2019-2020 Kentucky vs Evansville (Game 3)

basketball on the sec network live from lexington kentucky and legendary wrap arena i'm paul sunderland joined by former ole miss head coach andy kennedy the kentucky wildcats back at number one for the seventh time under coach cal as they face the purple aces of the university of evansville for the very very first time and andy one thing that's very consistent at the university of kentucky is a lot of change year in year out there's going to certainly be turnover paul you see right there great crew last year led by three first rounders so what do you do you reload if you're kentucky the number three rated national class in the country add a fifth year senior and nate sistina and then you couple them with a solid core of returning cats the starting lineup for kentucky ashton higgins will be at the point nate sistina the transfer out of bucknell khalil whitney nick richards will be there as well along with emmanuel quickly and uh tyrese maxey will come off the bench ej montgomery will miss his second straight game and there is john calipari beginning his 11th season here on the sideline for the wildcats 30-7 last year to the elite eight his fifth 30-win season for the now naismith hall of famer as of 2018 and on the other sideline a very familiar and very popular face and name walter mccarty won a national championship here for kentucky in 1996. spent 10 years in the nba started his coaching career at louisville the last several years in the nba before going back home his hometown of evansville and more underway kentucky will control the opening tip first meeting ever between these two schools can you believe that both of these are storied programs obviously kentucky is a is the standard barrier but the first time ever these two teams have met you think walter mccarty's connection had something to do with it maybe just a little and rightfully so that's right it is difficult to win a national championship and he has got one evansville they won their first game at home against ball state 79-70 and they were led by deandre williams wearing number 13 in their purple uniform 6-9 sophomore out of houston texas who did not play last year came in with a double-double wow did you see that talking double-double that was a double dribble well double doubles that was definitely old q little double dribble they missed it's early in the season for everybody nice hard take to the basket by quickly the 6-3 sophomore out of maryland kj riley the 6'5 senior out of the bronx new york picks up his first personal foul quickly had been shooting the ball really well paul throughout uh the exhibition season has not really got it going maybe maybe that early layup in transition finishing with a free throw kind of gets him going a little bit cal says he may be the most improved player on the team yeah shooting only 31 5 of 16 as you point out so far from the floor and only two of seven from outside the arc counter to their first game where eastern kentucky was going to play really up tempo basketball evansville will be a little smarter in the half court a lot of contact and quickly a turnover the officials for this evening game this evening's game one of the best in the business doug shows who's worked the final four owen short and vladimir voyage will be working the game tonight the issue evansville is going to have as you've seen early falls the fact that it's very very difficult to go to score against kentucky i think this has got an opportunity to be one of cal's most elite defensive units and that's saying something as last year's team was eighth in the country in defensive efficiency sistina getting into the pick and pop with higgins shot clock inside of five hagen stepped back on the way looked good when it left his hand a little bit long and the rebound is taken by quickly nice rebound in traffic by number 13 williams of evansville solid defensive effort right there and that's what they'll try to do score early score late if they get an opportunity in the open floor they will not hesitate to shoot the three made nine in their opener against ball state that young man a transfer made was two for three we'll talk about the three-point line people know by now with the season underway that it's been moved back pretty significantly what kind of impact do you think that'll have on the college game well i think it's going to reduce volume and efficiency in old q i thought for sure he'd make it the the the the reverse it would have been nice you know that's one of the areas that kentucky has struggled into this point small sample size only two games in the last game of which i did against eastern kentucky they got it at the basket at will so they didn't shoot a lot but that's one area and i think evansville is going to do a good job of making them prove their abilities from behind the arc nice take by number 30 noah frederking 6'4 junior out of oakville illinois and to your point again very small sample size just two games michigan state and eastern kentucky wildcats shooting just eight of 32 but last year they were 35 free throw shooter team but the line was significantly closer yeah no question and they had a different cast of characters obviously with tyler hero here's how you beat the the suffocating pressure on the wings what do you do fundamental basketball hit the hit the elbow and back cut they got khalil whitney stared at the ball deandre williams picked up his first personal power but richards has it's stripped away inside recaptures and takes it up at the rim a little upset if he didn't get the and one he's not more upset than john calipari i assure you it should have been in the hand one didn't quite catch it cleanly this young man is coming off a monster game in his last outing with nine for ten with with point-blank opportunities in the open floor he won't get as many of those in this game in the full court he's got to execute strong in the half bring his ankle during the exhibition season and it was somewhat doubtful in some people's minds whether or not or how effective he might be against michigan state was very good there and as you pointed out came back with a double-double the other day against eastern kentucky an easy 91-49 win for the wildcats he is a huge key for kentucky they are loaded at guard i believe a little thin up front this kid's a junior which is an eternity in this program under john calipari if you come back your third year i think he's made the right decision you can see he's playing with a lot more confidence a lot more maturity his body has changed and he is a huge key moving forward for kentucky ashton higgins wearing number zero the 6'3 sophomore out of georgia the reigning sec co-defensive player of the year got to give some love to tremont waters out of lsu they shared that award last year higgins picked up his first personal best on ball defender in college basketball for my vote incredible strong can move his hands and his feet he's got a little gary payton to his game on that end wow the human glove they used to say a glove i think i think hagins has that same makeup physically strong you have to remember he re-classed last year so he should be an incoming freshman this year age-wise uh one year of experience under his belt i think the kid's going to have a tremendous year higgins picked up a foul at the other end and this was one called on nick richards that's their first respectively the special teams of college basketball great job by walter mccartney and the evansville aces those are the time you you can really set it special teams man you want to be plus eight throughout the course of the game good execution kid cashed it in juan newton burying the three-pointer the 6-3 sophomore out of el paso texas a little change of pace right at the front of the rim jump hook needs a bounce doesn't get it gets the offensive rebound takes it back up strong and just powers right through the defense of evansville evansville's doing a very good job on first shot defense but they've got to do a better job off their defensive glass if you allow kentucky to eat off their offensive glass you have zero i repeat zero chance to beat them in rough arena and big for evansville and head coach walter mccarty in his second year back home in evansville kj reilly just picked up his second personal foul he's got to go to the sideline hillary be replaced by evan kuhlman good three-point shooter an aggressive three-point shooter as sistina really an interesting story reed travis started it last year as a grad transfer out of stanford that was out of the pac-12 conference but then you have out of bucknell you have nate cestina and what made anybody think that he could make that jump from the patriot league to the sec and he has made it seamlessly i love the kids energy he comes into this thing so confident and he has produced for him early as reed travis was perfect for last year's kentucky squad nate sastina is equally as perfect for this version of the catch number five in purple shemar gibbons on the floor now for the purple aces [Music] kentucky with the early eight five advantage women down inside nice little jump hook those are the shots that evansville needs to have fall that was great offensive execution and then you've got to pay it off the difference is as you saw good good effort right there steal by deandre williams a couple of pump fakes and finally he got richards off the floor who picked up his second personal foul just underway here in lexington thanks so much for joining us college basketball coming your way on the sec network [Music] last tuesday the state farm champions classic where else but madison square garden and what a way to kick off the college basketball season just one day after his 19th birthday freshman tyrese maxi and he sort of raised a lot of eyebrows around the world of college basketball yeah what an incredible debut welcome to college basketball mr maxie one day removed from his 19th birthday he goes into the most storied building for basketball in our country and dropped 26 on the number one ranked team in the country in michigan state really impressed with that young man but what really impressed me paul through two games against small sample size is the fact that kentucky is guarding at a very elite level holding teams to 55 points under 32 from the field turning them over almost two to one this kentucky team will go as far as their defense carries them and i think this group's got a chance to be elite for cal guard heavy guard very very talented indeed as tyrese maxi comes on for the first time but some concerns up front now richards just picked up his second personal foul and we know that ej montgomery will not be available tonight yeah they're a little thin you know they've got guards for days a little thin up front they just checked in another one of the fantastic freshmen keon brooks who's big enough especially in a game such as tonight where they can play him and sistina together at the 4-5 and not miss a beat keon brooks jr wearing number 12 in white 6'7 205 pounds out of fort wayne indiana the number 12 over where's the number 12 after his father's great career in high school floater in the lane not their ballot for the offensive rebound kept alive by number one sistina new college to basketball excuse me andy the shot clock on an offensive reset only resets only to 20. i like the rule uh you can tell without ashton hagan's in as well the game is not quite as fluid offensively that's going to be a traveling violation daniel quickly got airborne yeah i think he was looking for a foul i think he thought the young man from evansville reached didn't get the call didn't get a shot at the rim heavens was doing a good job again as we spoke earlier paul first shot defense outstanding keep kentucky off the glass and they would have a lead and john calipari didn't have to wait too many possessions to bring back on ashton higgins [Music] again half court they're going to make a walk they'll play right there pick pop that's your four man stretching it out to the three a little short could be a travel didn't establish a pivot foot off the catch that's the third turnover already for the university of kentucky wildcats i know you were in the midst of planes trains and automobiles to get here what a travel day for you but uh evansville in the shoot around were working exclusively off transition d they may only send one to the offensive class they're very concerned about getting back stolen by hagins takes it right to kuhlman rides it up sistina there for the follow and can't get it to fall [Applause] williams forcing things a little bit nice pass but blocked by sistina this is the pace that kentucky wants watch this young man in the open floor just can't finish uk's having a hard time at the basket early this is a track meeting in spite of the icy roads outside these guys are getting up and down and not leaving any skid marks no this young man is a is a two-time transfer mr cutlet started at kansas went to arizona state now he finds himself in evansville indiana welcome to rough arena that's going to be an illegal screen and kentucky's starting to have some foul trouble particularly with their bigs great defensive rebound and as we talk about if they have an opportunity in the open floor paul they're going to take it and go great early offense great push for evansville good start sam kunliff wearing number 20 in purple six foot six redford redshirt junior out of seattle washington started at arizona state then a season at kansas and in their win over ball state that is evansville's win at 17 points and made three or four three-pointers first personal foul on sistina and both teams with 14 fouls nice take and an offensive rebound grab by gibbons kick outside and that comes up well short there's gonna be a handful to stay in front of he's lower to the ground he gets that thing to the basket the problem is when he gets there there's a lot of size for kentucky at the rim richards is back on playing with a couple of personal fouls and just on the floor now johnny jouzong the 66 freshman out of los angeles stretches the defense a little bit with a three great pass by nick richards again his continued evolvement as a player catches looks opposite finds giuseng who knocks down his first shot as a kentucky wildcat brooks gives it up looks to get it back off the glass and the smallest man on the floor at five foot ten gibbons comes up with it wearing number five smart look to push you don't have it pull it back now run your offense set up with curls and back cuts a lot of player movement a lot of ball movement out of walter mccarty's group hey joey riley stepping back that off the side of the iron and not close from three-point range but evansville if you're walter mccarty you got to like the looks you're getting yeah i agree i'm not sure he liked that look at it off the floor and then you say hey it feels like leather i'm going to shoot it but other than that great start by evansville who is evansville you can see when they were established obviously their moniker tells you exactly where they are they were picked to finish seventh in the missouri valley conference and they have been to five ncaa tournaments but the last one not in this century in 1999 and we were talking about before the game when you talked about evansville and mid major they were synonymous in the 80s and 90s this was really a solid program no question great fan base we're talking two great states here that love college basketball and in kentucky and indiana evansville a very storied program and had a lot of success it's been a while since they've been back to the tournament i think they got the guy that can get him there i'm a big walter mccarty fan terrific player terrific guy he has he has paid his dues worked and played under some outstanding head coaches the local native i know wants nothing more than to get evansville back to where they belong to be and he's taking an aggressive approach he's not going out and looking to get you know sort of hidden gems and build them up if you will over a three or four year career as a lot of mid-majors do he went out found some transfers we talked about cunliffe andre williams wasn't deandre williams wasn't eligible last year they're going to have a big impact on this team this season well if you plan it the whole four or five year plan those days are over you heard of a thing called twitter hey now you better get it done quick or they're going to show you the exit homeboy or not two fouls now on higgins and uh remember early nick richards also picked up a couple of personals four out just trying to give this young man some driving angles they've done a pretty good job winning the mission a good look there kunliff again buries the three so gets out on the break and shows his hops and then what a nice stroke from long range he was a top 100 guy coming out i mean he is not afraid of the bright lights and as you said earlier his road to get to this stage has been almost as much as yours to get to this gym quickly answers at the other end wearing number five in light it's a good looking shot by him i love this his shot preparation great ball reversal got quickly a clean look and as kyle said he'd been shooting so well in the preseason it'd be nice for him to get going and give kentucky another big offensive option [Music] welcome back to rupp arena once again and a good one evansville and kentucky and the wildcats in a little bit of foul trouble and it was a special occasion here at rupp arena because one of their best was coming back walter mccarty in his second season as head coach in his hometown of the university of evansville and it was all the way back in 1996 when kentucky beat syracuse 76-67 for the national championship walter mccarty didn't exactly have his best basketball game we could probably have a little fun with him about that but ron mercer tony delk anthony epps antoine walker and a national championship for that man right there and obviously has done a very nice job preparing his evansville team to come in and play at his old stomping grounds in rupp arena back with ole miss head coach andy kennedy i'm paul sunderland evansville coming in if you're just joining us a win over ball state 79-75 they were nine of 19 from three-point range so they've shown a little of that shooting ability so far here on the evening your thoughts on the foul trouble for kentucky well that and the turnovers have been problematic for cal they they've been a little loose with the ball offensive rebounds have kept them in it early but i think you know with two fouls on nick richards cal's not going to sit him you know especially when you have a junior you've got to trust him to play through that's another learning opportunity put him back in the game you know kentucky's just got to get some stops to get out in the open floor and then when evansville has them in the half court you've just got to execute and that's part of the growth of an early season so far through a couple of games kentucky's averaging just 14 turnovers williams head fake gets down inside and boy deandre williams 6'9 out of houston texas 26-9 against ball state that was no aberration he is solid you know what walter mccarty is really really high on that young man who has the ability to make plays they obviously feel good about the match-up and they're going to him and the kid is delivered step back jumper and he answers at the other end with a three for kentucky hard shot right there not really in rhythm raises up makes a play another one of their talented freshmen [Music] you can tell though paul evansville you know made a couple of shots early now they're playing with some confidence man that's what you like to see come in and take advantage of this outstanding opportunity well he's played it he's played at arizona state that's a real shot right there he's played at kansas and now he's got a quick run out now with eight points for sam conley i'm not from missouri but i am from i do have a show me mentality and that young man is showing me with a hard pull-up these are two difficult shots first no rhythm whatsoever just says okay i'll just raise up shoot it in and then cuddle it boy what a start he's had from the dunk to back to back threes rising up from about 22. better be that's where the line is these days impressive impressive start by him showing you a little bit of a match-up out of that timeout excuse me game clock inside of ten minutes shot clock now inside of six whitney baseline takes it up and that's going to be a blocking foul killman certainly inside the restricted area and it'll be a couple of free throws coming to kentucky doing a good job of not giving kentucky anything free contesting switch that high ball screen at the end of the clock whitney's outstanding captain i think he's he's a tremendous defender i was blown away from doing their game on friday watching how he can close out and guard the ball as a freshman this is the area that he's got to continue to work on you got to get those reps and and feel good shooting the ball and it does not look comfortable at the free-throw line now just two of six so far on the season for the 6-6 210-pound freshman out of chicago illinois ranked the number 11 overall recruit eleventh season for john calipari this is the first time he has not had a number one or number two recruiting class he was playing for three settled at three memphis was number one duke was number two another outstanding group of guys man i think he's got a good collection obviously missing ej montgomery and as we talked about in the open they're a little thin up front that's going to be challenged even further tonight with the foul trouble sistine has been very very good so far through two games for the wildcats pretty quiet and nobody being any any louder than sam kunluf right now in double figures with ten crowd getting a little antsy and evansville's on top 20 to 16. you know what i like paul i like is the way in which he is approaching the game not overly excited not patting himself on the back going about his business that's a mature guy who's been down the road [Music] quickly trying to answer at the other end ball deflected out of bounds and it'll go to the purple aces college has really shown us a little bit everything and he called dunking the open floor a couple of threes look at this move give it to me in the box i'm going to play mid post i'm going to face you i'm going to go by you and i'm going to play over the top a little dan marley in his game right there big guard that's a great call dan marley in phoenix or dan marley in miami well dan marley in miami i think i think dan barley and phoenix was a little more catch and shoot oh back cut and it was there arthur levinovic 6-4 richard jr out of charlotte wearing number two in purple and a basket if the pass was a little bit better brooks jr pull-up jumper not there is kentucky settling a little bit right now definitely right there that was a difficult shot one bounce into a contested 15 footer get the ball reversed settle down a little bit again they're a different team in my opinion when ashton higgins is not at the point he seems to get them into stuff a little more easily and that's to be expected because the other young man this is his third game behind his back in traffic loses the handle shot clock at five williams sets his feet for three that off the back of the iron good defense by kentucky you can't settle you gotta get penetration out of control doug shall's a veteran is not going to bail him out right there he was looking for contact not going to fool that better [Music] but once again evansville is getting into the lane and that's another turnover that's seven make it eight turnovers now for kentucky we'll step aside here in lexington john calipari cannot be happy with the way his wildcats are playing so far all right thank you dari and we've got a great football triple header this saturday here on the sec network and the espn app it all kicks off at noon with number now number five alabama and mississippi state coverage exclusively shot with the sky cam hovering above the field then at 3 30. kentucky meets vanderbilt finally at 7 30 in south carolina at texas a m and in the sec saturday night cap will you be captaining the sky cam at midfield on that game i know you've been busy do they pay the rate they do they pay the rate i'll do it and you get a helmet i've captained worse i probably shouldn't see you've seen some of my teams 731 remaining kentucky with eight turnovers evansville is out of fouls but kentucky has not had an opportunity to take advantage paul always like to see out of a timeout this is an opportunity for coach mccarty to get what he wants looks like what he wants is number 20 to make a play you see everything turns into five out trying to penetrate get a little penetration so that you can get some help wow just a blow-by after a couple of nice crossover dribbles and kunluf is just going for it here at ruffarina he's been the best player on the floor by far and it doesn't look like it's a surprise to him which is really all that matters he hasn't changed his expression whatsoever impressive let's see if leicester can answer on this end that's going to be an offensive foul so yeah exactly right cunliffe's doing it on both ends so richards has got two fouls higgins has got two fouls and now sistina's got a couple of fouls that's an impressive move man change direction straight line drive and then right there bait the big fella he's out weighed about probably 30 pounds baiting into lowering that shoulder great job by sam cunlin give evansville some credit we've talked about kentucky's defense and rightfully so but kentucky now just five of 17 from the [Music] they floor their recipe run an early set and then everything goes five out based off penetration and ball movement that was straight as an arrow right in front of us and once again the shot clock this year with a new rule change will only reset to 20. 6 20 remaining in the half the benefits taking it up at the rim gets his own rebound back up in traffic and lays it in and look at this evansville on top now by eight 24-16 and john calipari has seen enough from his wildcats and calls a timeout [Music] cow's a little frustrated with their inability to guard sam conley he's been by far the best player on the floor and he's showing you in a plethora of ways it started here good way to start the game run the floor get a dunk good penetration swing bang then he says hey i'll just do it myself pull up from about 24 then i'll put the freshman in the hole from the box and then i'm going to just drive right by the fifth gear guy he is a nightmare as it relates to his match-up if you put big on him he goes by if you put smaller on him he's gone inside he has shown you the whole package well so what does coach cal do to slow down cunliffe maybe that's one thing you can do is get him over on the bench well that would be helpful i guarantee you walt is probably trying to get him a break maybe through the four media let him regroup a little bit uh anxious to see what cal goes to here out of a timeout they need a bucket it's been a minute since they've scored and there's their bucket maker maxi pull-up jump shot offensive rebound taken by brooks jr right at the front of the rim not there that ball tipped out of bounds should be evansville's basketball the officials are going to talk that one over and it will indeed be the purple aces ball cal was talking after michigan state despite the win despite doing a terrific job of knocking off number one that they missed 14 shots at point-blank range now they haven't missed 14 to this point but they're in a pace of being about 20. they've missed about five or six shots right at the rim shots that they got to calm down and make well you look at the resume for evansville last year different team 11 and 21 5 and 13 in the missouri valley they were picked seventh coming in before the preseason [Applause] williams sets his feet awkward-looking three-pointer off the back of the iron step back jumper by whitney and i asked you it before but i'll ask again is kentucky settling too much now on the perimeter side of the game well that's a quick shot for a guy that's not noted as a shooter here's where they've got to make hay right here in the open floor good penetrating pitch but evansville is doing an outstanding job of following the scouting report and getting four guys back to stop that initial push kentucky now just five of 19 and they've missed their last five field goal attempts maxie around the corner takes it to the rim counts if it goes and he'll get to the free throw line to shoot a pair interesting paul that cal went back with nick richards despite the two fouls felt like he needed a presence at the basket on both ends he went back to the guy trusting him he's a junior uh he's got to trust his upperclassman to not pick up his third foul in this first half first time maxie's had a open lane to the basket he's got to cash these two in and speaking of fouls deandre williams the leading scorer so far for evansville picked up his second personal foul it'll be interesting i would be surprised if if walter didn't take him out and rest him through the four to clear his head but it doesn't look like that's going to be the case you obviously i think they came in as a 25 26 point underdog you're certainly not going to play passively with an opportunity but you're rolling the dice a bit if that young man picks up his third right now second free throw is good and as we thought number 20 sam kunliff just a very very brief blow on the sideline for head coach walter mccarthy and right back on the floor now with a dozen leading the way for the purple aces of evansville big last four minutes i know i'm captain obvious with that statement but kentucky needs to try to get some stops and get out and generate some offense or they're gonna have to repaint the interior of the locker room because because cal's heat is going to melt the paint off the wall if they don't do something good start stepping through right at the rim and this might be a chance for a three-point play keon brooks jr taking it hard what an impressive play here first of all quigley getting it going making the right decision that is a very athletic play a step through to a jump stop dunk not something i've done lately you paul it's been it's been a few weeks i still have that seven foot basket in my backyard i don't know what the stoppage was because obviously it wasn't a foul maybe maybe owen short was gonna check his hair i don't know he's got nice hair [Applause] kunliff turned it over center the ball whitney takes it hard and now attacking the paint that's paying off with free throws that's his game this young man has taken a couple of ill advice from three that is his game get that thing to the rim uh cunnilif playing with the ball a little bit just loses it did a good job of centering the ball and attacking the basket now he's back to a place where he's not very comfortable needs to relax long here knock these down [Applause] where your head is is where your weight is his head seems a little bit back could be that hair maybe i'm just envious but but his head seems back and if his head's back he's gonna his body made him both there after starting the season two of six in kentucky now on a six-nothing run to get back with him too [Music] [Applause] they're going to fight you for every catch that's what kentucky does elite defensively tyrese maxi got away with one there i thought they could have called him for a reach but fortunate in line ob good run by kentucky to get back in this thing [Music] that's right the celtic mccarty see you guys oh he's going to showed up yeah where he grew up he grew up in lexington and speaking of busy around the sec let's take a look at the pre-season pull kentucky was picked to win followed by florida a big transfer there lsu the defending regular season champs auburn to the final four what about a team like tennessee maybe more for rick barnes to have to replace than than anybody else he had a veteran lineup he lost the player of the year i want to tell you this though i'm always going to bet on the guy who's the first ballot hall of famer which rick barnes most certainly is i think he's six wins away from 700 now despite losing admiral schofield grant williams the two-time player of the year in jordan bone who also made an nba team he is returning the most experienced backcourt in the conference in lamonte turner and jordan bowden he brought in a mcdonald's all-american and rick barnes is going to be just fine i think he's got an opportunity to have another outstanding [Music] team only 10 on the shot clock i'm sure evansville is aware it's right out of a timeout but a big offensive possession here to stem the tide a bit i don't think they know that i don't think they know either riley gets a look at it here what you don't know won't hurt you as he throws in a three-pointer off the glass evansville back up by five their largest lead was eight at 24-16. he says if you don't know now you know it's sometimes better to be lucky than good with that four three-point make and cunliffe who's been the best player on the floor here at rupp arena heat check oh my god he is channeling his inner dan marley wow that was deep off the pull-up down the lane i like the longer perimeter yeah very very hard going to the rim the best time to get an open look is off that offensive glass great job of attacking by the senior end of clock those hurt you a little bit [Music] tyrese maxi picked up his first personal foul as riley will go to the free-throw line 14 points in the win over ball state 79-75 out of bronx new york and this young man you talked about how aggressive he was he shot 244 free throws last year that's over eight per game and pretty efficient at 72 percent he works hard to get to the line i think certain guys have a knack for being fouled and it looks like just the way in which he carries himself and his body the way he can contort his body and traffic along with being 6'5 and a good wingspan he's he's built to score what do they say those inner city guys know how to get to the line because the win factor he probably he's so young back in our day paul used to play outside every once in a while they don't play outside much anymore but he's got a game that's going to allow him to continue to get to that line maxie off the window not close rebound taken by evansville tough possession there maxie dribbles down the only one to touch it goes with a left-handed floater there's cutleth has cooled off a little bit boy had to he was just doing everything perfectly either inside or outside inside a 240 remaining in the opening half kentucky at 2-0 wins over michigan state and eastern kentucky evansville we talked about is just played once i'd like to see quickly continue to go no one is stopping that penetration just like that get to the lane that was pretty well defended he was still able to finish that andy well sometimes sometimes you you you give up on a play too quickly keep going keep colin drive through contact that's what he did right there got a good look at about four feet [Music] believes that he's the best player in the gym and he is taking whoever is guarding him it was sustina once now he's got the freshman khalil whitney on him and he's just putting his head down and getting it to the rim yeah showing a lot a lot of confidence and that was the first personal foul on whitney remember that hagins along with richards for kentucky are playing with a couple personal fouls as timeless line and look to add to his total [Music] now leads all scorers with 13 and walter mccarty his return to rupp arena at least in the first 17 minutes from 51 seconds could not have gone any better as kunliff mixes the second and you know what cunliff's hot start allows coach mccarty to do it allows him with two fouls as we talked about to sit deandre williams for the half don't risk picking up number three you can do that when kunliff is on such a tear because that's where your offense is coming from that is a great call andy because williams is looking to be very aggressive got those early fouls again that time through and over maxie let me tell you something for this game coach cal may want him to transfer a fourth time he has been the best player on the floor good answer right there by the freshman brooks but sam cunlin welcome to rupp arena [Music] about a three possession half now if you're big blue you need to really sit down and try to get stops shot clock at seven that's what you need right here now you're gonna have an open floor opportunity evansville doing a great job they say and tyreese max he initiated the contact he had a better view than us [Applause] tough call to go against you at home boy this was full speed ahead and evansville's defender getting back quickly that's juwan newton [Applause] caught a break right there if you're evansville you have got to be happy with that call i'm sure cal is not tyrese maxie did the right thing euro through him the young man from evansville with great effort i'm not sure he was in a legal guarding position [Applause] good break for the aces want to remind everybody coming up at 9 eastern following our game here on the sec network we'll get you out to thompson bowling arena we were just talking about rick barnes and tennessee just a few moments ago that game will be in knoxville where murray state will take on the volunteers you can also watch the game on the espn app back with andy kennedy the winningest coach in the history of ole miss basketball paul sunderland and uh a coach's life even if you signed a new 10-year contract the richest contract in the history of the sport of basketball it can still be very very stressful and a lot of hard work for your team your team in kentucky has been outplayed so far yeah they've certainly been out executing you know both teams are playing hard and i think i was at both shooter rounds they're both sticking to the game plan evansville's just done a much better job of executing most especially as it relates to putting the ball in the basket which i've heard is kind of important in this game [Music] frederick king three-pointer that runs in and out the rebound taken easily by emmanuel quickly let's see if kentucky will get a two-for-one they got an opportunity i'm not sure they're aware now they've blown the opportunity [Music] good white good drive i like to catch white get it to the rim efficiently by manual quickly second personal foul given so it'll be the double bonus two free throws only 27.8 seconds remaining [Music] [Applause] [Music] now it seems like a little fake motion in the five out drive they know kentucky is going to be overly supportive as it relates to healthy pitch to shooters both three throws up and good quickly now with nine in the early foul trouble with nick richards and then nate sistina never got himself established in this basketball game so far in the post big possession here for big blue they're trying to get out and get a stop if you're fortunate maybe evansville will shoot it early where you'll have an opportunity in the open floor you can see up you don't want to do that that is a bad foul out near midcourt theon brooks picks up his first personal and coach cal can't believe it i don't know if if cal told him to go do that or keon brooks just took it upon himself to run at the ball it appears he certainly didn't want him to foul him just trying to get the ball out of the seniors hands [Applause] evansville early he's done a good job at the free-throw line as well [Music] [Applause] not getting there very often but they've made four out of five riley gets there as we talked about an awful lot and it's good for both of those 12.3 seconds remaining in the opening half plenty of time at 12.3 come down run an action get it to your playmaker's hands and he's got it right now i'd be surprised if he gives it up the attack of the basket boy that was really quick and about the easiest basket of the first half for kentucky a really good first 20 minutes for the visitors from evansville taking on the number one team in the nation and how about sam kunluf started at arizona state then to kansas now in evansville goes for 15 points in the first half against the university of kentucky at the break evansville the purple aces playing like five aces up 34-30 over kentucky now let's go to the studio with darinoka and pat bradley for the halftime report college basketball coming your way once again on the sec network from rupp arena and the evansville purple aces playing the number one ranked kentucky wildcats the first ever meeting between these two teams and evansville on top 34 30. back with andy kennedy i'm paul sunderland your thoughts on a very must be surprising first half great start for evansville walter mccarty's got to be proud that the guys followed the script and made plays sam cunliff's been the story of the first half without question and then kentucky awfully loose with the ball sam cunliffe though if we've talked about the entire first half best player on the floor started out in transition got it got a pitch to the wing to knock down a three he is driving his match up he's gone inside he's gone outside he's really shown us the whole package and then kentucky 11 first half turnovers for a group that only averages 14 for the game that coupled with early foul trouble to nick richards and nate sistina all of a sudden you've got a ball game nick richards coming off a double double only had two free throws in the first 20 minutes to look at the field goals evansville outshot outplayed kentucky through the first 20 minutes it was the kentucky free throw shooting 10 of 12 from the line that kept him in it and they really buckled down defensively over the last four or five possessions and we are underway once again kentucky comes in as the new number one team in the nation the seventh time under head coach john calipari that a wildcats team of his have risen to number one in the country nice two-man game kick to the corner opening three-pointer is good by frederick great extra pass spotting up that's just a well prepared team they knew where their teammates were going to be and and that is a great way to start the half if your evans will settle down let them know we're not going anywhere and all the kids along the evansville bench gave walter mccarty high five because he set that play that's right in the locker room coming out richard returns and still coming up empty offensively struggles gets the offensive rebound and that's going to be a foul called against evansville as you talked about paul you have you have the entire half to set up you know you've got the ball you get a little ball screen and roll to your best player unselfish kicks it out and he's a guy had foul trouble himself and deandre williams has only shot the ball four times coming off 27. unselfish made the extra pass and they paid it off for the corner three higgins looking to answer with a three-long rebound no freder king with another long rebound and speaking of deandre williams at the free throw line wearing number 13 he now has three personal foul so that's a big one against evansville inside of a minute gone in the second half no you got to be really smart i would think walter would play a little bit sitting he's trying to be particular with his minutes kentucky in the open floor sistina who has really been non-existent to this point in the game because of early foul trouble is going to get a chance at the charity strike nate sistina played 11 and a half minutes in the opening half just one of three from the floor and that's the third personal foul on kj riley so some key players for evansville starting to get in some trouble very early in the second half in terms of fouls that's something that that you would have a hard time even though kentucky has got their own issues with ej montgomery not being available tonight they've certainly got depth issues as it relates to their front line and we saw that in the first half of the firefighter sistine has been a pretty good free-throw shooter at 71 percent there you see ej montgomery mason his second straight game injured his ankle and the big win over then number one michigan state in new york and is listed as day to day by the staff working under john califari both free throws up and good interesting about sistina he dropped 25 pounds from summer until the start of the college basketball season he along with the strength and conditioning staff here at kentucky has really put together a fine looking athlete [Applause] looks like evansville's going to play late in the clock here this young man's got an opportunity to bounce it by you as well opts for the three l advised which is going to lead to a fast break opportunity for kentucky good call indecisive was about to push the pass forward to nate sistina sistina goes with a back cut emanuel quickly with the travel turnover turnovers a huge story for kentucky in the first half as you mentioned 11 turnovers they averaged 14 through the first couple of contests that's already a dozen williams working on sistina some contact inside good tough defense and coming quickly out of the back court is tyrese smacks it with the ball reversed got to change sides of the floor more for kentucky great penetrating pitch but again they're not on the same page as he was going to pitch to ashton higgins higgins was cutting to the basket turnover number 13. aj riley getting to the rim lays it up and in okay kentucky's turning it over but can evansville start to take advantage and put some more points off turnovers on the board as their lead is back up to seven well i love their game plan when they get an opportunity in the open floor whether it be at the basket or from three they're taking it and if not they're milking the clock and trying to do something at the end of the clock that's exactly what you've got to do if you're evansville to have a chance against kentucky and they're executing perfectly [Music] pagans a long way without taking a dribble and a nice put back that time by nick richards again we talked about it in the first half paul but i think kentucky has probably missed seven or eight shots at point-blank range right there nick richards with the good hustle and the follow-up but ashton hagins has got to cash in the first one kentucky only shot 35 9 of 26 in the opening half a lot of those as you mentioned and right at the front of the rim they were two for seven from three-point range shot clock at seven they're going to their best player coming off 27. last time he settled this time he settles off the front of the iron steam result rebound taken by kentucky quickly just like that at the other end answers with a three it woke up the rough faithful good initial push good rhythm shot from what many consider the best shooter on kentucky's team quickly now leading the way for scores with kentucky with a dozen well it's going to be called on maxey let's look at that great drive and drift extra pass ashton hagins misses the bunny but nick richards very active on the offensive glass and then there great rhythm left right shoot it in good sign for uk tell you what's not a good sign guess who just got back number 20 in purple sam kunluf we talked about it best player on the floor here at rupp arena for either team through the first 20 minutes led the way with 15 points and he scored it just about every different way you'd want to play or two and you've noticed paul at the end of clock deandre williams is not nearly as comfortable off the bat bounce as cuddliff is i'm sure he'll have that ball at the end of the clock ill-advised shot there by evansville walter mccarty in his second year as head coach for evansville a native of that indiana city grew up there before coming to lexington had a magnificent career here and on the nba for 10 years began his coaching career kind of surprising louisville if you will for who else rick pitino who was his mentor when he won that championship in 96 and then the last several years in the nba i like the action pinch post throw to sistina for the handoff maxi did not finish through contact which is really his forte he was excellent against michigan state and those mid-range floaters comes up short that time and kentucky will quickly come the other way richard's looking for the lob gotta move the ball ball's got to change sides of the floor especially in transition very tough shot richard could not hold the control rebound and williams gets a lucky bounce and knows what to do with it those 50-50 balls are huge two kentucky wildcats converge deandre williams not only secures it but finishes with the dunk [Applause] coach calipari calling out a set for his wildcats evans would be really good on first shot d in the half court really good kentucky looks a little confused they have not it again it's early in the season they have not established offensive identity in the half quarter that is showing tonight kentucky just three of ten from three-point range so far they have not been a good three-point shooting team in the first two and a half games 24 and coming at the other end john hall the 6-7 junior buries that long-range jumper that's what he does and that was a difficult shot well defended good challenge on the shot knocks it down he said that's what hall does a 36 shooter from outside the arc last year maxie spins it up and in love that drive powerful player one bounce get to your spot this young man's got to exert his will on this game and he needs to do it now [Applause] [Music] loses the handle momentarily and is going to get called could have been either a travel or a backcourt violation teams will head to the sideline evansville clinging to the 44-39 lead penetrate pitch difficult shot bang it's been that kind of night for the purple aces tyrese maxi strong finish [Music] some concerned kentucky fans no doubt about it evansville the purple aces led by four at the half they lead it 44-39 and andy an awful lot at stake i mean coach calipari and his wildcats through the years have put together some tremendous performances look at that 52 straight wins at home versus non-conference unranked opponents yeah evansville has been the aggressor they got their footing early got some confidence and they're just playing ball you know it's sometimes it's great to be in a position where you got everything to gain and nothing to lose and that is certainly the case with evansville kentucky in an un familiar situation based on those numbers especially in the non-league versus non-ranked opponents got a young group growing opportunity learning opportunity plenty of game to play and i'm sure kentucky will respond in kind quickly leading the way so far for kentucky with 12 points whitney with five richards has been quiet mostly because of foul trouble with four maxi with six sistina with five as well hagins over five from the floor has yet to score and as we've talked about throughout the course of the game sam kunluf leading the way with 15 points for the visitors from evansville well evansville's up paul because they've doubled them up from three they've made six to kentucky's three and kentucky's got 13 turnovers we talked about it in the last break that the fact that kentucky only averages 14 a game and they're sitting on 13 with over 13 minutes of play just super loose with the ball and evans was taking advantage of it evansville six more field goal attempts because of those turnovers looks like they're gonna go through the big guy let's see if he can throw that hook i like the action good set out of a timeout got him a good look just a little short now what will evans will do they're going to milk it to the end of the clock unless that guy's getting open look no don't do that he's the one hall knocks down a three and i thought he had another opportunity to take one maxi on the step through gets knocked to the floor here at rupp arena and will go to the line to shoot a pair i'm sure walter would have liked for him to have shot that coming off made to three uh looks like he was dribbling a football got away from him a little bit and and maxie has got an uncanny ability to find his way to the basket back to the free-throw line through a couple of games in the early non-conference tyrese maxi on the strength of that 26 point performance against michigan state average in 18 points four rebounds shooting it exceptionally well from the free-throw line with 14 of 15 coming in from garland texas six foot three just under 200 pounds the number 10 overall ranked recruit it was texas mr basketball before matriculating to lexington kentucky back to a one possession game mr kunliff has been awfully quiet since he's gotten back in the game they're paying him just a little bit more attention you know and he's still got the same match up great drive they are attacking sistina off the dribble they're awfully small now they're sitting deandre williams with the three fouls and they are just attacking whoever the biggest player is for kentucky maxi answers at the other end after archer levinovitz the transfer from coastal carolina didn't play last year scored for evansville maxine now in double figures with 10. back door cut great back cut pass was a little behind him i'm not sure his teammate even saw it coming [Applause] feeling it strainer seven straight pull we asked him to wake up and not only did he wake up but i think he'll woke the 20 thousand in rep arena there he is kunluf tries to answer sistina all alone for the rebound a chance for kentucky to take the lead and that would be going back to the very beginning of this game right off the back of the iron rebound taken by hall tied at 46 11 45 remaining attack at the other end not there by givens got a push kyle wants you to push you're not going to get a push here a set again maxie has made the last seven points looks like maybe quickly on a pin down now you gotta get the ball reversed you gotta get the ball reversed so the defense has to shift sides of the floor [Applause] christina with a nice move foul good patience offensively by number one nate sistina and when we come back he'll be shooting a couple of free throws great drive right here by a bucket getter good floater and then what does that lead to a confident pull-up from three kentucky back in the game time now for a fast break what superpower would you want to have super speed if you could have any exotic animal pet what would it be probably a cheetah describe yourself in three words energetic happy and competitive that was a great fast break you were phenomenal excellent work my man yes and tyrese maxi has been at his competitive best over the last four minutes or so when kentucky really needed it against an upset-minded team from evansville scored kentucky's last nine points and helping to lead the way for kentucky to get back in this game after they trailed by eight about midway through the first half they trailed it 34-30 after the opening 20 minutes and a comeback now to tie the game with 11 18 remaining back with andy kennedy i'm paul sunderland thanks so much for joining us for college basketball on the sec network and they sistina who's been averaging ten points and nine rebounds like his front court counterpart nick richards been very quiet so far on the evening i think if i could have a super power i would like the power of teleportation you that way would be there'd be no atlanta airport no you're asking here can you imagine if you could you're asking me that today can you imagine if you could avoid airport security teleportation it is kentucky up too well earlier you you said what boats planes and trains and you forgot about the planets yeah the lift the uber and everything else now it's evansville in need of a basket for the first time in a while williams loses the handle momentarily nice defense by richard great defense and he didn't force it good hockey assist out to givens for the three i agree you know deandre williams his handle is probably not as tight as it will be in time at evansville and he can't get separation to finish over richard but he's doing a good job of not forcing it making the extra pass the little man who struggled for finishing inside with a big three has taken a lot of chances he's playing tough inside against richards andy with three personal fouls i love it you got to go for it man you cannot play scared and give keep give nick richards a point blank look challenged it blocked it to give the momentum back to the purplish mccarty orchestrating on the other side and levinovitz a nice strong take in between a couple of kentucky defenders they are really going at nate sistina off the dribble whoever's got it is trying to attack that matchup great pass by ashton higgins it's time for him to make a showing when's the last time we said his name it has been a while as i pointed out a few moments ago hagins who is a tremendous defender wonderful point guard and orchestrator for this kentucky team over five from the floor including a couple of misses from three-point we had three turnovers early they picked up a couple fouls cal sat him he's got to get back in the game turnovers have been a real problem for kentucky they have 13 but they have cleaned that up over the last seven or eight possessions blocked inside but it's going to be free throws coming to kj riley evansville with a 5150 advantage and trying to add to that right here again going at sistina driving through contact tough layup and then ashton hagin's obviously it was a mistake there nick richards wide open had a match-up issue good vision by hagins to find the open man wonderful play by kentucky but that's one of the first defensive breakdowns by evansville all night long and it was straight communication they just were not matched up properly first free throw up and good for riley talked about the fact that he really is good at getting to the free-throw line not many of the other guys on his team have gotten there but he has certainly cashed in got that new york game senior knows how to get fouled and he is cashing in now in double figures with 11 and a perfect six for six from the free-throw line evansville give him credit sustina's free throws gave uk a lead they've responded with baskets of their own back up three evansville [Applause] [Music] [Applause] trying to get maxi a shot working baseline great action brooks junior keon brooks jr number 12 and white that off the side of the iron tyres max with great initial penetration through back to a wide open key on brooks from about 16 feet good action just missed it inside of nine minutes remaining if you're kentucky you're getting a little bit worried no plenty of time you got to get stops they've been pretty good defensively you've got a rebound first shot and you got to try to get out in the open floor that's where they have excelled to evansville's credit they have not given them many opportunities shot clock quickly down inside 10 remember the rule change offensive rebound resets to 20 not 30. [Applause] at the other end whitney taking that ball right at the defense we haven't called his name very often tonight either number two in white that is the fourth foul on john hall john hall made a hard threes passed up a couple of threes you know sometimes you can be too unselfish and end up hurting your team i thought he should have taken that three they end up getting laid in the clock leads to a turnover which is going to get khalil whitney back to the free-throw line with an opportunity to cut this to a one-point game there's two or four so far from the free-throw line was heads forward that time i did like that we talked about that a little bit much better rhythm on that shot you can tell again freshman third game of the year a lot of nerves settle in keon brooks we saw it last trip with an open 16 footer now you go one for two at the free throw line but uk uk's going to win this game on the defensive end fall they've got to string together stops and they've got to try to get out and make plays in the open floor [Applause] sistina back on and they have done a good job corral and tunleth here in the second half after he went for 15 in the first kick ahead to cestina lays it up and in great look great look by ashton hagan great look wonderful wonderful pass over the top they are a different team when he's in the game playing with with energy and you see now on ball defense a little pep in his step [Applause] that's right little sense of urgency now nice two-man game three-pointer not there chance for kentucky to take the lead come to fill them out was a little miscommunication on that ball screen two stayed with the dribbler kung lift with a clean look made them in the first half has been empty in this half maxi not there long rebound comes out to evansville looking to run they don't have numbers i'm not crazy about that look not because it was a bad shot but because it was on the first side of the floor you never turn the ball if you don't turn the ball you're always going to play against a strong side defense k.j o'reilly out of the bronx new york with a big three-pointer for the evansville purple aces good two-man game [Music] evansville on top of kentucky number one kentucky 56-53 it's time for our mayhem moment brought to you by allstate and it's about the turnovers particularly andy in the first half kentucky 13 turnovers 11 of those coming in the first 20. yeah just things that that are uncharacteristic not not on the same page offensively at all those things are just inexcusable because the game of basketball is a possessions game when you're giving the opponent extra possessions [Music] it'll catch up to you hence our score you give evansville some life and as a result they're up three with under eight to play again evansville led it 34-30 on the strength of really strong play from sam kunluf in the first half he led him with 15 points they led 44-39 at the first time out and then kentucky tied it at 53 evansville with 7 12 remaining on top 56 53 two team fouls for kentucky five team fouls for evansville could be a factor especially if tyreese maxey can get to the free throw line where in the early season he has made 18 out of 19 free throws [Applause] [Music] out of the timeout cow will get the ball where he wants it it looks like quickly they were trying to pound the post to sistina good initial d and the help is good not a lot of space in there but he has a decisive size advantage eight o'clock waiting on the double almost a turnover gotta go now quickly number five takes it with five seconds on the shot clock long rebound cannot be saved by kentucky and we'll have to step aside evansville continues to lead it at rupp arena well it's finally here you can download the disney plus app right now and start streaming the best of disney pixar marvel star wars and national geographic all ad-free and wherever and whenever you want for more go to disneyplus.com what's at stake for the kentucky wildcats again back to number one for the seventh time under coach calipari now in his 11th year 52 straight wins we talked about that when coach cal is ranked number one 110 and 12. pretty impressive numbers right big numbers some very big numbers you can uh you can you can stare at any one of those facts and they're pretty amazing evansville is going to come in here and test them playing with a lot of confidence sticking to the game plan of kentucky legend walter mccarty kentucky's shooting it a little bit better in the second half eight of 19 42 after struggling in the first they look out of sorts to me offensively give evansville credit for crowding the lane not giving them a lot of driving opportunities but they have not yet established an offensive identity which again is is not surprising in game three of the season we talked about it in the first half with regard to foul trouble but too much on the perimeter so far for kentucky yeah i don't think the ball is moving nearly as fluidly as cal would like in the clock watch the drive lily looking to draw foul goes up left handed off the front of the iron gave his team a chance for an offensive they're going to get rewarded they are deandre williams really hustling down in the low post you know they switched that ball screen they switched the ball screen at the end of the clock which puts nick richards who was de'andre williams's matchup on the perimeter so maxie is now trying to block out a guy five inches taller gets called for the foul and tyrese maxi just picked up his fourth personal foul finish not there for gun look ball batted around and evansville comes away with it kentucky's fortunate there he had a point-blank look good quick play eye contact missed the bunny keeps it alive off the offensive glass evansville's turned the tables a little bit in this half with good work off their offensive board williams has been patient here working against richards that's a difficult matchup for him i lost track of the shot clock excuse me nick richards is very difficult to just take off the bounce because of his length and his ability to move his feet that has not been a match-up that has been fortuitous for evansville tonight you mentioned nick richards and his length six foot 11 but has a seven foot five wingspan 547 left evansville on top 56-53 they have let it throughout we were tied at 53 but both teams have gone on a multiple minute scoring drought epcor set aston hagan's at the rim not their rebound is battled for and the whistle is called and kj riley had 14 points in their win over ball state comes away with a loose ball and ashton higgins he picks up his third i think that's the next phase to his offensive game paul he's strong he's got good size he's got an ability to get it at the rim but he has to finish through contact is it easy of course not but for this guy to be the player that that he wants to be in for uk and for what uk needs him to be he has got to finish those shots through contact in the paint journey we're in number 10 and wide on the floor now guardian king right to the rim laying it up and in strong take that time by williams right on nate sistina nick richards out of the game [Music] the leading scorer for evansville goes right to the basket with a big shot a little whitney wearing number two in white also back on for kentucky and let's take a look at the possession arrow strong take once again by deandre williams out of houston a little dribble drive almost like a pick play in football you just kind of rub a little bit got him an angle and de'andre williams the leading scorer for evansville finishes remember coming off a 26 point nine rebound three assist game against ball state a little different situation than playing ball state yeah no question we were talking about it during the commercial williams has shown a lot of patience and composure strong take to the basket once again by quickly yeah he has really shown us the ability to get it at the basket quickly for emanuel uh good drive got the bump couldn't finish now he's got to cash it in at the free throw line it has just been a struggle offensively for the cats not a lot of fluidity in the half court sets and again right now they're looking around and saying where's pj washington where's tyler hero those guys are gone some other guys have to develop that killer instinct can be able to go make plays we talked before the tip and the one constant at kentucky is constant change and new faces and talent and some wonderful players have moved on to the nba and also a quick update on when travis did a little checking 11.7 rebounds the grad transfer from stanford he is now playing in germany and the crowd is very uneasy kentucky's just got to do what they do be elite defensively don't be over anxious evansville's done a great job of milking this clock and then playing out of space that's going to be a holding foul there's some contact away from the play whitney picks up the personal that's his second back cut by the senior not only does whitney get the foul but he gets an elbow right to his mouth and we were having a little fun kj reilly who drew that foul from bronx new york i think he probably went to drama and acting school as well because he did a wonderful job of attracting the official's attention that's part of the game of basketball no question it's a difference between being a senior and being a freshman just having that game experience big out of browns play opportunity here we saw them cash in in the first half i like the pass good recovery by keon brooks five team fouls now on kentucky good extra extra pass sprinter kane buries a three-pointer and deandre williams with the assist big pass in mate you talked about it paul very unselfish play the young man in only his second game at evansville has a great feel for how to play he was ineligible last year kept his scholarship was able to practice with the team quickly tries to answer not their offensive rebound down inside and put home nicely by keon brooks jr much needed basket for kentucky great side of four minutes to play great drive and drift quickly who cal thinks maybe their best perimeter shooter misses it but keon brooks with a big offensive board brother king very very early in the clock and what does it lead to it leads to kentucky in transition block i think he may have been in the restricted area ashton hagen's back to the free-throw line we'll step aside evansville now clinging to the four-point advantage free throws for kentucky down four under four to go guys thank you dary when you're kentucky and particularly when you're kentucky ranked number one you always get everybody's best shot back with andy kennedy i'm paul sunderland take us through the last 3 48 could be a factor just look evansville now after that play out of foul well i think it's going to come down to this paul kentucky's going to have to sit down and guard the bounce all of evansville's success in the half court has been in the spread set trying to attack a match-up they're gonna have to do a good job of staying in front of the ball being help oriented which is what cal teaches but don't over help don't be over anxious don't bail evansville out and offensively the cats have to continue to get downhill off the bounce and finish in the paint [Music] and speaking of in the paint nick richards who was saddled with a couple of early fouls so far he has six points to go along with six rebounds on the night coming off a double double against eastern kentucky and nate sistine only two or four from the floor he has done some work at the free-throw line nine points and five rebounds and at least coming in when you looked at these two teams when you were at shoot around earlier today you would have thought kentucky had a really big advantage down inside and it has not played out that way you got to give evansville a lot of credit for really battling in the paint no question early foul trouble may have thrown the cats out of rhythm but at the end of the day and we saw it with sistino on a couple of matchups you know defensively we talked about this at the break hall defensively he may have a match-up disadvantage because he's guarding a smaller more perimeter perimeter-oriented player offensively they've gone to him in the block a couple of times he has not looked as comfortable with his back for the basket they've got to have finishes inside in order to pull this out well you made a really interesting point about sistina really being a stretch four he's much more comfortable facing up without question 61 to 58 inside a 340 left they're going to milk this to the end and try to get dribble penetration it's going to be difficult to do against hagins you've got to know where cunliffe is even though he has not scored this half he has had a monster game shot clock inside of fire he doesn't know it he doesn't know where to go he doesn't know it givens off the dribble do they get it off no it's late that is a bad possession terrible possession and it was out of a timeout uh this kid just lost to lost track of the time and as a result empty set good defense by uk now you got to pay it off on the other end with a basket [Music] maxie off the bounce and has that shot blocked out of bounds by kunluf there will be more free throws coming maxie so far on the night 13 points four of ten shooting he has been superb from the free-throw line in the early going this season uk in all three games has made more free throws than their opponent has attempted and that is holding true again tonight this is their 23rd and 24th attempt and evans a 1-1 they called a 1-1 [Applause] interesting i thought he had i thought doug shall said two but they must have called that on the floor big front end very surprised by that that foul was called early i thought it was two shots for sure evansville with the 18 fouls not in the double bonus of course until 10. working against sistina got his feet underneath the long rebound no checkout that's the shooter challenge check go get the ball no check out paul comes up with another possession but again with only 20 on the clock we're already under five looking for the back door cut riley takes it to the rim draws contact and he'll get back to the free-throw line he goes in there with a purpose okay he is very good at that does not get flustered knows the time i guess with keon brooks when he slapped down that might have been the foul i thought the initial defender was vertical but keon brooks with a slap down must have been the call riley is going to take his seventh and eight free throws among all his other teammates they've taken a total of four he gets it at the basket doesn't mean you gave us a great stat in the first half over 240 some odd times last year this is what he does eight free throw attempts per game last year for the senior out of bronx new york averaged 14 points five rebounds most improved team in the missouri valley conference good possession here down five with 220 to play because you know evansville is going to believe this clock nick richards back in has not done much offensively another good drive that time he finishes opening up opened up the floor for hagins they spread it out richards and sistina stand wide and hagins took it right to the rim crowd back in it higgins is terrific on the ball but you've got to respect shamar given to speed because he does have the opportunity to break you down which are going to lead to unnecessary rotations keep them in front of you if your big blue under 10 in the clock shot not there offensive rebound right the front of the rim put back up and in by riley one minute and 35 seconds remaining in evansville with a five-point lead nick richards with great initial defense but you have to clean it up and secure your defensive glass richards turns over his shoulder not there and the rebound taken by kunluff okay he's got trouble now both teams in the bonus [Applause] max he's a tremendous on-ball defender as well but you have to respect the speed [Applause] of shamar givens an unranked opponent has not come in to rupp arena and won in the last 52 tries three-pointer needs a bounce though didn't get it still got time but you got to play with a sense of urgency get it at the basket quickly takes it right to the front of the rim up and in and a timeout is goal timeout called by kentucky 44.5 seconds remaining evansville leading by three i thought evansville had a pretty good look at it it might have been the knockout punch good penetrate and pitch for freder king came up a little short on the look just like that kentucky's got it back at the other end we're in a one possession game kentucky has one timeout remaining they are in the bonus here is again what's at stake mentioned it moments ago 52 straight wins at home versus non-conference unranked opponents kentucky again ascended to the number one spot in the rankings after their wonderful performance in new york and their then win over previously number one michigan state let's talk strategy paul 44 seconds to play 30 on the clock expect some full court pressure i don't know if kentucky will run and jump but they're going to certainly pressure your distance get a stop and then evansville's got to be smart realizing they cannot give up a three-point shot any drives don't help you're in control of the game [Applause] if you can manage it properly and they got it in the hands of the guy that has been really good here comes the running jump that ball deflected out of bounds mentioned kentucky with one timeout remaining as you can see next to evansville they have three timeouts remain that should be huge i'm sorry paul if i'm walter mccarty i want to get it in number 33's hands he has the ability to get the ball where he wants i i would get it to my senior at the end of this clock but it looks like they're going to stay with five well in control kentucky can't get into the free throw line they only have 16 fouls late in the clock you got to play this through now [Applause] gibbons trying to take it inside in a shot violation well they were able to run off a tremendous amount of clock didn't end that possession the way walter mccarty would have liked it 65-62 one possession game kentucky still with a timeout remaining no that was a tough possession if you're evansville obviously you you've got 30 seconds off the clock but you don't even get a shot at the basket 33 riley who has been tremendous by getting to the free-throw line off the bounce doesn't even touch it in the possession that's a great point andy he's been so good at attacking the rim and attacking the bigs like richards and sistina when they've been on the floor be willing to take contact he's got 18 points on the night and a perfect eight of eight from the free-throw line take us into the kentucky huddle and where they go with their offense do they have to get a three right away i think you check best available if i'm them i i will say this as you said they would have to foul twice to get to get evansville in the bonus you are running out of time i would try to get a three i'm sure cal is going to design something to try to get maxie or quickly open off some baseline screening action you want to try to get a clean look at the three if they're over playing it you still have time to get a quick two and foul so far on the night kentucky is four of 16 from three point range quickly is one of four whitney is one of three and maxie one of three as well they've done a decent job of guarding kentucky's perimeter nate sistina has not had a look from three in this game he had one in the first half over one but it has not been his night but i think he's the easiest one to get open on some kind of pick and pop action question here for evansville do they foul if it's under five and then force kentucky into a free-throw situation you know what it depends on the preference of walter mccarty it looks as if that may be the case but they're going to take the quick two out of timeouts no i think evansville took the last time okay thank you yeah evansville took the last time out now now uh kentucky is out that was a quick score 7.9 seconds remaining and kentucky kentucky still needs a steal because if they foul it'll still just be ball inbounds with a couple of ticks off the clock i'm sure they know that i'm sure cal is relaying that to his team there's going to be a lot of pressure to try to deny the inbound i would be surprised if they did not try to get a hard trap initially before the foul see if they can get a turnover quick basket trying to try to steal this game evansville has been outstanding a couple of poor decisions at the end of clock as they're trying to salt this thing away i would make sure 33 touches this ball off the inbound he's their best foul shooter he's their most trusted with the ball he is their senior leader you've got to find a way if you're walter mccarty to get it to him off the initial what a homecoming for a 1996 ncaa champion in walter mccarty this team knows how to play basketball and he's over there orchestrating this is a well-coached well-schooled basketball team and they've shown it in this environment he's done a great job they've done a good job especially early of playing in the open floor score early score late end of clock and they found what was working they're a sets team i saw them go over about 20 sets today and shoot around but they've really emptied a lot of that based on personnel and based on the fact that they know they have an advantage off the bounce with five out right now all of that is water under the bridge you've got to get the ball in and be strong and it looks like 33 and five their two primary ball handlers are where they're trying to go so you got ashton hagans versus riley great 101 matchup let's see who can win it to get this ball unbounded and they can get evansville to the free-throw line kentucky has 16 fouls they've adjusted the clock to eight and mentioned the timeouts remaining for evansville they don't take any chances deandre williams was inbounding there and you were talking about we were complimenting evansville and rightfully so on the quality of basketball they played the last several years before going back home to evansville walton mccarty worked for brad stevens with the celtics everybody recognizes there's an awfully good basketball mind and i thought of it when you mentioned sex because they've really been running some good stuff against a kentucky team that you mentioned has to hang their hat at the defensive end no question and i don't think kentucky has done a bad job of guarding the ball you know when you come in your own building and you hold your opponent to 65 points in the university of kentucky number one in the country you've got to find a way to manufacture more scoring opportunities for yourself a lot of point-blank misses they were out of rhythm early with some early turnovers giving evansville confidence and right there evansville i think deandre williams may have forgotten that you can't run the baseline in entering this ball it looks like they were just simply trying to post up kj riley and ashton hagers wasn't having it but you got to remind your your player now they're going with with uh frederick king to inbound it he can run the baseline because this all started with a made layup by tyrese max's right left looking for the ball at the free throw line that changed everything through a line yeah they would they look what they're doing they're going after the freshman khalil whitney with sam cunliffe they changed as the inbounder but you've got nick richards on the inbounder watch his length having a factor in this play cal this ain't his first rodeo he changed to ashton hagins at the front got the freshman out of there and there oh got his hand on it now it's a spot paul he could not move which makes nick richard's size on the ball much more problematic one time out remaining for evansville yeah and they'll take it now i think they're going to go monitor review honestly they're going to review every call it's good to go to it absolutely right just to make sure i think it was clearly off ashton higgins they may be looking at a timing issue oh yeah that's off havens and they may be just checking the time remember we talked about evansville and their resume in the 1980s and 90s they were more than a respectable mid major they were real programmed to be dealt with five ncaa appearances all time but the last in 1999 that is a lifetime ago have they ever beaten the number one oh i'm sure not i'm sure and what a setting walter mccarty on the sideline first ever meeting between kentucky oh i'm just getting a great note a wonderful note thank you very much and a great question andy evansville is owen to all time versus number one ranked teams you notice the one thing they did do with the monitor review they obviously got the call right but they also added a little time which is beneficial to kentucky nick richards on the ball if i'm him i'm not jumping around just be big just be big williams to inbound both teams out of timeout immediately the foul is taken by hagans and sam kunluf who had 15 points in the first half to lead the way for evansville scoreless go to the line scoreless that's exactly the point exactly the point wouldn't you have tried to get the ball you mentioned to kj riley i would have but you know what maybe they didn't like the matchup but then cal did a smart thing he just switched the match up when kj reilly was down initially they had ashton hagans on him the best on-ball defender in the gym so they they switched it and then cal made a smart move by switching whitney and hagen so hagan still was on the ball either way it'll be a one possession game kunliff now two for three on the night from the line we shot it like he's got to go somewhere after the game he shut that thing awfully quick under these circumstances i would have two watch how quick he gets this thing off nothing but net kentucky with no timeouts and now a three-point advantage 67-64 i don't know if coach mccarty practices fouling but i would certainly implore it here maxie for the tie and it comes up short what a win by evansville and for that man right there what a moment for walter mccarty [Applause] incredible job done by walter mccarty and his staff and credit goes to the purple aces executed perfectly made the plays that were there to be made and pulled off a program changing upset boy it has been a tumultuous early college basketball season for the first time in ap poll history a number one team has lost multiple times michigan state going down on a neutral floor at madison square garden and now kentucky ended a streak of 52 straight wins against non-conference unracked opponents at rupp arena a tremendous tremendous performance by evansville one last look at the final possession we made a great point i was anticipating evansville fallon i was too obviously they weren't as comfortable with that strategy because they definitely were not going to foul maxie with a very difficult shot shot it a little early again an experience from being in this position but what an incredible effort by walter mccarty a huge moment 10 years ago wow tremendous tremendous job by his team by the coaching staff [Music] and just a wonderful win by evansville an historic win 67-64 we talked about the fact that evansville and one of the polls was picked seventh and another poll was picked eighth in the missouri valley conference and now the man of the moment what a magnificent job

Channel: O__BALL__O

Views: 2,972

Keywords:

Id: E4zFhtR1US8

Length: 96min 52sec (5812 seconds)

Published: Thu Aug 20 2020