John Calipari points to lack of physicality in loss to South Carolina

John Calipari identified a key reason for Kentucky’s struggles in its 79-62 loss to South Carolina on Tuesday night.

Calipari said South Carolina was much more physical than the Wildcats were in this contest. The Gamecocks out-rebounded UK by 7 and held the Wildcats to just over 40% shooting rom the field.

“I saw men and I saw boys,” Calipari said, comparing the 2 teams, in his postgame radio interview.

John Calipari in his postgame radio interview: “I saw men and I saw boys. They just played so much rougher than us.”

— Tres Terrell (@TerrellTres) January 24, 2024

Calipari singled out Zvonimir Ivisic as not being quite ready for this level of physicality. Ivisic was excellent in his debut over the weekend against Georgia, but was not nearly as effective vs. the Gamecocks. He finished this game with 2 rebounds and 3 points.

Calipari said he intends to make Kentucky’s practices “rougher” as he expects the Wildcats will see this style of play more often down the stretch of the season.

Calipari says he's got to make practices rougher, that this is the way people are going to try to play them moving forward. Noted that the game was too rough for Big Z.

— Jeff Drummond (@JDrumUK) January 24, 2024

Prior to this loss, Kentucky had won 8 of its last 9 games. The Wildcats are now 4-2 in SEC play, with both losses coming in road games.

Kentucky will be in action again on Saturday against Arkansas. Betting odds have not yet been posted for that game, but here’s more information on how you can get in on the action with one of the best sports betting apps on the market.