By Keith Taylor
Special to NKyTribune
NASHVILLE — Although Kentucky already owns two wins over Alabama this season, Kentucky coach John Calipari doesn’t expect anything to come easy when the Wildcats open play against the Crimson Tide in the Southeastern Conference Tournament Friday night.
“The hardest game is the first game,” Calipari said Thursday. “After that, you can still lose but the hardest game is playing that first one when they have already played a game.”
Kentucky has fared well in first-round conference tournament games in Calipari’s seven seasons as coach. The Wildcats are 5-1 in first-round games under Calipari, with the lone loss coming in 2013 when Kentucky dropped a 64-48 loss to Vanderbilt three years ago in Nashville. Overall, Kentucky is 124-25 in the league tournament and 13-2 overall against Alabama in the conference tournament.
The Crimson Tide overcame Stefan Moody’s 39-point outing and advanced with an 81-73 victory over Ole Miss Thursday night. The Wildcats (23-8) defeated Alabama (18-13) twice this season, winning 77-61 in Tuscaloosa and 78-53 in Lexington.
Kentucky, the No. 2 seed in the tournament, shared the regular-season title with Texas A&M, which opens the tournament against Florida Friday. The Gators defeated Arkansas 68-61 Thursday to earn a spot in the quarterfinals.
Calipari likes the way his team is playing going into the postseason. The Wildcats won seven of their last nine games and Calipari is “feeling comfortable” about the Wildcats after they rolled to easy wins over Florida and LSU to close out the regular season.
“I like that they’re being empowered,” the Kentucky coach said. “My message will be real simple for them and that’s one, be the best version of you. Just know what that looks like. We know it. We’ve defined it. You have too. Then the second thing is, be about your teammate. Now’s the time to totally lose yourself because being your best version should come easily now. So that’s the message. This is for us to tighten up anything, to play with great intensity, improve our seed or to solidify our seed possibly.”
Kentucky has been projected as a possible No. 3 seed but also as high as a No. 5 during the past two weeks by many national analysts. The team’s destination for the NCAA Tournament will be announced Sunday. Until then, Calipari said his team will aim for a higher seed while in Music City.
“This is one of those years where normally I’d say seed matters because the numbers show you that the higher your seed the better your chances are of winning,” Calipari said. “This may be one of those years that it’s crazy. You could have an eight or a nine seed in the Final Four. Maybe a couple. You could have an 11 seed. It’s just one of those crazy years.”
More on Ulis
Calipari doesn’t think Tyler Ulis will have four years to prove he can play at the next level and says he’s ready for the NBA. The Kentucky coach expects Ulis, the SEC Player of the Year, to leave Kentucky after this season.
“He’ll be drafted this year,” Calipari said.
Game tracker: Kentucky vs. Alabama, SEC Tournament, 7 p.m., Friday. TV/Radio: SEC Network, 98.1 FM WBUL.
Keith Taylor is a columnist and senior sports writer who covers University of Kentucky athletics for KyForward.com