John Calipari talks Big Z and more after Kentucky basketball defeats Georgia in Rupp Arena

Well, that all went just about exactly to plan.

Kentucky basketball’s dominant 105-96 home win over Georgia on Saturday night inside a raucous Rupp Arena was full of feel-good storylines.

Zvonimir Ivisic made his college basketball debut and provided a debut that instantly becomes part of UK basketball folklore.

At halftime, Kentucky honored the 1983-84 squad that won both the SEC regular season and postseason tournament titles.

Karter Knox, the top uncommitted recruit in the 2024 class, took it all in from a seat right behind the UK bench as part of an official visit.

And that’s all without getting too far into the specifics of a Kentucky offensive masterpiece that saw the Wildcats record 1.35 points per possession against the Bulldogs, previously undefeated on the road this season.

Tre Mitchell led the way with 23 points for UK, followed by Antonio Reeves and his 21 points scored. A total of five players scored in double-figures for the Cats. D.J. Wagner had a double-double with 18 points and 10 assists.

UK also became just the second team this season to beat Georgia in bench points: The Wildcats won this statistical battle by a 31-25 margin.

While some obvious defense questions still persist (Georgia’s 96 points were a season-high in regulation points allowed by UK), John Calipari’s UK team is now 14-3 overall this season, 4-1 in SEC play and flexing some serious muscle in terms of being national championship contenders.

Here’s everything Calipari said postgame following a memorable night in downtown Lexington.

Question about the reaction Saturday afternoon when Zvonimir Ivisic was declared eligible by the NCAA.

He was ecstatic. And it was only a few of us there. The team had left. So, you know, we sent them a message and let him send it out. But it was — he was all smiles. He’s got a ways to go. But he’s — you know, I told them, do you know why he was wide-open? Because they didn’t think he could shoot 3s. They hadn’t seen him ever play. So... But it was a good start for him. And, you know, it took a long, long time, but I appreciate the work everybody did to make it happen. So...

Question about if Kentucky changed its messaging with the NCAA in the process with Ivisic.

No. I mean, somebody told me they put up a billboard. That probably worked. That’s aggressive. Our fans. How about our fans in this building today? Look, here’s what I would tell our fans. I love our fans. Everywhere we go, that’s what the building is like. The building we play on the road is just like that. It may not be as big. And I’m saying when we play, just come and bring it, like you did today. It was ridiculous. And I know some of it was Z made a shot and everybody was standing and dancing and all of that. But so what? Have fun. Enjoy it. Don’t just stand there and try to analyze and criticize. Just have a ball at the game. And then after, go watch the tape and figure out what you think the game — what happened in the game. But I thought our fans were unbelievable today.

Question about if Ivisic was doing those things he showed Saturday night in practice.

Yeah.

Question about if Calipari was surprised at Ivisic’s level of play in his college debut.

No. He’s — but he got pushed around. There’s things that he is doing in practice the same way that we have got to work on. But he rebounded. He’s 7-foot-2. But they were sealing our bigs. And they could not move to get around. And I said, then foul them. Just do anything to get around. And they — he got caught, Aaron got caught, Ugo got caught. And they ended up shooting a bunch of layups in the second half because of one thing, the guy standing in the middle of the lane for five seconds and doing that (indicating). I don’t know if it was five seconds, it may have been seven, but I think it was around in there.

Question about playing two 7-footers together in the first half, and the connection between that and the 1984 Final Four team that was honored at Saturday’s game.

Well, he was smiling because we played a zone one of the possessions late in the game. Because he was always after me, 1-3-1. I didn’t get a chance, we have a recruit in, so I couldn’t go to the function last night. But I would like to know how much of the 1-3-1 they played. But Coach Hall, one of the great human beings. You know, what he had to do here and then doing it with that team and the 78 team and, you know, following an absolute legend, winningest coach in 42 years. And, but, he came in and did it with class and worked. And, so... But I can congratulate the 84, and I appreciate them all being here and, you know, Sam and the guys, and good people.

Question about Sam Bowie’s halftime speech during the 1984 team ceremony, and Bowie’s joke that if UK doesn’t win the national title it’s Calipari’s fault.

He told me he was going to say that. I said, go ahead, everybody else is throwing darts, you might as well be in there, too. If he watched the second half, I don’t think he would be saying it.

Question about D.J. Wagner’s continued improvement.

I mean, he had 18 (points) and 10 (assists). He had a double-double, two turnovers. And, you know, what I am saying to him, you know, he had that high ankle sprain and it kind of lingers. I’m telling him, and a guy like Tre, if I play you too many minutes, the next day don’t do as much in practice. We have a really smart team, a team that I really trust and believe in. They tell me they need a day off. They are not trying to not practice or get out of something. They are not. Trying to get themselves right. But... Offensively, we were really good.

Defensively, in the first half we were pretty good. Then the second half, with eight minutes to go, we were awful. And they kept coming. Every game I watched of Georgia, whether they were down or up, they play and continue to play and they don’t stop until the horn sounds. They just keep coming. So I congratulate them, too.

Question about Ivisic’s defensive impact.

Well, you know, he rebounded the ball, five rebounds. But, again, he is like the rest of us. The end of the game we turned it over, like, for no reason. Why didn’t you just look at the guy and throw it to him? He threw, what are you doing? This isn’t like — we’re not in the gym playing a pickup game and it doesn’t matter. I mean, you want to finish people off. And he made a pass, D.J. made a pass, Robert (Dillingham) made a pass. I mean... I’m just — you know, I look at it and sometimes I probably expect too much. And, you know, I want them to be at their best every moment and that’s not going to happen. We have got the youngest team in the country. I’m out there with 5 and 6 freshmen at times.

Zvonimir Ivisic has a Kentucky basketball debut to remember in runaway win over Georgia

Five things you need to know from No. 8 Kentucky’s 105-96 win over Georgia

Box score from No. 8 Kentucky basketball’s 105-96 SEC win over Georgia

First Scouting Report: At South Carolina, UK will seek to avenge an embarrassing loss