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Tuesday, November 12, 2019

Kentucky basketball upset by Evansville in first game as nation's No. 1 team - Courier Journal

LEXINGTON - On Monday, 64 of 65 Associated Press top 25 voters ranked Kentucky No. 1. Turns out the 65th voter was right.

One week after opening the season with an upset of then No. 1 Michigan State in the Champion's Classic, Kentucky lost its first game as the nation's top-ranked team 67-64 to former UK great Walter McCarty-coached Evansville.

Kentucky trailed for all but 5:44 in the game and led just once in the second half. Evansville, which entered the game as a 25-point underdog, won despite shooting 38.3% from the field and 30% (9 for 30) from 3-point range. 

"Walter and their team deserved to win," Kentucky coach John Calipari said. "If we would have somehow pulled it out ... kind of wouldn't even have been fair because they fought us the whole game and they were the tougher team."

The loss marked Kentucky's first defeat to a team outside the Power 5 conferences at Rupp Arena in the John Calipari era and UK's first home loss to a team outside the Power 5 since a season-opening defeat by VMI on Nov. 14, 2008. 

Here is what we learned from the loss.

More: Evansville euphoria, Kentucky chaos: How Twitter reacted to No. 1 Wildcats' shocking loss

An embarrassing showing

After a stellar first week of the season, John Calipari's team did almost nothing right against Evansville.

Fresh off a breakout night against Eastern Kentucky, Nick Richards picked up two early fouls and struggled to make an impact. Michigan State hero Tyrese Maxey's impact was limited by foul trouble. Sophomore leader Ashton Hagans posted one of his worst performances as a Wildcat.

As a team, Kentucky shot 37% from the field with 13 turnovers. The Wildcats converted just 4 of 17 3-point attempts. Evansville outrebounded Kentucky 37-35.

"We reverted today," Calipari said. "You saw a team that was way tougher than us. Their guards were more physical and tougher. We couldn't post the ball. ... We couldn't come off screens."

MORE: Why one Associated Press Top 25 voter ranked Louisville No. 1 instead of Kentucky

Off night for Hagans

Before Kentucky’s season opener, Ashton Hagans did not shy away from the spotlight when asked about his importance to the team.

“I would say I mean a lot,” he said. “As I go, I would say the team goes.”

That pronouncement held true in a bad way for Hagans against Evansville.

The sophomore point guard totaled three points with four turnovers and three assists. He missed his first seven shots in the game and did not score until the 3:47 mark in the second half.

It’s clear this team will feed off Hagans' intensity at least early in the season. It was lacking Tuesday, and the performance of the team as a whole suffered.

Calipari revealed after the game Hagans has been limited in practice due to a leg injury but acknowledged, "That's not the Ashton I know."

"He hasn't really been practicing," Calipari said. "By not being able to really get after it, that's his game. So we got to figure out whether we shut it down completely. And I was trying to say, let's get through this game and take some time, and probably should have had him take the game off."

This story will be updated.

Jon Hale: jahale@courier-journal.com; Twitter: @JonHale_CJ. Support strong local journalism by subscribing today: https://ift.tt/2zShSql.

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