Calipari doesn't like loss but says Kentucky will use extra time to heal

Looking for silver linings in a March loss is no fun, but there is at least one tonight. With no more games in Nashville, Kentucky will have some extra time to rest up for the NCAA Tournament. John Calipari brought up that fact more than once in the wake of the 80-73 loss to Vanderbilt in the SEC Tournament quarterfinals.

“Vandy deserved to beat us,” Calipari said. “They made their free throws. We missed ours. They made unbelievable plays down the stretch of shot clock and we didn’t. We out-rebounded them, did some good stuff. Got to throw daggers this time of the year. You got to take care of what’s in front of you, and we didn’t tonight.

“But in the other sense, we probably need to get healthy. Having some time off may play in our hands, even though I’m not happy with the outcome of the game. But we got to get everybody healthy and go on this next run.”

Even though Cason Wallace (ankle) returned to the starting lineup tonight, he and Kentucky were far from full strength. CJ Fredrick played 14 minutes but is still dealing with pain from his cracked rib. Before the game, Calipari revealed that Jacob Toppin missed a few practices this week too, although, when asked in the locker room after, Toppin said he is not currently injured.

“I still believe in this team,” Calipari said. “I think this team can go on a deep run. We do have to get healthy. Jacob didn’t practice but one day last week. Cason practiced one day last week. I wasn’t even sure they were going to play. I thought we were going to end up having to do what we did at Arkansas: just figure out how to get it up the court. That’s what I thought we were going to do. All of a sudden we can go, but they did not practice. Neither did CJ.”

Calipari says Wheeler is “getting closer” to potential NCAA Tournament return

Calipari said Sahvir Wheeler could return in a limited capacity for the NCAA Tournament. Wheeler hasn’t played since the Florida game on Feb. 4 due to an ankle injury and a minor procedure on his tailbone. Calipari said even a few minutes from Wheeler could help the Cats avoid issues like the ones they faced tonight.

“It hurt us today with Cason,” Calipari said of not having Wheeler. “Cason not playing, that’s what happens when you’re trying to plug guys in at this time of the year. But he went through some practice stuff the other day. So I think he’s getting closer. Hopefully, he’s going to be able to give us some minutes.”

On Sunday, Kentucky will learn its NCAA Tournament path. Until then, it’s rest and recovery in hopes of getting the entire team on the court for practice next week.

“We’ve got to get three or four good practices in with a full team. It’s going to be vital. It will be vital. We have to have them on the floor. I haven’t checked to see where guys are, but we’re going to have to do that.

“We need a couple of days to just recover from stuff right now. So next couple days we’ll probably need the recovery. Then Monday, Tuesday, Wednesday, let’s go, let’s get something done.”