Calipari says Cats have to 'regroup and go' to get back on track

LEXINGTON, Ky. (KT) -- Kentucky coach John Calipari hasn't given up on the Wildcats and points to past experiences as a hope for the future.

"I can remember going to Kansas and doing what we did (to Kansas) and they won a national title (last year)," he said. "It's a long season. Let's learn from (the loss to Alabama) and let's get this right. We've got to start playing better away from home. Just have to."

Coming off a 78-52 loss to No. 4 Alabama, the Wildcats have little time to dwell on a setback that dropped the Wildcats to 10-5 on the season and 1-2 on the Southeastern Conference.

"We've gotta regroup," Calipari said. "We've got to regroup and go. I just don't even know if I want to look at the tape. I may watch the first half."

Kentucky has won all nine of its home games this season, but has compiled a 1-5 mark in road games and encounters played at neutral sites. Prior to the letdown at Alabama last Saturday, the Wildcats had won two straight after dropping their conference opener at Missouri on Dec. 28. Calipari said Kentucky has to figure out its mental approach on the road and discuss the road woes.

"We're gonna have to talk about it and figure stuff out ... it's coming off a couple games where we really look good together," Calipari said. "I think when it got away or we were playing without the guys that you're counting on, it got harder. Now all of a sudden, we're not Kentucky, those guys they gotta perform."

Kentucky freshman Chris Livingston admitted its not easy to win on the road.

"It's tough because the team has to stay together,": he said. "You know, obviously nobody's been there for you besides some of the few fans that come on the road with us. It's really just our team.

"We have to stay together you know whether you know the other team comes out really and played a lot of shots you know just closing gaps and just really playing hard with each other and playing for each other is something that, you know, that's one of the tougher challenges that you have to face.

Kentucky will try to get back on track against South Carolina on Tuesday. The Gameccocks (7-7, 0-1 SEC) have won just three times at Rupp Arena, while the Wildcats currently own an eight-game winning streak against the Gamecocks at Rupp Arena.

Kentucky sophomore Daimion Collins said the Wildcats have to learn from their mistakes at Alabama and Missouri.

"There's a lot of things that we we thought we did better in those two games," he said. "We were really confident heading into Alabama and we made a lot of mistakes. We need to work on stuff. I was really surprised of he mistakes that we did make (against the Crimson Tide), but you've just got to live with it, learn from it and just keep getting better at it."