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Before Kentucky canceled a six-game losing streak with a 78-73 double-overtime victory at Mississippi State on Saturday, Wildcats coach John Calipari said he told his staff he was hoping for Dontaie. Allen – a state product that had only recorded 19 minutes. and scored a combined seven points before the win – would help the team secure a win in their first SEC game.
Allen answered that call, finishing with a team-high 23 points, 7-for-11 on a 3-point range in a wild game that also included the expulsion of Calipari with just over nine minutes to go. in settlement.
“When you do that, you kind of prove your point, and that’s what you’re supposed to do when you get the chance,” Calipari said of Allen’s exit. “I’m so happy for him. I told the staff before the game that I was hoping he would go big because we had to win.”
Kentucky had been embroiled in the program’s worst basketball streak in nearly 100 years. He hadn’t lost six games in a row since 1927, three years before the program hired Adolph Rupp. It was also the first time the team suffered six straight losses under Calipari.
Allen, a former Kentucky Mr. Basketball and a red-shirted freshman who missed last season with an injury, said he never doubted his potential and kept going. to work, hoping that Calipari would give him the opportunity to show his talent.
“If I’m being honest I don’t think it was pressure, because I put in the work,” Allen said. “I didn’t know when my opportunity was going to present itself. Nobody knows, so I just kept my head down and just worked hard. I’m thankful for the opportunity I had tonight.”
The game was like the previous six games Kentucky had lost. Mississippi State had the advantage throughout the game until Kentucky finished strong in regulation after Calipari was sent off.
In both overtime, Allen had some big shots, including a crucial 3-pointer in second overtime, to help the Wildcats (2-6, 1-0 SEC) claim a victory for the first time in addition to a month.
Calipari said he did not plan the ejection, which left assistant Bruiser Flint to lead the team and was the result of a second technical foul he committed after an argument with one officials with his team in less than six points in the middle of the second half. . But he also said he hopes it will give his players a boost.
“I know you’re going to say, ‘Did you do this on purpose?’ The first? Yes I did because there were a couple of things that happened that we wouldn’t have a chance to win if we didn’t. [fix]”, he said.” My second was like, “Yeah, okay.” “
He added: “When I left I said it would be a good thing or a bad thing.”
Olivier Sarr, who finished with 14 points and 12 rebounds, said he expected the ejection based on the emotions Calipari displayed throughout the game.
“For me, and I think for the whole team, I think we knew it was something that could happen, knowing the past the coach had with games like this,” Sarr said. “But for us it was more just, ‘Okay, the coach isn’t there – we have to run. “”
Calipari said he hid in the locker room to watch his team celebrate after the game and “remember why I do what I do”.
He also said he was always focused on helping his team reach the NCAA tournament. Prior to last season, the previous time, Kentucky had recorded at least three non-conference-related losses early in the conference game in 2013-14, when the Wildcats advanced to the Final Four after a rocky start. The Wildcats did not have a chance to compete for the NCAA tournament last season after three unrelated losses to the conference, as the tournament was called off amid the COVID-19 pandemic.
“I’m just looking at soccer teams that have played 3-8 in bowling matches,” he said. “We don’t know where this is all going.”
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