MEMPHIS, Tenn. _ John Calipari does not like to put the onus on a player. But the Kentucky coach made an exception before the NCAA Tournament South Region semifinals Friday.
Calipari said Kentucky needed Malik Monk to come out of his recent shooting slump.
"I told him, you've got to get 20 a game, somehow," Calipari said. "I don't care how you get it."
A second-half flurry got it for Monk as palpable defense and backcourt scoring propelled Kentucky past UCLA 86-75. UCLA, which led the nation in scoring (90.2 ppg) and shooting (52.1 percent), scored its second-lowest point total of the season.
Monk scored 14 of his 21 points in the second half as UK avenged a regular-season loss to Bruins and advanced to the region finals against North Carolina, which beat Butler 92-80 in the first semifinal.
Sunday's finals will begin at 5:05 p.m. EDT.
Monk contributed four of the 10 3-pointers Kentucky made.
UK (32-5) needed perimeter scoring because big man Bam Adebayo never got going offensively. UCLA double-teamed him aggressively. Adebayo did not score until a dunk with 3:15 remaining. But he contributed a career-high five assists.
De'Aaron Fox scored a career-high 39 points as he and Monk each outplayed heralded UCLA freshman point guard, Lonzo Ball.
Before the game, Calipari offered encouraging words for Monk and reassurance for any nervous UK fans.
"If he'd worried about himself, he'd just keep jacking balls," the UK coach said of Monk. "He's definitely better. ... You have to realize he shot 40 times in high school. If you saw him in high school, you'd almost get tired, like how is he raising his arm again?"
The first half failed to confirm pregame expectations of fast-paced play filled with material suitable for highlight reels.
Defense _ and perhaps jitters produced by a highly-anticipated rematch _ ruled in the opening 20 minutes.
UK led 36-33 at intermission as neither the Cats (41 points) nor Bruins (43.5) reached their seasonal averages for first-half scoring. In the regular-season game, UCLA led 49-45 at the break.
The combined fast-break points could almost be counted on one hand (UCLA four, UK two).
"We're in transition, and Kentucky's at their best in transition," UCLA coach Steve Alford said in recalling the game in Rupp Arena in early December. "Game One was a complete track meet."
Fox and Leaf monopolized the scoring for their teams in 20 minutes that had more move-counter move than watch-this action.
Fox scored Kentucky's first eight points, and finished the half with 15 (more than he'd scored in 13 of UK's previous 36 games).
If eager to get the best of Ball, Fox did.
But Leaf countered for UCLA. His 13-point first half included saddling Willis and Gabriel with two fouls each.
For a while, Kentucky countered by playing without a four-man. The Cats tried a twin towers alignment with Isaac Humphries joining Adebayo.
Dominique Hawkins hit a pair of 3-pointers, which marked only the fourth time this season he made more than one in a game.
On the down side, Hawkins picked up his third foul with 34.5 seconds left in the half.
That punctuated the give-and-take of the first half.
Monk erupted early in the second half. He made four of his first five shots (including two of two from three-point range) and scored 10 points before the first television timeout.
UCLA did not wilt. But Thomas Welsh picking up his fourth foul with 13:39 left did not help the Bruins' chances.
A 3-pointer by Monk with 11:26 left put UK ahead, 60-51. That gave him the 20 points, which Calipari had said Kentucky needed.
Hawkins' third 3-pointer _ tying a career-high he made against Louisville in December, 2015 _ put the Cats ahead, 63-56.
Less than a minute later, a 3 by Willis made it 66-58. That was UK's 10th 3-pointer, a number Kentucky had reached in only five previous games this season (and not since Valentine's Day).
