The game started off well for the Wildcats, jumping to a quick 12-0 lead, with everyone contributing on offense and defense. John Wall is the new star for the Wildcats and college basketball for that matter. UConn coach Jim Calhoun was forced to burn two timeouts quickly to regroup his squad, and true to his coaching legend, the plan worked. The Huskies slowly and methodically broke the ‘Cats down, going on a 26-6 run in the first half. Calhoun was able to identify that as great of an offensive player Wall may be, there was no guard back on defense. UConn was fast breaking every chance it could, leading to an easy score or a foul. Wall was in foul trouble, and the Wildcat offense was out of synch as Connecticut held a 29-23 lead at the half.Coming out of the locker room, the fans from Lexington had a lot of questions about their new coach, would John Calipari be worth the 31 million dollar contract, and not another Billy Gillespie? It showed early in the 2nd half that he will be valued greatly if the rest of the season goes like Wednesday did. Wall was able to stay out of foul trouble and lead his team back. Finishing with 25 points, and seven turnovers, it’s clear this freshman still has a lot to learn about playing the game at the top level. Patrick Patterson, a pre-season first team All-American, chipped in with 16 points, 4 rebounds and 2 blocks. But the night was Wall’s for the taking. Trailing 61-60 with under a minute, Wall took the game on his shoulders. He drove to the hoop, and while getting fouled, made the go-ahead basket. After a few badly missed shots by UConn, the game was over and Kentucky had escaped. The Lexington faithful were able to enjoy their stay in New York City.
On a night when “The Garden” was honoring its top 10 all time college events, this game lived up to it’s hype. The fans were as enthusiastic as could be expected for two teams with not much of a true rivalry, but having exceptionally passionate fans. Kentucky had plans in 2007 to play in the Garden, only to be knocked out of the Coaches vs. Cancer tournament by Gardner Webb. This time around, the arena was full of royal Blue chanting “Blue/White” and spelling out “C-A-T-S” regularly. UConn had their moments, but Kentucky was able to do what they needed to and escape with the win. Calipari has the necessary tools to make a nice long NCAA run, he’ll need to coach a better game if he expects to win it all. Calhoun exploited Kentucky’s lack of defense leading to fast break points. Also, UConn played a stifling defense, and if not for Wall hitting several fade away shots, Kentucky would have had zero offense.
It was nice to have real passion back in the crowd for two national college hoops powerhouses. Gone are the days when St. Johns would sell out games against Big East Rivals, as evidenced by their sparse crowd during their 66-56 win over Georgia. UConn and Kentucky were the main event, heavyweights slugging it out. Not even the New York Knicks bring this kind of enthusiasm to the arena any more. Anyone at the game knows they saw a true classic, and we’ll only be so lucky to see these teams play again in the NCAA tournament. The teams played with all heart and gave it all they had, as the fans with cheered their passionate roars, and viewers were able to see a great game on Wednesday night.
Email: Luke.Adamo@classactsports.com
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