No. 2 Kentucky clips Wright State

After struggling to finish inside against the Blue Devils, hitting just 3 of 10 shots, Poythress made 3 of 5 shots and all four of his free throws Friday. “He never strikes out, never”, said Donlan, adding that Ulis always makes the right decision in transition.

“The game’s happening slower for him”, Calipari said of Ulis, who did not have a turnover while playing the full 40 minutes. He is enjoying his extended time on the court so far this year.

Kentucky held the Raiders to 36 percent shooting and outrebounded them 37-27.

Old-school Poythress: Like Ulis, the senior power forward built on a strong showing against Duke in Chicago.

Rasheed Sulaimon hit a 3-pointer with 1:18 left to break a tie, and No. 3 Maryland (2-0) got 24 points from Melo Trimble in a rousing 75-71 victory over neighborhood rival Georgetown (0-2). His performance included a midcourt steal leading to a monstrous dunk and an emphatic hang on the rim. We get out, (push) the break and (are) very unselfish with each other. “That’s how you make progress”.

Elsewhere, Duke guard Grayson Allen was dropping 30 points on Virginia Commonwealth, giving him 84 points in three games not against Kentucky.

Freshman guard Isaiah Briscoe scored 15 points and was 7 of 11 from the field.

Calipari also said he might try a few zone, especially with a lineup that consists of Lee, Willis and another big man. The Cats haven’t zoned much this season, but it wouldn’t be much of a surprise if they tried it out against Wright State.

But as Calipari quickly noted, things could have been better.

Considering the Wildcats were just coming off a convincing win over the defending national champions, he expected more from his young and talented roster. “We took a big step back”. “Guys didn’t listen. We’re doing certain things and they just kind of broke it off and did their own thing”. Kentucky hasn’t lost a home game since February of 2014.

Cal gave Wright State lots of credit for its strategy.

ABOUT KENTUCKY (3-0): Junior Marcus Lee (10.7 points, 8.7 rebounds) needed only 22 minutes to post his first career double-double against Duke, including an eight-minute stretch spanning both halves in which he scored all 10 of his points and grabbed half of his 10 rebounds. And there was the frequent sight of Briscoe harassing dribblers, applying pressure even with his mouth guard dangling out of his mouth.

“If we lose to Wright State, you people in Kentucky will think I should be fired”, Calipari said after beating Duke.

“By the end, we were exhausted”, WSU coach Billy Donlon said.

Kentucky has faced Wright State three times before, but not since 1998. But because of UK’s defense, the Raiders made only seven of 26 two-point shots in the first half.