Bruce Pearl spoke to the media Friday afternoon to preview Saturday's game against Kentucky. Here's a summary...
** You can feel the energy on campus. College Gameday is here. There's 1,000 students camping out. And it's the AUTLIVE game. Will have prostate cancer screening before game. Encourages everyone to buy a t-shirt.
** Kentucky is one of best offensive teams in the country. Five guys average double-digits. Several are expected to be drafted. Protect the rim well. We struggled against Florida's length. Best 3-point shooting team Coach Cal has had at UK.
** We've worked hard to be in this position.
** Kentucky is still the gold standard in our league. If you want to be relevant in the SEC, you've got to beat UK.
** Asked if he ever camped out before, Pearl said he used to camp out with his family as a kid. Hasn't ever camped out for a game.
** Made the tough shots against USC. The tough shots are in the first 10 mins of both halves. AU really shared the ball well against USC.
** You have to worry about long shots, long rebounds and how good UK is in transition.
** Antonio Reeves has always killed us. He's a big, long, physical guard that can really shoot it. Talks about how good all of UK's guards are and how tough they are to defend.
** No question UK is going to play with a lot of energy tomorrow. Last game against Ole Miss was first time they had everybody back healthy. Nobody wants to play UK in the Tournament.
** Denver is a very versatile guard. We'll see if he gets another look at PG going forward.
** UK actually plays better on the road. A lot of pressure to win at home. They've shot it well on the road. They've got the kind of talent that can be fearless.
*****THAT'S ALL*****
** You can feel the energy on campus. College Gameday is here. There's 1,000 students camping out. And it's the AUTLIVE game. Will have prostate cancer screening before game. Encourages everyone to buy a t-shirt.
** Kentucky is one of best offensive teams in the country. Five guys average double-digits. Several are expected to be drafted. Protect the rim well. We struggled against Florida's length. Best 3-point shooting team Coach Cal has had at UK.
** We've worked hard to be in this position.
** Kentucky is still the gold standard in our league. If you want to be relevant in the SEC, you've got to beat UK.
** Asked if he ever camped out before, Pearl said he used to camp out with his family as a kid. Hasn't ever camped out for a game.
** Made the tough shots against USC. The tough shots are in the first 10 mins of both halves. AU really shared the ball well against USC.
** You have to worry about long shots, long rebounds and how good UK is in transition.
** Antonio Reeves has always killed us. He's a big, long, physical guard that can really shoot it. Talks about how good all of UK's guards are and how tough they are to defend.
** No question UK is going to play with a lot of energy tomorrow. Last game against Ole Miss was first time they had everybody back healthy. Nobody wants to play UK in the Tournament.
** Denver is a very versatile guard. We'll see if he gets another look at PG going forward.
** UK actually plays better on the road. A lot of pressure to win at home. They've shot it well on the road. They've got the kind of talent that can be fearless.
*****THAT'S ALL*****
