The last time a John Calipari-coached team lost five straight games he was 31 years old. It was 1990. Cal was in his infancy as a head coach, trying to build UMass from twigs and pebbles.
Fortunately for Calipari, Kentucky and Big Blue Nation, that infamous five-game losing streak statistic will stay stuck in 1990, as UK on Saturday put up its most well-rounded performance in SEC play this season with an 81-71 win over Alabama. UK's losing streak halts at four games and Kentucky's at-large situation stabilizes for the time being. The Cats are 18-9 and have climbed to level footing (7-7) in the conference.
The Wildcats entered the weekend on the 8 line. A win like this could bump them up a seed, but more importantly than any temporary standing in the seeding hierarchy is how Kentucky got this win. Bottom line: this team was in need of not only a win but an inspiring win with proof in victory that it can get better. The Cats delivered. Eighty-one is the most Kentucky's scored in regulation in conference play this season.
Yes, it was a significant ask of Alabama (17-10, 8-6) to go into Rupp Arena and take a win. The Crimson Tide were not favored to do so. But Kentucky has lost at home this season (Florida and Tennessee had picked off the Cats at Rupp). And Alabama owns wins over Oklahoma, Rhode Island, Auburn, Tennessee and Florida. The Crimson Tide had the only consensus lottery pick on the floor in Collin Sexton.
Alabama was the right opponent at the right time for Kentucky. Good enough to beat the Wildcats but vulnerable enough to provide an opportunity for Kentucky to pounce.
As has sporadically been the case for the Crimson Tide, Sexton was not the team's best player when he needed to be (though he did need to be bandaged up after busting his chin open in the first half). Sexton finished with 12 points on 4-of-11 shooting and fouled out. Alabama's best player was junior Donta Hall, who had 16 and 6 on 7-of-8 shooting.
Alabama's got plenty of youth on its team as well. Youth begets variability, as Kentucky's proved since game one. Alabama didn't have it on Saturday. Kentucky did. It's not a top-20 team, but it would have beaten most top-20 teams in that building with that way it played.
Kentucky, for the first time this season, truly looked like a jelled team that wasn't filled with freshmen. Maybe it's a one-game thing, but if not, it's a big step forward for UK, which three days earlier was outclassed at Auburn. Calipari's team won by double digits after getting teased by Bama to the tune of 15 lead changes and eight ties. When Kentucky needed to play responsibly but also with a sense of urgency, it did.
I haven't seen that this season from UK, not to the level and every-time-down-the-floor consistency that transpired on Saturday. Kentucky had 18 points off forcing 11 turnovers. Five players hit double figures in scoring: P.J. Washington had 16; Kevin Knox scored all 13 of his points in the second half; Quade Green played one of his best games and contributed 12 points; Jarred Vanderbilt scored 11; and Nick Richards had 10 points.
Yet it was Shai Gilgeous-Alexander -- again -- who looked like Kentucky's necessary leader on the floor. The long-armed freshman point guard had six points, four rebounds, four assists, three steals and only one turnover. Two of the steals came down the stretch and cushioned Kentucky's lead. I've argued all season that Kentucky only goes as far as Knox will take them. I still believe that.
But there's no denying that Gilgeous-Alexander has become nearly as valuable as Knox. Whereas Knox's importance almost strictly derives from throttling the offense, Gilgeous-Alexander can spark this team -- or save it -- with timely plays on either end of the floor.
On Saturday, with Gilgeous-Alexander playing as a sidekick in the offense to Green, Kentucky was able to neutralize Alabama's top-10-ranked defense. Calipari deployed Knox, Vanderbilt and Washington with those two for much of the second half and it was when those five were on the floor that Kentucky put its foot down on the Tide. The Wildcats were responsible with the ball, active on the glass (hello: 20 offensive rebounds) and made 21 of their 28 free throws.
Maybe that becomes Calipari's reliable five. Keep an eye on that in UK's road game against Arkansas on Tuesday night.
"We gave away games this year," Calipari told the media afterward. "We have to start taking games from people, which means desperation. We gave some away, now we've gotta take some back."
It's true, and Saturday showed the Cats have some dog in them. Some fight. And the ability to play older than they are and better than they've looked most of the season.
