2014-2015 Kentucky vs Texas (Big 12 SEC Challenge - Game 8)

it is quite a scene right now here in Lexington Kentucky with a couple of unbeaten teams getting ready to go it's the Texas Longhorns who are here Big Blue Nation is fired up were up arena is sold out it's a battle of the Giants coming up next welcome to Rupp Arena here in Lexington for the SEC big 12 challenge presented by Sonic and welcome to continuing coverage of Jimmy v week for cancer research on ESPN as we continue our commitment of the V Foundation and Jim Valvano's dream to defeat cancer so far it's the big 12 for the SEC won three games tonight including this one and then two more tomorrow to wrap it up hi everybody and welcome to Rupp Arena look and listen to this place Dan Schulman Jay Bilas happy and lucky to be here to seven and O teams number six against number one what are the keys here tonight well protects us the game plan is really simple you're playing the number one team in the country the best defensive team the best shot blocking team so you want to try to get out and transition play ahead of their defense and then on make him take challenge jump jump and limit him to one shot though the best offensive rebounding team in the country it's easy down executing that game just do as he says and everything will work down five listen to the noise here in this place tonight as the Wildcats the blue platoon are now getting introduced as the starters for tonight's game let's check out the starting lineups here in this game denies [Applause] and we begin with the visitors from the Austin there without ice hands handler their outstanding sophomore guard the leaks into the starting lineup Jonathan Holmes a senior is off to a magnificent start so far this year for Kentucky you'll see all tenable so we may as well show you all ten of them it's the blue platoon that will start but of course the white will get their minutes as well nobody averaging more than 22 minutes per game thus far this year for the Wildcats with more on tonight's big matchup let's send it over to the third member of our team Shannon Smith well Dan a primary focus for Kentucky in practice this week was all about speed two reasons number one like Jay just mentioned they know this Texas team is going to try to set the pace particularly in transition and Kentucky must match that number two overall shots currently Kentucky's taking approximately 60 shots per game coach Calipari is goal is 80 he wants them to move faster in the key to all the speed drills this weekend was EJ Floreal this sophomore his parents are track and field Olympians he was a state high school sprinting champion he is the fastest player on this Kentucky team he had the guys flying up and down the court alright Shannon thank you what John Calipari today told us is they want somebody to really challenge them they want somebody to make shots they want somebody to play great against them to see how his team responds and for Rick Barnes his line was simple he had a media conference with a bunch of media from Kentucky yesterday and those around the country as well and he said hey we're showing up to play I mean they it's not like Texas is coming in here thinking they don't have a chance to win this game well they do have a chance and Rick Barnes knows that they're gonna play hard they're gonna play physical but Rick Barnes was also having some fun too he was the president of the John Calipari fan club all week with the media Kentucky and Texas getting ready to go here at Rupp tomorrow Anthony our officials who got sermons daily Lee Cassell and as two players tumbled to the court right off the chip and Kentucky gets the first possession of the night just show how physical this game is going to be DeMarcus Holland and Aaron Harrison just go right down to the ground Harrison the LOB and that's what Texas is trying to prevent more than anything else is Kentucky being able to throw the ball up to the rim they want to play five on five in the half court of course challenge jump shots Ridley no both teams will ferociously attack the offensive glass Aaron Harrison knocks down the mid-range jumper that's where he has improved a great deal from nice shot fake got past a really good defender into Marcus Hawley then went straight up and down that was really well done and - physical with karl-anthony towns and ridley is called for an early found well Rick Barnes wants his team to be physical but you'd still have to be smart where he'd really like him to be physical as when a shot goes up you get a physical block out because Dan this Kentucky team is really phenomenal on the offensive glass they get almost the pass of the missed shots for second shots now Poythress down to the post Holmes defending him Andrew Harrison using the screen missing the three and down with the rebound is DeMarcus Holland's outstanding defenders for Texas and a guy who plays as hard all the time is any player that Rick Warren says he's ever coached hard worker hasn't mentioned an excellent individual defender especially on the ball and the referees are really watching the post that's the second foul called in the post and as many possessions down on them Texas an and this one was on challenge of Kentucky these are two huge teams the frontcourt of Kentucky is bigger than every NB the exception of Portland and Texas isn't much smaller Willie cauley-stein the junior big guy for Kentucky with shouting Jonathan Holmes the three man for Texas Poitras with a rejection he Stein is an excellent defender garden with Dante Hinton a three man and a good wing good man great feed inside and Holmes who fouled on the feed from Ridley cauley-stein just turned his head and a really nice cut by Jonathan Holmes who has really retooled his body he's a different player this year than he was his first three he's lost about 20 pounds gotten stronger as well and never hit the game-winning shot against UConn just last week a corner three with time running out and a guy who can play the three and the four 20s wants to go big he plays the three on occasion J you may need to see him because of his extender then said he even played the tune a little bit protection and really on offense doesn't matter what position we call him it really matters as to who you are close to coast Andrew Harrison no holds the rebound with Shannon spake was talking about trying to push the ball off the court wasn't the best looks when Andrew Harrison could have gotten there no offensive rebounding on there now boy croissant police he shot these scramble to get back and just find anybody Harrison Stan Wright with Holland still plenty of time to shoot Lambert a very good passers affordable homes a step back Holmes will spin inside tap back out of the press 35 now for the Longhorns that's really the area of the court where I think Texas can get some shots that mid-range area if you're going to try to get it all the way to the basket against the shop like that's going to be tough if you can drive it and then pass it out is that Ridley again Cameron Ridley just picked up his second foul within the first three minutes of the game and that's going to send him to the bench yeah you have to adjust it's the same official that's called all three fouls down in the post so clearly he's watching now and look there's contact that goes on in the post but Cameron Ridley just throwing a little bit too much into it and so Myles Turner the outstanding freshman when Dedecker Texas 611 240 the second highest rated incoming review in the country according to the ESPN 100 what is he blue well he's an excellent shot blocker and a really good rebound he plays about 20 minutes a game very productive in that time a very skilled player but still learning how to play Andrew Harrison will step in and commit the foul Texas win zone in that first possession with Turner in the game well and they're gonna play a lot of zone tonight and I think when you play against Kentucky but the hard part in playing zone have blockout responsibilities but you aren't Kentucky to shoot jump shots you keep them out of the lane by filling zone against here turn amount of it from their clients tonight so an early blow to the Longhorns with Italy on the bench with two homes open in the corner the assist tool amorous that's what we were talking about before Dan to drive into the lane and then kicking it out for an open shot and Kentucky's got to do a much better job of staying with Jonathan Holmes he's hitting 50% from that three-point line that's his 15th 3 on the season cauley-stein he is fouled on his way to the rim any time that you can put pressure on the rim you don't have to do it to score but it draws defenders karl-anthony towns comes in and he's deep into the lane then he's got to close out all the way to the corner and Jonathan Holmes spaces that three-point line and is wide open and ready to shoot when he catches it that was a great play and well-executed by Texas the foul was on Turner his first and at the line out for Kentucky Willie cauley-stein but that ankle injury last year Michigan into the NC double-a tournament is Kentucky mated all the way to the national championship game in Turner who picks up the one foul immediately goes to the bench and Prince eBay is soon to the game more size a 610 junior known for his ability as the defensive end of the floor smartly will fire you don't want your freshman picking up another foul while kind of spilling out this game then the referees are trying to establish control I've been calling some fouls and frankly they may not call later on and at the ball screen for police got the switch and Kentucky because they've got similarly sized players and super athletes on the perimeter they can switch everything they can even switch the globe cauley-stein goes back I look at the length McCoy was up at the top bottling police so for leaks we'll launch one and another offensive rebound for Texas nearly thrown away by Lambert we're in Harrison leaked out instead of sticking around to go after that rebound if Kentucky leaks out they take away in the panic that's off the leg of Holmes and that's going to be a turnover first time out of the night for 14 in here interrupts Texas and Kentucky tied in the early going tonight's game is a part of ESPN's journey to the tourney presented by Sonic a season-long spotlight on games that will impact the tournament and the sonic showdown between Texas and Kentucky Texas has never defeated the number one team in the nation their Owens seven all-time against number one and we may not expect a lot of scoring look at the opponent's field goal percentage for both of these teams coming into the game tonight one thing we will expect is a lot of changes for the Wildcats five guys going out five new guys coming in let's go to Shannon well Dan all you have to do is check out the student section they are wearing their white shirts they had blue shirts on to start the game that means a y platoon is on their way out you know this platoon style it doesn't only help in game these guys in practice I watched him yesterday extremely competitive as they do a lot of scrimmages but it was the players that really had to buy in for this whole thing to work and Andrew Harrison told me didn't we're winning they sure are seven and OH is to carry Johnson he comes off the bench jailer than the most improved players we've seen this year and gives the Wildcats to leave much more mobile his footwork is really good in the post and he gets deep post position where he doesn't have to make some fancy post move and he is leading this team in free throw attempts largely because he gets the ball in an area where he gets fouled and with this platoon this is the pressing return so they'll put on a full-court pressure to go 94 feet where the poor guard Tyler Ulis can really get up underneath the point guard and make it difficult but totally different look you have in this next container good job by Marcus way to extend back catches by Connor Lambert can you catch it further out Fatimah Crandall Nancy is into the game now for Texas number 0 great work on the offensive glass that's been a strength in the early going tonight here for the Longhorns some of the rebounds have been longer rebounds that one near the bucket Prince ebay going after it with both hands another baked a man with arms Texas is an excellent offensive rebounding team as well just not as prolific as Kentucky the foul was on trey lyles the freshman Myles Turner's getting ready to check back into the game for Texas it's funny dangling you've got so many good big guys sometimes the guards and wings now say that got some after he's out I can go early and that's really what's been happening with Kentucky they've been leaking out early and not sending all five guys to the defensive glass and already for Texas they've got four offensive rebounds in less than five minutes of action as Lanford goes to the bench and then turn the checks back in and ebay you can see a lot of a lot of hang time on those free throws but he gets the bounce on the second he's now 4 for 11 from the line this year two-three zone they were in a tandem early to slow the advance mr. four pass the putter wasn't expecting it Kentucky nowhere near as proficient offensively in their zone offenses they're on their man honest which is true of most teams that's why you're surprised that more teams don't play zone why Syracuse hasn't come out of it to so many here's Holland icepacks take a slam by eBay if you drive you're going to draw defense and draw some healthy but you've got to be ready to kick it if you're going to try to finish on your drive it's gonna be awfully difficult to finish a munch to threes but if you kick it out or drop it off and got a chance now it's knocked away again mr. Kentucky using the only team with great size and length out here tonight Texas is big as well Johnson kicks to the back down Kentucky fumbling the ball around and they there's Holmes and he will lay it in to put the Longhorns up by three those are the kind of buckets that Texas needs two horses a spin can you play a head of the Kentucky defense bubble of highly ranked unbeaten teams Johnson off-balance draws the foul and will shoot a couple that was a great screen on the interior by Marcus Lee said a little screen on the middle of the zone that allowed to carry Johnson to jump out in front and get post position [Music] [Applause] new Johnson to the free-throw line for Kentucky the foul was on eBay so among the Texas bigs Ridley picked up two early ones Turner's got one eBay's got one and now Rick wines has gone to his ninth man Jay Jordan Barnett is six-six freshman from st. Louis a guy he told us last night then this morning they got to get him in there they gotta figure out a way to work him into the rotation what does he need to do to stay on the floor well he needs to be tough and physical without fouling because he's smaller he's only six six that's into the corner this is the long three long shot long rebound right now Texas just a little more alert and quicker to the ball that's where this platoon system works as well you pick up a lot of fouls on the opposing big guys and you've got big guys galore if you're Kentucky that you can put into the game you can wear teams out with your depth and you can foul them out with your depth and eBay just picked up a foul on dakari Johnson now John Calipari has never said it's going to be this way every minute of every game all season if he needs to come out of it he'll come out of it they haven't been tested all that much they have been demolishing most of their opponents it's the closest game they've had this year was a 19 point win over Buffalo the bu box the university's i-20 pour the glue out Kansas by 32 Nancy struggling to maintain possession eBay let the ball bounce away from him giving Kentucky an opportunity and it's gonna be on offense trailer number two on Lyle's it's funny Dan when talking about these platoons this platoon system it's almost like people want for Kentucky to blow everybody out in the first three minutes it's like if you went to a prizefight and you don't get a knockout in the first two hours there's a cumulative effect to this just like there are body punches in a fight and so far this season everybody that they've played they have ultimately knocked out but you can't expect them to knock them out right away and I think as the season goes along Kentucky's going to get more proficient and better on the offense again and that's when you're gonna see a much better team than defensively there's the beat they're gonna be really good all year Kentucky's number one in the nation is beautiful an opponent's field goal percentage and police was just called for the offensive foul you got to earn your real estate bringing the ball up the court against this group especially as you said this platoon with the ball pressure that you listed put on no presto and certainly gonna have to watch your arms right now because every offensive touch with being called upon so you have to you have to play good you have to play well offensively without fouling Texas with a one-point lead seven minutes in the interior screening Kentucky against the zone is really good Devin Booker a Miss Texas ball Booker's a guy started off very cold and has heated up a lot in the last few games and now here comes the blue platoon and they change the t-shirts and now you get a fresh group of McDonald's all-americans coming in they've had a rest they've been able to watch the game a little bit and you've got the same unit on four for Texas rule and police could not handle the pass from Turner and they turn it over turnovers high for both teams here in the early going and you don't see many teams especially in college you'll see men in the NBA and it goes six five six five six eight as you're throwing one or three no for Aaron Harrison and down with a good rebound in traffic to see Ben how about Willie cauley-stein playing free safety picking it off and then a foul on the Longhorns that's eBay and that's his second so Ridley's got to and eBay's got to and Texas is deep in the frontcourt they've got fives legitimate bigs but two of them already had to found well that's the problem that takes away some of your aggressiveness and it changes your substitution pattern and you know that Kentucky's going to continue to go at those big guys and go inside the front of Lambert Scott hyperemesis he doesn't have quite the bulk as some of the other big guys for Texas now Turner moves from the four spot really to the five spot and he's got a foul as well in this game where'd that convert the Longhorns on the glass this platoon if we put in more of a pressing unit this team is putting some full-court pressure on as well they want to keep this pressure on for 40 minutes against Texas they wear out the Longhorns [Applause] Nancy to kick to the corner the extra pass and by Matt close to the low seven turnover committed by the Texas and a rejection at the rim by Turner elites to date the season in October Lexus cannot find a good job Nancy on the offensive watch if it weren't for second shot opportunities it would be really difficult for Texas City but stopping Kentucky is one thing it is really hard to spar on this team their defense is phenomenal Poythress left it short I don't think Kentucky's a great offensive team onager offense has a long way to go their defenses are these errors just in the country no question well who else can put this kind of pressure in and throw this kind of length that yeah and when you attack the basket I mean you're hearing footsteps every time you drive in they're big feet Karl Anthony towns reaching in from behind just picked up his second foul Texas hanging tough because of their offensive rebounding a nice drive and dish print CB with eBay with the finish and then in transition you got to play ahead of this Kentucky defense because it is awfully difficult he a one-point lead early for the Longhorns who jay-ar without an extremely important player for them in Isaiah Taylor well their sophomore point guard got injured up in New York when he was fouled and hit the deck the guy who averages over 15 a game and he's incredibly quick and fast with the ball guy who's got a great floater he can finish in the lane especially with his left hand when you put him out there and you've got a much more potent Texas offense and he's a guy who could break a defense down when he kicks it he can draw a lot of defenders to kick it open to have him back for conference play which by the way the big 12 figures to be a very interesting lead this year Iowa State's a force right now you know that I mean Kansas is going to get better you know that and they're the ten-time defending champs of the hets that's where it's something we saw Oklahoma down in the Bahamas and they're a very strong team it'd be an interesting league Texas playing man-to-man going under every screen high speed inside cauley-stein no and a whistle and a foul another foul call going against the Longhorns as we sent it over to Shannon well Dan I did pick two Taylor today and he told me January 3rd you mentioned conference play he has that circled as a potential combat game that's when he hopes to get back against Texas Tech but he is using this time when he's not playing for the good I mean to get better communication he actually sits next to coach Barnes and works with the coaching staff he's kind of a pseudo coach he says it's helping him with communication with the coach is helping him see things that he never saw before and he told me communication everything is just helping across the board all right Shannon thank you meanwhile on the court more foul trouble for Texas that was the second on a Myles Turner he goes to the bench Ridley's on the bench - and eBay's come back into the game with - and the games not even ten minutes old and it takes away your aggressiveness as a defender and Kentucky on the offensive end the Wildcats have really struggled really struggled now they've not rebounded well on the defensive end and given Texas and second chances and the Longhorns have been very good on the offensive glass but Kentucky's got to slow down on offense they're not gonna find openings by going too fast now some contact down low between the two forty fours and it's dakari Johnson of the Wildcats who is called for the foul that'll be his second so far the guards are managing quite well in terms of staying out of foul trouble but the bigs on both sides it's been really physical down low yeah they've called a lot of the contact and it's impossible to have big bodies like that crashing into each other and not have contact I mean you're gonna have that many that many bodies in a small space it's gonna be physical but you have to get you have to cut the referee some slack in this thing these officials do not officiate this kind of size very often and I think they're they may be taken aback a little bit by it as well meanwhile a note for the Texas folks who are going to be down in the determent in the Bahamas next year Oh when ebay throws a free throw bad high in the ball room down in atlantis next year he's gonna scrape the ceiling if he might have to work he might have to lower the arc on those free throws between now and the bahamas next season he got one of two it's Texas by two as we near the midway point of the first half here in Lexington two three zone and there just went lay it in to tie it up a nice pass by dakari Johnson and a good cut to the basket by Alex Poythress Kentucky's basically switching everything cauley-stein is good as there is as a 7-footer you talked about it earlier to go out on the perimeter maybe Street and cover somebody he can guard he garden anyway in the floor of their homes got them in the air and knocks it down how about the year that Jonathan Holmes his attic without him where would Texas be there leading three-point shooter an outstanding rebounder I'm not sure you're gonna find a harder worker he's exhausted at the end of the game because he worked so hard with bran speaking in glowing terms about both homes and Holland how hard each of them works at all times and boy that's got a rub off very well on you done with lace on this zone you get the ball into the middle that Willie cauley-stein and Texas is not doing anything about it they're letting them they're not letting him shoot but they're not trying to take it away from him and a three-second violation on the Longhorns the Jimmy V classic comes your way Tuesday night on ESPN from Madison Square Garden in New York City couple of great matchups Villanova and Illinois in the first game of an Indiana and Louisville in the second game the Jimmy V classic Tuesday night on the home court of college hoops Ellijay right stream so close very good their guards are terrific all right artsy Chicanos a really good guard good pass shot was altered still loose bow on Willie cauley-stein Willie cauley-stein needed to go directly to the rim he's he's kind of jackknifing in there and double clutching he's got to go right to the rim he's not gonna get a foul if he double clutches like if you try to avoid that block shot no referee is gonna call foul boy that you had better be a man going in there trying to grab a rebound like these might be advisable to wear a mouthpiece and a helmet well there are 30 NBA scouts here tonight and they are seeing a lot of players on both sides with the size and the ability to play at the next level and that's why they're here Andrew Harrison and eBay skies for the Ravana now it Slammers underneath called for the foul whose referees it could be out of breath soon blowing their whistle on every possession you know Lambert is 6 9 240 and he looks like a wink how's that right now compared to some of the other bodies on the floor and for Kentucky it's not just their big guys their guards have tremendous size now Alex Poythress is 6 8 and he is strong and he looks tiny out there John Calipari just did something he hasn't done very often so far this year and I mixed up the latrines as he brought in Marcus Lee and dakari Johnson so they're both playing with the blue group right now again as we mentioned earlier he is not married to it although as I say that heard from the other three members for the white platoon to come as a Holmes left it short Aaron Harrison with a Euro step can't finish and Lambert down with a rebound Kentucky's getting some pretty good looks six feet and in but haven't been able to knock him down while they're trying to push the ball up the court and I think the speed game that they're trying to play is a good idea but if it's not there and they have to run half-court offense I think they've been going too fast and their half-court offense and a good pick and pop guy also a good passer actually leads the team and assists this year shot clock winding down to seven Nancy's got to make the play here Lambert will put it up from three and drain it Conner Lambert now 6 for 16 shooting freeze on the season they drew Marcus Lee away from the basket and the lefty is one of the best passers among the big guys in the big 12 also showing that he can shoot it now he's going to draw Marcus Lee even further away open up that Lane a little bit you liked the effectiveness of the zone it's been very effective because it's making Kentucky stand around they're not able to drive gaps and they really need to do that boy Chris run jump book and the offensive rebound for Joshua Andrew Harrison back off to the car in Johnson and his pal timeout on the floor John Calipari said he wanted somebody to give his team a battle to see how they would respond he is getting it tonight from Connor Lambert and the Longhorns Texas within a five point lead highs let's what happens al right now is leading UConn back Dan Shulman and company alongside Jay Bilas guys I fellows thank you a five-point lead for Texas over in Kentucky John Calipari continues to shuttle guys in and out one thing that Jay wanted to look at is well what if these guys play 40 minutes then let's look at their numbers yeah we talked about points per minute because over the course of a game playing in this style you can be more productive per minute so you extrapolate that out over 40 minutes look at Devin Booker he's averaging 23 points per 40 minutes to carry Johnson 21 and almost 15 rebounds karl-anthony towns 17 points 16 rebounds Willie cauley-stein 16 points 11 rebounds you know that the platoon system allows these guys to go all out while they're in there get a break and they're more productive per minute than they would be otherwise and the other thing and this John Calipari doesn't talk about this one thing that this system does - does it hide some deficiencies like these are not ten perfect players they've got deficiencies and this helps hide it the some deficiencies that would show up if they play 30 35 minutes a game Johnson misses an both and then a foul going against Kentucky's at cauley-stein [Applause] no it's on Lyle's that will be his third he becomes the first player on either side to pick up three fouls in the game what that does is allows even though Prince eBay not a very good free-throw shooter Texas gets to score with no defense where Kentucky has really struggled on the offensive end they are three of 16 from the field let's check it again with Shannon well coach Calipari walked over to his guys during that last timeout just kind of shaking his head Dan he said it's all about fight it's all about energy said the easy way out is to not fight what are you guys gonna do Jay let me ask you this as eBay misses a couple Lambert with yet another offensive rebound that's seven offensive rebounds for Texas in the game right now John Calipari has mixed up the platoons it's no longer blue or 1 as Lambert gets a clean look but misses the three there's another offensive rebound as the ball is bouncing all over the place I mean it's look it was hard to get that defensive rebound off of Prince eBay's missing the free throw line and the ball hit the ground it's a difficult this is a difficult game the playing and that's why that's one of the reasons are not Kentucky is not playing well especially in the offensive end they're not doing anything on the defensive glass so changing up the platoons you've got to make some kind of something happen but how good is tyler ulis is defense and Hollen has to force one up at the end of the shot clock and here come the Wildcats Ulis is a terrific pointers always in control he's an outstanding shooter he's well over 50% from three he's all of five nine 155 and the ball moves when he's in there to pass towns they can't buy one right now they're not getting great shots that was a good shot they haven't gotten but we haven't really been able to drive into gap so I think that's the next thing for them they've got to drive that ball into a gap and attack this zone here's a pass a great look and Holmes will normally knock that one down and instead we've got a foul going against the Longhorns meanwhile Kentucky of the offensive end they've got three field goals in this game the read in 14 and a half minutes it's really in a way amazing they're only down five but their defense is so difficult to score if they if they had taken care of the defensive glass and it would have had the place so much defense Willie cauley-stein at the line [Applause] lots of fouls double bonus both ways TCU looks to clinch a share of the big 12 championship and he pays for the play operation a critical battle against Iowa State tomorrow noon Eastern on ABC any difficulty from your perspective when you look at the lineup Kentucky has out there now a mix of the two groups these guys have rarely played together because it's always been blue against white even in practice yeah but they've switched it up here and there so it's not the kits out that just got that big of a deal these guys can play with each other it's not that hard we got to give Texas a lot of credit with the way they've handled this game especially on the defensive end they've forced Kentucky to take challenge shots they've not let them get to the rim they have essentially not let them dunk had not gotten the drives that they normally get where they can pitch it up to the rim Holland fouled by Booker on his drive to the basket so to Marcus Holland heads to the free-throw line for to Texas just like Kentucky is 7 and oh they went up to New York in the 2k classic at Madison Square Garden feed Iowa by 14 be Powe by 16 what else should be Connecticut by one that was without Isiah Taylor they've been playing without one of the best players for the last four games and coming off a ten point win over UT Arlington a few days ago Booker a Jeep one what a nice job by Lambert on the glass and it's been one and out the offensive rebounding as kentucky has been negated by Texas Texas is getting really good block outs leeks in the game seen him in a while to Texas defensive job by Devin Booker letting Nancy get the ball off that handoff homes over cauley-stein and it is Kentucky ball and look what they had to do to get his defensive rebound [Applause] porns is incensed [Applause] he's saying he made a play on the ball and the officials will go to the monitor [Applause] a terrific pass by Ulis to karl-anthony towns and but there was there was a lot of contact there but was it excessive he went after the ball and karl-anthony towns put his left arm out I agree I don't know that I don't know that you can call that that is not excessive that's a basketball play and he he went after him hard he's loading after the ball there yeah I agree I don't know what you can do like and again you hear me say this all the time but there was a lot of contact I'll be here me say this all the time when you go off of one leg when you're when you're going up against the shot blocker you're in a vulnerable position you always try to tell big guys even guards square up to the basket go off to where you can protect yourself and still complete the play I agree with you 100% I think if Townes doesn't use the left arm Holmes might actually get a piece of the ball it was the left arm of towns have prevented him from reaching the ball and led to more contact between the two well in the NBA you put your arm out like that's an automatic offensive foul right now the referees clearly did a ste back I mean they're supposed to call that thing as well but it was an unfortunate physical play but it was just a physical plane [Applause] now even if you're making a play on the ball if the contact is deemed excessive it can be called a flagrant foul but in this case the issue is was it Holmes who led to the contact being excessive well that's the thing and you know they've already called the flagrant foul they're not pulling that thing back the question is whether they're gonna make it a flagrant one or a flagrant two well to means he's picked out of the gate exactly and I don't think I don't think that even comes first of all I don't know why it takes this long how many times you have to look at this we've already seen 15 times it's ridiculous if you can't make up your mind this fast it's a flagrant one let's move on now on that on that angle you could see the left arm there of Holmes comes across kind of the chain of the upper chest of challenge yeah but my point is Dan this is that this is a cruder phone right no 100% Niners towns is fine let's play now they called the flagrant if you have to look at it 50 times then it is not a flagrant two you can you should be able to spot a flagrant two right away either way it's two shots in the ball if it's a flagrant two that Holmes is out of the game as well I can't imagine well if they're looking at this long I can't imagine it yeah and this is getting ridiculous and someone's got to be done about this this is not what this game is supposed to be about flagrant one I mean three minutes to determine some things we said on the first replay this isn't that hard so two shots in the ball and a foul on a homes and four homes that will be his second and Rick Barnes still looking for an explanation keep in mind he obviously hasn't seen a replay he just knows what he thinks he saw with live action he'll get a chance to look at it later [Applause] karl-anthony towns is some kind of ballplayer very skilled young man he's gonna be a great player down the road he's really good now but the longer he works at this game he's gonna get better and better this is a hard question for me to ask you but above of the ten guys who get regular minutes for Kentucky does he have the most long-term upside in living yeah I think he would Trey Lyles has quite a bit as well but i think i think karl-anthony towns about well he's got back too slow and a lot of momentum ship therefore quit points for Kentucky and a quick shut for Texas at length stay down and towns will rebound Ulis hi back in Lexington along with Jay Bilas Shannon Smith I'm Dan Shulman all of a sudden in Kentucky which was struggling to score they had six quick points with two free throws the jumper by towns and then another one by Ulis Texas just fallen asleep on the inbounds play where karl-anthony towns knocks down the jumper and then after coming down and the ANSI takes a quick challenge jump shot that allowed Kentucky to get out in transition and Tyler Ulis make such good this that was a great decision for that pull-up jumper a quick six Oh run lasting all of 21 seconds of game time now for Texas it's about handling pressure [Applause] families in therefore the law right now with the leaks an EMC and Holland that a pass goes Australia paletes the turnover Kentucky looking for the lead a lot of ball handlers for Texas but not a lot of scorers with Jonathan holds out this is not a powerful scoring lineup both coaches perhaps doing what they can to protect those who are in foul trouble there are a number of players on both sides with two and Trey Lyles of the Wildcats has three sticking with the 2-3 zone cauley-stein Yancey there was a timeout on the floor Kentucky on a major run since that flagrant foul and the ball going inside to Willie cauley-stein against the zone gets the jump hook to go down it's been all cats oblate guys looking forward to that and having fun here at Rupp Arena in Lexington with Jay Bilas Shannon Smith I'm Dan Schorr number six Texas number one Kentucky two undefeated teams really having at each other here tonight very physical a ton of great athletes with great size on the floor a lot of fouls in this game because of a physical nature of the beauty the answer the sophomore from Richardson Texas knocks down both and ties the game right now is the game plan for Rick Barnes try to get through to halftime he's got some guys on the bench with two fouls and some key guys on the bench with two fouls just try to stay where it is right now get to the half yeah if you can steal these last three minutes and go into the half tide or better a Peter temple or walk but look how poorly that Kentucky has played on the offensive end and you give a lot of credit to Texas as defense because Texas defense has been really really tough the Kentucky shooting 28% in 28% and they're tied and getting out rebounded by a more than cheetah 1 margin Texas up nine offensive rebounds kentucky's got 9 rebounds total this has not been a great performance by the WA cats but there's still time nube has to go through his fingertips it remains with Texas could they get a couple of looks at it well pea Texas has to feel they're not going to feel any better until they get to halftime get through this last 2 43 the first half but to have as many fouls as they've had they've caught the ball up 12 times and they've turned over 12 times I don't think Texas has played very well either and again from the kentucky point of view john calipari has gone away from the platoons without the last 10 or 11 minutes probably a combination of he's not playing well and the foul trouble that they have there's another offensive rebound and dakari Johnson commits the foul that'll be his third so while says 3 and Johnson has three and maybe for the first time all season Jay the relentless depth that Kentucky has is being tested a little bit it is meanwhile the size is being tested and the physical nature of contestants because what's happening is Texas is hitting first and they're hitting hard they've picked up some files as a result of it but they've established that it's when the ball goes up it's game on and if Rick Barnes had anybody other than whose worst free-throw shooter at the line d bay now 2 for 8 I mean he's playing his tail off but he is not a good free-throw shooter and it remains time Kentucky's got to get some penetration of the gaps they are just throwing the ball around the perimeter we're trying to get some interior screening you have got to penetrate these gaps eres a no-look pass boy Chris only got either to give the Wildcats believe we've come Stalin and his powers Andrew Harrison there's really no reason for Kentucky to reach if you can steal it fine but those were just wild reaches to try to get a steal on a guy who's trying to take the ball back out we've got a total of 25 fouls called in the game eleven of them are in Texas 14 on Kentucky really the biggest play of the game has been that flagrant foul on Jonathan Holmes who put Holmes out of his game and then it gave basically gave Kentucky new life because they had been really stagnant in this first half at the time of that play that was a six-point lead for Texas it's now time 2424 nearing the final two minutes of the first half here a drug token pressure in the back part of one one three set back to the 2-3 zone Ulis that might have been a cache for cauley-stein when the back come along horns Yancey getting a lot of minutes tonight can't finish the way I put it gets it back one of the few times that Texas has been able to play ahead of the Kentucky defense Nancy again and swatted away that's exactly what you talked about trying to take it all the way to the rim by yourself who's asking for trouble an initial drive where it's two or three dribbles you're just giving too much time for these shot blockers to come over from the weak side and wipe that away you can draw those top lockers then check it out I think the second pass is where you can hurt Kentucky making that second pass out of penetration for an open shot it's easier said than done obvious here's police and it rolls off the rim to cauley-stein good job by Poitras to make him finish that Aaron Harrison left it short and it will be Texas ball as Poitras goes tumbling into a row of photographers on the baseline I don't know why Aaron Harrison wanted to pull the trigger on that if you get something in transition that you can get to the rim so you can beat that zone down the floor but that was a horrible shot and now all of a sudden after having the ball for two or three seconds now Kentucky's gonna have to play 30 seconds of depo [Applause] that shot by Harrison feels no pressure on the Texas transition defense really Kentucky's offense hasn't put a ton of pressure on Kentucky around Texas of defense Highlander a wide open Lambert well executed by the Longhorns to take the lead oh that's the penetration that will get you an open shot and a trait to pass and you will find yourself a good open shot the question is can you make them and so far Connor Lambert has done that and John Calipari will use the timeout Sunday the selection committee's final were the wonderful wonderful game now if you weren't with us earlier here is the key play of the game J talked about a little while ago a flagrant foul called on Jonathan Holmes of Texas so it's two shots they knock goes down then Townes knocks down a jumper then Ulis hits the jumper and it was six quick points for the Wildcats and Texas his best player being relegated to the bench well it allowed Kentucky to get some easy baskets obviously the easy free throws by karl-anthony towns but then the jump shot that he hit and then in transition and other than that when they've been in the half-court nothing easy has been Kentucky another jump hook for cauley-stein to tie it yet Texas is whether to storm they've got the ball and can hold for the final shot here in the first half he's the crowd gets to its feet here interrupts Texas has made this a 20-minute game now oh and a turnover pass through the hands in the ANSI Nancy fell down as he was coming out to the wing and police just couldn't pull that ball back nobody's there to inbound the ball for Kentucky [Applause] five seconds Aaron Harrison Lambert down with a rebound and the first half will come to a close in a tie between these two highly ranked and undefeated teams it was interesting it was physical and it was intense 26 26 at halftime between Texas and Kentucky Shannon spake is with John Calipari coach the one thing that really stands out in this first half is a lack of rebounding how do you improve on that in a second this game is a dogfight they got the dogs we don't right now so we're gonna have to see if we have some dogs in that locker room that are going to go out and play without fouling got to stay in front you got to reap we're leaving corners we left the corner three times four shots we're breaking down but you know what this is exactly what this team needs the flagrant one sparked some offense for your team why the early offensive struggle because we are not real good offensively right now coach all right he tells it like it is he says it's the kind of game they need and they're getting it tied at 26 at the half let's send it back to the studio for the Mazda halftime report and find out the thoughts of Adnan Berg Seth Greenberg and Jay Williams it's all tied up between Texas and Kentucky this is all the part of Jimmie theory for cancer research on ESPN as we continue our commitment to the V Foundation and Jim Valvano's dream to defeat cancer welcome back to Rupp dan Shulman Jay Bilas number six number one tide what do you think well Texas game plan worked very well Texas it didn't just compete on the glass they dominated the glass out rebounding Kentucky by 16 in that first half and they forced Kentucky to shoot over the top they kept him out of the lane and did not allow any second shots Texas the big problem was they turned the ball over turned it over 13 times I have to feel like both coaches felt like their teams didn't play as well as they should have but for Texas they withstood the foul trouble now they come into the second half they can play all of their players I think Rick Barnes has to feel at least pretty good that he's made this into a 20-minute game let's find out what Shannon spake found out during halftime well how's this for a quote Dan this is big boy basketball that's what Coach Barnes told me as he walked out of that locker room he told me pregame that there were three key for this team they must eliminate dunks rebounding would be huge and take care of the ball two out of three they need to eliminate those turnovers all right Shannon thank you so there is some foul trouble in this game couple the players with three pounds for Kentucky Lyles in dakari Johnson but they're both on the floor to start the second half as the white platoon is out there John Calipari at least for now back to the platoon system home snow kept alive by Ripley but it is Kentucky ball and Johnson is found by Lambert and that's an early third foul here just seconds into the second half on Connor Lambert Connor Lambert had a really good first half knocking down a couple of open shots off of penetration he has six rebounds played the back side of that zone very effectively don't forgive me and Lambert had his arm up in the air as if he were accepting the foul but it's actually on a Holmes so it's Jonathan Holmes who picks up the third and Jay goes to the bench 15 seconds into the second and that's a huge play right there for Kentucky to get Jonathan Holmes out of the game go smaller as Nancy is back he and Ulis steps in so no glamour it was trying to trick the officials into giving him the foul instead of Holmes but it is our homes and the Pirates Johnson against Kentucky the lead Tyler Ulis passed up an open shot and as a result wound up getting his team a better shot police know cauley-stein the rebound three seven ties and seven lead changes in the first half very physical hard fought ball East I left it short on the front of the rim but he got fouled down low well Yancey got him with the body the ball is moving a little bit more effectively early in the second half the nice interior pass by dakari Johnson to the cutting it's Willie cauley-stein now whether the penetration is off the dribble or off the pass you've got to penetrate this zone Myles Turner back into the game for police so with Barnes already too deep into his bench here just a minute into the second half and Barnes obviously was not a big fan of that the length of the court tried by Javon Felipe's Turner played only five minutes in the first half picking up a couple of quick fouls yeah those fouls took him out of the ballgame quit quarrel run for the Wildcats to start the second half Kentucky sticking man demands throughout this game the answer turns it over for the unbelievable reach and range of the 7-footer Willie cauley-stein and his ability to move his feet the fact that a 7-footer could guard ladontay Hinton of providence who is really an outstanding player the lefties a big-time scorer he couldn't get a shot off he was one of eight against Willie cauley-stein the cauley-stein playing which we wiped with team though Marcus Lee in there right now as Trey Lyles knocks down the baseline jumper and a timeout taken about a reply Kentucky out of the chute here in the second half tonight's game is a part of the SPMS journey to the tourney presented by Sonic a season-long spotlight on games that will impact the tournament we're here Rupp Arena number one and undefeated Kentucky taking on number six and undefeated Texas and with all the history and the Kentucky program hard to believe that this is just the fourth time ever J that Kentucky at seven and over better has played another program at seven and OH or better the last time at half a 2011 at Assembly Hall and alluding to the Christian Watford shot to win the game is Indiana V Kentucky but it's a big time matchup they're two undefeated and highly ranked teams and Kentucky's looked very good here to start the second half Lambert misses an open jumper when Lambert has been open he's drawing big guys away from the bucket hooker balls on the deck Wiles has it looked like Booker rushed that shot just a bit and he's really been shooting well last five games in his 14 of 25 from three and he's the second leading scorer on this Kentucky team nobody on the team because of the lack of big minutes rare that he's nobody's scoring even 11 points per game for Kentucky Ulis wide right Lambert down with a rebound Texas went back to man-to-man they're going underneath every screen they're gonna force Kentucky to prove it over the top and two Kentucky players swarming Holland because Yancey was back out of his own basket trying to put his shoe back on so they tried to take advantage of that but they end up committing a foul and it's Booker Texas led by as many as six this is the biggest lead of the game for Kentucky Texas really hasn't been able to run any offense and get what they want tough shot out of a fadeaway three by the freshman Turner but another offensive rebound the answer you'll put it up and miss the three spin move by you as extra pass how about the Dishman dakari Johnson they got pumped up here is now and tucky off the difficult shot hitting a runner passes the ball ahead usually when he passed it to a seven-footer for finish but a terrific touch pass fight dakari Johnson to Trey Lyles [Applause] turned up in Kentucky run in the second half again with all this talent and pressure sooner or later it's going to get to you another steal by cauley-stein foul before the shot on a hollow eBay hugs returning homes with three fouls for the two fouls on homes the flagrant of the food staff and the personal here at the beginning of the second half is five maybe the two biggest plays of the game the good shop fake there by Devon Booker in such a good standstill shooter when he eyes that rim and gives a shot fake the defense is going to go for it I'll have the outer bound sides two three zone and turn it down with a rebound as we thought have grabbed above the rim in this game [Applause] I was being guarded by Devin Booker and that catch a lot further out in Texas would normally make it and that elbow set that they run Kentucky's contesting every dribble in every pass they have really stepped it up at both ends of the floor in the outset of the second half it was tied at 26 at the break and the Wildcats have roared out to attend a nothing start here in the second half including the tick-tack-toe Ulis Johnson and Lyle's with a crowd-pleasing slanted state Dan Tyler Ulis maybe one of the smallest guys on this team but he is certainly one of the most feisty and speaking with this Kentucky team they really give him a lot of credit to their success in the second half of these games he comes in he starts with that right white platoon he is one went less and he does not let the other team get into any kind of flow all right Shannon thank you shot clock running down and it's a violation on the Longhorns as good as Kentucky's defense is normally J they've taken it up a notch here in the second half no question Texas has not gotten an open look they've not gotten a bucket they're over six now in the second half and I'll tell you I think Shannon is exactly right about Tyler Ulis but Willie cauley-stein has been spectacular in this game this game has been nothing but a fistfight but he has rebounded he's got four steals he's defended multiple positions and he's been good off into them and he's staying on the floor the other four players switched the Lee didn't come to the game cauley-stein remains in the game for the work that he's done at both ends tonight a foul on Poythress his second Lee john calipari said it before the game said it all week long set it to Shannon walking off the court at the end of the first half this is exactly the kind of game he feels his team needs I've got an interesting month they're still going to play North Carolina UCLA and Louisville before the new year well they're gonna get what they need in the non-conference the question is that they're gonna get what they need in conference play and a foul away to the ball on e-bay his third and Rick Barnes well out on the court now walking back toward the bench it has been a very frustrating five minutes or so for post-launch well it's hard to get any continuity in your offense when one you're being defended by Kentucky and then the second part of it is the number of whistles [Applause] two-three zone knows he's in the middle and he's a good passer when he catches it and Holmes us up on the top right now that's how big Texas is it also got Lambert Turner and eBay in the game there's big may be bigger than Kentucky is right now with the exception of the point guard spot and so difficult to go against this Kentucky defense there so long great dish and a tration addition ebay slams at home of the assist Ajala I still think that's one of the only spots that this defense is vulnerable and that's attacking it off the dribble and then dishing it off it's going to be hard to get those drop-off near the basket but you may be able to kick it out and get an open shot his size and finishing ability he should drive it even more no John Calipari wants him to start pushing it more in transition andrew harrison fynch play ahead of the defense get the ball off the court and get more layoffs this calipari thinks his team needs to get more transition layouts these teams are going to make them play five on five that's what they want to do is make it a half-court game B position there for a day just too many Kentucky players between him in the basket two-on-one cauley-stein preparin hair the lead grows to a dozen homes and another foul on eBay his for Willie cauley-stein has been the player of this game he's defended all over the floor he has run the floor he's gotten steals and he's played as well as any Kentucky player on the offensive end and it's awfully nice when Aaron Harrison can come down you throw it up anywhere and cauley-stein and several of his teammates can go get it and finish it boy that's a well-earned rest for Willie cauley-stein [Applause] checks us in the zone absolutely nothing Marcus Holland to do trying to defend that to all along that basket on Texas offensive end that rim has been absolutely covered up the word for that drop off the Prince eBay there has been nothing protective only two points the Longhorns have here in the second half too much passing it around you got to get him to the tee for his defense good cut boy Chris didn't finish the penetration forces the defense to move and you're going to be able to get to an offensive goal and now it's really picking up the foul his third a number of these turnovers have been offensive fouls and this game has gotten away from Texas in a hurry one bucket in the second half for Texas in eight minutes and that has been in the town's too strong off the glass that's us trying to run a good job by Kentucky and getting back [Applause] Texas's big guys are having a hard time getting positioned down low with all that size around the basket homes and Poitras and a block Carla Don worthless [Applause] his third Calipari mocking the call as we go to a media timeout it has been all and I mean all Wildcats here in the second half outscoring Texas 16 to 2 to lead by 14 [Music] the troops all a part of the journey to the tourney presented by Sun well what do you make of this one well Arizona the better defensive teams Arizona one of the best defensive teams in the country and Gonzaga the better offensive team and you're not gonna find a better senior point guard than your canadian partner they do Kevin Pangos and Pangos has been terrific all season long who can really shoot it and he's healthy now had that foot problem last year that made his year really difficult boy it's been just an excessive number about ton of fouls on all the big guys not to say they weren't warranted but a ton of fouls on the big guys in this game that's the fourth on liason hill leading pointlessly comes out the guards have managed to stay out of it but we've had big guy after big guy going back to his respected venture in the game telling their coach what am I supposed to do Wittering falling out of bounds and now Ulis takes it out of bounds rhythm and it is Kentucky ball must have hit Holland she'll get a good look right here I said Holland was stepping out of bounds but actually it was you was touching the ball out of bounds of the bad call should be Texas law and the referee was right there and totally missed [Applause] winter white okay cauley-stein again he has been spectacular they gave addictive at the towns I thought the cauley-stein was up there you know you're having a good night when you can't decide which of your two big guys got the putback and another foul this one on Poythress his fourth boilers had his arm around the postman and in this game though that's the equivalent of jaywalking well one thing that Kentucky's done extraordinarily well this year is score in the paint they've outscored the opposition 39 to 16 on average in the paint in each game and although they didn't get much going in the paint of the first half they are certainly getting the job done in the second half as we had yet another foul and when on Tyler Ulis is first Kentucky ID to start switching some of those things and we're gonna have to fight you so many of the screens would be a lot of free throws here in the second half [Applause] Gridley double change nice look from homes Holland is open and he's really worked on that shot his free-throw shooting and his outside shooting Jade much improved from a year ago and it's that second past and out of the double-team two were playing one on Ridley he passed it out to homes and homes made that second pass that's where you're gonna find an opening the league's pushing it and out puts the brakes on [Applause] and again a foul on the inside of his time its towns that'll be his third and that will put Texas in the bonus so both teams in the bonus with 10:35 to go so Poitras and Lyle's at four for Kentucky eBay has four for Texas and there are a number of others with three the Turner has done a really good job early on in this season he's had some big games against some of the lesser opponents that Texas has played haven't really had that caliber game bounces in early on that one but Turner made it anyway the Turner's he is going to be a big-time player and he's got the humility to know that he doesn't he don't know it all yet he's not thinking about the NBA he's thinking about being the best college player he can be Nexus has whittled a 16 point deficit down to 11 with an out four Ulis rebound Turner and Ulis missed that but it was a really good drive that penetration is available ridley shovel pass to turner rejected and that might have been cauley-stein cauley-stein has bought five shots using three shots now he's got four steals he's been outstanding boy a terrific feed come holler and good patience underneath by the freshmen Oh Myles Turner and John Calipari wants a timeout at which seven Oh run by the Longhorns Texas is playing hard and hanging in there and their defense picked it up a little bit more in the last few minutes but just beating refusing that screen it was down beating it into the middle and drawing the defense and being able to dish it off that was awfully easy for Texas may be the easiest possession they've had but it was all because they got a an extra possession after that block shot so the freshman Vile's Turner getting a change to the biggest game that he's played in at the collegiate level thus far the number two ranked freshman on the ESPN 100 plates basketball team USA want a gold medalist see a member of the u18 team and his favorite player growing up a long horn Kevin Durant Shannon Smith as well yeah it doesn't hurt when your favorite players Kevin Durant when you're growing up in fact Myles Turner got to meet him when he was younger met him several times now of course but when he is younger he had a pair of it sneakers signed by mr. Durant you could see a signature right there on the side of those star Berry's uh you know Myles told me today it wasn't always Texas he actually thought about going out of state but when he went on his recruiting visit it just felt like the right fit I asked him what other players he likes in the NBA jay-z mentioned guys like Tristan Thompson LaMarcus Aldridge Dexter Pittman it's okay to like guys who didn't go but Myles Turner is obviously he's a company guy well a lot of guys I'd hate to break the scene but a lot of guys like Kevin Durant they don't turn out quite as good as Milan Turner he has some talent too it's not just who he likes he just picked up his third foul and a guy like so many big men today inside outside skills boaty and Karl towns have that and then some I think that Turner is more of a back to the basket guy than Townes both of them can play with their backs to the basket but I think Townes is a little more advanced in his ability to face up and knock down a perimeter shot right now on a Teague Josh should read outliers Kentucky's doing a lot of interior screening with their big guys trying to there it is the screen by toy throw that's a good pass out Andrew Harrison air ball on the jumper Poythress gets it back and finishes how strong is back Turner for three and Liars with another rebound Andrew Harrison into traffic kicks it to his brother Johnson stretch still loose and still Kentucky's floater no good and now Kentucky rarely Stein be assured itself on the offensive glass again how about that push initially by Andrew Harrison that opened up everything especially the shot for his brother Aaron and the offensive glass just that really strong push in transition of him putting pressure on the rim his past and Poythress foul from behind by Turner the fourth on a Myles Turner now texas is awfully difficult to play against this is one of the best defensive teams in the country their size is really impressive and at times intimidating and can't I know Kentucky can't feel great about the way they've played on the offensive end but to have shot the ball as poorly as Kentucky has shot it and should be up 12 and this kind of game says a lot about the quality of Kentucky's defense this is one hard team to score [Applause] one of the big stories in the first half was the dominance on the offensive last bite Texas and the story has been reversed to a certain extent here in the second half both big deep athletic physical great rebounding teams Kentucky really getting a lot more action on the glass here in the second half and don't you feel that there has been a few minute of affect of the ten guys that kentucky between enrollee you know this is a this is a well conditioned Texas team and these guys are going to be exhausted after this one Texas has played nine tonight some limited because of foul trouble police buries the three 49:38 that's the pass the penetration the kick-out in the second pass we talked about that before it hasn't you haven't seen all that often because it's difficult to extend initial penetration now is steal by Holland and he's got a chance for three but how about that play the leeks knocking down the three and then getting a turnover and taking it all the way and strongly go into the basket - Marcus Holland puts Texas right back in this thing very much John Shami - quite a standing by in Lawrence for Florida and Kansas the back end of the doubleheader tonight here on ESPN the SEC big 12 challenge presented to by Sonic and a Kentucky with a nine-point lead on Texas but Texas has scored five quick points LaMarcus holid is now to the free-throw line looking to complete a three-point play Khalid is just a warrior and that's steal and the D made that was a big time playing for Texas he said had double figures with 10 Holly Stein back into the game for Kentucky Poythress will go to the bench this is a big possession for both teams but for Texas if they can get another stop here in a score that would put some real game pressure on Kentucky they haven't felt it since the first half Andrew Harrison probing on the baseline blows out there by Hollins shot clock down to single digits Booker baseliner ice is up for a tough 15 Peter Johnson misses on the follow and we have a held ball a wrestling match between a couple of big fellas in Johnson and Ridley and the possession arrow will keep it with Kentucky well to Perry Johnson got away with a bit of a push on this to get that offensive rebound and both players they just wouldn't let go of the ball that's the way you want to see guys go after went after it with both hands and two strong guys just battling for the ball that's a you get two points for a takedown like that or just one I mean Cameron Ridley is a he's a big man to go flying like you just did again there is NBA size on both teams combinations where there are 30 NBA scouts here at this game tonight and another steal by Holland like the length and the active hands of Texas knocking that away with dakari Johnson is wide open and Wiles mr. Moreland gotta get that ball inside right away you cannot hesitate basket here would be huge for the Longhorns literally surrounded paletes is open Ridley will try it himself there's an easy call who is oh that's Holmes picking up his fourth wife Elise was wide open beyond the three-point line and Ridley just had so many guys around of Jake couldn't see him he's so busy jostling for position and going one-on-one against another gigantic body you can understand how a guy could miss something but when you don't have an initial move right away you got to kick that thing out so free throws coming for Lyles the freshman from Indianapolis King mr. basketball in the state of Indiana last year was a good free-throw shooter he struggled from the three-point line early in the season he can knock down free throws this is the front end Kentucky is giving Texas a chance to get right back into it [Applause] that's us seems to have the police that it wants the cloud kind of taken out of this momentarily Ridley bounce pass back to Lambert kick to a wide-open Holmes and an airborne at the offensive rebound for Holland they got now the shot clock reset I don't know why the shot clock reset police will put it up and down with a rebound Kentucky whatever Texas drives and kicks it they've put Kentucky into rotation rebounding all of a sudden you're blocking out somebody that is not your initial guarding assignment and Kentucky's not done a good job in rotation rebound Johnson from the free-throw line he's had a very solid night as well that was a big turnaround have to go the leads at 10:00 that's a foul away from the ball Texas just ran a little set well they could get Jonathan Holmes curling off the post and he was just grabbed as he was trying to make that curl cut to get open inside second on cauley-stein towns and Ulis returned for the Wildcats who's John Calipari has gone completely away from the platoon system here as you did for much of the first half as well look there's 5:21 to go in this thing and Texas as players there they're in really good shape but they're tired right now not to say that Kentucky's not got a little bit of fatigue but they've gotten it they've got an awful lot of bodies in there not as tired as Texas is and we wonder how that's going to affect these two teams down the stretch two big free throws to Holmes who is had he struggles for the future eight-point game how's Turner in the middle of that zone so you got a freshman that you can try to attack he's not quite as bulky inside ulis shovels it up to the corner to Lyles and Lyles will be shooting free throws DeMarcus Holland's called for the foul a really nice shot fake by Trey Lyles the freshman from Indianapolis and struggled from the perimeter thus far this season coming into the game he's 3 of 16 from three but he plays with such a nice pace he's got a a perimeter game he can go down into post is a good rebounder very skilled player [Applause] Lygia free-throw shooting was a real sore spot for Kentucky last season they've got some better free-throw shooters this season but they still have to step in there and make them especially in a game like this where it's so tough to get a punch another boat Turner was in earlier less than five minutes to go but Twitter had his hand in the in the lane falling into the lane as Laos was shooting that shot [Applause] homes extra fall early parents Jonathan Holmes is the top 3-point shooter for this Texas team he has played more on the perimeter but now taking the freshman Trey Lyles into the post he got one-on-one on the post nobody came over at least not early enough Willie cauley-stein just reaching in and towns came way late to try to block it third on Willie cauley-stein that was a huge play by Jonathan Holmes and all of a sudden they can get it down to five and they do Ridley coming back into the game for Texas Johnson back into the game for Kentucky this one is far from over how about Texas hanging in there they could have packed up their tent and gone back to Austin over they down 14 early in the second and it looked grim yep they scored only two points in the first eight minutes of this [Applause] when all of a sudden Kentucky standing around again it's not a good job it's good rebound though cauley-stein having himself enough 64 Willie cauley-stein is the first half of our Kansas still to come tipping fifteen minutes from now as dakari Johnson picks up his fourth foul Texas is doing a great job of posting up hard and looking into the post they're screening for each other and they're giving Texas an opportunity to are giving a Kentucky an opportunity to fight and they're given the referees an opportunity to blow the whistle and they have been taking them up on and Rick Barnes will use the timeout 401 to go crowd is booing the officials here in Lexington seven-point lead for the Wildcats who the biggest recent wipe you had to figure out one player it would be that guy Willie cauley-stein Willie cauley-stein is a great defender he can guard multiple spots but he has done a really good job he's been very patient in the post he's run the floor scoring in transition early on in the second half catching it in the middle of that zone defense and not going too fast not panicking and then this offensive rebound just goes right over the top he's had steals he's got blocked shots he's got double figure rebounds double figure points for Kentucky Willie cauley-stein has been the player of the game haven't been close their checks is coming back from 14 down they've gotten back into it have gotten as close as five on a couple of occasions you're gonna have if they're going to win this game what do they have to do well in the last four minutes I think they've got to continue to pack it in and make Kentucky prove it over the top they got to make up for it and make them shoot jump jobs if they let them continue to get to the basket or continue to get offensive rebounds its advantage Kentucky and I think they've got to continue to go inside you know Jonathan Holmes in the post has been better than out on the perimeter and if they can continue to set those interior screens to get opportunities to get the ball inside where they can get fouled they're going to be more efficient getting fouled than they will be shooting jump shots or trying to get something off their offense remember another game coming tonight the SEC big 12 challenge continues from Lawrence Kansas Florida and kayuu coming up to still try to find themselves trying to get healthy they're just three and three on the season right now at the Kansas at five and one coming off a win last week over Michigan State they're only lost this year to Kentucky that was in the champions classic in Indianapolis a couple of weeks ago both those teams still trying to find themselves and find their identity with Kansas has blamed been playing some different lineups game to game [Applause] literally bricks the first one of the problems for Texas tonight so many of the big guy fouls committed by Kentucky had put the big guys from Texas on the line and we know that eBay struggles middle east a better shooter than that then that's when the non free-throw shooting big guys in one of two so he made the correction and it's a six-point game four minutes to go if defensive rebound is gigantic here for Texas bounce a nice pass to the corner defensive rebound when Jonathan Holmes got away with a gigantic push in order to get that defensive rebound he pushed dakari Johnson five or six feet her body's flying all over the place this time it's cauley-stein in homes and homes might have just gotten that looks like there's some moisture inspiration yeah and Holmes came out the limping a little bit she was trying to fight his way through a couple of wild cats so we'll take the under for media timeout with Texas hanging in there 53 47 and Kentucky 3:23 to go hi fellows thank you so what a tough week for UConn assessed said the exact same spot they're beaten by a three in the dying seconds in the exact same spot and now here Kentucky is leading by six take a look at some of the contact down low watch Jonathan Holmes here push off Willie cauley-stein to get that read this is the kind of game this has been I mean it has been a physical fistfight and you have got to be prepared for a poem great steal by cauley-stein to respond after he got pushed he just kept playing that was a great play by Willie cauley-stein Jay that's his fifth steal a seven footer with five steals he had steals blocked shots a double-double he's been everywhere 16 points 11 rebounds five steals three blocks from Willie cauley-stein a partridge in a pear tree he's got everything and who's played more than anybody has played in a game for Kentucky all seizure [Applause] sir the first three of the night for Kentucky huge look at the pressure that Euless can put on the ball we'll each drives around him and lays it in and it's down to seven Texas did a great job of handling pressure but look all they had to do to get a score a couple of seven and O teams [Applause] Aaron Harrison known as the better shooter of the Harrisons but just if you go under on that ball screen garrison pulls up for it and Texas has been going under on everything because they would rather give up an open shot than the penetration that would open up the offensive glass open up a lob give Kentucky a diamond shot clock at two and down with a one-handed rebound his horns and a foul is called on Poydras that's going to foul alex poythress out of the game [Applause] Holmes has just been so strong all game long he's had to sit for some foul trouble but that is quite a wrestling match those two got had going on just who got caught pushing last basically because everybody's pushing more college basketball action coming your way Tuesday night from Madison Square Garden in New York City it's the Jimmy beat classic with a Villanova and Illinois in the first game at 7 o'clock Eastern Time on that Indiana and Louisville in the night cabin nine o'clock Eastern the Jimmy V classic Tuesday night on the home court of college hoops two free throws coming for Holmes [Applause] boy Chris fouled out a number of players with poor three of them on the court right now playing with four fouls and it's back down to five and think Texas doesn't want to do here is foul by now John Calipari [Applause] Rick Barnes playing on the road without one of his best players the injured Isiah Taylor but he's not looking for a moral victory he's looking for an actual victory over the number 1 team of the country I think for the most part Texas has done things the way they wanted to they got on the glass they made Kentucky shoot jump shots they didn't let them get to the rim for a lot of dunks but they're still down by 5 this has gone exactly the way from a game plan perspective exactly the way the Texas wanted him they wanted for Kentucky to have to shoot jump shots challenge jump shots that you're not letting them get to the rim you're taking them out of transition you're not letting them get second chances we talked before the game you know the game plan sound great they're hard to execute right but Texas has executed very well now their offense hasn't been what they would have liked but that's in large measure because Kentucky's the best defensive team in the country but right now you would think that with a five-point deficit and points being so difficult to get that Rick Barnes is going to have to have to play man-to-man at some point I'm not sure he's reached that point that I think he can still play zone now will you get one stop now they're coming out the track Florida and Kansas still to come tonight they're tipping off about four minutes from now it'll Oris then initial trap a good idea take a little bit of time off and run up the guards us as well all this time the man of the night for the Wildcats and draws the foul if it's Turner done for the night and it is the freshman will foul out and kali sky and will shoot a pair of free throws [Applause] when replacing Turner requires to take a little bit of time he's expectedly gonna use this as a timeout and that gets Willie cauley-stein a little bit of extra time to think about these free throws Cameron Ridley will come back into the game you have to expect at least Kentucky has to expect the Texas is going to try to get the ball inside get to the rim and you can't leave a guy like Jonathan Holmes you've got to watch Holmes and Felice because you don't want to give up an open three to Philippe's or guy like Connor Lambert just because there's penetration cauley-stein now 7 for 9 from the line tonight that's one of the reasons Dan they like having a junior come back we have an older player Willie cauley-stein is a much better player now than he was a year ago two-possession game police kentucky ball Lexus has to put on full-court pressure one guy on the floor that you would like to foul as dakari Johnson he's probably not going to touch it until it's a finish situation anyway [Applause] into the final minute the seconds continue to tick away Lucky's got to get in trouble they got a timeout this guy's exes he's better off just playing B than Palin and who will sit slammin but the best guy on the court tonight Willie cauley-stein Texas had to come out and chase that aloud of driving line when Andrew Harrison drives in that things that Texas has to help uphill and as they have done in most games this season they just lob it up and that's elbows at the rim to dunk it for Willie cauley-stein and Kentucky's gonna win this ballgame but they're gonna win it their defenses won this game in the second half their defense was apse it was stifling throughout but is absolutely stifling in the second half a game don't you think that could be of enormous value to both of these teams shelling forward this year no question and to have this kind of physical challenge because not many teams in the country in this country are going to provide the physical beating that Texas can provide Kentucky looked in a mirror big guy a big guy and they answered the car Hollan two three and another foul by riddle where's your player of the game right there Willie cauley-stein Ridley's found on cauley-stein making another trek to the free-throw line [Applause] with all these bodies all these big talented Kentucky bodies take take its toll and the Texas has to feel like it was in a 15-round prizefight in this thing they're gonna need a few days off just to recover they have just tipped off at Kansas we'll get you there within seconds of this one ending here in Lexington Polly Stein now tried points 12 rebounds five steals and three blocks we're the defensive show that he has put on in the last few games but especially against Providence in Texas with the varied players he's guarded the numbers he's put up I think he got to put him right up there for national Defensive Player of the Year and he's awfully early but he's still a better defender than he's been and a huge ovation as he leaves the game bones from the corner and they have a late foul on homes and that's gonna foul him out of the game which is one point six seconds to go while the win here for the SEC in the SEC big 12 challenge and they needed one us the big 12 came into tonight with a four to one lead this will make it four to two with two more games coming tonight and two more tomorrow the big 12 is the most balanced league in the country top to bottom yep good teams really unbelievable coaches but really really good basketball teams [Applause] Texas will fall to 7 on and they'll go home for a while the next few games at home kentucky's got some big games coming up in the month of december but they can hang their hat on this one they are still undefeated with a 63 to 51 win over the Longhorns here at Rupp Arena tonight quota Kansas is coming up for Jay Bilas Shannon spake and our entire crew I'm Dan Schulman Sam thanks for watching that send it to John Shami and dick bye towel at Allen Fieldhouse

Channel: O__BALL__O

Views: 30,307

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Id: UL6NoRe8PoM

Length: 100min 50sec (6050 seconds)

Published: Fri May 29 2020