The Kentucky Wildcats fell to the unranked Richmond Spiders on Sunday. After trailing by 4 at the half, in what had already been a close game, the Spiders were able to use their veteran mindset to stifle any production from the younger Cats throughout the second half. They went on to pick up their first win against a top 10 team by stomping the Cats 76 - 64.
Before the Cats played Morehead State on Wednesday, Coach Cal had talked about not knowing what this team was made of. With the way the Cats played against Morehead I had wondered if this was just Cal talking things up to create a bit of spice.
Instead I now feel he was being forthright in talking about the experience of this young Kentucky club and the challenges they will be facing. This Cats team has all of the athletic ability in the world but are going to need to come together as a young club to find a good, working grove. Yesterday the Cats gave up a ton of turnovers, were held to only a few assists and missed enough free throws to win the game for themselves. It was everything indictive of a young team learning how to play together.
That's not to take away from what Richmond brought to the table. After a season which would have normally given them a trip into March had it not been for covid-19 they were ready to show the world they were ready to be in that place this year as well. They started by getting the first basket of the game and held with the Cats the entire first half until really laying it on them in the second half.
| Kentucky Wildcats | Richmond Spiders |
|---|---|
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The offensive work from Boston, Sarr and Clarke was not enough to carry the Cats over. That being said it was exciting to watch Boston, especially in the first half, show why Kentucky brought him to Lexington. His words after the game of needing to realize that they took a loss to a more experienced team and moving forward and growing makes me excited to watch these guys continue to develop.
The Cats will need to recoup from this one quick. They will be travelling to Bankers Life Fieldhouse to take on Kansas tomorrow night to kick off the State Farm Champions Classic. You'll be able to tune into ESPN at 9:30pm EST to see what the Cats will look like coming off this loss.