Calipari calls on Rupp Arena crowd to bring "10-point edge" vs. Georgia
For a cold Wednesday night in Lexington, Rupp Arena was rocking. From tipoff on, fans helped spur the Cats to the 90-77 bounce-back victory vs. Mississippi State, energy you could feel through the television. With a Georgia team that’s yet to lose a true road game coming to town on Saturday, John Calipari is calling on fans to give the Cats what he believes is a 10-point edge.
“Let me say this. When you have — everybody wants to have engaged fans. I just walked into that arena. This Georgia game, I want it to sound — when I went to the Philadelphia Phillies playoff game, folks, I got chills. It was so loud and people were so engaged. I want that Georgia game to feel that way, like it is — that’s our fans having a ten-point edge, being those people. And today they were really good.”
Calipari echoed that call during his postgame radio conversation with Tom Leach, issuing instructions to the fans still in the stands.
“This game coming up with Georgia, please make it sound like we’re in Philadelphia and the Phillies are playing and people are losing their minds from the beginning of the game where people are saying, ‘What! Can you believe Rupp Arena?!’
“And I know some of you are older, you can do it sitting. You don’t have to stand. You can wave and scream. And if someone says, ‘Come on, you’re losing your mind,’ say, ‘Coach told us to. Go talk to him. He’s on the other side of the court. Go talk to him.'”
Georgia beat South Carolina in Columbia last night to improve to 13-4, 3-1 in SEC play. It was the Bulldogs’ 11th victory in the past 12 games, the exception being a loss to No. 5 Tennessee on Saturday. Kentucky played Texas A&M right after that game, so Calipari clearly missed the end, where the Vols came back to beat the Bulldogs by six.
“Georgia, are you ready, has not lost a road game. Georgia has not lost a road [game]. They are so excited about coming here and playing. Mike [White]’s got them playing now. It is another good team. This team beat Tennessee and they got up 15, 16.”
Calipari on #FreeBigZ billboard: “Our fans are crazy”
Calipari got yet another example of the Big Blue Nation’s unique passion earlier today when a billboard funded by fans went up near the NCAA headquarters reading, “Hey guys, #FreeBigZ – Sincerely, Kentucky,” a reference to the organization dragging its feet on a ruling regarding Zvonimir Ivisic‘s eligibility. When asked about the billboard, Calipari broke out one of his favorite lines.
“I’ll say it again, our fans are crazy. And I love them.”
Calipari once again expressed his frustration and displeasure over the NCAA’s handling of Ivisic’s case. Whether or not his “aggressive” approach will yield results remains to be seen, but one thing is for certain: Calipari appreciates the BBN’s gesture.
“I would say doing that shows how the fans are here,” he said of the billboard. “You’ve got places where they’re trying to sell tickets, where they’re trying to get people involved — that doesn’t happen here. This is, they’re here, they’re waiting on the radio show. It’s four degrees out, they’ll drive back to East Kentucky. They love it and they’re a part of this.”
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