On the Wildcats’ way to a 21-1 record this season, they’ve had just about everything thrown at them.

Teams have tried to bombard them with 3-point shooting, a slower tempo, and even tried to run and gun with them (see Arkansas). Somewhere along the way, the new blueprint became physical play.

Push the Cats, they thought, and they won’t push back. It’s had varying degrees of success.

Starting with the South Carolina and Tennessee games, teams decided to, instead of shying away from Kentucky’s bigs, take it right at them. It didn’t quite work in the game against the Gamecocks, but the Volunteers hung around with the Cats for most of the game with physical play and “had (Kentucky) beat,” according to John Calipari.

Coincidentally, just as the No. 1 Cats (21-1, 7-0 Southeastern Conference) have begun to figure out how to play through the physicality, the two teams that jumpstarted the style of play will face UK in a pair of rematches this week. Kentucky hosts Tennessee on Tuesday at 7 p.m. on ESPNU before heading to Columbia, S.C., on Saturday to face South Carolina.

The turnaround in toughness has started with sophomore forward Terrence Jones, who scored a season-high 27 points and grabbed nine rebounds in the win at LSU.

“Terrence played differently down at Louisiana and that’s why we had some toughness,” Coach Cal said. “Michael (Kidd-Gilchrist) is not going to change how he plays. He does what he does. Terrence has to give us that physical presence. If he gives us the physical presence, the other guys can do what they do.”

Jones was an aggressor in the 74-50 rout in Baton Rouge, La. He initiated contact and played through bumps on his way to his best game of the season.

“If Terrence is going to show up and play like that, they need to crown (UK) right now,” LSU coach Trent Johnson said.

The Tigers grabbed, hacked and fouled Kentucky all afternoon, but it only seemed to strengthen the resolve of the players.

“We were all happy in that locker room,” Calipari said. “The team was ecstatic. And it wasn’t scoring. (Jones) was tough. He came up with balls. He posted physically strong. Even though the guy battled him, he battled back. The four jumps for a ball, we haven’t seen that all year. Well, that’s now what we’re all looking for. Everybody will be saying if he’s capable of doing that, let’s do it every game.”

Calipari noted that it’s difficult to repeat that type of play every time out because his kids are “not machines,” but UK needs Jones to be the enforcer to allow everyone else to do what they do well.

“To do it will wear you out,” Calipari said. “Running around like I do on the treadmill, that’s one thing. You go outside and play basketball and get bumped and grind and you go home and all of a sudden you hurt twice (as much). You had muscles you didn’t know you had hurt.”

Calipari has been pleading with his team for three weeks to get more physical because that’s what he believes the rest of the country is tabbing at this team’s kryptonite. It’s the same thing type of chink in the armor Calipari noted two years ago when he said the only thing that could hold the 2009-10 team back was missing shots.

Sure enough, they went 4 for 32 from 3 against West Virginia in the Elite Eight.

“If you can negate that (physical play), which I’ve been saying for three weeks, you’ve got a chance,” Calipari said.

While Calipari would like to see his players develop a little more fight, he would also like for the officials to take a little better control of the game. Malcolm White’s intentional takedown of Anthony Davis on Saturday was the byproduct of earlier contact that wasn’t called and therefore allowed to develop, Coach Cal said.

“My whole point is, if you don’t call rough play, that’s what it goes to,” Calipari said. “You’ve got to call rough play. … If that’s all let go, it leads to grabbing, ‘Well, I’m allowed to smash this guy in the face,’ because that’s how the game is going. That’s why I say, call the game the way it should be officiated and there’s no issues.”

In addition to the horse collar-like takedown of Davis, which warranted an immediate ejection for White, Calipari noted that Davis was also “whacked” in the face. Earlier in the game he suffered a right shoulder contusion during a loose-ball scramble, and he was also tripped on a drive to the basket late in the contest.

Calipari would like officials to be more aware of pushing for position. He said players have a right to lean on each other, but it’s a foul the second you start moving someone out of the way.

“When Naismith invented the game it was a foul and it’s a foul today,” Calipari said.

The Cats are expecting Tennessee to initiate contact in the rematch, similar to what his team saw in Knoxville, Tenn.

“They play extremely hard and physical, maybe more physical than some of the past Tennessee teams,” senior Darius Miller said. “They have a lot of guys who are strong and they use their body really well, so we’re going to have to come out and do a good job and be prepared for that. We’ve been doing better playing against physical teams, so hopefully we negate that tomorrow like Coach has been talking about.”

Forward Jeronne Maymon is as physical as any player in the SEC, and former UK recruit Jarnell Stokes has added another dimension in the paint since making his debut against Kentucky a few weeks ago. He’s averaging 10.6 points and 8.0 rebounds in five games.

“The best thing for our team is all this happening,” Coach Cal said. “It’s going to be just as physical Tuesday, and it’s good for us.”

Michael Kidd-Gilchrist models the Nike Hyper Elite Platinum uniforms Kentucky will wear Tuesday against Tennessee. (photo by Britney McIntosh, UK Athletics)

Cats going platinum

UK will wear its hotly debated, much anticipated Nike Hyper Elite Platinum uniforms on Tuesday against Tennessee. The Cats were one of nine schools selected to wear Nike’s platinum uniforms.

“I think we’re all excited to wear them,” Miller said. “They’re pretty nice uniforms and to be able to get something special like this, it feels good to be a part of something like that.”

The shorts are made from 100 percent recycled polyester while the jersey fabric is made from at least 96 percent recycled polyester. Both short and jersey were tailored for the optimal efficiency of movement and are five percent lighter than the previous Nike Hyper Elite uniform.

To get his team comfortable in the new uniforms, Calipari had the players wear them during practice Tuesday.

For more on the alternate uniforms, click here.