LEXINGTON, Ky. _ Before what was billed as a defining game against Virginia Tech, Kentucky coach John Calipari voiced a sobering assessment.
"We win or we learn," he said on Friday.
Calipari should have given a third option: all of the above.
On Saturday, Kentucky won, 93-86, and surely learned.
As expected, Virginia Tech made Kentucky's freshmen and lightly seasoned sophomores reach deeper inside than had been necessary in earlier home games this season.
UK, which improved to 9-1, met the test ... with not much room to spare.
Hamidou Diallo figured prominently in the decisive final 90 seconds. He failed to get a hand up to contest an Ahmed Hill 3-pointer that reduced what was an eight-point UK lead fewer than three minutes earlier to 85-83. More than a minute remained.
Diallo eased tensions by swishing a 3-pointer from the left corner with 47.9 seconds left.
Although Virginia Tech made nearly 60 percent of its shots, the Hokies never made the flood of 3-pointers UK surely feared.
Actually, Kentucky made more 3-pointers (11) than Virginia Tech (10).
Kevin Knox led UK with 21 points. Diallo added 20, while Quade Green (playing with protective glasses) chipped in 17 and PJ Washington 11.
Virginia Tech's offense beat Kentucky's defense in the first half. The result was UK trailing, 47-41, at the break. That marked only the third halftime deficit of the season for the Cats. UK also trailed Kansas (34-33) and Utah Valley (34-25) at the break.
Virginia Tech validated its gaudy shooting statistics in the first half. The Hokies made 62.1 percent of their shots (18 of 29).
In a surprise, Kentucky matched Virginia Tech's 3-pointers (seven) in the first half. But UK made only 9 of 22 two-point shots.
Turnovers prevented Virginia Tech from building an even larger halftime lead. The Hokies had 11 turnovers in the opening 20 minutes. That fueled a 21-11 advantage for Kentucky in points off turnovers.
The first half was competitive and entertaining. There were eight lead changes and four ties in the opening 20 minutes. Neither team built a double-digit lead.
Kentucky regained the lead early in the second half. With Knox scoring eight of the points, UK used a 10-0 run to take a 54-51 lead. Knox showed his versatility, making a 3, driving to an and-one three-point play and softly hitting a pull-up.
Neither team took control through the first eight-plus minutes of the second half. To that point, there had been 11 lead changes, eight ties, no double-digit leads and no reason to think the game would not come down to the final few possessions.
A 3-pointer by Diallo helped Kentucky take a 78-71 lead with 4:50 left. That 10th 3-pointer marked a season high for UK (nine against East Tennessee State) and made more glaring that Virginia Tech had missed all five of its 3-point shots in the second half.
