In retrospect, it might have been the perfect storm.

Mix in equal parts of Kentucky’s young team reeling from the injury to Nerlens Noel, a road game in a hostile environment against a hot team in Tennessee and the reunion of coach John Calipari and his chief antagonist this season, referee Doug Shows.
Forty minutes later, we were all witness to an 88-58 blowout loss, the ejection of assistant coach John Robic and technical fouls on both Willie Cauley-Stein and Archie Goodwin. Calipari never got a T, but he certainly used up all the other letters in the alphabet.
“I knew right after John was thrown and all that stuff happened, the game was done,” Calipari said afterwards.
Robic was ejected at the 11:17 mark of the first half with Kentucky already trailing 24-12.
“They got the call wrong and then he was disappointed about it,” Calipari explained. “He said something and, you know, I don't think he said enough to get tossed but he did. So, I don't know.”
From that point forward, the frustration escalated as three UK players – Cauley-Stein, Alex Poythress and Ryan Harrow all fouled out.
At 10:15 of the second half and UK trailing 68-42, Cauley-Stein was whistled for a technical by Shows after yelling something in a scuffle following a foul call against Poythress.
At 2:28 and UK down 84-47, Goodwin was involved in a double technical when he shoved Tennessee’s Armani Moore in the back in retaliation for Moore shoving him in the back after a foul call.
Calipari, however, wasn’t rallying to the aid of his players.
“My thing was, why would you do that?” Calipari said. “Why wouldn't you fight for balls. The guys pushed him in the back with two hands. He came up pushing. My point is, don't do that now. You're down 30, why wouldn't you fight as the game was in the balance?”
Calipari continued to jaw with Shows. In the closing minutes as the two were talking during a stoppage in play, Shows replied to Calipari, “Don’t get personal.”
It was not Calipari’s first encounter with Shows. The referee T’d up Kentucky’s coach at the Texas A&M game in Lexington and in a road loss at Louisville, Calipari was so relentless toward Shows that another referee, Ed Cornett, gave Calipari a technical.
Afterwards, the coach was more big-picture philosophic.
“I understand that the out-of-bonds play, should have been our ball, was a three-point play. Then the technicals, and all the sudden it goes from nine and then they go on a run and all the sudden the game's over right away,” Calipari said. “That aside, the way we played and the way they played, even if we had Nerlens we'd have gotten beat because we had two or three guys that couldn't play in the game, they couldn't get open.”
- Darrell Bird
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truecatfan4life
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truecatfan4life said...
Question Darrel. You wrote the technical with Archie was a double technical. I thought it was just a technical on Archie not the guy from Tennessee. The reason being is Tennessee shot free throws. I thought if it was a double technical they would of been off setting and no one would of shot if free throws except Archie for the original foul?
Matt May ●
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truecatfan4life
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Wes Rucker ●
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Matt May ●
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TheProfessor
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truecatfan4life
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BigBlueDawg12
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BigBlueDawg12 said...
Archie Goodwin is wasting a ton of god-given talent. Too selfish and too childish. Needs to grow up. Dont think we will miss him. With the Harrison twins, Young, and possibly more..guard will be solid next year. Cant wait. James Young is a beast, Marcus Lee is a bigger beast..Dakari Johnson, Willis as a sub shooter. Wiltjer will be better..and will be able to play as a situational 3pt shooting specialist.
Matt May ●
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todd said...
I agree Matt. Goodwin is a turnover machince though, that has to stop. One thing that would help this team a ton is for Cal to start Clapping when he sees some fight and anger in Poythress instead of screaming at him trying to get him to stop... He's been begging him to do that all year now they are dissing him for it??? Sorry Guys Cal doesn't always get a free pass with me.
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truecatfan4life
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TheProfessor said...
I suppose the rule is that when the ball lodges between the rim and the backboard, it is a held ball situation, but I don't see that as any different outcome than a shot that hits the back of the rim and bounces over the backboard, thus out of bounds.
Why make that wedged ball a held ball? No one is holding it?
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TheProfessor said...
A little off topic, but I have a memory of a play when Chamberlain played for Kansas where the player throwing the ball inbound from under the Kansas basket would lob it over the back board where wilt rose, and put it in. That play led to the ruling that a ball can't pass over the top of the back board, and the out of bounds ruling for that movement of the ball came then, at least that is my memory.
As for the wedged ball, I don't care if the officials determine who touched it last, only that I do not understand treating it as a held ball situation under the current rules.
I guess, I should not have opened that can of worms.
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