John Calipari questions Kentucky players for not grabbing final loose ball in LSU loss

Kentucky was seconds away from securing a big road win at LSU on Wednesday, before a Tyrell Ward layup at the buzzer lifted the Tigers to a 75-74 victory.

After the game, Wildcats coach John Calipari shared that he was frustrated with his team for not finding a way to get one final stop.

LSU forward Jordan Wright drove along the right side in the final seconds and tried to get off a shot. It was blocked, but Wright got the ball back and made the pass to Ward, who hit the game winner and left Calipari and his Kentucky team disappointed.

“Adou [Thiero] blocks it. I’ve gotta watch the tape and say, ‘Who did not grab that ball? The winning ball. Who didn’t grab it? And why? Why not dive on the floor, just tie it up and we win the game,'” Calipari said.

It wasn’t just the final play that had Calipari frustrated. Kentucky led by 15 points at one point in the second half, before coming up short.

Rob Dillingham hit a jumper for the Wildcats with 12 seconds remaining, but it didn’t matter in the end. Dillingham finished with 23 points in the loss.

“Fought to get back, made baskets. Robert Dillingham made some unbelievable plays. We went to him late and he did what he does,” Calipari said.

“[But] 50-50 balls cost us the game. That’s all we talked about — 50-50 balls. Not only the last play, the play before that. … Don’t tell me about your offense. If you’re not going to come up with 50-50 balls, you can’t win.”

John Calipari details how Rob Dillingham can stay on floor

Rob Dillingham finished with 23 points Wednesday night, despite playing only 22 minutes in the loss to Kentucky.

Kentucky head coach John Calipari recently addressed how he decides on Dillingham’s playing time.

After Kentucky defeated Ole Miss last week, a reporter asked Calipari how he balances Dillingham’s wild play with his unmatched talent. Calipari provided a patient answer.

“I give him another chance,” Calipari said. “I tell him, ‘I believe in you but you’re not going to play, playing the way you’re playing.’ If he would have came out and had two more turnovers he would have sat. Because the turnovers were not like good turnovers. It was like giving them the ball for layups at the other end.”

Dillingham’s minutes have decreased in Kentucky’s past few games. For the season, Dillingham averages 23.2 minutes per game. However, in the Wildcats’ past three outings, Dillingham has averaged 18.6 minutes on the floor, prior to Wednesday against Kentucky.

Of course, some of this decline may be due to Kentucky returning multiple players from injury, including fellow guard DJ Wagner, who was out with an ankle injury. However, Dillingham may be also be losing minutes due to coaching decisions.

Dillingham averages 1.9 turnovers per game, the most on the team. Early in the first half against Ole Miss, Dillingham threw the ball away multiple times. Consequently, Calipari yanked him. While there must be punishment, there doesn’t have to be permanent punishment.