No. 1 Kentucky well aware of the dangers of South Carolina

LEXINGTON, Ky. – Generally speaking, South Carolina's Colonial Life Arena is not exactly a house of horrors for visiting teams. The Gamecocks' home record since 2009 is an ugly 17-28. But when it comes to Kentucky, the place can be a trap.

This year's top-ranked and undefeated Wildcats (18-0, 5-0 Southeastern Conference) would do well to heed recent history on Saturday afternoon when they face USC (12-5, 1-4), which already has a pair of upsets under its belt this season.

Kentucky was in a similar spot five years ago: 19-0, ranked No. 1 for the first time in seven years, President Barack Obama calling to brag on the Cats as they rolled into Columbia. Naturally, the Gamecocks broke a three-game losing streak with a stunning victory that sent fans streaming onto the court.

"It's always a hard game," coach John Calipari said. "I can remember 2010 going down there (and) we got outmuscled that game. They roughed us up."

Then last March, Kentucky saw its turbulent season – which started with a No. 1 ranking – flatline at South Carolina. The Wildcats, double-digit favorites against the 18-loss Gamecocks, trailed by as many as 16 points. Calipari got himself ejected, UK lost 72-67, fans stormed the court again and an eighth regular-season defeat sent the Cats plummeting out of the polls.

UK's coach bailed on his postgame press conference, where shooting guard Aaron Harrison famously vowed that the Cats would still write "a great story" and "make a run." What's happened since that day defies logic.

Kentucky has lost only three times in the 29 subsequent games – twice to Florida, a Final Four team in 2014, and in last year's NCAA championship game against Connecticut. Harrison authored that great story himself, hitting three consecutive clinching 3-pointers to get the Cats to the title game.

"He has ultimate belief in himself. That's how you have to be," twin Andrew Harrison said. "You can't listen to what other people say about you or it'll just mess you up. You just have to keep playing and have confidence in yourself. I think we all thought (what Aaron said at USC). I think we all knew we had enough talent."

That talent has carried Kentucky to 23 wins in its last 24 games. While the players might have, the Cats' coach couldn't see that coming. He wasn't exactly full of faith on the flight home from Columbia less than 11 months ago.

"I look back on last year and I'm amazed that we were able to pull it together," Calipari said. "How in the world did we swing it that fast? I mean, we stunk. Like, stunk. And then by two weeks later, we're playing out of our minds?"

Kentucky used last season's surprisingly strong finish – and the lessons learned in earlier struggles – as a springboard to what it hopes is a historic run this year. The Cats are two wins from being halfway to an almost unthinkable 40-0 record.

Stumbling blocks like South Carolina, which already has knocked off ninth-ranked Iowa State, are among the reasons no Division I team has run the table since Indiana in 1976. But thanks to last season, the Gamecocks have Kentucky's full attention.

"It was a horrible feeling. I just remember having that bad feeling when they rushed the court," Andrew Harrison said. "Don't get me wrong, they were a very good team last year, but we didn't play as well as we should've. And if we go down there and play like we did last year, we're going to lose again."

Because you don't just waltz into Colonial Life Arena – at least not if you're the Wildcats – and walk away with an easy victory. Fiery Frank Martin, who built a successful program at Kansas State before taking on this new challenge, is starting to transform South Carolina.

Kentucky isn't the only team that remembers last season.

"I think that gave our guys confidence," Martin said. "It gave our fans confidence. I think it's no surprise – we're fourth in the league in attendance – that our fans are buying into our players and our team. And hopefully it's something that we continue to build on."

Kyle Tucker can be reached at (502) 582-4361. Follow him on Twitter @KyleTucker_CJ.