Kentucky's lack of effort, execution proves costly in high-stakes matchup: "We had no fight"

Kentucky must’ve sleepwalked off the team bus when they arrived at Spokane Arena on Sunday night. Despite facing a top-five opponent in an intense road environment (and coming off a double-overtime loss to Michigan State earlier in the week…), the Wildcats couldn’t even rub their eyes open in time for tipoff.

From the opening jump ball, Kentucky was mauled by a Gonzaga squad eager to make a statement. The Bulldogs sure didn’t need any help in getting caffeinated for the matchup after suffering their own demoralizing loss earlier in the week, controlling the lead throughout the entire 40 minutes before landing on an 88-72 victory. UK put forth no effort in the entire first half, especially on the defensive end, and only played one decent stretch of basketball in the second half.

It was, in a word, disappointing. Gonzaga found a way to bounce back; Kentucky didn’t appear to even try.

“We had no fight in the first half and we put ourselves in a hole that we couldn’t get out of,” Senior forward Jacob Toppin said after the loss. “We got (the lead down) to like five or six in the second half and then we made stupid plays, me included in that, so dumb mistakes down the stretch.

“The main thing is just fight. We had no fight in the first half.“

Kentucky head coach John Calipari has a slightly different view on how the game played out, but he still reaches the same conclusion. He believes Gonzaga simply imposed its will on Kentucky in a way that the ‘Cats didn’t know how to respond. But both “theories” can be true — Gonzaga imposing its will sure didn’t help provoke any additional effort from the ‘Cats. But regardless for UK, on a roster flush with veterans, there’s simply no excuse for that.

“I’ll just play different guys, whoever wants to fight,” Calipari said. “I’m going to play different guys. We got enough guys. I let those guys get in there and fight.”

A total lack of effort from Kentucky in the first few minutes quickly bled to the rest of the team. You can draw a direct line from there to another pressing issue from Sunday night, which was the complete inability to run set plays against the ‘Zags. Calipari said in his press conference that he drew up a play for the opening possession that resulted in a UK player going the wrong way. Once the second half rolled around, he had no choice but to force-feed Tshiebwe every trip down the floor — it was the only semi-successful form of offense they could muster up.

“Offensively in the first half it was so embarrassing that we couldn’t even run a play,” Calipari said. “Couldn’t run a play. Not one. And it wasn’t just Oscar. It was our guards too.”

“I think we have to listen to run the plays,” Oscar Tshiebwe added. “Most of the time we don’t really run what coach is asking us to do and everybody kind of be in their position. Especially me today. I did not really listen to what they were telling me because it was so loud. I was telling them, ‘Let me know, let me know, so I can run up there and run what we’re supposed to run.'”

Calipari has consistently pointed to the minimal practice time that Tshiebwe has had with the team over the last month as a reason for the losses to Michigan State and now Gonzaga. The reigning national player of the year sat out four weeks after undergoing minor knee surgery and was able to practice a handful of times before being thrown back into game action last week. Shouldn’t he still know how to run a play or two at this stage, though?

That being said, he still finished with 20 points and 15 rebounds in just 28 minutes against the Bulldogs. Without Tshiebwe, a 16-point loss would have looked far uglier.

But what about his teammates? They’re still in the practices. What is their excuse for poor shot selection, no execution, and little motivation with the No. 2 team in the country staring them down? How could the ‘Cats not get up for a high-stakes game under these conditions?

“If you want the honest answer… It’s a long season, we played one of the best teams in college basketball,” Toppin explained. “I don’t want to speak for any guys but, in some moments guys can’t step up — me included, I didn’t make shots in the first half at all, I didn’t rebound, I got to be better, my teammates got to be better, we all got to be better.“