Kentucky men hold off Vermont rally, 73-69

LEXINGTON, Ky. — Kentucky men’s basketball coach John Calipari didn’t mind a closer-than-expected 73-69 win over Vermont on Sunday.

“You cannot play Popcorn State and learn anything,” Calipari said. “You’ve got to play good teams. I didn’t realize how good (Vermont) was until I watched the tape. Then I was like, ‘Who scheduled this game? This is ridiculous.’ They just do an unbelievable job.”

The fifth-ranked Wildcats, playing their second game in three days to open the season, missed seven of their final eight shots from the field and held off a late surge by the Catamounts. Trailing 72-69, Vermont missed two 3-pointers in the final 30 seconds. Washington made one of two free throws with less than a second left for the final margin.

The Wildcats (2-0) will take on the fourth-ranked Kansas (1-0) in the Champions Classic on Tuesday night in Chicago. The Jayhawks opened the season with a 92-56 rout of Tennessee State on Friday night. The Wildcats defeated Utah Valley 73-63 Friday night in their season opener.

P.J. Washington led Kentucky with a career-high 16 points.