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ST. LOUIS (AP) -- All disorder disappears when Kentucky steps on
court for the first round of the NCAA tournament.
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This tournament is an opportunity for redemption for Kentucky, which has been in Soap Opera City this year with suspensions and off-court distractions. The 'Cats have played most of the this season without the real Keith Bogans -- but oh, did he come to play Thursday. Bogans returned to his diaper-dandy days, scoring 21 sensational points (4-of-5 on trifectas). Kentucky attacked the basket early and led 41-23 at the half.
Many were saying this could be an upset, because Valparaiso played Kansas tough this year and coach Homer Drew has had success in the Big Dance before -- especially when his son Bryce's buzzer-beater shocked Mississippi and sent Valpo to the Sweet 16. But it wasn't to be this year.
If Kentucky advances to the Sweet 16, Maryland could be waiting. Some big wins now would help erase whatever bad memories the Wildcats have from the regular season, baby.
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Keith Bogans had 21 points, and Tayshaun Prince made up for poor
shooting with strong defense, leading the Wildcats to a 12th
straight opening-round victory, 83-68 over Valparaiso on Thursday.
"It wasn't easy," Bogans said. "We had to go out and work. It
goes to show what kind of team we can be when we play for 40
minutes."
Kentucky, seeded fourth in the East Regional, came into the
tournament having dropped four of its last nine games. In addition,
two players were suspended this season, and the school's athletic
director was fired. Coach Tubby Smith called this probably his
toughest year ever.
"Disarray unites a team," Valparaiso coach Homer Drew said.
"It tends to have a rallying effect."
The Wildcats (21-9) played Thursday as though they didn't have a
care in the world.
"This is the consistency we needed," Smith said. "I thought
we played as well as we have in a long time,"
Kentucky put the game away with an 18-3 run over a span of about
six minutes late in the first half. Six players scored during the
spurt, which gave the Wildcats a 38-19 lead with 2:15 to go.
Kentucky led by as many as 20 points in the first half, held a
41-23 edge at the break, and the advantage never dropped below 10
the rest of the way.
The Wildcats haven't lost a first-round NCAA tournament game
since dropping a 91-77 decision to Ohio State in 1987.
Valparaiso, which had won 14 of 15 games coming in, was unable
to recover after shooting 36 percent in the first half and
finishing with more turnovers (11) than baskets (nine).
Prince finished with 13 points, but had an uncharacteristically
tough time. He went 5-for-14 from the field, including 0-for-6 on
3-point attempts.
But, importantly, Prince helped neutralize Valparaiso's top
scorer, Lubos Barton. The Mid-Continent Conference player of the
year rarely got the ball inside the 3-point line and had only one
point in the first half -- a free throw in the final minute.
"I wanted to put a hand up there and get in his face," Prince
said. "I'm always up to the challenge of taking on the
opposition's best player."
Barton reached 10 points with a 3-pointer in the final minute of
the game.
"Prince forced me to drive, and every time I drove there were
one or two guys waiting," Barton said. "I just had a tough
time."
|  | | Kentucky played together against Valpo, which allowed Tayshaun Prince to have an off day and still feel like a winner.
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Bogans' production has slipped since he averaged 17.5 points as
a sophomore and considered jumping to the NBA. He averaged only 10
this year as a junior, his lowest in three seasons with the
Wildcats. But against Valparaiso, he was 4-for-5 from 3-point
range, had six rebounds and three assists.
"My confidence, it can't really suffer," Bogans said. "I've
got too much confidence. And my teammates always told me to keep my
head up."
Kentucky opened things up for Bogans by hammering the ball
inside in the early going. The Wildcats' first eight baskets were
layups and they outrebounded Valparaiso 40-32 overall.
"We established an inside game," Prince said. "That's why
Keith was able to get open and knock down shots."
Marquis Estill had 12 points on 5-of-6 shooting for Kentucky.
Raitis Grafs led Valparaiso with 21 points and eight rebounds,
while Jared Stovall had 10 points and six rebounds, and Stalin
Ortiz scored 10.
Valparaiso (25-8) was in the NCAAs for the sixth time in seven
seasons. The Crusaders won the Mid-Continent Conference tournament
with three victories by an average of 25.7 points and set a school
record for victories.
"We were so anxious to play and excited to do well," Drew
said. "But some things didn't go well. We tried too hard."
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