From press row: Kentucky-Miami

Jodie Meeks struggled against Miami Saturday, scoring just 10 points. Photo by Victoria Graff.

Postgame

The comeback: Kentucky coach Billy Gillispie noticed something different in his team’s demeanor during the second half of a 73-67 loss to Miami today at Rupp Arena.

“There was a big difference in effort and execution,” he said. “We started doing what we were supposed to be doing. We started enforcing our will instead of letting Miami dictate the game in our own gym.”

Jodie Meeks scored just 10 points and made just four shots on 17 attempts from the floor: “It was just one of those nights. I couldn’t seem to hit anything. The shots I was taking were pretty good shots, just none of them would fall today. I guess you have games like that.”

Patrick Patterson had 19 points and grabbed 16 rebounds, including 13 boards on the defensive end: “I need to be the man out there and demand the ball.”

Miami’s zone bothered the Cats, but it wasn’t anything new: “We play against the zone in practice every day,” Meeks said. “It was just one of those games where we were playing out of sync. When that happened, we had to fight uphill and we could never get over the hump.”

The opposition:

Miami guard Jack McClinton on Kentucky’s play in the second half: “They didn’t do anything differentely. We just had too many mistakes and missed a lot of layups.”

First half:

Miami shot 51 percent from the field and knocked down seven 3-pointers to build a 46-26 lead.

Jack McClinton paced the team with 17 points, while teammate James Dews added 14.

Jodie Meeks led Kentucky with eight points. Overall, the Cats made just 11 field goals and made just two shots from long range.

Pregame:

The Hurricanes are ranked No. 21 in the latest Associated Press poll and bring a 4-2 record into Rupp Arena, while Kentucky is 5-2.

Miami’s two losses were to UConn (76-63) and Ohio State (73-68).

Former University of Kentucky assistant coach Leonard Hamilton onced coached at Miami and compiled a 144-147 record from 1990-2000. Hamilton is now the coach at Florida State.