Clipboard 1, Calipari 0

Updated: March 2, 2010, 11:49 PM ET

Calipari's right hand bandaged

Associated Press

LEXINGTON, Ky. -- While his Kentucky team was losing one battle to Tennessee, coach John Calipari was losing another to a clipboard.

Calipari was still sporting a bandage on his right hand Tuesday, an injury he said happened when he punched the board during a timeout in the first half of the No. 3 Wildcats' loss Saturday in Knoxville.

"The other one I used to just be able to tap and it would break," Calipari said. "Somebody gave me a steel clipboard. Because of my strength, I really dented it, but it didn't break."

The dented but not broken Wildcats (27-2, 12-2 Southeastern Conference) are hoping to show the same kind of resilience as they try to bounce back from their second loss of the season and close in on Calipari's goal of a top seed in the NCAA tournament.

Next up is a trip Wednesday to Georgia (13-14, 5-9), a team Calipari insists has grown substantially since Kentucky beat the Bulldogs 76-68 on Jan. 9 at Rupp Arena.

It's a big game for a team Calipari argues might be the least experienced in the country considering that most of the key players are freshmen and the few veterans only reached the NIT last season.

"The games are different," Calipari said. "The hype on the games are different. The road experience is different. This is all new to this entire team."


Copyright 2010 by The Associated Press