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A look at John Calipari’s many combinations of Wildcats

John Calipari is still trying to sort out his loaded roster, whittle down about 10 legit players to a seven- or eight-man rotation, ideally.

Kentucky Wildcats - photo by Tammie Brown | WildcatWorld.com

Wildcats – photo by Tammie Brown | WildcatWorld.com

is still trying to sort out his loaded roster, whittle down about 10 legit players to a seven- or eight-man rotation, ideally. He used Kentucky's first exhibition game last night – a “wake-up call” against Division III – to get a good look at all kinds of combinations. He substituted liberally, making 22 changes and using 18 different groupings, if my math is correct.

No combo played together more than the starters – , , , and – and those five were only all together three times for a total of 8:25. Twice in the second half, Calipari made wholesale subs, swapping five for five, which senior can't ever remember his coach doing. Said Calipari, who was displeased with the effort level last night: “The greatest tool I have is the bench.” Give him what he wants or sit.

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On This Day In UK Basketball History

On March 28, 1992, in what many called the “best NCAA Tournament game ever,” Kentucky takes defending NCAA champion Duke into overtime before losing 104-103 in the East Regional finals in Philadelphia. A last-second shot by Christian Laettner sends Duke to the Final Four, and breaks the hearts of Wildcat fans everywhere. It is Cawood Ledford’s last game as the “Voice of the Wildcats.”

 

On March 28, 1998, against Stanford, Kentucky rallied from a 10-point second-half deficit, then grabbed a 5-point overtime lead, before fending off the Cardinals to advance to the title game for the third straight season. Jeff Sheppard canned three long-range three-pointers - two in the final three minutes and one in overtime - en route to a career-high 27 points.

 

On March 28, 2014, unranked Kentucky beat No. 5 Louisville 74-69, in the 2014 NCAA Tournament Sweet 16.  Aaron Harrison buried a three-pointer from the left corner with 39 seconds left that put UK ahead to stay before 41,072 in Lucas Oil Stadium.

 

On March 28, 2015, No. 1 Kentucky defeated No. 8 Notre Dame, 68-66, in the 2015 NCAA Tournament Elite Eight.  With its 37-0 record on the line, Kentucky trailed Notre Dame 59-53 with 6:14 left. UK rallied in front of 19,464 fans in Cleveland’s Quicken Loans Arena and preserved its perfect season thanks to a crucial blocked shot by Willie Cauley-Stein and two game-deciding free throws from Andrew Harrison in the final seconds.

 

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