By Keith Taylor
Special to NKyTribune
Struggling Missouri surprisingly gave No. 11 Kentucky all it could handle, but the Tigers didn’t have an answer for Bam Adebayo.
The Kentucky freshman forward scored 22 points and completed a double-double with a career-high 15 rebounds to lead Kentucky to a 72-62 win over Missouri Tuesday night.
Bam Adebayo scored 22 points and grabbed 15 rebounds in UK’s win at Missouri Tuesday night (UK Athletics Photo)
Adebyo did most of his scoring in the second half and tallied 17 points as the Wildcats (23-5, 13-2 Southeastern Conference) improved to 6-0 against the Tigers since they joined the league. Adebayo scored 10 of the team’s first 14 points in the second half to record his first double-double in league play and fourth of the season. Adebayo also collected three blocks.
BOXSCORE: Kentucky 72, Missouri 62
Adebayo missed just three shots on nine attempts and was 10 of 13 from the free-throw line.
“If someone passes on him in the draft this year, they should be f-f-fired,” Kentucky coach John Calipari said. “The reason is he can guard five positions. He’s not a guy that can’t guard pick-and-roll, can’t switch on a point guard. He guards all five positions. You saw him shooting free throws and, yes, I’m jamming him next to the basket. I think I did the same with Karl (Anthony Towns) and I did the same with Anthony Davis. And I’m making him play next to the goal right now, but he can shoot. He can handle it.”
Calipari said Adebayo’s outing was the difference between a win and a loss for the Wildcats.
“(If not for Adebayo) we lose,” Calipari said. “My guards — one guard missed five layups and the other guard couldn’t make a jump shot until the one mattered and then they made free throws. And I told them the one thing I like is that when in tight games they make every free throw down the stretch, which is a big deal. But we’re just—we got some holes, and most of it is just confident players.”
Read More at Keith’s Blog: Out of the Blue
The game was close throughout, but the Wildcats used an 8-0 run after the Tigers tied the score at 52-52 to create adequate spacing between the two league foes. Adebayo had five points during the decisive spree, while a 3-pointer by Wenyan Gabriel provided the dagger.
“I was so happy because he (Gabriel) was playing shaky, but he made that one and it was a big one, it stretched the game out,” Calipari said.
De’Aaron Fox followed Adebayo with 13 points and Malik Monk finished with 11 for the Wildcats.
Despite the lackluster performance, Calipari said the Wildcats were glad to get the win.
“It was a happy locker room,” Calipari said. “Look, you have to enjoy winning in this or just stop, especially as a coach. You gotta – you play bad and win, that’s too bad, we won, I’m ecstatic. You’ll see, I’ll be skipping on the way out the door.”
Gametracker: Florida at Kentucky, 2 p.m., Saturday.TV/Radio: CBS (Channel 27), 98.1 FM WBUL.
Keith Taylor is a senior sports writer for KyForward, where he primarily covers University of Kentucky sports. Reach him at keith.taylor@kyforward.com or @keithtaylor21 on Twitter
