Kentucky bugs Bogut
AUSTIN, Texas – Andrew Bogut cussed at himself, punched the air and crinkled his nose. None of it could get him going.
Stymied by a pair of 7-foot backups and pestered by smaller guys, Utah’s All-America center had his worst game of the season and the Kentucky Wildcats shot a season-best 62 percent in beating the Utes 62-52 Friday night in an Austin Regional semifinal.
“They banged me around,” said Bogut, who missed eight of his first 10 shots, more than he missed in the first two rounds combined. “It wasn’t my day shooting the basketball.”
The Wildcats (28-5) are headed to the regional finals for the second time in three years, and they’ll certainly be fresh when they play Michigan State on Sunday. Showing off their superb depth, no player went more than 27 minutes.
It’s also pretty impressive that their most pivotal defenders were 7-3 Shagari Alleyne and 7-0 Lukasz Obrzut, a duo that coach Tubby Smith didn’t turn to in a total of 11 games this season.
They were forced into action this time when starting center Randolph Morris got his second foul just 90 seconds in. They ended up doing such a good job of staying between Bogut and the basket, with teammates helping making life miserable when he did get the ball, that the Utes (29-6) were playing catch-up once the game was five minutes old.
“We needed them,” Smith said. “They were fired up, looking forward to it.”
Bogut finished with 20 points and 12 rebounds, but it wasn’t as good as it sounded. He made just 8 of 19 shots – matching the most misses of his career – and went a career-worst 4 of 11 from the line, opening with two misses and seeing another rim out when he could’ve put Utah within two with 12:28 left.
While he shot better in the second half, his rebounding fell off. Unlike the previous game, when he offset 10 points with a career-high seven assists, he didn’t have any this time.
The disappointment goes deep for Bogut. The sophomore is widely expected to turn pro, so this probably was his last college game – and it was his first with his mom, Anne, in the stands. She traveled from Australia.
Bogut declined to say if he’s decided about going to the NBA, but coach Ray Giacoletti said he should if he’ll be a top-three pick, which is likely.
Kentucky 62, Utah 52
Utah (29-6)–Hawkins 1-4 2-4 4, Markson 3-7 2-4 9, Bogut 8-19 4-11 20, M.Jackson 2-6 5-6 10, Drisdom 1-1 0-0 3, Calvin 0-1 0-0 0, Chaney 1-2 1-2 3, Langvad 1-1 0-1 3. Totals 17-41 14-28 52.
Kentucky (28-5)–Azubuike 2-5 5-6 9, Hayes 5-6 2-5 12, Morris 1-1 0-0 2, Rondo 4-5 2-6 10, Sparks 1-5 0-0 3, Moss 2-2 0-0 6, Bradley 3-4 0-0 6, Carrier 0-1 0-0 0, Obrzut 2-3 0-0 4, Perry 1-1 1-2 3, Alleyne 0-1 0-0 0, Thomas 0-1 0-0 0, Crawford 3-4 0-0 7. Totals 24-39 10-19 62.
Halftime—Kentucky 29, Utah 24. 3-Point Goals—Utah 4-10 (Drisdom 1-1, Langvad 1-1, Markson 1-2, M.Jackson 1-4, Bogut 0-1, Calvin 0-1), Kentucky 4-13 (Moss 2-2, Crawford 1-2, Sparks 1-4, Bradley 0-1, Carrier 0-1, Rondo 0-1, Azubuike 0-2). Fouled Out—M.Jackson. Rebounds—Utah 25 (Bogut 12), Kentucky 25 (Obrzut 5). Assists—Utah 10 (Hawkins 3), Kentucky 10 (Bradley, Hayes, Rondo 2). Total Fouls—Utah 20, Kentucky 25. Technicals—Bogut, Bradley. A—16,239.