Question: Is it realistic to think Kentucky can win the Southeastern Conference Tournament by beating four opponents in four days?
Answer: Who cares if it’s realistic?
“I don’t think we care about being realistic or anything,” Olivier Sarr said during a teleconference Tuesday. “We just care about winning games. . . . We’re going to have to win games. That’s all it is. That’s all we have, and that’s the only way we’re thinking. . . . It’s not about a dream or reality. It is what it is.”
Sarr dismissed the importance of Kentucky not having won four straight games all season.
“Because we’ve shown we had all these teams really close,” he said. “Either we won or we lost by less than five points. We’ve shown we are a team that can do it. So, we all believe in ourselves.”
Kentucky opens the SEC Tournament with a game against Mississippi State in Thursday’s second round. The winner will play regular-season champion Alabama in one of Friday’s quarterfinal games.
Kentucky has a record of 9-15 overall and 8-9 against SEC teams. Sarr did not embrace the notion of UK being an underdog.
“I don’t think we want to prove anything to anybody,” he said. “We just rely on the warriors in the locker room. That’s all we’ve got.”
Competing is key.
“What it all comes down to is did we fight or not?” Brooks said. “Four games in four days is tough. If you want to do that, you’ve got to go out there and fight every single possession or every single game. If we do that, we’ve got a really good chance to dance in that confetti when it’s all over.”
SEC or bust
Without winning the SEC Tournament, Kentucky will not be in position to play in the NCAA Tournament or the National Invitation Tournament, ESPN bracketologist Joe Lunardi said during a teleconference Tuesday.
Lunardi said Ole Miss was the only “legitimate ‘bubble’ team” in the SEC Tournament, meaning the Rebels could get an NCAA Tournament bid without winning the conference tournament.
As for Kentucky coming up short, Lunardi said, “I’m also pretty sure 9-15 teams don’t get in the NIT either no matter how good they are or could be.”
Recalling 2020
Neither Brooks nor Sarr needed prodding to recall how they learned that last year’s postseason was canceled because of the coronavirus pandemic.
Brooks said the UK players surmised that the 2020 SEC Tournament would be called off the night before that was announced. Their suspicions were confirmed during the UK team’s shootaround practice the next day.
“Cal didn’t say nothing for the whole hour that we had on the court,” Brooks said of UK Coach John Calipari. “He just let us shoot around.”
Afterward, Calipari broke the news.
“It was sad that we really had a chance to make a run,” Brooks said. “But unfortunate things happen sometimes.”
Sarr was playing for Wake Forest. The team had lost its first game in the ACC Tournament and was busing back to campus when the players learned of the cancellation.
When asked if 2020 made players appreciate this year’s postseason more, Sarr said, “A lot more. A lot more. . . . I think we’re all grateful to be out there playing the game that we love.”
Cal’s record
In Calipari’s time as coach, Kentucky has won more championships (six) than lost games (a 23-4 record) in SEC Tournaments.
“That’s great numbers,” Sarr said. “Coach is ready. And I know he’ll get us prepared.”
Brooks said Calipari’s record of success translates into confidence.
“You know the man leading you through the fire knows what he’s doing,” Brooks said. “That gives us extreme confidence.”
Awards
To the regular-season champion went the spoils. Alabama’s Nate Oats was voted SEC Coach of the Year and Tide forward Herb Jones SEC Player and Defensive Player of the Year. League coaches voted.
UK’s Isaiah Jackson made the All-Defensive Team and the All-Freshman Team.
Other players on the All-SEC First Team were John Petty (Alabama), Moses Moody (Arkansas), Tre Mann (Florida), Cameron Thomas (LSU), Devontae Shuler (Ole Miss), Dru Smith (Missouri) and Scotty Pippen (Vanderbilt).
Players on the All-SEC Second Team were Jaden Shackelford (Alabama), Colin Castleton (Florida), Sahvir Wheeler (Georgia), Javonte Smart (LSU), Trendon Watford (LSU), D.J. Stewart (Mississippi State), Jeremiah Tilmon (Missouri) and AJ Lawson (South Carolina).
Joining Jackson the All-Freshman Team were Joshua Primo (Alabama), Sharife Cooper (Auburn), KD Johnson (Georgia), Keon Johnson (Tennessee), Jaden Springer (Tennessee), Thomas and Moody.
The All-Defensive Team also included Herbert Jones (Alabama), Abdul Ado (Mississippi State), Dru Smith (Missouri) and Yves Pons (Tennessee).
Vandy’s Dylan Disu was named Scholar-Athlete of the Year. Arkansas’ Moody was Freshman of the Year. Arkansas’ JD Notae was Sixth-Man of the Year.
No fans
The SEC has capped fan attendance for the tournament at 20 percent of capacity. That translates to 3,400 in Nashville’s Bridgestone Arena.
A major UK presence, which is customary at the SEC Tournament, can stifle opponents at times, Brooks said.
“But we have to play with the cards that we’re dealt.”
Sequestered
Except for travel to and from Bridgestone Arena, the UK team will be confined to its hotel. Brooks shrugged.
“It’s a business trip,” he said. “I don’t know where we would be going out to anyway if we were allowed to leave. We’re out there to win four games in four days.”