Jerry Tipton on UK basketball

After Kentucky nearly won at Mississippi State, guard Joe Crawford said the Cats found an identity: play “ugly” basketball.

Coach Billy Gillispie did not embrace that term as a description for the best way for Kentucky to win games.  But in discussing Saturday’s game at Florida, he said nothing to dispute Crawford’s assessment.

“Every win I’ve been a part of has been beautiful,” Gillispie said at a Friday news conference. “It makes no difference how you go about it.”

Although he conceded that Florida is “much more skilled than we are,” the UK coach did not object to the possibility of having to outscore the Gators to win.

“I couldn’t care less,” he said. “As long as we get one more point than them.”

Yet when asked about how to combat a team that’s more skilled, Gillispie talked about the grinding, tough aspects of basketball, not the acrobatic finesse plays.

“Try to guard them,” he said. “Play them before they catch it. If you let them get in a game that’s all timing and all precision, that’s probably not going to be the best.”

Florida Coach Billy Donovan conceded on a Southeastern Conference teleconference on Thursday that  his Gators are vulnerable inside. Kentucky would seem to have the tools to exploit that weakness.

“We have a tool,” Gillispie corrected, meaning freshman Patrick Patterson. “We need to have some things in the plan and execute them. No matter the tools, you have to attack inside and also have great balance.”