LEXINGTON, Ky. _ Kentucky's back-to-basics attention to defense paid off in Wednesday night's 87-63 victory over Valparaiso.
After UCLA scored 97 points in winning in Rupp Arena on Saturday, Kentucky Coach John Calipari blamed himself for assuming his team could not be diverted from its defensive groove. He ordered a return to square one with defensive drills.
"I think he thought we didn't need that anymore," Isaac Humphries said Tuesday.
If Kentucky needed any extra incentive to play well, history could have been a motivator. No UK team had lost back-to-back home games since Feb. 28 (LSU) and March 4 (Georgia) of 2009.
Calipari made Valpo sound threatening. The Crusaders had the nation's second-leading scorer in forward Alec Peters (25.4 ppg) and surrounded him with a cast of veterans that theoretically could exploit the latest edition of the callow Cats.
That didn't come close to happening as UK improved to 8-1.
On Larry Bird's 60th birthday, Peters gave Valpo a facsimile of the former Boston Celtic great: a power forward with the ability to post up or shoot 3-pointers.
But Peters struggled to do either against Kentucky's defense.
The focal point of questioning about UK's defense, the forward tandem of Wenyen Gabriel and Derek Willis, led the guarding of Peters.
Peters labored to score 23 points, 16 of which came in the final 17:34. He made nine of 20 shots.
Malik Monk led a balanced attack with 15 points. Bam Adebayo added 16 points, while Willis scored 12 and Isaiah Briscoe had 10.
For the first time this season, one of UK's trio of star guards did not score double-digit points. De'Aaron Fox had nine points, while also grabbing seven rebounds and being credited with five assists.
Kentucky showed plenty of defense from the start. Valpo made only two of its first 17 shots.
Twelve Valpo turnovers fueled a fast-break attack that propelled Kentucky to a 45-24 halftime lead.
Peters missed his first six shots and struggled to score seven points in the first half. He didn't score until posting up Monk for a score with 9:20 left and made only three of 10 shots.
Nor did Peters get to the foul line. He came into the game averaging nine free throw attempts, but took only one foul shot in the first half.
While Valpo made only eight of 29 shots in the first half, Kentucky had no problem scoring. The Cats made 13 of their first 22 shots, zipping to a double-digit lead inside the first eight minutes.
The margin grew to 20 midway through the half and expanded to 35-9 on Briscoe's fast-break dunk with 6:57 left.
Valpo, which averaged 35.9 points in the first halves of its earlier games this season, reached double digits on a free throw with 6:44 left. The Crusaders scored their fifth basket with 5:16 left.
Valpo even struggled to score at the foul line. Coming to Rupp Arena with 81.5 percent accuracy on free throws, the Crusaders made only six of 12 in the first half.
Peters got off to a better start in the second half. He scored on back-to-back possessions inside the first four minutes, the latter giving him 11 points with 16:49 left. That marked the 56th time in Valpo's last 58 games he scored 10 or more points.
But the baskets reduced UK's lead only to 48-30.
UK tried to slow Peters by substituting Willis for Gabriel. The rout resumed.
Never mind a Valpo rally, the chance of Valpo making it mildly competitive faded when Peters limped off the court with 13:58 left. He returned later.
