DES MOINES — Kentucky wasn’t at its best, but at this time of year, it’s all about surviving and advancing.
The Wildcats (27-8) used a big second half to dispose of Stony Brook 85-57 and advance to the second round of the NCAA Tournament Thursday night at Wells Fargo Arena. Kentucky will take on Indiana at 5:15 p.m. Saturday. The Hoosiers (26-7) earned a spot in the second round with a 99-74 victory over Chattanooga Thursday.
Although Kentucky had tournament experience, the second time was almost like starting over for the Wildcats.
“First games are always hard in this tournament — in any tournament play,” Kentucky coach John Calipari said. “We were a little shaky in the first half, but we played good enough defensively to be OK. We got our feet underneath us in the second half.”
Kentucky, coming off an emotional high following an 82-77 triumph over Texas A&M in the Southeastern Conference Tournament championship last weekend in Nashville, was off-beat and didn’t get into a rhythm until the second half. The Wildcats, who shot just 32 percent in the first 20 minutes, but caught fire in the second half and missed just seven shots on 29 attempts to sink the Seawolves.
“We got settled in,” Kentucky point guard Tyler Ulis said. “We made shots and we came out with a little more energy defensively and offensively. We made sure we kept the pressure on them and played aggressively.”
BOXSCORE: Kentucky 85, Stony Brook 57
Calipari blamed the slow start on first-game jitters, which the Kentucky coach said was “normal,” but Kentucky senior Alex Poythress said a late tip-off also wasn’t beneficial and played a role in the dismal showing in the first half.
“Laying around all day isn’t good,” Poythress said. “We need to be on our feet a lot more. Toward (the end) of the first half, we got through the pre-game jitters and all that stuff and started playing basketball.”
While making shots was hard to come by at times against the Seawolves, Kentucky relied on its defense throughout and limited Stony Brook to 26 percent shooting from the floor.
Paced by Skal Labissiere, the Wildcats collected 15 blocks, a single-game tournament record. Labissiere finished with 12 points, four rebounds and six blocks, while Poythress, Jamal Murray and Derek Willis collected two blocks each.
“I was just trying to be a presence for my teammates whenever everything broke down,” Labissiere said. “I was just trying to help them out, so I was alert on defense.”
Jamal Murray overcame a shaky start and led Kentucky with 19 points, Ulis finished with 10 points and seven assists and set a single-season assist record at Kentucky with 243, breaking the previous record of 241 set by John Wall in 2010.
While Ulis added another feat to his historic season, Isaiah Briscoe continued his late surge, building on his three solid performances in the SEC tourney. Briscoe finished with 13 points and 11 rebounds, with eight of those coming on the defensive end.
“I like to win,” Briscoe said. “Whatever my team needs me to do, I will go out and do it. If it’s scoring, rebounding or playing defense, just locking down the other team’s best guy. I will do whatever my team needs me to do to win.”
Even in a do-or-die situation, Calipari said his team simply followed the game plan “and now things are at stake now.”
“I’m trying to tell them (the players) to stay in the moment,” the Kentucky coach said. “I’m telling them (not to) watch any other games, because they do not matter to us. The only game that mattered was what Indiana did and all we have to worry about now is Indiana. Whatever team wins or loses, does not matter to me.”
It’s all a matter of survival.
Keith Taylor is a columnist and senior sports writer who covers University of Kentucky athletics for KyForward.com