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Coach John Calipari's Kentucky Wildcats were stunned by the LSU Tigers on Wednesday, losing 75-74.
No. 17 Kentucky entered the game as a six-point favorite but blew a 15-point lead to the Tigers to fall to 18-8 on the season.
Following the loss, John Calipari was frustrated as he left the postgame press conference early. Here are our observations from the long-serving coach's short media face-to-face.
3 takeaways from John Calipari's press conference
#1, Frustration showing
John Calipari left his postgame press conference after just three minutes following the Wildcats' blown lead loss to the LSU Tigers on Wednesday.
Calipari ended his press conference after just two questions because of the early game on Saturday, which is three days from now.
"Guys, we’ve got a late flight and we’ve got an early game on Saturday. So, I’m out of here. I’m trying to get my team on the bus, too. Thanks," Calipari said, via AOL.
It's clear that Calipari is frustrated with how his team is playing just weeks away from the NCAA Tournament.
#2, 50-50 balls cost them
In the few words that John Calipari said on Wednesday, he mentioned that 50-50 balls cost the Kentucky Wildcats.
"Fifty-fifty balls cost us the game," Calipari said. "It’s all we talk about. Fifty-fifty balls. Not only the last play, the play before that. Up 13, we have it, they jerk it from us, kick it out, make a three, make another three. Now it’s anybody’s ballgame.
"Matter of fact, we may have been up 15. You can’t win. Don’t tell me about your offense. If you’re not going to come up with 50/50 balls, you can’t win."
Calipari believes his team didn't try for loose balls to steal a possession or get an extra possession, which ended up being the difference.
#3, Young team woes
Another key takeaway from John Calipari's press conference was that he has a young team, and these mistakes are going to happen.
Calipari said in his press conference that Kentucky has the youngest team in the country but said the issues shouldn't be happening this late in the season:
"That’s what happens with young teams. We do have the youngest team in the country. That stuff happens. And it seems to happen at the wrong time. But, I thought we did everything we needed to: Cross-switched late, they take a tough shot, we get the ball, one-point game.
"You may say, well why did you shoot it so quick? Because, you know, we have a lot of people coaching, and that’s fine."
Kentucky is set to return to the court on Saturday at home against Alabama.
