Wildcat Den

Kentucky center DeMarcus Cousins thinks Kentucky made another statement during a win over Vanderbilt Saturday at Memorial Gymnasium in Nashville.
Kentucky survived a hostile environment and made another strong case for a No.1 seed heading into the final stretch of the regular season. The Wildcats are learning to win in a variety of ways, including the gut-wrenching way.

Since the season began back in November, Kentucky has blossomed into one of the most premier teams in the nation. Cousins said the Wildcats are simply growing up and proved the Wildcats are overcomers and not underachievers.

“I believe we’ve grown a lot. We’ve shown people we can play in a hostile environment. We’re a young team, but I don’t really think that affects us in big time situations.”
Although the Wildcats had to grind it out, the outing against the Commodores added to the team’s list of experiences in a memorable season. Cousins wasn’t surprised by the unique environment in Nashville.
“We knew coming in it would going to be a crazy environment,” he said. “We already knew their personnel and how they played.  Basically we just kept the same physical play that we had the first time we played them. We just came in and got a tough win.”

Kentucky’s Patrick Patterson agreed with Cousins.
“We knew they were going to step up their game, especially with what Beal said in the newspaper, and playing at home,” he said. “They always play10 times better at home. It was a highly anticipated game. They’ve got the home crowd behind them and the energy going. We knew they were going to play a great game. We just had to focus and prepare and watch a lot of game tape. It was a hard, tough, physical game. Luckily we were able to pull out the win.”

It’s the kind of win the Wildcats will need heading into the postseason and one that Kentucky coach John Calipari said his team can learn from down the stretch. Calipari likes to get up-and-down the floor, but also likes to win while playing to an opponents’ style of play.

“This is the type of win that I love,” he said. “We were able to grind it out. Everyone knows that we like to play fast, but we don’t force our will on the opponent. When it comes to tournament time, you have to be able to play different styles and we did that tonight.”