John Calipari, Kentucky know how to bounce back after being swept

John Calipari is in his 13th season at Kentucky. In that time, the Wildcats are 167-52 in SEC play for a win rate of 76.3 percent. The Big Blue is hard to beat on the hardwood.

Victory is even harder to accomplish twice in the same season.

Throughout the extended period with Cal roaming the sidelines, only four teams have made that happen. Florida did it twice — first under Billy Donovan in 2014 and then under Mike White in 2018. Tennessee also accomplished the mission in 2019. Alabama followed up and got two wins over the Wildcats in 2021.

Yet, in every situation, Kentucky always bounced back the next year to handle business in the next meeting.

In 2015, Kentucky defeated Florida on the road with College GameDay in Gainesville which was highlighted by an absurd dunk from Willie Cauley-Stein.

In 2019, the Wildcats went on the road to beat Florida by double-digits and then hammered No. 1 Tennessee at Rupp Arena.

The same thing happened again in 2022.

Going on the road, Kentucky handled their business in the 66-55 win over Alabama as five Wildcats scored in double-digits, and the defense smothered a good Alabama offense holding the Crimson Tide to just 0.75 points per possession.

Catching Auburn for an SEC regular-season title seems highly unlikely this season thanks to a very soft schedule for the Tigers, but Calipari and his program are showing that the 9-16 campaign last season was a fluke.

On Saturday night at Coleman Coliseum, Kentucky delivered another vintage revenge performance in SEC play as the Wildcats cruised to a double-digit Quad 1 win on the road proving the team is a true national championship contender.

Despite the recent success and an SEC title last season, Alabama has still never beaten Kentucky three times in a row.