The Wildcats (30-4) didn't bother to set up very much outside
the
3-point arc, hitting only 4-of-14 from that range. They preferred
to
work closer to the basket, a strategy that paid off abundantly
when
Kentucky's big men outscored their counterparts from South Carolina
State 57-8.
"They gave all they had," said center Nazr Mohammed, who led the
Wildcats with 18 points despite a bruised shoulder. "But we still
felt
bigger and we knew we could go inside for easy baskets. We just
tried to
keep our bodies on their big guys and our guards did a good job
getting
us the ball when we were open."
South Carolina State coach Cy Alexander said before the game that
his
team would have trouble coping with Kentucky's size and depth.
Kentucky's frontcourt starters combined for 44 points, and three
reserves added 13. South Carolina State got eight points from
its three
inside starters and nothing from the bench.
"We knew our (frontcourt) players had to play hard and challenge
them,"
Alexander said. "But we were totally dominated."
Tubby Smith, winning his first NCAA tournament game as Kentucky's
coach,
merely had to look at the lineup card to know where the Wildcats
could
do the most damage in this game.
"The No. 1 thing is size," he said, glancing at a roster that
includes
three 6-foot-10 players - Mohammed, Jamal Magloire and Michael
Bradley -
as well as 6-9 Scott Padgett. "We've got good size. And we can
bring
good size off the bench."
Kentucky, which won the Southeastern Conference's regular-season
and
tournament titles, dominated the final 10 minutes of the first
half,
building a 43-28 lead against the champion of the Mid-Eastern
Athletic
Conference.
South Carolina State (22-8), which trailed only 20-18 when Roderick
Blakney hit a scoop shot in the lane with 10:14 left in the opening
half, missed 10 straight shots before Blakney made another basket
6 1/2
minutes later.
By that time, Kentucky had a 35-23 lead and was coasting toward
its
eighth consecutive victory, all by double-figure margins. The
Wildcats
shot nearly 60 percent from the field (31-of-52), doled out 25
assists
and had 11 blocked shots.
Blakney scored 23 points and Tyler Brown added 22 for South Carolina
State, but it wasn't nearly enough in a game that matched programs
with
disparate NCAA traditions.
"We came out sort of nervous," Blakney said. "The mystique of
Kentucky,
their tradition, had a lot to do with it. Once we calmed down,
I thought
we competed with them pretty well."
(2) Kentucky 82, (15) South Carolina State 67
SOUTH CAROLINA STATE (67)
fg ft tp
-- -- --
McGowens 1-3 0-0 3
Waller 1-4 0-2 2
Johnson 1-5 1-2 3
Blakney 8-16 5-5 23
Brown 8-14 0-0 22
Jones 4-14 4-4 14
Neis 0-2 0-2 0
Davis 0-1 0-0 0
---------------------------------
Totals 23-59 10-15 67
KENTUCKY (82)
fg ft tp
-- -- --
Edwards 4-8 3-4 13
Evans 5-6 2-3 12
Padgett 6-10 1-1 14
Mohammed 5-7 8-8 18
Turner 4-6 0-0 8
Mills 0-2 0-0 0
Sheppard 1-4 2-2 4
Magliore 3-5 0-1 6
Smith 0-0 0-0 0
Bradley 2-3 0-0 4
Anthony 1-1 0-0 3
Hogan 0-0 0-0 0
Masiello 0-0 0-0 0
---------------------------------
Totals 31-52 16-19 82
Halftime-Kentucky 43, S Carolina St 28. 3-Point goals-S Carolina
St 11-25 (Brown 6-10, Jones 2-6, Blakney 2-8, McGowens 1-1),
Kentucky 4-14 (Edwards 2-5, Padgett 1-1, Anthony 1-1, Evans 0-1,
Turner 0-1, Mills 0-2, Sheppard 0-3). Fouled out-None. Rebounds-S
Carolina St 27 (Johnson 7), Kentucky 34 (Edwards, Mohammed 6).
Assists-S Carolina St 14 (Blakney 10), Kentucky 25 (Edwards 6).
Total fouls-S Carolina St 16, Kentucky 14. A-N/A.