Pitino Stuns Simmons, Then Simmons Helps Uk Stun Utes

Not even 10 minutes into the game, Kentucky coach Rick Pitino was calling on the end of his bench. Which made freshman Oliver Simmons the most stunned guy in the Metrodome.

Simmons hadn’t played but a minute in Kentucky’s last game. Unfazed, the skinny crew-cutted redhead from Nashville tried his very first 3-pointer of the season Thursday night, and hit net.

It was one of those nights. One of those scary nights. The Wildcats were at their bullying best, running over Utah, 101-70.

When he hit his 3, igniting the Big Blue faithful, Simmons was the eighth Kentucky player to score in the first 9 minutes of this NCAA Midwest Regional Sweet 16 game. The Wildcats play Wake Forest on Saturday for a spot in the Final Four.

“I just thought we could wear them out,” Pitino said of his early and often substitutions.

Guys can get lost with all that substituting.

“At this point, we really don’t care who scores, as long as we get out there and have fun,” said Kentucky guard Tony Delk.

It was over even before Utah center Michael Doleac, bent over at the waist, asked to come out. Soon after, Kentucky had a 52-27 lead with 3 minutes, 30 seconds left - before halftime.

“I didn’t want to say it in front of the players; we were intimidated, I think,” said Utah coach Rick Majerus. “I don’t know if it’s the aura of Kentucky, their athleticism … We play them 90 games, we would probably lose 89.”

It was over even as Pitino started screaming at forward Antoine Walker, who took a couple of quick 3s before the Wildcats ran any offense. “Reverse it!” Pitino yelled.

The secret of this year’s team apparently is that they listen. No.1-seed Kentucky scored the next 13 times downcourt.

Walker, just a sophomore, was the best player on the floor, racing through Utah’s defense, setting up shots for himself and teammates.

The No.4 Utes, who spent the season in the top ten, were true to their professed game plan and went straight for the hoop when they broke Kentucky’s press.

The problem was, this meant Utah only touched the ball for about a minute in the first 10. This meant they were very, very tired on defense. This was not the way to beat Kentucky.

“If I had to do it all over again, I would slow the game down totally and try to beat the pressure and set up,” Majerus said.

Kentucky had a 64-34 lead before the Utes scored in the second half.

Kentucky 101, Utah 70

Utah (27-7) - Van Horn 8-15 6-6 23, Jessie 2-10 0-0 4, Doleac 3-7 3-5 9, Caton 9-10 1-1 22, Miller 1-3 0-1 2, Rydalch 1-4 0-0 2, Melmeth 1-3 2-2 4, Hansen 1-2 0-0 2, Carlton 0-0 0-0 0, Jensen 0-0 0-0 0, Jonas 1-2 0-0 2, Meacham 0-0 0-0 0, Leonard 0-0 0-0 0, Preston 0-1 0-0 0, Chapman 0-0 0-0 0. Totals 27-57 12-15 70.

Kentucky (31-2) - Anderson 5-9 8-8 18, Walker 9-18 1-1 19, McCarty 1-3 0-0 2, Delk 6-15 0-1 14, Epps 5-11 1-2 14, Pope 2-4 0-1 5, Edwards 2-3 1-3 6, Turner 3-4 0-0 6, Sheppard 3-7 0-0 6, Simmons 2-3 0-0 5, Mercer 2-5 0-0 4, Mohammed 1-1 0-0 2, Mills 0-0 0-0 0. Totals 41-83 11-16 101.

Halftime-Kentucky 56, Utah 34. 3-Point goals-Utah 4-10 (Caton 3-3, Van Horn 1-3, Rydlach 0-1, Preston 0-1, Jessie 0-2). Kentucky 8-22 (Epps 3-6, Delk 2-7, Pope 1-1, Simmons 1-1, Edwards 1-2, Anderson 0-1, Walker 0-1, Sheppard 0-1, Mercer 0-2). Fouled out-None. Rebounds-Utah 40 (Doleac, Van Horn 8), Kentucky 38 (Walker 8). Assists-Utah 18 (Miller 9), Kentucky 24 (Epps 8). Total fouls-Utah 16, Kentucky 14. Technical-Utah coach Majerus. A-NA.

Wake Forest 60, Louisville 59

Tim Duncan, healthy again, scored 27 points, including the go-ahead three-point play with 1:16 remaining, as the Demon Deacons came from behind to beat the Cardinals.

The All-American center, who played with the flu and was limited to 23 points total in the Demon Deacons’ first two tournament victories, also had 13 rebounds and seven blocked shots.

Wake Forest, the region’s second seed, needs a win over top-seeded Kentucky on Saturday to reach the Final Four for the first time in 34 years.

Louisville, which shot 33 percent overall and was 3 of 19 from 3-point range, didn’t score after taking a 59-54 lead with 4:52 to play.

Rusty LaRue made a 3-pointer to pull the Deacons within two and the teams traded several unsuccessful possessions before Duncan hit a spinning, 5-foot bank shot and was fouled by Damion Dantzler.

Louisville’s DeJuan Wheat missed two shots down the stretch, including a wild banker in the closing seconds.

Wake Forest is 0-3 against Kentucky, including a loss in the 1993 NCAA tournament.

Samaki Walker scored 16 points and Tick Rogers 13 for the Cardinals, who will miss the Final Four for the 10th straight year since winning the national championship in 1986. Wheat, Louisville’s top scorer, was 3 of 15 and finished with only seven points.

Wake Forest shot 53 percent, including 10 of 18 on 3-pointers, but was hurt by 17 turnovers. The Demon Deacons got only 3 minutes from point guard Tony Rutland, who has a knee injury.

Louisville (22-12) - Sims 2-9 0-0 4, Dantzler 1-6 0-0 2, Smith 2-4 0-0 4, Rogers 6-10 0-0 13, Wheat 3-15 0-1 7, Kiser 1-3 0-0 2, Walker 5-14 6-10 16, Flynn 3-8 4-4 11. Totals 23-69 10-15 59.

Wake Forest (26-5) - Peral 4-5 0-1 11, Allen 1-3 0-0 2, Duncan 9-13 8-10 27, LaRue 3-8 0-0 9, Braswell 3-5 0-0 8, Goolsby 1-5 0-0 3, Rutland 0-1 0-0 0. Totals 21-40 8-11 60.

Halftime-Wake Forest 30, Louisville 27. 3-Point goals- Louisville 3-19 (Rogers 1-3, Flynn 1-4, Wheat 1-7, Kiser 0-1, Sims 0-2, Dantzler 0-2), Wake Forest 10-18 (Peral 3-3, LaRue 3-6, Braswell 2-2, Duncan 1-2, Goolsby 1-4, Rutland 0-1). Fouled out- Peral. Rebounds-Louisville 40 (Smith, Walker 6), Wake Forest 32 (Duncan 13). Assists-Louisville 13 (Wheat 6), Wake Forest 16 (Peral 4). Total fouls-Louisville 16, Wake Forest 18. A-30,334.