Kentucky’s D comes to the rescue
Wildcats avoid upset on Monk’s stellar block
Wichita State had Malik Monk and the rest of Kentucky’s stars figured out.
After beating Dayton, Shockers assistants watched Kentucky’s NCAA tournament opening-round game against Northern Kentucky from press row at Bankers Life Fieldhouse on Friday night.
They discussed tips and pointers for stopping the Wildcats’ usual starring contributors. Play Monk physical and make his catches difficult, one said. De’Aaron Fox loves to jab and go right. Get ready to take charges when Isaiah Briscoe drives into the paint.
And Saturday, Wichita State coach Gregg Marshall said of Kentucky’s freshman forward Bam Adebayo: “I’m sure he’s in great shape, but he’s going to need to be in great shape (Sunday).”
Yes, the 10th-seeded Shockers had Kentucky all figured out for their second meeting in the NCAA tournament Round of 32 in four years.
“Every team is going to talk,” Monk said. “We know every team is going to talk. Every team is going to come at us with their best shot. But we knew they had to step in the ring with us at some point. We were just waiting on that moment.”
What the Shockers coaching staff did not seem to spend any time on was the potential for Monk to win the game with a defensive play. As stereotypes go, that’s how Wichita State wins games, and Kentucky is supposed to stumble when easy transition baskets stop flowing.
Sure, Wichita State runs a program made successful through long-term investment. Marshall and his staff nail evaluations on under-the-radar recruits, develop players for multiple seasons and win with chemistry, heady play and an unshakable mentality.
Kentucky might often ping with instant gratification provided by landing five-star recruits and future NBA talent. Waves of bigger, faster, stronger players show up, succeed and proceed.
But the Wildcats proved gritty and tough, too. Seven former fivestar recruits, joined by homegrown Bluegrass Boys in seniors Derek Willis and Dominique Hawkins, beat the Shockers 6562 at their pace and in their style Sunday to advance to the Sweet 16.
Monk made only three of 10 shots from the field and missed a baseline runner with 40 seconds to play to give the Shockers possession and a chance to take the lead.
When Markis McDuffie rose up for a three-point jumper, Monk burst from his stance, swatted the shot, grabbed the ball and hit two free throws after he was fouled.
“I just looked at the ball, went for the ball with one hand and blocked it,” said Monk, who finished with two blocks for only the second time this season. “Great play.”
On Saturday night, Calipari read to his team a list of quotes attributed to Wichita State players and Marshall earlier that day.
Shockers forward Darral Willis Jr. said Kentucky was “nothing special” and “a beatable team.”
“They wanted to make it personal,” Kentucky freshman Wenyen Gabriel said. “That motivation is just helping wake up the sleeping giant we have here.”
And so the often-presented narrative was set.
The midmajor outsider vs. college basketball royalty.
There was validation on the line for Wichita State (again, really?) and potential not to squander for Kentucky (again, really?).
“We thought we were the better team,” Marshall said. “In our locker room, we believed we were the better team.
“Regardless of what whoever thinks, we thought we would and should win the game.”
Wichita State thought it had it all figured out.
Page writes for The (Louisville) Courier-Journal, part of the USA TODAY Network.