Kentucky was impressive in its dismantling of Michigan State in the Champions Classic.
The challenge for the second-ranked Wildcats is not to become complacent starting with Sunday’s game against Duquesne Sunday at Rupp Arena. The contest is the first of three straight games for Kentucky during Thanksgiving break.
Kentucky associate head coach Kenny Payne doesn’t anticipate a letdown and said the Wildcats are already over the double-digit victory over the Spartans.
“We don’t have to worry about that,” Payne said Friday. “The way that we coach, the way that we prepare – those kids know that after that game is over, we celebrate. It’s over. On to the next (game).”
The concern, Payne said, is “the outside environment.”
“(It’s) the friends, the parents (and) their families,” Payne said. “The friends that are from high school and where they’re from. Now, they might talk to them about, ‘Man, ya’ll are the real deal.’ But, when they walk in this gym – and they walk in our offices, they know it’s on to the next. So, they have no time to relax and feel good about anything. We’re trying to get better.”
Like Payne, the players aren’t looking back and relying on past success to carry them through the remainder of the season. Freshman Wenyen Gabriel said the first test of the season gave the team renewed confidence.
“It built our morale as a young team,” Gabriel said. “I know we probably got a lot of doubters out there, but being able to get that win was a good win and helped us move forward with some more confidence for our next games.”
Although the win over Michigan State was impressive, Payne said the Wildcats aren’t satisfied with their overall performance against the Wolverines.
“We’re trying to get better every day,” Payne said. “Are we happy we beat Michigan State that’s a really good team? Yes, we are. Did we play our best? Not even close. Not even close.”
Coupled with its showing against the Spartans and top-ranked Duke’s loss to Kansas, Kentucky is primed to take over the top spot when the Associated Press Top 25 rankings are released Monday.
Freshman Sacha Killeya-Jones said Kentucky coach John Calipari and the veteran players help keep the Wildcats on an even keel.
“Coach Cal helps with that just because he’s been here a lot, and the older guys help with that,” Sacha-Jones said. “We celebrate that night and move on to the next game, get back on the plane and focus on coming back here. Got school work to do, got practice, got lifts, getting ready to get back into the swing of things.”
Kentucky was ranked No. 1 for two weeks following a win over Duke in the Champions Classic, but slipped in the poll following a loss to UCLA two weeks later. Losses to Bruins and Ohio State dropped the Wildcats to as low as No. 23 before topping out at No. 10 at the end of the season.
Gabriel isn’t worried about a similar letdown and said the team’s schedule helps prepare the Wildcats on a weekly basis.
“We have the toughest schedule in the country, so there’s going to be more tough games coming up,” he said. “We can’t focus too much on past things. We got Duquesne coming up and we got more games to play, so that’s what we’re working on.”
Gametracker: Duquesne at Kentucky, 9 p.m., Sunday. TV/Radio: ESPNU, 98.1 FM WKYN. The series: Kentucky leads 1-0.
Keith Taylor is a senior sports writer for KyForward, where he primarily covers University of Kentucky sports. Reach him at keith.taylor@kyforward.com or @keithtaylor21 on Twitter