two hands be perfect tell you one thing shannon i don't want to take anything away from this performance justin auburn didn't have any size whatsoever to battle him he's got some size to make the deal off the window not quite marcus lee the rebound i love this little guy he's an engine that makes them really go euless aaron harrison missed the jumper it's tipped out rashad madden got the ricochet for the rebound [Applause] underneath before he got the pass yeah tony green right there on the goal physical contact in the post he's gonna blow that whistle cordis has got to really be active on the inside he's going to face a lot of different bodies in the face guys like johnson he's going to face people like anthony towns and certainly willie callie stein all kicked out of bounds so we'll try it again on the baseline that's amazing the way john kepler you would think at times his team was like 15 and 15. he coaches at every possession his heart and soul is in it and it becomes contagious for the people on the floor i love people with that passion on the platoon system of that last time out aaron harrison is the only guy that stayed in in the lineup for kentucky the other four newcomers on the floor that's a sign that he feels he's played really well atlantis harris [Applause] [Applause] maybe that was a sneaker squeak i don't know sounded like a whistle to me and john cal perry still asking the officials i think the same thing 14 25 remaining in the first half score hasn't changed kentucky leads by three let's assume you love your money and that you'd like your money to stay your money then why do you keep buying light bulbs that do this to your money at cree we designed our groundbreaking led bulb to do exactly the opposite saving you up to 226 over the life of the bulb so the choice is yours save your hard-earned money with the cree led bulb uh or feed it to metaphorical monkeys the cree led bulb kentucky jumped out to an 8-0 lead arkansas battle back to cut it to 10-7 i think everybody's still questioning whether or not there was a whistle on that last play in the lane at any rate of talking to a ball i thought one thing john caliber was so animated in that timeout i think he knows that his kids are going to have a real challenge right here mortis thought about a three he'll take it and score it tiger that's his 13th he's made he was 12 for 27 coming at this game shooting threes in kentucky having a little bit of difficulty getting across the timeline they do to booker he lobs it underneath for dakari johnson marcus lee tips it in and there's one of the great strengths the second shot get round the offensive glass no one does it better in the nation borders was thinking about another one out there young teams would love to have a marcus lee yeah and he doesn't madden kickout harris and ajigori williams he'll take the shot and score great execution it's a patience there by arkansas got the wide open look nine to twelve talk about a coach that took a timeout in the first minute of the game because it was eight to nothing that baby paid off dick up for mike that was a great time out he said it earlier tremendous time out booker goes straight up with it arkansas has got a chance to lead this trip harris for three marcus lee with a rebound marcus lee really active coming off the match good rebound here's lee on the other end first up i'm telling you what that guy's like the 10th man are you serious are you serious marcus lee's got storm ability he's fired up too score much look at him on defense now he's clapping his hands big smile on his face big blue nations fired up too yeah they love it oh they love it look at them all blue here portis drives against johnson in school well razorbacks gotta love this guy his rise stuck is going up and up as a player and undiscounts chad ford and company argyle meets the players for the nba kentucky has numbers and buckingham scores for three how can he shoot the free but don't look away for the crowd get back and play defense and arkansas turns it over we had a good one buddy we had a good one we're getting paid for this this is fun are you really i've been stealing money for 36 years just under 12 minutes to play in the first half john calipari will be with shannon when we come back his team is up by three but we got a good one as dick said between the cats and the hogs including the three-pointer by booker that just gave kentucky the lead back eight minutes into an entertaining game so far kentucky had a big lead arkansas battle back the harrison twins on the outside andrew harrison's hit two threes to give kentucky the early lead they've played inside outside ball carl anthony towns to willie cauley stein underneath for an easy bucket they do a great job brad when the double team comes finding the open man they really have great vision for that play to make it happen let's check in with shannon and john calipari well coach after that first arkansas time-out they've been able to put together a little bit of offense what do you want to see out of you guys defensively some shots and you know they're not going to go away this is going to be a 40-minute game and i just want my guys to play through all the bumps all the just play i want to hear them saying anything to the official's play thank you coach coach calipari did have a little bit of confidence for aaron harrison he said good job he's the one that stayed in when the other platoon came in michael qualls checks in for the first time today was our player of the game yesterday a normal starter didn't start today as shannon told you before the tip [Applause] he gives him that high riser he's a skywalker falls can really get up he's a great athlete [Music] [Applause] makes contact some people say a little flop there let's see right here it was a good job though by manny watkins assistant coach's son who held his ground against the big guy and gives it back to arkansas offensively and he's a special guy he held this ground again our guy chad port hasn't rated number two in the nation behind oakland towns had a hand on the rebound and then lost it out of bounds [Applause] a lot of people don't realize this kentucky does not lead the conference and scoring arkansas does it 78.5 they are one and two first kentucky second really animated he knows this is a battle when he told shannon this is going to go 40 minutes i really believe he feels that he just got a benchmark too that's what the momentary timeout was about watkins the follow is goaltending on carly sound good quality tony green on that you don't usually see kentucky giving up those offensive rebounds but portis gets on the inside yeah good call good call excellent now backward pressure again [Applause] have any problem with it though he leads through the traffic booker straight up triple window so i love those razorback teams with chris williamson scotty thurman and company lola richardson there's not a lot of arkansas fans here but if they score this trip you're going to hear from them not that time though carly style under the rebound pressure on the defense oh nobody cut him off nobody stopped the ball you better stop the ball what's the first rule in transition they're playing with a lot of confidence even moving the ball taking shots not struggling it's the first time quals has touched the ball in the opening ten minutes of the half and he's going to take a shot and got it he said mvp yesterday didn't waste any time right now his match will really quality style if i'm only calling i take him by the engine i try to post it tied for the fourth time here in the half on the three-pointer by qualls look at the size differential i know he's a high rise of chris but that's a lot of size he's giving away about six inches to carly stein a switch off now and it's anton bell trying to guard paulie that's like you trying to guard it nice move hook shot paul anthony towns off the window and kentucky back in front he saw a fishing brand on the inside paul anthony towns i'll never forget how he finished the lsu game motor offensively and he did a great job at an offensive rebound bell over euless forced his shot bad shot bad shot first real bad shot i've seen him take euless alive underneath tough catch and a foul before the shot should not have passed that ball he should have went right to the basket it was wide open you're gonna put a back truck there kingsley with the foul see right there he had a direct lane and he's trying to flip the ball up for the layup but that's one time he should have been a little bit hungry to score and look at towns are you kidding me this guy is a big-time performer his numbers will be unreal if you play 30 minutes that was a case where euless should have been a little more selfish he talked about how they share the ball he was trying to get it underneath the big guy for a dunk it didn't work [Music] now they go inside to him he backs in on a double team is fouled and they'll go to the line well the espn bracketology special is coming up a little bit later on today everything you need to know about the field of 68 and tell you who's going into the tournament can anybody stop kentucky espn bracketology special presented by staples it's tonight at seven live sports center updates at 5 30 on espn mr vitale will be part of that yeah we'll have a lot of fun get out of here sharing some big stories big question will be what about the bubble teams what about teams that lost 13 games indiana texas teams like them ucla will they get in over teams that have great great records like murray state it's a great addition to the promo good job i'm [Applause] nice pass kingsley rejected by town he went up too slow and they got numbers here aaron harrison get me out of here that's unbelievable i can't believe it missed a three got it back [Applause] a rejection by towns on one end euless to harrison harrison to cali stein are you serious flip it up on top willie crawley stein a little showtime i think euless has changed the whole tempo of the game when he comes out he really does bad yeah he's quick [Applause] cornice fade away jumper claws underneath nice offensive rebound and score that's his great ability he's a high rise as we said earlier he's got great bounce off the floor athleticism kentucky by four with eight to play in the first half euless again quickly into the front quarter he loves looking for his buddy mr booker who can shoot the three [Applause] aaron harrison can shoot the three two there goes soon aaron harrison making big shots [Applause] young kids out there you don't want to pick up your dribble madden drives against booker throws it up they'll go to the line arkansas playing very well with 7 22 to go they're still trailing by seven michael talk with shannon when we come back [Music] see championship game in nashville as we take a look at our tournament challenge resume brought to you by allstate last year arkansas was an nit team there without a doubt an nc double 18 26 and 70s to take a look at their resume you know look at that resume i see bb eyes rpis i got my vbdi my vitel paul dome index let's check in with shannon [Music] coach after that first time out you guys were able to get some offense going what do you want to see out of them after this timeout i want to see us continue to share the basketball keep making hard cuts to the basket getting more physical on the defensive end rebounding the basketball uh kentucky is a really tall team so we got to get into the bodies thank you coach mike's got about uh seven minutes and then 20 more minutes of voice left before the ncaa tournament got to make free throws you're trying to pull an upset you better make your free throws that's certainly big this is a guy that can 87 percent of the time anyway it was 32-39 the other day the free throw that's kind of madden's first it's going to single the game solid point guard for them kai's a crafty veteran got great size at 6'5 that helps too 152 assists coming in they actually played two-point glass because now when beard got to start and playing two guys that are really point guards not really strong perimeter shooters sets up their press at least they try and duck he hasn't had any problem with it so far [Applause] tries to dig out of your river but this guy's been able to get him into their rhythm by the yolks call he's dying down him back when he threw it away the first five points of the game for arkansas [Applause] porter's gotta be a little more active without the ball he's gonna want the ball it now but he's 25 feet away from the hoop playing him defense against offense walls back to got paulie stein in the air and drove for that shot tough shot right there they made him take a tough shot young kids out there watch jules his head's always up he's always looking for people he's not looking at the ball has great vision on the floor kind of like you when you're working the crowd before the game always have your head up nicaragua tremendous move inside they got a multiple number of people that can get in that post and score and qual is trying to get it to porters and i just normally touch it just a real bag of turnover right there yeah johnson down in the post i think with john cena lyle's there will equally stein there and certainly anthony downs tremendous move right there drop step go to goal with strength [Applause] euless kick out aaron harrison got it you know aaron harrison gets the three but it was the creativity of the little guy euless penetrate and kick it out he's originally what i used to say for years the 3d man biggest lead of the game for the cats up 10. harrison take a look at euless john likes it look at the smile on his face 33-0 make you smile oh that's a sarcastic smile he's given both harrison twins now each with a couple of triples i think it's great news great news for kentucky but the second half of the year harrison's have really elevated again i think there's a reason for it the reason very simply practice competition versus euless and booker on a regular basis what john calipari has said when andrew harrison penetrates into the lane good things happen he likes him to be as aggressive as possible both the harrison twins have been aggressive from outside the arc and now doug shao's having a conversation with john calipari i'm not sure what it's about but pat adams is at the scores table he might be inviting him after the game to the ground hold up yeah he might be taking him up here hey you know you've been to the grand ole opry sean farmer's been to the grand ole opry kaylee hartung's been to the grand old opry what has brad done all week well why don't you get in my room you should come with us i would love to have you try yeah vince deal with his serenade he invites a little late partner i'll get you this summer hey uh you think about euless 13 assists and only three turnovers in the tournament that's a heck of a ratio a little bit of four to one atlantis harris at the free throw and arkansas get it back [Applause] you've always said one of the factors that has to exist to beat kentucky somebody's gonna make some threes [Music] [Applause] what about the look in the pass of tyler euless because now 14 assists with only three turnovers i love that little guy madden short harris can't follow ball out to arkansas willie willistein showed his ability his agility to run the floor but what about the little guy he makes no time head up sees the floor and makes the pass great pass great catch and then the flush he was a white out you mentioned it was a white it was a light up in high school a little bit like harold carmichael back in the day he was pretty good yeah quartus has not been a factor at all again today no the defense really matching up with it making it tough for him to get good looks [Applause] madden's going to take a three in out last touch by portis kentucky ball i think the next four minutes are vital vital for arkansas they got to stop any run by kentucky in the next four minutes the last two games have been a struggle for bobby portis the sec player of the year coming in averaging almost 18 points and close to nine rebounds a game and last two days have not been his strong suit that's for sure no he's three for 20 in the last two games thus far but he's been brilliant all year long we were tied at 19 at one point it's a 16-4 run since by the wildcats and we're going to have a foul i'm richard madden i think a lot of that responsibility goes to the kid who hasn't scored much square to deuce euless euless has put so much pressure on arkansas breaking the press finding open guys creating opportunities let's check in with shannon with more on euless well he not only puts pressure on the other team he challenges his own guys karl anthony towns he told me euless is a quote natural born leader every day in practice he goes up against the best in the country and he holds his own smallest guy on the team including the coaching staff and yet here he goes to three bakari johnson nice job keeping it alive for kentucky he might be the biggest guy on the floor when the ball is in his hands though but the rocks in his hands he's a giant aaron harris in triple enroute nice job by arkansas as the corey williams got a piece of the rebound pornison to get her on this foul with a timeout 339 remaining in the half and it's kentucky leading by 12. [Music] espn's exclusive presentation of college basketball is brought to you by the capital one venture card earn unlimited double miles you can use with no blackout dates flashback 20 years ago sec championship in atlanta nolan richardson rick pitino kentucky roared back from regulation in overtime devices of 19 and 9 points to win its 19th sec tournament championship they beat arkansas 95-93 in overtime a thriller uk's fourth straight sec tournament title who called that game you might ask look at those guys how about that wow look at that brad nessler and jimmy dykes we both had a lot more hair and it was a lot darker he never had hair 20 years ago it didn't matter i never had here yeah jimmy dykst out doing a great job down there coaching arkansas i know jimmy's watching today his hog's down 12 though they were at one point playing really well and i looked at you and said they're playing lights out and they're still down eight let's highlight down a dozen well the damn it doesn't it's a danger time they got to convert on the free-throw line here lock it up defensively and go a little spurt to go into the locker room with some momentum boy the last 90 minutes have not been the greatest basketball that bobby portis has played that's for sure here he is at the free-throw line he's probably weighing on his mind too he needs a couple of baskets to get himself under the flow he needs something to go right yeah he doesn't seem to be in the flow [Music] you know you think about the sec right now a little nerve-racking time i would say for lsu mississippi i think he only locks the vbi just kicking it out or kentucky obviously arkansas and georgia yeah i think those three are locks i think from what i saw this morning lsu and ole miss were though in the last four in group of illinois i think it's a danger down better to be the last four out joel knows what he's doing he works at it religiously [Applause] timeout taken by kentucky speaking of the bracketology with a timeout in a 35-24 games kentucky obviously is the number one seed overall arkansas looks like a number five georgia 10 lsu and ole miss in the last four in category you know a team that nobody's talking about and really has a great opportunity to make some big noise they're not a sexy dvd as you hear all about the kentucky's oh they got to worry about wisconsin they're going to worry about duke well people are going to start taking a look at jay wright's team because that team is legitimate you can tune in tonight to find out who's in who's out who's playing whom and when you get it first and get it fast exclusively on cbs at six o'clock now the ncaa basketball championship selection show can't wait to join peace jay the whole gang have a little fun friend greg gumbel will bring you that one at cbs and then dick will be along with the whole gang on our bracketology show to follow and every year we'll have teams to scream about that we think should be in and they don't get in it'll be the annual rent they can go back and play by rent in 79 and it will not change today [Applause] last 3 20 of the half see if arkansas can get a stop and trying to get back from maybe the single digits in this game before halftime they're in his own right now they've been shooting the ball well kentucky over the top aaron harrison over the top for two harrison's playing on another level playing like they did last year leading kentucky to the final game they were beaten by the uclan huskies this year they want to get to the final game and cap it to be 40-0 let's be disappointed here in the eyes a lot of big relationship they don't leave with that gold trophy that sat in the way yeah they're having a gear like these kids how could you be disappointed if they're like 39 and one beard paulie stein just takes it out of midair look at yours always pushing the ball up the court looking for people isaac great vision great feel amazing it looked like he was gonna take the three and for a freshman to think wait a minute i got four mcdonald's all-americans out there i'm gonna let kicker take it instead that's the second opportunity look at that movement look at that inside and a foul look at the best he anticipated he didn't just react he anticipated ahead of time and knew where he wanted to throw that basketball watch him right now how he anticipates looks like comes the offensive rebound as booker reverses the ball bam right to the cover akari johnson his third point of the first half you know if it wasn't for the free-throw line john calibarri would have two other national championships he lost two national championships because they were poor in the free-flow line last year they didn't shoot well and the year two years prior against connecticut did not shoot well on a free-throw line yesterday in their win over auburn they were 30 out of 35 from the free-throw line that much better this year bakari johnson coaxed both of those free throws in and it's a 15-point lead he has the luxury though that coaches don't have every day in practice is a battle for pt for playing time he's got people you don't want to play i got somebody else going to play man you better perform most teams are looking for five guys that can play john's got about 12 guys that can play madden rimmed out of three paulie style with a rebound kentucky but it was a beauty from euless a one-hand push pass ends up being a turnover in what could have been a very pretty play you know when they look at stats the minutes played euless's minutes are going up and up john calipari recognizes how valuable he is to this team horn is asking for it paulie stein all over him defensively so far willie bully stein in kentucky [Applause] did a great job posting up right there showed his ability to post on the roll box here he lets the ball give me the ball get me the ball it's a wall store the best i ever saw entering the blue little post bounce pass wise pearl washington years ago at the cuse a nice entry nice angle and a good angle there for the feed [Applause] with a free throw six points for bobby porter's coming up now the heroes charge halftime report carl ravitch sean farnham along with bruce pearl yeah why bruce brooke getting out of 18. a lot of air attack i mean it's going to help recruiting man help recruiting that's what it's all about hey you know coach portis in the au basketball you learn from really a terrific guy a little trivia here corliss williamson really yep burlesque williams and coach aau borlas who had uh his jersey retired about a month and a half ago at budwell i mean nolan who mike learned so much from almost went back to back in national titles and i was there less than a month ago when nolan's jersey or name hit the raptors at bud walton that was a special night here's a little guy dick's been talking about tyler euless gatorade player of the year in the state of ohio last year and has stepped in here and as shannon said earlier become a leader even though he's the smallest guy on the team and the youngest guy on the team and getting those minutes he knows that he's doing really well because the minutes man are starting to pile up he's staying on the floor you play you stay you don't you sit absolutely it's like our business you don't do a job you're gone i'm surprised you've been around this long for that i know i set you 41-25 biggest lead in the ball game you know kentucky's really played well here to be up like this because arkansas has done everything they could trying to challenge them kentucky just has two of many players madden had it stripped by euless deflection he's looking to fight somebody he's going the other way he has it stopped out of bounds by harris see what i thought he should have done flip it over his shoulder to a trailer but he didn't know the trailer was in the trailer right behind him here's aaron harrison's going to throw it three-quarter court back to euless who can listen to john calipari before he comes back into the front court under a minute in the half [Applause] they have played an excellent half and even though they had to play against support size and competition yesterday they played really well against women one of the few mistakes they've made six turnover by kentucky should have shot the ball in there's another sign of unselfishness trying to make the pass for the dunk he had a little basket right there john's probably telling him it's great for the basket kentucky's got 12 assists on their field goals here in the first half that's sharing the basketball i'll tell you one thing john has done an amazing job getting these kids to buy in to play for the name of jersey and not worry about about a three second difference on the shot clock in the game clock the big blue nation standing as one here at bridgestone arena in the final moments of the half they appreciate what they've seen on this team six on the shot clock beard forces one over harrison cauley stein ahead to aaron harrison he'll have a shot before the buzzer maybe [Applause] turnover arkansas get it back with you 2.5 for all those people out there saying well you know what i'm gonna lose a lot of these guys go to the nba i hate to tell you they got the number one class in the country coming in next year the number one class again just some new names to get used to some new names beard long ball gonna get intercepted by akari johnson euless half court [Applause] that would have put a capper on a good first half for kentucky maybe better than good be great maybe in route to 34-0 great balance sharing the basketball they've been brilliant again arkansas has not played badly and they trail by 16. kentucky 4-1 arkansas 25 at halftime coming up the heroes charge halftime report karl ravitch and the gang will be along after these messages halftime in nashville cats with a big lead over the hogs [Music] sec championship game it is the heroes charge halftime report we welcome you back to bridgestone arena nashville tennessee and you can see the sea of blue you wake up this morning is the blue sky the streets are blue the building's blue and right now arkansas singing the blue is 41-25 sean farnham and of course the auburn coach bruce pearl joining us now as well uh as good as kentucky has been arkansas's halftime speech is going to be what because they were dominated in just about every phase and they really played a pretty good half well i think it starts with eliminating the scoring drought we were talking about it bruce you go seven minutes without making a field goal it's not just about making the field goals but it's the availability to get into your press it's hard to set up your press when you're not making field goals because immediately you're having to get back in transition against the kentucky wildcats i think it was as much about kentucky's defense and their size and to be able to be keep arkansas on the perimeter arkansas's best offense was the offensive rebound so the problem with that is what happens when you give up when you go send guys the offensive glass kentucky is going to run out in transition and those big guys will finish well and their floor spacing is so elite and you know that they've got the length to be able to throw it up into the rim and to me there are so many opportunities that they had and when you get a dunk like this what we saw was spurts out of kentucky we saw them score and then they come back and get a three-pointer and then they break you down and that's what makes them a lead well you've got to get behind the ball there there are five red jerseys that were not behind the basketball and that's a decision that sometimes you got to make as a coach it's hard for arkansas to change who they are 40 minutes of hell the fastest 40 minutes of basketball that's going to get them run out of this building if they continue to play fast they got to do what wisconsin would do make it a half court game lower the scoring down to get chance 40 minutes of hell usually means the other team suffers but right now arkansas is suffering and bobby portis who struggled yesterday player of the year in the conference is not engaged here last night i was at the grand old opry diamond rio gave me their drum sticks they're looking for a rhythm they got to go through bobby portis i'm telling you they had to carry johnson a couple times in the first half and that's when bobby portis was at his best he has to be able to exploit that matchup utilizing his speed his lateral quickness to get by to corey johnson if johnson's not on him they've got to post him up at times throughout the course of this year he's the conference player of the year they've gone away from the hot hand if you have any chance here in the second half you need bobby portis to get this active extend out on the perimeter and then attack the legs of a takari johnson well when i was in tennessee we played against greg oden all day long we try to bring greg out away from the basket with a big like a bobby portis and and that's a tough matchup for him but you know what the youngster dakari he adjusted he did a little bit better job they doubled him down a little bit that matchup wasn't as a big a factor in the second 10 minutes as it was in the first walls didn't start came in gave them a little bit of an energy spurt but again their two best players aren't being a factor and that's a difference maker and that goes back to what we've said the storyline has been all season long for kentucky it's the defensive end of the floor their ability to take away your options you know the fewest number of assists that a team gives up per game is the kentucky wildcats which means they force you to play one-on-one they take away the fluidity to your offense especially in the half court set they hold their opponents to just around seven assists a game that's remarkable coach arkansas comes back and wins this basketball game quality's got to start to light it up and get hot and arkansas is going to knock down some shots from the perimeter i heard coach calhoun earlier today talk about why uconn does so well now they have great guard play whether it be napier or kemba walker ashley judd loves the guard play of kentucky euless has got a lot of minutes he was a difference maker in that first half and the two harrison twins outstanding as well things going well for big blue what about yukon blue they take on a very very game and number one seed a little bit later on we'll talk about that when we come back this halftime report is presented by heroes charge the hit mobile game available on the app store and google play download now [Music] shots here is that what you said okay is it stop falling the heroes charge halftime report continues vcu and dayton out of the a-10 both these teams going to get into the tournament dayton up five off the miss jordan seibert flashes down a three and later shaka's smart steam who had suffered a devastating what appeared to be devastating injury beginning of the year they now have a 33-26 lead how about 25-9 and they lost their best player sunbelt conference georgia southern georgia state ryan harrow formerly kentucky kevin ware formerly of louisville under eight to go up by five georgia state where sizes up his defender and throws in a rainbow they're up by seven marcus quiter then would find where the little floater goes and he gets banged georgia state by three and then where kreider we're seeing a lot of that here with the big size advantage georgia state up 5 25 19 right now all right after us uconn takes on the number one seed smu yukon has used a number of big shots over the years ray allen a game-winner to give uconn their first big east tournament title back in 96. a couple of years later march 19 1998 rip hamilton was on the scene game-winning shot against washington in the sweet 16 after several missed yukon attempts carl are you trying to insinuate that uconn during this time of year will hit big shots and win games that maybe they're not supposed to the video's doing it i'm not doing the video's letting you know that bruce knows it they keep doing it and in march of 2011 it was the ankle breaker of kemba walker at madison square garden 76-74 win in the big east quarterfinals and then there was shabazz napier leading them to a big east ncaa title and of course this year it's ryan boatwright who's been getting it done seemingly the difference between this year and the year's pre-or prior is that vote right's kind of been a one-man show with the emergence of guys like hamilton and purvis is there another one in him i think there is and i tell you what we've seen this dialogue before a team that has their back to the wall and you've got a great guard that can carry the load we saw that last year yeah and now we're seeing it again with ryan boatwright they win today they're in the ncaa tournament they're a dangerous team because this team still defends exactly the way that kevin smu is a very good team and a very good coach and larry brown very good that's uconn that comes up next 3 15 eastern time on espn and watch espn the american final well it was a good half for arkansas and like everybody that's played a decent half they're down to kentucky they're down big 41-25 second half of the sec championship is coming up this has been the heroes charge halftime report [Music] [Applause] hey championship week continues presented by dick sporting goods and a half to go the sec on espn the sec tournament championship from nashville tennessee and kentucky in control right now halftime as they lead 41-25 and the reason they're leading 41-25 they're dominating right now 52 from the floor five three-pointers they have 12 assists on 14 made field goals that is sharing the ball and bit by tal they share it they get in transition they run and they do this kind of thing well they do a great job defensively as we know markets arkansas shooting 29 there's the blocked shot now electrum in transition there's the kick out by euless a little lob up on top really corny stein there's another great look catch by really quality stein there's that catch slam jam he's making a run for the mpp i'll tell you what they are scary good and i really believe that that's how they're frightening because arkansas came out and was not intimidated and was playing fairly well and then all of a sudden see i think kentucky's back into the same mode that they were earlier in the year right when they embarrassed kansas when they blew out ucla and afforded lead before ucla blink denied and when he beat north carolina they're starting to play that way that john told me before the game i want my kids get back that edge that they had earlier in the year looks like they have it right now 41 25 we check in third member of our team shannon spake well hey brad both coaches they had a key word moving into this second half for mike anderson movement he wants to see more movement with that basketball he told us guys we are not a selfish team he wants that to open it up because he feels that will then open up their defense as far as coach calipari it's all about communication he told me he feels like there were some breakdowns defensively on the pick and roll also on switching some screens so those are areas he'll be looking to perfect in the next 20 minutes i was going to say perfect is the only thing they can do they're playing pretty darn well arkansas is not playing as good said and still they trail 41-25 as we start the second half look who's starting on the ball look who's starting on the ball at the points for kentucky arkansas 25 points by the way matches a season low for a half see euless being rewarded for his great effort in the first half he was really a good star out there portis couldn't handle a pass and that's not the way arkansas wanted to start the second half kentucky's defense has been suffocating all year look at michael anderson your hands sometimes on the sideline as a coach are tied when they're playing well kentucky there's not much you can do yeah it'll be interesting to see if anybody in the ncaa tournament has something to do about kentucky's undefeated one it's gonna take an awful good basketball team to beat him i can tell you that that's gonna take a team not only a good basketball team but a team that's gonna have to excel both inside outside defensively and really have a major major performance and kentucky has to have an off night on top of it but the one beauty of college basketball if it was four out of seven like the nba there's nobody have a chance against that right four out of seven it's a one-shot deal yes sir one bad night the party could be over i mean four out of seven can you imagine who's gonna beat that four on the seven on the college level i'm not convinced the knicks could beat them four out of seven andrew harrison picked up his third foul so he's gonna have to sit i shouldn't say that though because they're a little down right now to play without carmella but i mean really you look at the nick light up i'm not convinced i'm watching taking a shot at the knicks there's other teams that are bad but they're real bad they're real bad talk [Applause] as he opened the first half with the first five points for kentucky he's got the first basket of the second half he's a crafty little guy he has a good feel for the game just forced to turn over just stepped on the sideline just forced a little turnover actually lacking our focus right there but you gotta know the landscape of that court you gotta know where you are it is that drive by beard getting in the lane here it only averages six points a game he's got seven here early in the second half [Applause] [Music] [Applause] these kids have to play hard though they know they're coming out of the game and five other great ones are coming in cornish nice drive towns and that's three on carl anthony towns and that could be a little bit of a fact now you got to convert on the free throw oh you just bring in another seven footers all you do is bring into kari johnson but he's not the offensive performer that towns is so town's on that final corner so we have to sit after this free throw i want to show you the difference in bringing the guy that's going to be a first round draft choice versus the guy would be the second pick of the draft so you don't lose a whole lot and how many guys can bring in another first round draft dress you gotta make foul shots down he's missing crucial foul shots really struggling [Applause] [Music] good things happen when the ball is in the hands of this little guy look at the head up wall i love that heads up always looking for a team he's got to keep his head up he's only five nine i think they're stretched out what about five seven ten on the shot clock back to euless oh he's gonna post it missed the screen from johnson got it to carly stein hook shot cornish clears [Applause] [Music] [Applause] portis again coming in averaging almost 18 points and nine rebounds a game in the numbers yesterday four points against george you did have 12 rebounds today eight points one board that's why it was an impressive win over georgia in fact they won by double digits and he didn't have a big game but georgia was playing her they played without games that's a big loss and jawan parker most of the game with a bad achilles [Applause] [Music] georgia head into the ncaa tournament as well they know arkansas kentucky and georgia are going lsu and ole miss are hoping they won't take a bubble batch right now that bubble doesn't burst dick will be part of the crew tonight on our selection show [Applause] foul's going to be on beard that'll be his second bracketology special everything you need to know about the field of 68 coming up tonight presented by staples seven o'clock with live sports center updates at 5 30 on espn those guys do a great job old production team everybody there works religiously i believe rick will be on that show tonight from here in town couldn't quite get him to bristol in time to be there so i missed willie coley harrison pull up jumper got it he is shooting the ball so well both of them are third three for aaron harrison that's his forte he's an outstanding shooter and he's in a rhythm he's a rhythm shooter [Applause] oh there it is elbow out here's harrison on the previous possession knocking down the three 11 points for aaron his brother's got two threes as well so five triples between the twins for kentucky that's pretty good it's a few big points in the book he was wide open on a last look for the three they very rarely take back shots that's pulled into the unselfishness pass the ball make the extra pass look for a teammate inside like that look at that right there that was a perfect example brad as we said at halftime they had 12 assists on 14 main field goals and they're still playing that way here in the second half with their biggest lead of the ball game they love passing the ball that's reminiscent years ago and i watched dean smith's club michelangelo maybe rest in peace but his club is to share the basketball and those great great players dean smith who went 27 straight years with 20 wins or more next in line 21 straight john calipari wow well you're right on top of it you are right on top of it i have to be working with you bakari johnson fouled on the way to the hoop kentucky really dominating on the interior taking advantage of their size you know you got size but the key is to take advantage of it and john gallery does a great job with that it was never a doubt to me when he got the kentucky job that he would be a success after watching what he did and building that massachusetts program was amazing and now you give them all the resources and they got all the resources they got them all down here they got the resources in bridgestone arena too i'd say about maybe 17 000 resources of the 18 000 plus that are here bridgestone do a great job i spoke at a big convention there john all these sales people real great bunch of guys sent me a text earlier today harris just inside the three-point line they're going to stop making some shots man that's really united sounds very simple who's pearl and i told him before the game very simple you got to make shots euless in the paint guy he'll make shots he'll make passes he'll make scores he'll make points he'll make caleb happy i love seeing a guy who a lot of people probably can't play at this level he's too small they listen to five nine there's no way he's five nines nice job to get it inside to anton beard [Applause] [Music] [Applause] madden got to him before he could get to the basket 15-16 and i said it's mostly blue in here if they're not in bridgestone they're in the bars of music city espn's exclusive presentation of college basketball is brought to you by the mazda cx-5 and the new taco bell app millions of combinations what will you make [Music] ashley judd just blew a kiss to nick vitale from across the courts she gave me a kiss at halftime and i got proof of it you saw my twitter go to my twitter it's right on there tyler euless the guy dick's been bragging up all day there's a good reason leading off to marcus lee on that one coming down laying it in himself and again the kick out to aaron harrison for a triple a little guy has been big today for kentucky he's been absolutely super he's really been super cinderella i haven't used that all year the 3s man yeah he's the 3s man here today i love it you know what a great inspiration to other kids out there who maybe are small thinking that you cannot play you got to have the work ethic the sense of pride the passion by the way did you trademark dominant with a capital d as i laid you out that one yesterday just checking harrison short cauley stein had the rebound and beard stripped it from it they put them all down beard and to alter his shot points there's the first easy one for bobby porter's today that might be the easiest best he's gonna get all afternoon bobby just in the right place at the right time on a loose ball says thank you it's been tough can't miss that one well it's down to 12. you know they're not going away they're going to battle they're going to fight typical razorback basketball we should have a little bit yesterday but this is not over they got talent on the floor auburn didn't have enough talent there's two starters yesterday especially no size right [Music] here trying to get aaron harrison a little back court pressure comes up with a steal i'm always telegraphed you're going to see the right from here by one eye they score here will be down to 10 or less if they hit a three he's a big possession for that psychologically a big possession but it'll still be arkansas ball we showed you the graphic earlier kentucky number two in the country and blocked shots this is the reason why guys like paulie stein and towns are the two top shot blockers on this wildcat team that's their fifth block shot today one thing it's great when you got multiple number of guys that can block shots really takes away the driving game makes teams have to shoot from the perimeter this is the largest crowd ever for an sec tournament game at bridgestone arena i undercut it earlier when i said something around eighteen thousand twenty thousand three fifteen [Applause] you know came to see you here you and ashley i've been here since wednesday plenty opportunity to see me can't wait to get home yeah i bet if she answers the phone numbers i heard from misha daughter aaron harrison picks up the foul the one thing that kentucky does well not only black shots on the inside john calibari and his staff john robert you look there you see certainly mr ross in the whole gang can they really guard you on the perimeter [Applause] that adam's having a little discussion i think with bobby porter from carl anthony towns who are bumping down on the low block right now and they're still bumping it got it leaning in over and he's fouled so they talked about him and then and banged and banged and towns picks up his fourth foul he's got to make these fouls get it down to 10. carl anthony fouled out yesterday he's one personal away from doing so again [Applause] and it sends bobby porter to the free-throw line kentucky fans still don't like the call as porter hits the free throw i don't see the same swag and the same when we saw that unbelievable bounce out of kentucky like we saw in the first half i don't know maybe get a little complacent here with the lead they look dangerous this team can put points on it more quickly they lead the sec and score in arkansas this could make it a 10-point game where it was 116. doesn't get the second one though [Applause] and aaron stronger got popped in the face by michael cross unintentional but he got it right yes totally accidental we were fast by his brother told him made him have to reach way up for it right there yeah what mayweather's gonna do with that big battle on may 2nd retaken absolutely i saw him one time live but i couldn't believe how quick his fists were maybe you should buy me some tickets or take me out there i can't believe the place there is no that's why i said you have to take me out there aaron harrison trying to get the tears out of his eyes after getting popped in the nose and they're just taking a look right now [Applause] [Music] [Applause] you know a lot of teams when they fall behind 15-16 they go really they don't want to go south this arkansas team is scrapping yet quan still battling harrison still kind of licking his lips a little bit make sure everything's in the right spot as he comes over in front of us to take the inbounds pass with falls on him [Applause] so both harrison twins and euless in the lineup right now for kentucky yeah three really solid guards playing here goes one harrison to cauli stein inside for an easy one there he is again unselfish drive the baseline just flip it off to your teammate and we'll leave williston as i said is headed hoping for the gold trophy as the mvp if they're to win this game he's got eight rebounds and ten points easy bucket for tom madden only his first field goal of the game nice drive by matter right there go right good body control right now arkansas would love a stop and a score on the other end and get it to single digits and you can get your mind rolling a little bit that maybe wouldn't beat these guys you're right that's psychologically such a big lift to a team well they almost got the stop borders [Music] [Applause] he wants to win they say he's a great young guy he learned from the terrific guy from carlos williams we almost had bobby portis in our lap director play i was really down jumping your door follows no good and arkansas did get the stop they get the ball back that ball he made that happen but it's hard see what happened diving for the ball and oh yeah ma'am got crushed watkins just sat on his head and he's going to go to the bench great hustle by both teams trying to come up with that loose ball here's arkansas chance to get it to single digits see now here's where if you're the mvp of the league portis you got to really want the ball now and you got to take charge stories take charge at moments like this your team needs your help you're the best player in the conference they voted you gotta want the ball number 10. he wants it right now somebody says one of the more reverse and give it to me madden just a careless pass in the lane they blew an opportunity there he tried to jam that into puerto rico a little lyles missed the step back madden will run for arkansas quals [Applause] they got [Applause] the press got to harrison he couldn't find anybody to invite to at 11 48 remaining in the happen michael kwalls with a pull-up jumper has cut the lead for kentucky down to single [Music] digits i'm rhys davis the latest dish brought to you by dish a-10 championship game vcu and dayton naishon pierre cleaning up with the loose ball and tying the game for the flyers against the rams also have the sunbelt men's championship game going on on espn2 kevin ware the former louisville player has 18 points remember he broke his leg in the ncaa tournament game against duke that game is tied at 32. we have the american conference championship game uconn and smu tipping off in just under 41 minutes huskies reigning national champions looking for their first conference tournament title since 2011. the team that beat kentucky in the national championship a year ago why all the haters well christian leighton here played in four straight final fours why has everybody disliked him for so long espn films 30 for 30. i hate christian leighton tonight at 9 on espn presented by volkswagen tdi one of the great shots ever in any sport and it was against kentucky of course that's coming up nine o'clock tonight that follows our selection show that mr vital will be part of him so release davis obviously reese has to have along with us working overtime man he's working total over time lately should be a hall of fame no question on his collegiate career let's see kentucky being challenged now let's see how they respond i haven't seen many teams that forced kentucky to call a timeout like we saw we're gonna foul uh harris battling with lyles and now we head to the tv timeout willie carley stein's been the star bobby port is struggling a little bit but trying to get his hogs back in the picture 48-39 not quite yet it was 16 points at halftime and not quite yet on the scissors because arkansas has come back with 11 28 remaining they've done a nice job of hanging in hanging tough we said they played pretty well in the first half but didn't have anything to show for the second half they've outscored kentucky 14-7 [Music] making some shots and this point is from the offensive rebound walls with that big jumper at the foul line that's the one that cut into single digits which is where we are right now you know looking at that swag in the first half came out with a little chip on the shoulder they want to win this sec tournament i see a little bit right now there's a little complacency now they're going to turn up that water man turn to what of course they're not stop playing trey lyles will go to the free-throw line he's got a 1-1 right here at 12 points yesterday had 18 points in the regular season meeting between these two teams that kentucky won [Music] seven points 84-67 eight now checking it now brad make them uncomfortable that's exactly what mike anderson said to his guys in the huddle and i will tell you one player who is laser focused is bobby portis he was shaking his head back and forth mumbling something under his breath he was not happy with his performance yesterday and absolutely wanted to make it better today it's kind of like a quarterback you got to make him uncomfortable in the pocket he would like to make kentucky just a little bit uncomfortable if they get it down around seven or six something like that right now goes back to 11. trying to spread the court driving off the bat nice good isolation here's the backward pressure again double team on euless adding a little issue back there to pick up his trouble he took a timeout again that's the second time in the last three minutes kentucky's had to take a timeout because of the press michael quality didn't start the game but was our star of the game yesterday going to work here against harrison and drives inside to get it back to a nine-point deficit nice little isolation utilizes athletic ability that's the pressure after the score double them up he's going to pick up his dribble in no man land he's forced to call a timeout you don't see kentucky call him any timeouts now the ncaa women's college basketball championship begins and ends on espn but before they cut those nets you have to make it to the dance our experts will reveal the 64 teams playing for the national title ncaa women's selection special presented by capital one it's tomorrow night at seven o'clock on espn brad nestler town shannon spake john martin karl ravitch bruce pearl and our entire espn crew at bridgestone arena with the commish mike's live he's been an outstanding commissioner been absolutely super in his career what he's done for the sec he's gonna retire july 31st and his granddaughter out here before the game that's the love of his life and uh that'll take a lot of his time when he's still not being involved with sec sports [Music] there was a commitment made a couple years ago about improving basketball not just kentucky but this conference and they have done a remarkable job when you consider that the 10 11 and 13th seeds advanced to yesterday's games in the sec tournament or i should say friday's games in the sec tournament shows that the bottom half of the league is a lot better than it used to be in the top half of course is capped off by the group we're watching the two groups we're watching right now that really had a lot more balance after kentucky kentucky was obviously all alone number two there was more balance [Applause] very explosive harrison now breaks the press of matty watkins but again it's a nine-point advantage for kentucky harrison forced one there drew the foul from either portis or qualls and the other harrison in pain over there on the side i don't know what happened to him right here look at balls catch the ball face triple threat position sees the gap goes right to the goal i know what i'm there in harrison now he tried to get around the screen on the other end and he got one in the hip and that's what's bothering him right now [Applause] came around the screen on the other end and he's heading to the bench and he's in some serious discomfort [Applause] andrew harris and his brother at the future line ten point advantage as we approach ten minutes remaining in the sec trauma championship hey brad do you see that extra balance at the arkansas team i see a little extra batch right now added up on every possession they need to make every possession count right now get good shots and then play defense if they have any chance at all watkins forced one up there but he did get a no traveling ballers he's not happy on that sideline there's a big possession right there they're trying to clear out that left side of the court the right side looked like dragged his paperwork you wanted to be an official yesterday i wouldn't have called that one but that's just me always down to carrie johnson mishandled the pass and then he got mugged underneath they took couldn't try to attack off that pressure it's physical out there you better lace him up very physical and he's holding his shoulder foul is on kingsley arkansas looking for the second sec tournament championship for kentucky it's kind of just a normal thing they're looking for the 28th so you got aaron harrison on the bench holding his left hip you got dekary johnson wondering if they can get his shoulder up high enough to shoot a free throw he looks a bit on that shoulder as well i believe the physicality john caliber talked about that before the game he said they're going to be very physical and we have to be ready to combat that [Applause] johnson has missed all of his free throws in the second half after hitting a couple in the first half watkins goes out for arkansas and rashad madden checks back in what arkansas has done really well in the second half brad they have stopped the transition game they're not allowed to go up and down the floor with those slam jams we saw in the first half even though carl anthony towns has four fouls john calipari knows he's got to get him in there for the carrie johnson because he's in some different comfort with that shoulder he did get the second free throw and now he's going to come out and towns will come in i'd go right out right now see he didn't get the fifth foul making the heck the blade jump look at the big blue nation now rising they're rising they really know our team needs a little bit of adrenaline from the crowd they know that they're halfway through the second half and half three-quarters of the way to 34-0 and quarrels is going to work for arkansas you know the best player on the floor right now in the second half he's been tremendous in the second half 13 for the game for michaels he scored arkansas last eight points nice ride by harrison they love them john gallery keeps preaching i need harrison to attack to attack andrew attack [Applause] he's across enough a big size advantage he can really jump he's a skywalker doesn't want to post them inside and a foul on booker that's what dick was talking about andrew harrison and john calipari has been preaching this forever when this guy penetrates and drives good things happen including that left-handed layup off the windows did a great job there using the left hand going in strong [Applause] [Music] [Applause] kentucky basketball and really cauli stein has a cut on the bridge of his nose so you got bakari johnson nursing his shoulder on the right hand side of your screen willie cauley stein is bleeding and aaron harrison sitting next to willie with a hip pointer [Music] been a tough day yeah real tough [Applause] his first field goal that's one of the great strands on the offensive last the battle battle battle we're going to get a little nice play right there nice dish by madden [Applause] but what a tremendous play by man and to create that opportunity two-point garage madden and geared [Applause] look at the penetration on the baseline little reverse wrap around stayed up there too long yep [Applause] so the technical the andrew harrison at the free-throw line got two files can you feel why he's out of the lineup unless he's getting a breather to the eight-minute tv timeout i don't know why [Applause] he doesn't know either someone investing ran down and said hey [Applause] we're not talking about just an average player we're talking about the mvp of the sec that's over all those unbelievable players that wear a kentucky uniform he keeps shaking that head [Music] [Applause] in the back not the normal person to bring it across the timeline against some pressure so it won't get it off to us he's got a better handle than most people believe [Applause] spreading the part now but they're a little 1-4 double low post on the bench still a 6 11 and 6 10 guy up front for kentucky five on the shot clock andy harrison has a look he's gonna have to take it there it goes down it goes right took it right down he's got some swag in his game back to 15. walls are trying to quiet the crowd not this [Applause] he's waiting at the scorer's table but we need a whistle first how quickly you play that tough and he won't suddenly spark bam offensive rebound jump shot before you know you're looking 15 down miles [Applause] that's number one in the nation that's going for 34 and they love them just like that the lead is back to the largest of the game with seven to play look at this pass by euless look inside great catch and a great finish kentucky has all the parts they got perimeter players they got inside players they got coaching i give you the rest of the nation and i'm taking kentucky to win the last 48 field goals they've made through this tournament they have 31 assists think about it that is unbelievably impressive making sure each guy gets the ball at the right time and get the high percentage shot i mean you don't have to be a genius somebody like me could figure it out if you get high percentage shots with the ability there you can win some games you can win some games what the players they have to win some games too yeah you have these guys you'd still be coaching yeah find these guys i might be like 30 and choke you would have messed up at least rejected by towns second chance coming from the outside see that's a problem they don't shoot from the perimeter and porters can't get to the ball out of bounds to kentucky if you're not making perimeter shots eventually you'll score around the basket but they'll wear you there they'll where you're down with that depth and fresh legs look at bobby portis pretty much tells the story doesn't it espn's exclusive presentation of college basketball is brought to you by dick's sporting goods sport begs of you this one simple question who will you be and the lexus command performance sales event now through march 31st see your lexus dealer five seconds four seconds two seconds one second of has all to its old kentucky home 2012 national championship in the pursuit of perfection here's the comparison if you want to compare at this point it would be 40-0 if kentucky ran the table from this point on and you still think that this team can beat this team well you know i really love this team obviously but i really thought that team was special anthony davis is in another league compared to anyone else michael kid gilchrist you think about jones you think about darius miller lamb that teague that team to me was special this team is special two guys two guys that went one and two in the draft absolutely yeah and i think davis you know he's right there as one of the top three guys in the league right now he's so good this team doesn't have well they've got a whole bunch of superstars but when you look at statistics they don't have because they have so many players including aaron harrison who is the leading scorer but only 11.3 a game and then you got a guy like willie cauley stein they only averages nine points a game and he's been the best player on the floor the last three days you know they wearing it down with their legs too because their fresh legs they don't play a lot of minutes down but foul [Applause] his stock going up and up and up holy style i want a little here he is right there working on the inside you can't teach that size brad going up up is he an elevator man then he's up up under the way now the biggest lead in the ball game at the six minute mark as michael qualls goes to the line you know john could have won a couple more national titles last year by 13 for 24 on a free-throw line they lose by six and a couple of years ago they lost to connecticut and they were four for 12 on a free-throw line so you total that that's right now my math tells me 17 for 36. and that really cost him two national titles then if you factor in a memphis game when he was at memphis against kansas they missed some b throws at the end they could have really this is a better free-throw shooting team than they were a year ago guys like carly stein have just improved completely from the free-throw line by hard work [Applause] he shot under 50 from the line last year he's at 60 now i mean orchestra really challenged him here given the second half at the towns he's trying to make like a guard he wants to make like euless madden dishes off the harris who got in too deep and threw it away looks like you have an easy lay-up these big big guys lyle's fouled by madden on the other end that's an interesting matchup would be wouldn't win wisconsin wisconsin has the kind of personnel and the way they control the temple of the game if they got an early lead on they played kentucky and then kaminsky just has been absolutely sensational all year a lot of people were worried about wisconsin ended up in the same region in the ncaa tournament with kentucky but that has switched now at least in joe linardi in a lot of people's minds as wisconsin's probably the number one seed now so they wouldn't be in the same bracket obviously as the walkmans well wild wildcats as you see right now number one it's gonna be interesting to see who goes there number two in their region looking right here isn't two seeds i mean arizona has been really playing well a team that's got a lot of talent gonzaga what about you beat duke and you beat north carolina within 24 hours in the standards and we're talking basketball not football we're not talking football you beat duke in carolina within 24 hours mike bray congratulations great job [Music] lead getting closer to 20 after arkansas got it down to 19. bobby porter's offensive foul frustration total frustration he's a good player he's got some time off after this tournament get himself ready for the ncaa tournament we have not seen the real bobby porters looks like he had a little bit of trouble getting the ball inbound again [Applause] put in the hands of euless good things happened again kentucky with that three-yard offense of euless and the harrison cliffs along with cauley stein in towns like that against the arkansas pressure up under not in though but towns keeps it alive and a fresh shot clock wisely they bring it out and use some clock as we're under five minutes have so much potential it's unreal from the same high school produced the terrific player one of our colleagues mr williams seniors here he is on the low block double-teamed and threw it away trying to get it to carly style as soon [Applause] get a layup [Applause] today what i like about his leadership he takes charge on the floor make sure to get into their offense right now he gets off the ball and harrison takes over at the point and the foul on madden three three two set two guys down inside in a little box with just over four minutes remaining kentucky at command uconn and smu coming up next in the american championship and willie cauley stein who's probably going to be the most valuable player in the sec tournament steps to the free-throw line i should be he should be my wall rolls-royce first team yesterday he had 18 points seven rebounds two assists and three blocked shots today he's got 13. right now and about to add to it some of those numbers don't even tell the story of how many shots he alters he's such a factor on the floor he's a different speaker [Applause] right now mike anderson just wants his team to keep playing hard because this one's just about the books with under four minutes to go they'll be a tough out in the ncaa tournament they played a different style of ball today when they played in the regular season against kentucky they wanted to run run run and they got run out of the gym and today they were down eight nothing in the opening minute or so before mike anderson call a timeout and since that point they have battled but they're just not as good as the guys in the white uniforms oh what a nice move stuff good head fake 3 27 away from 34-0 69-50 kentucky [Applause] reece davis with you we have another ticket punch to come from the sunbelt georgia state and georgia southern 38-36 that is not halftime it is the end of the game and rj hunter didn't have a great game celebrating with his father ron hunter who's the coach at georgia state and unfortunately ron hurt his ankle he's being attended to help to the bench but i'm sure the victory will help ease some of that pain they have it wrapped up in ice stuff at georgia state on its way to the ncaa tournament ryan boatwright hopes to take uconn there in the american conference championship game coming against larry brown and smu in under 12 minutes hi reese thanks for the panthers and the eagles georgia state and georgia southern split the regular season and ends up being a two-point game in the championship of the sun belt here willie cauley's down in kentucky en route to the sec tournament championship and he is our player of the game brought to you by cree led lighting there's his numbers his 11th career double double third this year and uh sensational tournament here in nashville for willie cauley stein he's made my first team all-american one with ogrefort kaminsky deangelo russell from out of ohio state and jerian greyer of victor biggest lead of the game in his 20 now is paulie stein trying to block another shot and stan picks up the foul nice little motion cutting without the ball nice cut to the basket with the foul from the rear nice little bounce pass he might have had an argument and you know what we're going to give it to you still had his hand on the ball and it just about took his shoulder out so i think it's good enough to call that a foul although the kentucky faithful think it was a blocked shot atlantis harris at the free-throw line they want more more and more out of kentucky hey paul b and cardi just sends me a text he says scc life is going to get better and better lsu has a number one player coming in and ben simmons say also you're talking about nine sec teams he said are ranked in a top 40 in recruiting and of course of course the cats are number one ben simmons have already been named the naismith high school basketball player of the year i saw him play a person [Music] and they're getting another great kid antonio blakeney who was also legitimate and if the eminem's martin and mickey stay that would be quite a lot of wow lsu of course got disappointed by auburn in this sec tournament i unless you're a kentucky fan because in three minutes you're going to be smiling at 34-0 and of course hoping for four to go only three teams have been able since indiana 76 when undefeated have been undefeated going into the ncaa tournament andrew harrison's falling down bearings at three and they just jumped up with joy wichita state was undefeated unlv was undefeated and harry byrne those three teams saint jones was undefeated they got beat in their conference tournament let's take a look at today's amazing play brought to you by turbo tax and as my partner would say sharing the right mr nestler are you serious are you serious [Music] great team basketball very unselfish kentucky team 15 assists today he's passed the basketball so well and they defend so well different kind of defensive team than virginia virginia with great position on defense this team utilizes that size athleticism pressure on the basketball i got a feeling bobby portis when they play their first ncaa tournament game is going to have a huge outing because it hasn't been his best trip here in nashville and it's not the kind of guy that we saw over the course of the season sec player of the year averaging 17.7 and 8.8 rebounds a game and it hasn't been anywhere near that here at bridgestone arena i would say that statement because this kid's got a lot of pride in himself and they'll have some time to be able to sit analyze relax so he's getting a little conversation coach anderson will tap on the bow and reboot for the tournament just over two minutes remaining for kentucky to still be perfect you know people started before the season started and they've got this great class they're coming at you looking at speed they have to weaken [Applause] you know what it's realistic now it's realistic now [Applause] i even think with the tournament guns you may see a play even at a higher level that we've seen and they're playing at a pretty high level right now but i think we're going to even see a higher level like we saw earlier in the year they're going to play with purpose they want to do what bob knight did in 76 and they ran the table a great indiana team that did it wilkerson bay benson abernathy and their leader it was a real tremendous point now some of the guys that started the game are going to be coming out of the game as john calipari goes to his bench and doesn't lose much quality at all by doing so but he gives the fans a chance to give a standing ovation to cauley stein and the harrison twins and lyle's at the free-throw line trying to cap off the three-point play all his points have come in the second half for trey now it's amazing you don't hear anybody complaining about playing time you don't have anybody motivated but when you win that sounds it that happens if you lose oh yeah i'm sorry we said he's a high riser we said he's the elevator man we said he could go up up and away mr guards he can jam man he can get to the sky i think he's the number one guy in college basketball as far as making sportscenter's top 10 plays he might added another one i don't know this wasn't bad though [Applause] authority he'd rather have a little simple layup and be up on a scoreboard he didn't start the game but he's finishing as strong as he can had a steal on the previous possession the slam there [Music] dick talked about the ncaa champions that went undefeated the last one being indiana 32-0 started with bill russell and the guys in san francisco and then frank mcguire's north carolina team 32-0 john wooden so many great teams 30 and zip pretty good talent there in that picture and in indiana you just talked about the guys involved 32-0 to win the thailand 76. look at that young robert montgomery knight is not even white yet that team was so well drilled played great team defense shared the ball great motion game bill walton company louis all the things you just said about that indiana team if i close my eyes and wasn't looking at the graphic you could be talking about this group right here that we're watching from lexington yeah you're right about that very unselfish team share them all defend i got a little motion spinning the court you know i looked at the statute you always get the most minutes today [Applause] big blue nation might as well stand for the rest of the game chasing the dream oh they're on cloud nine they're so proud they're a big blue nation everybody uh they're up to cheer with joy they have a lot to cheer about underneath by kingsley and that's just a matter of wasting away the next 39 seconds you got great horse racing down there and the tremendous horse forums and you got basketball it's hard to be an undefeated horse unless you're secretariat but this team a bunch of thoroughbreds away from 34-0 they got a lot of thoroughbreds man and nine mcdonald's all americans did i feel bad for his pointless he came [Applause] the all-tournament team already michael claus kt herrera with all the good of colors down at kentucky along with the harrison twins and the most valuable player the guy that dick and i called earlier in this half there he is he's become a little more assertive on the offensive side i think you'll see that in the ncaa tournament the last shot goes for arkansas but the win goes to kentucky a wealth of talent for the commonwealth of kentucky unblemished 78-63 is the final score when the ncaa tournaments will be one question who will be able to beat kentucky i don't know i haven't seen it yet this year who knows maybe somebody will have a perfect night and kentucky will have an off night but so far they haven't had an off night all year long sec tournament champions for the 28th time wildcats of kentucky and their coach of the year is with shannon's fate coach you knew that this was going to be a physical game but at one point you had three of your guys on the bench karl anthony towns in foul trouble what do you think about the way the guys fought through the university andrew started so well got that second foul and recovered at the end of the game carl the same deal but that's what happens when you have enough guys because i thought dakari played well marcus lee played well in his minutes uh willie was a beast tyler was really good aaron was good they were good it was a good game for us you've told your guys you couldn't wait for the regular season to be over as you reflect on it what are you most proud of we haven't lost one yet that's ridiculous to be honest with you but um we were we're ready let's let's get on with this next tournament we know how hard it's going to be every game we're going to play is a war we're not going to get a pass it's going to be a hard bracket we know it and that's okay there's nothing wrong with that our thing is let's be in our best let's individuals be the best version of themselves if that's not good enough it's not the best of five these are all one and done games or you're in or you're out thank you coach we'll move over here to willie cauley stein who is one of the guys on the bench you can see the bandage on your nose every single week every single game you guys get everybody's best shot how have you been able to battle and fight through all that adversity um i mean we prepared for it um you know coach prepares us in practice um you know we fail each other in practice we we go at each other hard in practice because you know in the games it's going to be like that so we try to make practice harder than the games and uh that's why we're able just to play through everything you've been here before you went through this last season the pressure is coming how has the season prepared all of you guys for what you're going to face when next week starts um like you said we get everybody's best shot so coming into the tournament next week we're going to get whoever we're matched up with best shot and um i mean they're going to get our best out so it's going to be it's going to be a good game regardless but um and the whole season prepared us for it thank you for willie cauley sign you guys go celebrate this sec tournament win back to you guys well as john calipari said willie was a beast i'm afraid there's a whole group of beasts on that wildcat team they win the sec tournament championship for the 28th time and just another golden moment for kentucky basketball [Applause] good luck got it and a three-point albert has attempt the unthinkable maybe the unbelievable long ball from downtown it's been fun from nashville thanks for all the folks in music city for being so good to us great tournament congratulations to the kentucky wildcats tournament champions for 2015. for dick bytel sean barnum shannon spake karl ravitch bruce pearl brad nessler so long from music city [Music] you

Channel: Underground warning ⚠️

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Id: UbHaC_Kn8gg

Length: 119min 34sec (7174 seconds)

Published: Sun Mar 15 2020