Kentucky flashes brilliance, crumbles down the stretch against top-ranked Kansas

A Kentucky student manager rolled out of the locker room with a boombox above his head, Lifestyle by Rich Gang ft. Young Thug and Rich Homie Quan echoing through the underbelly of the United Center in Chicago. Jordan Burks led the charge rapping every word, his teammates slowly joining one by one. Aaron Bradshaw, then DJ Wagner, then Kareem Watkins. By the start of the chorus, the entire roster was singing in unison.

Loose, not a single worry or care. You’d have no idea a group largely composed of teenagers was set to take on No. 1 Kansas with all national eyes on the sport set to dissect their every move. They were more focused on the next verse, not the sea of lights and cameras they’d have waiting for them on the other side of the tunnel.

A brief reality check to open the game for the Wildcats, the top-ranked Jayhawks jumping out to a 9-0 lead in the first three minutes. The moment got big, early jitters presenting themselves as the 7-2, 260-pound mass better known as Hunter Dickinson imposed his will early.

And then Reed Sheppard and Rob Dillingham introduced themselves to the college basketball world.

Kentucky’s early response

It started with back-to-back 3-point daggers from Sheppard to give Kentucky its first lead of the game midway through the first half. Then Dillingham unleashed his inner Malik Monk with four consecutive threes, followed by an unselfish dish to Antonio Reeves for another transition make from deep. The Wildcats were riding a high, extending the lead to as many as 12 points in the final minute, all of the momentum in the world.

And then five straight from Dickinson to close out the half, highlighted by a three at the buzzer from the top of the key. Feel-good moments, but a lasting bad taste largely to blame on Kansas’ anchor in the middle.

That would be the story of the game for Kentucky, one that would unfortunately close without the fairytale finish the Wildcats appeared to be trending toward.

Special stretches, but shaky finish

Down 14 with 16:21 to go, the Jayhawks stormed back on a 15-2 run to retake the lead five minutes and change later. Rather than folding, though, the young pups threw counterpunch after counterpunch right back — six lead changes in the final 10:53, Kentucky pushing ahead by six on a drive and score from Sheppard at the 5:43 mark. That lead would stick down to the final TV timeout, a sequence that followed with eight missed shots and two missed free throws. On the other side, an 11-1 run to end the game, just two missed shots.

When push came to shove, the experienced bunch made the plays down the stretch to win the game. The No. 1 team in the country looked like the No. 1 team in the country.

But it doesn’t take away from what the Wildcats were able to do, especially taking on the most dominant big in college basketball without three 7-footers. Kansas head coach Bill Self certainly sees the vision.

“They’re hard to guard with Tre (Mitchell) playing the five, but when they get (Aaron) Bradshaw back and their other guys, those other bigs,” he said. “That’s going to be a hard team to deal with. Cal’s got a really good bunch.”

Everything you want to see — except the win

Let’s look at the facts. DJ Wagner and Justin Edwards shot just 1-18 from the floor and 0-6 from three, five combined points. Antonio Reeves went 1-8 in the first half and 7-25 overall, including 3-17 from three. After scoring 16 first-half points, Dillingham added just two more in the second half — a few bad shots and defensive miscues. Sheppard was Kentucky’s best all-around player from start to finish, but rushed the final shot when the play broke down. Tre Mitchell closed the game with four misses at the line, two back-breakers down the stretch.

Yet there the Wildcats were, ball in hand with a chance to tie it in the final seconds. On this stage, that opponent. Stretches of dominance, flashes of brilliance, big moments in the face of adversity.

There’s no such thing as a moral victory at the University of Kentucky, but that was about as close as you can get to finding one.

“We’re learning. None of us are happy we lost the game. I’m not happy,” John Calipari said following the loss. “I’ve got work to do to help them finish games off, figure out who needs to be in at the end of those games.

“But to come in this environment, everything that goes with it, the bells and whistles, and they perform the way they did? You couldn’t ask for much more, other than to make some free throws and shots down the stretch and win.”

Highest ceiling in college basketball

Some old, bad habits crept back late as things tightened up. The random basketball we saw during Kentucky’s big run reverted back to overdribbles and isolation stepbacks, some hero-ball moments. The Wildcats got away from what they did best and who got them there, some head-scratching substitutions and force-feeding guys who simply didn’t have it tonight. Patience hoping for a breakthrough just didn’t pay off, and it directly contributed to the Jayhawks’ second-half comeback and gutsy win.

But you know their time will come. And you saw the likes of Dillingham, Sheppard, Adou Thiero and even Jordan Burks come up with big plays under lights that don’t get much brighter. Mitchell with a sneaky-strong game beyond the struggles at the line, Reeves battling in the second half to get a couple to fall.

Kansas has a high floor and will be in the hunt all the way through the finish line in March. That’s a talented bunch capable of killing you in a lot of ways — four double-figure scorers, the worst performer of that bunch dropping a triple-double. The Jayhawks are tough.

But Kentucky proved it is too, a group with arguably the highest ceiling in college basketball. The Wildcats are good now — very good, even. What you see now, though, isn’t remotely close to the finished product. And that’s a scary predicament for everyone else.