If we know anything about this year's Kentucky basketball team, we know this: The Cats will keep you on the edge of your seat.
Take Wednesday night's game against Vanderbilt. That's lowly Vanderbilt. You know, the downtrodden 'Dores. After all, Jerry Stackhouse's luckless team lugged a 24-game SEC losing streak into Rupp Arena. Yet after 20 surprising minutes, Vanderbilt led 13th-ranked Kentucky by seven points, 35-28.
Oh, the Cats side-stepped the landmine for a 71-62 victory. Fighting foul trouble, UK redwood Nick Richards still finished with 15 points and 11 rebounds. Kentucky's defense held the Commodores to 25.9% shooting the second half and the Wildcats reached 6-1 in SEC play.
Still, with 6:10 remaining, Kentucky led the now 0-7 'Dores by just a bucket, 57-55.
Not that we should have been surprised. Too close for comfort is the trademark of the 2019-20 Cats. Ten of their 20 overall games have been decided by single digits. Two needed bonus basketball, i.e overtime. The final margin of five of their seven SEC games was nine points or less. Even the two double-digit victories contained their anxious moments.
In the conference opener, UK led Missouri 31-26 at the half before prevailing 71-59. Mizzou is 2-5 in SEC play. Kentucky led Georgia 41-35 at halftime before beating the Bulldogs 89-79 in Rupp Arena. Georgia actually led 29-28 with 5:33 remaining in the first half. And Tom Crean's Dawgs are 1-6 in the conference.
If you think this means Kentucky plays up or down to the level of its competition, you'd be right.
Because of that, the Cats have been burned. They were shocked at home by Evansville 67-64 stunned by Utah 69-66 in Las Vegas, and ambushed by South Carolina 81-78 after blowing a 14-point lead in Columbia. Current Ken Pomeroy efficiency rankings for that trio: Evansville is No. 289, Utah No. 114 and South Carolina No. 90.
And they felt the fire again Wednesday before a second half wake-up call saw the Cats outscore the Commodores 43-26.
"Look, they're not machines," Calipari said afterward. "They're going to have games like this."
When matched against a marquee opponent, however, these Cats bring their A-game. They beat then No. 1-ranked Michigan State 69-62 in the Champions Classic back on Nov. 5. Though they lost to a then-surging Ohio State 71-65 in the CBS Sports Classic on Dec. 21, no one could say the Cats took the Buckeyes lightly. They met the challenge at a fired-up Arkansas (73-66) on Jan. 18, then did the same at a fired-up Texas Tech (76-74 in OT) the following Saturday.
That character trait bodes well for Saturday when Kentucky faces Bruce Pearl's Tigers at Auburn. Masters of the close win, LSU currently leads the SEC with a perfect 7-0 mark. Right behind are Kentucky (6-1) and Auburn (5-2). UK is ranked 13th in the AP Top 25. Auburn is 17th. (LSU is No. 22.)
Why just last week at Texas Tech, UK center Nick Richards mentioned how much the Cats enjoy playing at Auburn. Why? The crowd, answered Richards. After all, at 9,121-seat Auburn Arena, the students are right on top of the court. They're loud. A few are obnoxious. And the Cats and Tigers have developed a feud with an attitude during the Calipari-Pearl era, the most recent installment being Auburn's 77-71 overtime triumph in the Midwest Region finals of last season's NCAA Tournament.
I doubt players like Richards (who played all of 44 seconds in that region finals), or EJ Montgomery (zero points in eight minutes), or Ashton Hagans (seven turnovers) or Immanuel Quickly (1-of-6 from the floor) have forgotten that feeling walking off the floor in Kansas City.
So I'm guessing they'll be ready Saturday. After all, the challenge and the level of competition require it.
