ALABAMA-KENTUCKY GAME PREVIEW

March 11, 2010

SEC Champs Have Earned First Round Bye in Tournament


For the 16th time in the 19 years since the SEC expanded, Kentucky enters the SEC Tournament with a first round bye. The Wildcats earned the East’s number one seed by posting a 14-2 record in league play, including an 18-0 record at home. In doing so the Cats wrapped up their 44th SEC Championship.

Gameday Information

Date & Time Fri., Mar. 12, 1:00 p.m ET
Coverage Tournament Central
TV: SEC Network
Radio: BBSN
GameTracker
Online Audio
Live Video via ESPN360
Location Bridgestone Arena
Nashville, Tenn.

Alabama Crimson Tide at a Glance

Head Coach Anthony Grant
Overall Record 93-39
2009-10 Record 17-14, 6-10
Ranking nr
Series Record Kentucky leads 99-35; 11-2 in the SEC Tournament
Last Meeting Kentucky beat Alabama 66-55 in Lexington, Ky. earlier this season

2009-10 Team Stats UK UA

Scoring Offense 79.7 68.6
Scoring Defense 65.6 64.6
FG Percentage 47.8% 44.6%
3-point FG Percentage 34.9% 35.0%
FT Percentage 68.3% 70.3%
Rebound Margin +8.7 +0.3
Assists 14.8 13.8
Turnovers 14.7 12.9

2009-10 Stat Leaders

Scoring UK: John Wall (16.
UA: Mikhail Torrance (15.4)
Rebounding UK: DeMarcus Cousins (10.1)
UA: JaMychal Green (7.0)
Assists UK: John Wall (6.2)
UA: Mikhail Torrance (5.3)
3-point FG Percentage UK: Patrick Patterson (41.5%)
UA: Charvez Davis (39.4%)
Blocks UK: DeMarcus Cousins (1.
UA: JaMychal Green (1.7)
Steals UK: John Wall (1.
UA: Anthony Brock (1.6)

Pregame Press Conference Quotes

Joe Craft Center, Monday, March 8, 2010

Head Coach John Calipari

On John Wall being awarded Player of the Year by Yahoo! Sports ...

"Good. He deserves it. They all deserve all of those awards. They have taken on all comers; they've taken on teams that have played out of their minds, and they've come back at them and they have responded and they are still standing. I imagine Pat (Patrick Patterson) will get all kinds of awards, DeMarcus (Cousins) will, and so will Eric (Bledsoe) along with John."

On reaching the level of maturity they need in the few weeks left in the season...

"Oh I hope so. Well I don't know, we could have a meltdown and we'll all look and say that it's been a heck of a year, and it's been a fun ride. Now that's a talk I don't ever want to give. I just don't want to give that talk. And I want you to know that I've given it to our team five times. From where we were at the beginning of the year to where we are now, the maturity and keeping the emotions in-check, it's not even close. But it's got to go more if we're going to do something special."

On if there is a different level of play in the conference tournament...

"No. We're doing exactly what we're doing. I gave them off yesterday; Tuesday is an individual workout day, Wednesday we'll practice and travel, and we'll have walk-through and practice on Thursday to get ready for the game, and that's it. When we go into post-season, whether it's conference or NCAA we do nothing different. We prepare for every team like we always do. I want them comfortable. I don't want them to feel like this is different. It's exactly the same. You're playing a bunch of weekend tournaments. The problem with this one is there's no day in between. If you win, you're playing. If you win, you're playing, and it's hard."

On handling the rotation differently given that it is a conference tournament...

"It depends on the game. The best thing that we have is when we talk about Ramon (Harris) and Perry Stevenson being 9 and 10, that could move down if DeAndre (Liggins) doesn't get that energy back. He'll probably move back and I'll put Ramon in there. But we have room for error with foul trouble and other problems, and then one of those two (Harris or Stevenson) step in and play, we are fine. If you have anybody on the front line that's not doing it, Perry steps in; or somebody in the backcourt that isn't doing it, in any of those three positions, Ramon steps in. It gives us the depth that we need."

On what the SEC Tournament means to him ...

"Well if you're going to be in a tournament, you want to win it. But our whole thing is that it's bigger and it's more important than winning. We've got to get ourselves prepared for that next weekend and that's what we'll do. Basically everything we do is based on how and where we finish the season. We're trying to get ready and right physically and emotionally, and in every way so we can go in and do our very best. If you are your best and you do not win, then you can deal with it, as long as you're your best. I want fresh legs. I want fresh minds. I want a competitive spirit. I want the players to expect to win so that when things get a little crazy, it's ok. That takes a mature person. They don't call a foul, `Oh well, we're still winning.' A player starts talking, `Oh well, we're still winning.' These kids are 19, they don't know how to react when things get thrown at them. The good news is we've gone through just about everything, and we're still standing."

On Darius Miller's play in the past few games...

"It's been good for us. He and Darnell (Dodson) have stepped up for us. It's nice when they pull up to shoot and you think the ball is going in versus please don't shoot an air ball. I'll tell you, some of it is on John (Wall) and Eric (Bledsoe) because when they're making shots it takes some pressure off our team. Because now those other guys know, `I can let it go and it's not on me.'"


#11 John Wall, Fr., G

On his SEC Player of the Year award and DeMarcus Cousins' SEC Freshman of the Year award ...

"Coach (Calipari) talked to us about it and said he would put one of us up for each award and see who wins. We both played great during the SEC (season), and we're happy that both of us received an award. I'm not upset that he (DeMarcus Cousins) got Freshman of the Year, and he's not upset that I got Player of the Year. We're just happy for each other."

On Kentucky playing their best basketball during the post-season...

"I think the best defensive game we played was the Arkansas game and also the second half in our game against Georgia last week. If we can play like that every night, it will be difficult for teams to beat us. We're at our best when teams can't score on us and we're knocking down shots."

On how well the team will hold its composure during the post-season...

"It will be tough because we have a lot of freshmen that have never played in a conference tournament or an NCAA tournament. If we get down on ourselves and get frustrated, we've got to stay together. It won't be our offense or defense that will cause us to lose a game, it will be ourselves. We can't stop trusting each other and we can't try to go one-on-one."

#15, DeMarcus Cousins, Fr., F

On winning SEC freshman of the year...

"It's an honor. We have some pretty good freshmen. I won over John [Wall], that feels pretty good."

On John Wall being best player in the league, and DeMarcus being best freshman...

"I knew it was going to be either [one] or [the other]. I really thought he was going to win both. It was surprising to win freshman of the year. I knew he kind of let me have this one. I thought John [Wall] was going to win everything. He deserves it. He's been balling all year."

On being recognized...

"It feels good. It shows that I made a little noise in the SEC. I really didn't know until today. People were coming up congratulating me and I thought, `What did I do?' Then I found out."

On winning the SEC Tournament ...

"It's a big goal. We want to win every game from here on out. We want the trophy. That's been our main focus from the beginning."

On what the team needs to do to get better ...

"Playing a whole game. If we play a whole game, there's no telling how good we can be. Cal said that holding it together needs to be our focus and I think that was directed at me. I believe I'm getting better at it, but I think game situations are getting worse."

#24 Eric Bledsoe, Fr., G

On preparing for the SEC Tournament...

"We're going to come out and just play because if we worry about it too much, it will probably start to affect us."

On how he feels about Kentucky's play going into the SEC Tournament...

"I feel good because we're the No. 1 seed and everyone is trying to beat us. We're going to come into the tournament playing the way we know how to play. I know a lot of our fans will be there, so it will feel a lot like playing at home."

On playing with the mentality of having fun...

"Coach (Calipari) told us to have fun playing the game and to not let the emotions of the game affect us. When we start having fun, we handle the game and start knocking down shots. Our defense is a key as well, so if we can have fun, we'll do more damage.

On being named to the SEC All-Freshman team...

"It feels good because Coach (Calipari) has put in a lot of work on me as a player. It means a lot for the program, so I'm excited."

#54, Patrick Patterson, Jr., F

On being named First Team All-SEC...

"That was one of my goals. I'm proud of myself that I got it. As far as [being named to] All-Defense, that was the biggest surprise. I'm proud of myself and I'm happy."

On John (Wall) winning SEC Player of the Year...

"He deserves it. My other guesses would have been DeMarcus (Cousins) and (South Carolina guard Devin) Downey, but I'm glad the votes were in his favor. John and DeMarcus deserve it, being freshmen and doing what they've done this year. John stepping up in big games and providing ways to win and DeMarcus being unstoppable shows they both deserve those awards."

About seeding in the big tournament and needing to make a good showing in Nashville...

"It's very important. Cal says we need two, but we want to win three. We want to win the championship and have that as an accomplishment under our belts that we can look back on and say, `We did that.'"