may command too high a price to stick around

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Lexington, KY - Devin Booker and Willie Cauley-Stein each scored 15 points as top-ranked Kentucky remained undefeated with an 84-70 victory over No. 21 North Carolina. Aaron Harrison added 14 points and the Wildcats shot 56.3 percent from the floor in a performance far more impressive then Wednesdays lethargic 10-point home win over heavy underdog Columbia. There are times I watch this team and I go, wow!, said Wildcats head coach John Calipari. And then there are other times Im like, what in the world? Kentucky (11-0) also asserted itself on the defensive end, forcing 18 Tar Heel turnovers that it converted into 24 points, and was never seriously threatened for the majority of this high-profile battle of basketball blue bloods. If we can play this way against top teams in the country, we should be playing like that all the time, Cauley-Stein said. Brice Johnson led North Carolina (6-3) with 15 points, though most of that total came the games early stages. Marcus Paige finished with 14 points in the loss. The Tar Heels entered Saturdays showdown fifth nationally in field goal percentage defense, but Kentucky scored at will all throughout a fast-paced first half to build a commanding 49-34 lead at the break. Johnson kept the Tar Heels in it early on by tallying 12 points on 6-on-7 shooting over the games first 12 1/2 minutes, including four during an 11-3 run that brought UNC within 22-19 with 11:29 left in the opening period. However, he picked up his second foul with just over eight minutes to go in the frame and went to the bench shortly thereafter, and Kentucky dominated the remainder of the half. The Wildcats outscored UNC 15-7 during the final 6 1/2 minutes of the stanza, highlighted by three straight treys from Harrison that accounted for Kentuckys 15-point advantage at intermission. Kentucky went 6-for-12 as a team from 3-point range over the initial 20 minutes, while making 13-of-17 free throws as well with several Tar Heel players saddled with foul trouble. I told John (Calipari) before the game, we can cure a lot of peoples 3-point woes, North Carolina head coach Roy Williams said. We tried to play a little bit of zone early and we havent played any zone this year. We didnt do a good enough job in the zone. We didnt get there and guard them. The Wildcats maintained a double-digit lead until an 11-2 UNC run, capped by Theo Pinsons 3-pointer with 10:22 remaining, cut the margin to 66-57. It was a 70-60 game after Paige knocked down a trey with 8:08 to go, but the Tar Heels went more than four minutes without a basket as Kentucky pulled away. Andrew Harrison fed Marcus Lee for an emphatic dunk on the ensuing possession, and Cauley-Stein threw down two slams shortly afterward as part of a 10-2 stretch that gave the Wildcats an 80-62 cushion with four minutes left. Game Notes The game featured two of the three winningest programs in Division I history, with Kentuckys 2,150 victories the most all-time and Carolina third with 2,120 ... Freshman Trey Lyles made his first career start for Kentucky in place of Alex Poythress, who tore his ACL in practice on Thursday ... Booker returned after sitting out the Columbia game with a sore knee. Teammate Tyler Ulis also played after missing the Wildcats last two outings due to illness and dished out a career-best eight assists... North Carolina shot 53.6 percent in the first half but went just 12-of-32 (37.5 percent) from the field in the second. PITTSBURGH, Pa. - Sidney Crosby understands the price of disappointment. And while others — namely Pittsburgh Penguins coach Dan Bylsma — will likely face the consequences following another early playoff exit, the NHLs brightest star isnt shirking his share of the blame. The way Crosby sees it, Pittsburghs failings lie with the guys who pull the sweaters over their heads. "At the end of the day we feel responsible," Crosby said Thursday. "We are the guys that go out there and want to perform and want to win and we have that expectation." Ones that werent met for a fifth straight spring after the Penguins frittered a 3-1 series lead in an eventual seven-game loss to the New York Rangers in the Eastern Conference semifinals. A half-decade after hoisting the Stanley Cup in Detroit at age 21, Crosby and the franchise he represents are still searching for a bookend. "Its difficult to win and I dont think theres been any lack of effort from players, coaches, anybody in the conversation," Crosby said. "I dont think its been a lack of trying." There has, however, been a lack of doing. The Penguins have been a marvel during the regular season under Bylsma, who is 252-117-32 since taking over for Michel Therrien in the late stages of the 2008-09 season. Yet all those regular-season triumphs havent prevented Pittsburgh from being knocked out of the playoffs by a lower-seeded team five straight times. Pressed on what needs to change, Crosby didnt point to the coaching staff but instead a shift in mindset, particularly when the post-season begins. "Maybe we need to adjust the way we play a little bit better and play more physical," Crosby said. Its a challenge the Penguins have faced relentlessly during the Crosby era. The leagues leading scorer and likely MVP scored just once in 13 playoff games — a career low — and spent plenty a month on the receiving end of punishment from Columbus centre Brandon Dubinsky and New York defenceman Marc Staal. Crosby insists he wasnt rattled, even if at one point in Game 6 against the Rangers he found himself on the bottom of a dog pile with New York goaltender Henrik Lundqvist squirting him with a water bottle. Not exactly the best position to ward off a comeback. "Im not saying I cant be better," Crosby said.dddddddddddd "I dont think my focus was lost. ... You can go back to the years we won and youre not going to see anything different but we won and thats a big thing." And it will be the focus going forward regardless of who is in the front office or behind the bench. While Crosby and Evgeni Malkin will have their numbers hanging in the dressing room when the club reconvenes in September, there could be plenty of new ones hanging alongside them. Forward Jussi Jokinen — whose seven playoff goals led the Penguins — is an unrestricted free agent. So is Lee Stempniak, who never quite meshed with Crosby after being brought in near the trading deadline. Defenceman Brooks Orpik, the teams longest tenured player, may be done in Pittsburgh after 11 seasons. Matt Niskanen, arguably the teams best defenceman all season, will hit the open market and may command too high a price to stick around. Then theres goalie Marc-Andre Fleury, who played steadily throughout the playoffs but knows he could be expendable with one year left on his current deal. "I really hope I stay," Fleury said. "Its my team here. Its where I want to play." Its a sentiment echoed throughout the locker room. For all the misery that accompanied the stunning fall against New York, Pittsburghs talented core remains in the midst of their primes. Crosby is 26. Malkin is 27. So is defenceman Kris Letang. Fleury is still months away from turning 30 and bounced back from a miserable 2013 post-season by holding the Rangers to just 15 goals in seven games. "I dont know if theres many problems," forward Brandon Sutter said. "I think its more little things that arent really huge. Maybe fresh ideas can change that. I dont think theres much that needs to be fixed, maybe a few things shaken up. Theres a few different ways. It doesnt necessarily mean anyone has to leave." In theory, perhaps. The Penguins know they are constructed to raise championship banners, not flame out in the post-season. Yet it keeps happening. "Expectations are high," Crosby said. "If you dont deliver you have to own up to that as players and as an organization. We all understand that. Well see what happens from here." Cheap NFL Gear Wholesale Authentic Jerseys NFL Jerseys Wholesale Cheap NFL Jerseys China NFL Jerseys Cheap Black China NFL Jerseys Wholesale Jerseys 2020 ' ' '