Cal's Cats: Cousins is a Beast Edition!

Cats win 85-72 over #23 Vanderbilt. Kentucky improves to 20-1. Now tied with Vandy for first place, but if this was the end of the season we would get the 1 seed in the east since we beat Vandy. So in my mind that means we lead the SEC.

Doesn’t it feel good to get that sour taste out of your mouth? It seemed like forever since we played last and it was great to win today. It also doesn’t hurt seeing Duke get blown out, Louisville giving up a huge lead to fall as well and seeing Texas lose as well.

This was the fastest UK has gotten to 20 wins in its school history. That is an impressive feat. Wall and Cousins broke some freshman record. Wall broke the UK freshman record for most assist in a year and Cousins broke most double doubles by a freshman today as well. I will be surprised if any positive UK freshman records are not broken by those two by the end of the year.

This was also a big win for UK for national attention. UCONN lost today and they will fall out of the next top 25 poll. North Carolina already has. That being the case, if we had lost today there wouldn’t have been one single win on UK’s schedule over a current top 25 team. With Vandy’s big win at UT they will likely remain in the top 25.

History was on our side. No time in history has the team who was ranked number one lose five straight. KU lost, then Texas became number one and they lost two straight, then UK took over the spot and lost…four straight losses by the number one team but we kept the streak alive by not making it five.

UK will likely be third/fourth in the new poll unless Kansas loses tonight against Kansas St. If Kansas wins then: KU #1, Villanova #2, Syracuse #3, and UK #4. Syracuse barely beat a bad Depaul team today but they just blew out Georgetown and Georgetown blew out Duke today. That will likely trump UK’s big win over Vandy.

Some may argue all of those four have one loss, so why do we drop to the fourth spot? The tie goes to who has done the most lately. We were the latest lost so the polls typically drop you behind the rest.

Lebron James in the house today. Many of the UK players had Lebron James Nike shoes on today and this may have been part of his reason for being in the building. He is a UK fan thanks to his relationship with Cal. The Cavs also played at Indiana yesterday allowing his trip to Rupp today to be an easy one.

Teams many times get the day after games off, so it was all in all a good time to come for him. He was supposed to come earlier in the year, I believe it was the North Carolina game and it didn’t work out that he could make it.

C.J. Leslie was apparently there as well, several reports came out he would be in attendance, haven’t heard any talk on sittings as of yet but that is the word.

I would be surprised to hear a public verbal from him. The word is he has already committed to UK but wants to make it public via ESPNU. He was at both N.C. State’s games this week, so to me even if he has told Cal that, he isn’t committed or he would make it public and not allow other schools to recruit him like that…but that’s just my opinion.

The game was pretty much ours out of the gate, we did allow them to cut into the lead some in the second half but they remained down by double digits the entire second half.

The player of the game in my book was DeMarcus Cousins, yes he got in foul trouble including a technical but he is a monster. He ended with 21 pts, 6-10 from the field, 9-13 ft, 10 rebounds, 2 steals, 1 block and 1 assist.

A stat that doesn’t show up in the box score is how many times he scored and was fouled. This is big for your post players to finish when fouled because not only does it allow for a three point play instead of two free throws but it allows your bigs to not spend as much energy shooting free throws. Down the stretch the last thing you want is your post players too tired to be effective.

On top of that, Cousins ability to get their post players in foul trouble and keeping Oglivy on the bench was big. It was definitely a foul fest throughout.

Vandy fouled 29 times, UK 28 times for a total of 57 fouls. That is the most fouls called in a UK game this year. That wasn’t the most UK has been fouled this year, Louisville fouled us 30 times but we only fouled them 21 times for a 51 total fouls…six less fouls then in today’s game.

Cousins needs to get some love for player of the year. When national media mentions POY they only mention Wall for UK but if Cousins and Wall continue to play the same as they have so far in SEC play, I would give the nod to Cousins. Wall is amazing player and will be the first pick in the draft but Cousins may be a better college player.

His dominance inside is not being matched by any big in the country. He didn’t start off playing at the level of Wall but since SEC has started he has been dominate.

Dodson had the start today. He was given the official player of the game. Dodson claimed after the game Cal wanted him to start to stretch the defense out allowing it to be easier for the post players. He did well shooting 4-8 from three, with a total of 16 points.

UK hitting their threes was big, games where we are dominating inside and hitting our threes makes us one tough ticket.

For the most part everyone played at least decent today. Miller and Orton were the two exceptions in my opinion. Miller played only 8 minutes and did not score. He continues to have an on or off switch, either a solid game or a game where he does very little and Cal pulls him when he sees him playing like that.

Orton I can’t state how well he is doing on defense, there were times he missed his man and Vandy scored easily but defense overall is a tougher thing to truly have an opinion on but his offense is a liability. He went 0-2 from the field, 1-2 from the line with two turnovers. There was an alley oop to him and if Cousins would have missed that I would have been mad but with Orton he hasn’t shown that he has good enough hands to handle that.

Orton is likely our future at UK with Cousins being one and done. It is important for him to develop and be ready to take over when Cousins departs.

UK plays next at home against #20 Ole Miss. Ole Miss comes into Rupp Tuesday 16-4, 4-2 in the conference. Their two conference losses to UT in over time and Miss. St. They were suppose to play Arkansas today but it was postponed because of snow until tomorrow. This will allow UK to have more rest going into the game.

Cal’s thoughts after the game: When asked what he liked best about UK his response that got a cheer from the crowd was, “They won…that is what I liked best.” He is such a Wildcat…

Concerned how his team would respond after getting beat and they came out and took care of business.

Cal mentioned that Cousins made a mistake for getting the technical but also complimented him for not responding when he got elbowed in the face.

He called Cousins a beast and said if you look up beast in the dictionary you will see a picture of Cousins with those glasses on smiling.

He mentioned how dumb it was for some UK fans blaming Obama on the loss, there is a Facebook group out about that and that is just laughable and makes UK fans look illogical…if you support Cal and UK and are a member of that group leave. Cal mentioned that when Presidents calls you take that call, enough said.

Vandy only had 3 offensive rebounds; South Carolina not a great rebounding team had 20 offensive rebounds. Cal said it’s an effort thing and I would definitely agree with this.

Cal claimed he got out coaches and Cal should have called more timeouts during the South Carolina game because of how young we are and he put too much responsibility on the freshman to figure it out.

Cal didn’t know Lebron was in the crowd during the first half. He mentioned we are the only program wearing Lebron’s shoes.

This is a great recruiting tool by the way. Kobe and Lebron are the two biggest names in the NBA today and neither one prior to this season had a college who claim them as “their guy” because neither one went to college and neither one ran around claiming to be a huge fan of one single program. I’m sure Kobe has some love for California college programs but that doesn’t seem to be very public if he does.

Now that Lebron is on the UK bandwagon and shows up on ESPN wearing UK colors how many recruits out there are impressed by UK because their icon is a big fan? I’m guessing a bunch.

Cal mentioned Cousins leads for most points and rebounds per minute. His numbers of course down for the game because of his minutes on the bench in foul trouble.

It’s great to be a Cat! Go Big Blue!

Cats Close the Dore on Vandy: Bounce Back From First Defeat

DeMarcus Cousins posted his 12th double-double with 21 points and 10 rebounds as No. 1 Kentucky bounced back from an upset loss to South Carolina with a 85-72 win over No. 21 Vanderbilt on Saturday.

Darnell Dodson added 16 points in a rare start for the Wildcats (20-1, 5-1 Southeastern Conference), who played like the nation's top-ranked team for long stretches in front of special guest LeBron James.

Kentucky built an early 19-point lead then made it hold up while the NBA superstar, a friend of coach John Calipari, watched from courtside.

Jermaine Beal led the Commodores (16-4, 5-1) with 19 points, but Vanderbilt couldn't pull off its second road upset of the week in a physical, whistle-plagued game that featured 58 fouls and very little flow.

Calipari called Kentucky's loss to the Gamecocks on Tuesday a much-needed reality check, saying his team had gotten a little too full of itself after the best start in over four decades.

A phone call from president Barack Obama hours before the game didn't help, as the Wildcats were stunned in the second half.

Kentucky regained its focus against the Commodores, hardly bothered by the presence of James, who created a buzz when he made his entrance a few minutes in.

By then the Wildcats already had the lead thanks to Cousins. The freshman converted four three-point plays in the first eight minutes, destroying whatever defense Vanderbilt threw his way.

When the Commodores tried to double-team, Cousins would spin toward the baseline for an easy basket or throw the pass to an open teammate for a jumper - the latest facet in his quickly developing game.

And there were good looks aplenty for the Wildcats, who made 12 of 23 3-point attempts and dominated the boards, outrebounding Vanderbilt 41-22, leading to 20 second-chance points.

Kentucky's dominance in the lane helped make up for a less than spectacular performance from freshman star John Wall.

The point guard finished with 13 points, nine assists and seven turnovers in 34 minutes. He shot just 4 of 12 from the field as the Commodores did a fantastic job of keeping Kentucky out of transition. The Wildcats failed to score a fast break basket for the first time in memory.

Not that it mattered. Kentucky needed less than 10 minutes to build a double-digit lead and this time made it hold up, a sign of progress for a team that Calipari has consistently chastised for relaxing too much when it gets comfortably ahead.

Vanderbilt, which won on the road at No. 14 Tennessee on Wednesday, fell to 7-15 all-time against the No. 1 team. Nearly half of those losses have come at Rupp Arena.

The Wildcats will likely fall from the top spot when the new poll comes out Monday, but avoided a precipitous drop thanks to a balanced attack behind Cousins.

Dodson knocked down four 3-pointers in just his second start of the season, Eric Bledsoe added 13 points and seven rebounds and Patrick Patterson had 12 points and four boards for the Wildcats.

Kentucky led 49-34 at the break, but the Commodores collected themselves to keep things mildly interesting.

Vanderbilt's best chance to make a move came after Wall was called for an offensive foul with Kentucky leading 76-64 with about 5 minutes to go. The Commodores executed perfectly, but forward Jeffery Taylor missed a reverse dunk. Dodson came down and sank a 3-pointer to push Kentucky's advantage back to 79-64 with 3:57 to go.

The shot seemed to finally put an end to the seemingly endless parade to the free-throw line, as the whistles finally abated and James showed his appreciation by standing up and applauding while he made his way to the exits.

Around the UK Locker Room...

Coach John Calipari on the loss to South Carolina and preparing for Vanderbilt...

"The whole process has been learning for all of us, including me. I told them yesterday, after really sitting back and looking, I have to get more involved and call more timeouts. Stuff I haven't had to do in the past, or didn't choose to do because it was a veteran type of team. There were two or three situations I can't believe I let unfold. I'm putting way too much on John (Wall) and Patrick (Patterson). I'm saying to them that this should be on me. Let me get these guys playing right, because they are trying. We went down there and it looked like there was some anxiety from some guys. We talked about that a little bit. This team (Vanderbilt) reminds me of my UMass teams. Just a team of five guys, three guys off the bench, and they all know what their jobs are. They make shots and they are tough. They are not beating themselves. Kevin (Stallings) and I talked to day and I told him what a great job he is doing with that team.

"I hate to lose. I hate losing; I would have like to have won them all. But, what you do is prepare for it if it happens. I was prepared to do two things. One, tell them that was a win for me. We played well, they had the last shot. But, I couldn't use that. So, what happened was we got beat to everything. I don't want them to feel the responsibility of all of this. A lot of this has got to fall right to me. I want them to understand that, so it's less on them and more on me. I've probably done Patrick (Patterson) and John (Wall) a disservice by saying how good they are. All that does is put more pressure on them to perform every shot, every bounce. That's not fair. I don't know if I got intoxicated winning so much, if I lost my mind and got arrogant because they were playing so well. I got a little arrogant and said some stuff I don't need to say. So, hopefully we'll get back here and figure all of this out. But, we are playing a terrific team. The one thing I told them, now we are not going to be undefeated. It's about us getting better. Now, winning and losing shouldn't be as big a part of their mind.

"We want (Patrick Patterson) to demand the ball and we want him to score more. He'll be fine. They are not machines. John Wall played awful (against South Carolina). Until I watched the tape I didn't realize it. He did not run our team, broke off plays and stopped on defense. John Wall really hurt us. He had a breakout that he tried to dunk instead of get an and-one. We had a lob that he didn't come down with. He tried to shoot it from his hip. They are not machines. There are going to be five or six games a year we are going to play awful. (They'll be) so bad, you aren't going to believe it's the same guys. You hope it's against a team you can beat anyway. Sometimes it's not. Then, there is going to be five games, like the Arkansas game, that we are going to play so well. The other 20-25 games are in the middle. That's who you really are. We aren't as bad as we played. We held them to 34 percent, we did some good stuff. We are tougher than we played. We are more aggressive, we are a better offensive team and we are a better shooting team."

Cal on working with Patrick Patterson before practice...

"I do this at times with certain guys if I think guys are thinking too much, in a slump or anything like that. Whether it's shooting, trying to get them to do more or trying to be more specific in what I'm looking for in different areas of the court. I told him we are going to spend 30 minutes before every practice and get him out there early. A lot of times, when they start spending more time, they feel, `OK, I'm going to get through this.' This is in their minds. We have guys that do a five-minute shooting drill, make 68 shots, then go in the game and go 1-for-7."

On distractions before the loss to South Carolina...

"That environment was a ridiculous environment. We had a call from the President, so you are talking about distractions. John (Wall) had three busloads of people down there. Patrick (Patterson) had half of his town down there. All of the sudden, we had more distractions, an unbelievable environment and an inspired team with a guy that can make bad shots. We addressed it and hopefully we'll get better at it."

Cal on Vanderbilt...

"You can't worry about one guy; every guy that they have can shoot threes, can bounce the ball and pass the ball. It's like my UMass teams. Everybody is a basketball player and they are physically tough. You are not going to punk them. You aren't walking into the gym saying, `Let's throw an elbow and knock somebody down. Knock them out for introductions.' That's not happening. None of that stuff is working in this game. They are a veteran team and they are tough."

Cal on fan reaction to the loss...

"What I told them is 99.9 percent of people in this state absolutely love you. The other four wrote stuff on your website. So, why would you deal with that? Don't be mad at the 99.9 percent of people that absolutely adore what you do, how you are, how you perform, what you are doing for our state, university, and program. Take down your site if you can't deal with it. Don't have it up. Again, they reacted to some stuff. Every coach from Coach (Joe) Hall up told me there is one percent of people in this state that are absolutely out of their minds, you can't deal with them. The other 99 percent are beautiful, loving, great hearts. You can't let it bother you."

#3, Darnell Dodson, So., G
On what the team expects from Vanderbilt tomorrow...

"We expect them to come out and play a really tough and physical game, so we just have to come out and match their level of intensity."

On what the past few days have been like after UK suffering their first loss of the season...

"It was hard the first day, but we had a good practice yesterday and everybody is back focused on bouncing back and winning Saturday's game against Vanderbilt."

On if there is an amount of pressure that has been taken off this team by its loss on Tuesday...

"No. We are still a top five team and all of our opponents will continue to give us their best games. So we just have to keep playing and working hard in practice and stay focused."

#24, Eric Bledsoe, Fr., G
On the 24-hour rule after losing and if the team is past the loss...

"It was a tough one to take because everybody was rooting for us when we were winning, but since we lost, everyone has been downing us."

On if he thinks Coach Cal was looking forward to an opportunity like this to see how the team will respond...

"He was trying to see how we would respond after a loss, so I think it kind of helped us out. We were winning and trying to stay undefeated, but now it just seems like everyone thought it was the end of the world. And that is how it felt when we got back to Lexington."

On if he feels like the pressure has been taken off a little bit...

"Yes I think so, because everyone thought we were going to keep an undefeated record, but some people wanted us to lose. So the pressure is off of us now a little bit."

On what he sees in this Vanderbilt team...

"They are a pretty good team, they work hard. Their post players and guards, they never stop playing."

On what he thinks the team learned after the first loss...

"It was a team effort, and there is no one man bigger than the team. We have to come in and practice and work, just like we have been doing. Hopefully it will carry over."

On if he thinks the team played like a bunch of individuals, not a team...

"I think so. We needed some players to step up, but everybody has bad games, and does something they shouldn't be doing. But we are learning from it."

Cal talks Vandy game...

Off-Topic: Warner deserves the Hall of Fame

Unless you've been living under a rock for the past 24 hours, you know that Kurt Warner announced his retirement yesterday. All season long, there has been a great deal of discussion about whether or not Warner deserves to be in the Hall of Fame, and I think its silly that's there's even a debate about this. So, even though this is a UK blog, I wanted to take a brief moment to make the case for Warner, and then we'll move on to Vanderbilt.

Here's a list of Kurt's accomplishments. Take a look and then you make the call...

:: Three Super Bowl Games (1 Victory)
:: Four Pro-Bowls
:: Three MVPs
:: Has the highest completion percentage in a single game during the regular season, at 92.3 percent (24/26)
:: Has the second-highest completion percentage in NFL history (trailing only Chad Pennington), with a career percentage of 65.4%.
:: Highest completion percentage in a single game (regular season) - 92.3% (24/26) (9/20/09)
:: Most Yards Passing, Super Bowl (Game) - 414 yards vs. Tennessee Titans (only QB to pass for 400+ yards in the Super Bowl; also owns 2nd and 3rd highest yardage total in Super Bowl with 377 against the Pittsburgh Steelers and 365 against the New England Patriots).
:: Most Yards Passing, Super Bowl (Career) - 1,156
:: Most Yards Passing, Playoffs (Single Season) - 1,147 (in 2009).
Most touchdown passes in a single postseason - 11 (in 2009, tied w/Joe Montana, who did it in 1990).
:: Highest career completion percentage, Playoffs - 66.5%
:: Highest rate of games w/300+ yards passing (min. 100 games played) - 41.9% (52/124)[38]
:: Most Yards Passing in the first two games of a season (2000) - 827
:: Most Consecutive Games w/300+ Yards Passing - 6 (tied w/ Steve Young and Rich Gannon)
:: Most Games with a perfect Passer Rating, Career (regular season only) - 3 (tied w/Peyton Manning and Ben Roethlisberger)
:: Only NFL quarterback to throw 40 touchdowns and win a Super Bowl in the same season (1999).
:: Only quarterback to throw for over 14,000 yards with two different teams (St. Louis Rams, Arizona Cardinals)
:: One of only 2 players in NFL history to throw 100 touchdown passes with two different teams (Hall of Famer Fran Tarkenton is the other)
:: Tied Dan Marino as the fastest player to pass for 30,000 yards. He accomplished this in 114 games.
:: Tied Johnny Unitas with 4 consecutive games with a passer rating over 120 (against Brett Favre and the 10-1 Vikings on 12/6/2009)
:: Highest average passing yards per game on Monday Night Football - 329.4 (min 7 games)
:: Tied Daryle Lamonica with throwing 5 touchdown passes in two different playoff games.
:: Warner is the second quarterback to make Super Bowl starts with two different teams joining Craig Morton (1970 Dallas Cowboys and 1977 Denver Broncos).
:: He became the third quarterback in NFL history to win a conference championship with two different teams, following Craig Morton and Earl Morrall.

Kurt deserves to be in the Hall of Fame... period. Now that that's off my chest, we can move on.

Vanderbilt riding high on confidence...

Gomez here...

I don't know if everyone appreciates just how difficult tomorrow afternoon's game is going to be. Vanderbilt is 16-3 overall and at 5-0, remain the last undefeated team in the SEC. Their last game? Only a 9 point road victory over Tennessee in the Knox. To say their confident coming into Rupp is probably an understatement.

Maybe, just maybe, fate is on our side though... Vanderbilt has not beaten Kentucky and UT on the road in the same season since 1973-74. Meanwhile, the Commodores have never beaten both on the road in consecutive games.

Its kinda crazy how the tables have turned in only a few days. After Kentucky's absolute domination of Arkansas last Saturday, most people predicted a few easy upcoming games in the SEC. However, after Kentucky fell to South Carolina, and Vanderbilt won at Tennessee, all bets are off. Now, I'm not sure that anyone knows what to expect.

However, if the Cats are able to handle #21 Vanderbilt convincingly, it would go a long way towards proving that Kentucky is still a top team and that Tuesday's loss was a fluke. That should be motivation enough for the boys in blue to come ready to play and to play hard. I see little chance that they won't be focused and determined tomorrow. But one thing is certain, we'll know more about our team after tomorrow's game and what we can expect moving forward.

Use the comments section below to post your thoughts and predictions on tomorrow's big game. I'm saying Kentucky by 12, 87 to 75.

As always, we'll have lots more later...

Lady Cats still rolling...

Victoria Dunlap had 24 points and nine rebounds, leading Kentucky over 18th-ranked LSU 71-62 on Thursday night. The victory ended the Wildcats' 16-game losing streak against the Lady Tigers. Kentucky's last victory against LSU came in the 1999 SEC tournament.

Trailing by three points with 8 minutes remaining, the Wildcats scored 11 consecutive points. Amani Franklin's field goal started the run. Two free throws by A'dia Mathies gave Kentucky the lead at 58-57. Dunlap followed with a field goal and two foul shots. Mathies knocked down a 3-pointer to give the Wildcats a 65-57 advantage with 4:15 to go.

Crystal Riley scored a career-high 11 points and Amber Smith had 10 points for Kentucky (17-3, 5-2 SEC). Allison Hightower was the leading scorer for LSU (14-5, 3-4) with 23 points, but she missed 20 of her 30 field goal attempts.

48 Hours Later...

It's been almost 48 hours since our boys in blue suffered their first loss of the season, and if you're like most people I've talked to, you've had time to come down off the ledge and re-evaluate our position. Despite losing a game we should have won, Kentucky is still sitting pretty at 19-1 and has had an amazing start to the season.

Let me ask you something... last year, when we were suffering through the second installment of the failed Billy Clyde Experiment, would you have believed someone when they told you at this point next season, we'd be 19-1 and ranked #1? No, you wouldn't have, and I wouldn't have either. This has been an amazing turnaround for our program, and we don't need to act just plain silly after one tough loss.

Now a few Thursday night notes...

:: Since the defeat, Cal has remained positive, but he's also stepped up the intensity in practice. He's also giving a little tough love to his team, demanding his players quit making excuses and step up their energy and toughness (insert Billy Clyde joke here.)

:: Thankfully, the stink over a supposed punch thrown by DeMarcus Cousins to a receiving South Carolina fan has quickly blown over. No major media outlets said much about it, and the kid that claimed to have been hit has shut up. Consider this dodging a bullet.

:: Patrick Patterson is clearly frustrated, and not by his own play, but by the response of the Kentucky faithful after losing to South Carolina. Pat posted on Facebook that he doesn't want to receive any negative messages from Kentucky fans about their play or their love for the school. Let me go on the record as saying any such statements were made by the vocal minority and certainly do not represent the biggest part of basketball-loving-Kentuckians.

:: Rojon Rondo has been named an All-Star reserve for the upcoming NBA All Star weekend. The Boston Celtic point guard is having a phenomenal year, and he's certainly worthy of the honor. Congrats Rojon!

:: Former Cat Derek Jasper will miss the next five weeks due to a knee sprain. This is sad news for Derek, who's career has been plagued by injury from almost the word go. Here's hoping that he heals up in time for the end of the season tournaments.

:: Vanderbilt is Kentucky's next opponent, and it will be played Saturday night at Rupp Arena. This will be the second game to be carried by ESPN this week, and we're all hoping that Kentucky plays more like they did against the Hawgs and not a repeat of Tuesday's air-ball. I think Coach Cal and the Cats will come ready to play and will use the nationally televised game to remind everyone why they were voted #1 to begin with.

Well that's all for now. Be careful in the snow this weekend. We'll have more UK news and views tomorrow.

Déjà vu or just a glitch in the Matrix?

The last week of January, 2009 will live in infamy for many of us in Big Blue Nation. Let's just take a stroll down memory lane. Gillispie's Kentucky Wildcats were one of the hottest teams in the SEC and starting to gain some momentum heading into a tough stretch in their schedule. Coming off a tough road win at Alabama the Cats were 16-4 and 5-0 in the SEC. Then that fateful last week of January they headed to Ole Miss for a nationally televised game on Super Tuesday, meanwhile much of the state prepared for a major winter storm. Of course the Cats lost to the Rebels and Old Man Winter bared down on the bluegrass. That following Saturday, amidst the snow and ice, Kentucky had an opportunity to beat a game South Carolina team at Rupp to the right the ship. Of course we all know that the Cats lost that game too and thus began a tail spin of Biblical proportions. The Cats would go on to finish season 8-8 in the SEC and miss the NCAA tournament for the first time in 18 years.

Flash forward to the last week of January 2010...

The Cats are one of the hottest teams in the country heading into South Carolina for a Super Tuesday showdown. Of course we know Kentucky lost their first game of the season against the Gamecocks. Much like last season, the Cats will return home to play a hot team (Vandy, coming off an impressive win against Tennessee in Knoxville) this Saturday in Rupp Arena. A chance for the Cats to make things right and get a big win over a ranked opponent, meanwhile another major winter storm is forecasted to hit much of the state.

Shocking the similarities that each of these weeks have. Still, this team isn't last year's. Nor will Gillispie be the coach on the sideline Saturday. Saturday's game could prove to be one of the biggest games of the season. UK will have a big opportunity to put last night's horrid game behind them and move on with a greater sense of urgency and focus. Of course, if there is a glitch in the Matrix and last night's game was a precursor of things to come, then Saturday's game could prove to be the start of another tail spin.

My opinion? The Cats will rise to the occasion and play inspired basketball Saturday. Unlike last year's team, this team is just too good to spiral out of control. Cal has their ears now and I would be shocked if the Cats drop two in a row. Still, Vandy is capable of coming in and sticking another loss to the Cats. Maybe it's my blue tinted glasses I borrowed from Austin, but I just don't see it happening.

Hump Day Quick Clicks...

:: Rick Barnes, Bill Cosby call Cal after his first UK loss
:: Dana O'Neil reviews Pitino's all-star staff while at Kentucky

:: Memphis to appeal the NCAA's ruling on Friday

:: Gregg Doyel remains impressed by UK

:: Horin says DeMarcus Cousins is the best he's seen

:: There's plenty of lessons to be learned from loss

DeMarcus accused of punching fan...

There's stories floating around local network affiliates and Kentucky basketball blogs all reporting on the accusations out of South Carolina today that DeMarcus Cousins threw a punch at a South Carolina fan last night after the game. When the Gamecock fans were storming the court, apparently there was some sort of altercation between Cuz and the exuberant fan. We haven't been able to confirm or deny this, but since its becoming pretty widely discussed, we felt obligated to share it. Below is a video that supposedly shows the altercation up close, but good luck trying to figure out what happened, if anything, by watching this poor quality video...

We'll share any more details about this situation when (and if) they become available.

Got something to say?!

When we started this blog, we wanted to have interaction with our readers. By providing polls, comment sections, Facebook pages, and an open email address (bigbluenation@wk.net), we think we've done a pretty good job of opening up the lines of communications around here, if we do say so ourselves.

However, I've decided to add a new wrinkle to the process. Beginning tonight, all comments will require some sort of login before they'll be posted on the page. There will still be plenty of ways you can do this, with six different ways to login still available, including Google. By making this change, we'll be able to keep better track of who is saying what, and gives a better chance to build a better sense of community around here.

We hope that if you have something to say, you'll still feel free to share your two cents in the comments section, post on the Facebook wall or send us an email! We want to hear from you!

Michael D. Lee
The Big Blue Nation Report
Editor-in-Chief

The State of the Union...

Gomez here...

Last night, our Nation took it on the chin. Of course, I'm talking about Big Blue Nation's response to Kentucky's first loss, and not the United States of America's economic woes. Around water coolers and barber shops, the talk has been all about UK's tragic defeat to an unranked opponent that had lost three games in row coming into last night's contest. Forget the 19 game winning streak, the #1 ranking, or the freshmen phenoms; last night, everybody came floating back down to earth. But hey, earth is a good place to be, and coming to reality is better now than later.

I never thought we had a real chance to run the table and go the entire season with an undefeated record. Had we done that, we would have finished with a 40-0 record and as NCAA champions, and yes, that would have been nice. But the real goal is cutting down the nets in Indy, and not a perfect record. One is achievable, the other, nearly impossible, so let's be realists here. In other words, lets come back down to earth.

Looking at Kentucky's schedule, its not crazy to think the Wildcats have yet to face their toughest challenges of the season. Sure, wins over North Carolina, Louisville, and UConn looked good at the time, but what have those teams done since we beat them? Apart from UConn's upset of Texas, not much at all. The other two teams we've played against big conference competition, Stanford and Indiana, have a combined record of 19-19, and aren't what anyone would really consider quality wins. Matter of fact, as of right now, Kentucky's strength of schedule is a lowly 84th, and after last night's loss, we've dropped to 8th in the RPI rankings. We still have 5 games on the schedule against RPI top 30 teams, and that's not even counting the games at Mississippi State or Georgia. Yes, the idea of going undefeated was fool's gold, as we're most likely to lose two or three more in the SEC. Again, that's to be expected, and that's not a slap against our boys in blue either. The SEC is tough, and our team is young, and to think we could somehow navigate each game without eventually being upset was just plain silly.

But, on the bright side, Coach Calipari now has the attention of his team, and I believe they'll be more focused than ever to play to their potential. As our coach has pointed out, there were several games in the 19 game winning streak that we probably should have lost, and last night, our nine lives had already been spent. But now, the team can concentrate on what they're doing wrong and improve in those areas without the added pressure of being an undefeated #1 team. Finishing around the basket, getting Patterson involved, and half court defense were the things that jumped out at me last night, and I'm sure those are things Cal will be addressing in the coming days.

Don't get me wrong, I wanted Kentucky to win, and I'll never say we "need" a loss. However, a loss occurred and we have to look at what positives can result from that negative. We're still 19-1 overall and 4-1 in the SEC. We still have three lottery picks lacing up every night. And we still have one of the best coaches in the country. We've had a brilliant start to the season, and our future is still bright. Big Blue Nation shouldn't forget these facts because of one tough loss on the road against a better team than what most people think.

One more thing... Some want to blame President Obama, and say it was his jinx that brought on Kentucky's first loss, and while I certainly question the timing of his call (why not call on a day when the Cats aren't on the road and about to play a tough game), it was an honor and one that UK fans shouldn't brush away as a pestering gesture by our Commander in Chief.

South Carolina fined for court storming...

South Carolina's first victory over a No. 1 team will cost $25,000. The Southeastern Conference said Wednesday that South Carolina will be fined for violating league rules against permitting fans on the playing area following a 68-62 victory over top-ranked Kentucky on Tuesday night.

The league said this was South Carolina's second violation, which triggered the higher fine. The first violation also followed a victory over Kentucky on Feb. 15, 2005. Fans rushed the Colonial Life Arena court after the Gamecocks 73-61 win over then-No. 3 Kentucky. The athletic department was fined $5,000 by the league.

SEC commissioner Mike Slive said the policy is to keep a safe environment for those who participate and attend league events.

We're okay... really!

Today, I am feeling a bit like Frustrated Feline. My heart is heavy, and exhaustion has set in as a result of a sleepless night. Just kidding!

Alright, we’re down, but we’re not out. Luckily, I was captain of the cheerleading squad in high school, so this type of situation is sort of my specialty. I’m not worried though, because it is like I said in one of my previous columns, UK fans are loyal through good times and bad. This loss does not define who our team is in the world of basketball. It is how they deal with the loss that determines their character as a team. My heart tells me they will return to the court with an attitude of determination. What doesn’t kill you will only make you stronger!

During last night’s fiasco, I will have to admit that the actual loss was really not my biggest concern. You see, it seems as though the media has decided that our team consists of one player. John Wall, no doubt, has talent and has become a crowd favorite. However, each player on this team contributes in a particular way. Their strengths make up for another’s weaknesses. During the game, the commentators made several comments that sounded something like, “Can John Wall lead the Cats to a victory,” or “John Wall better get his team to do this or that.” I love John Wall as much as the next person, and there are several times throughout the season that his skills have amazed me. However, I am 100% certain that the team is always introduced on the court as the “Kentucky Wildcats,” not “John Wall and the Kentucky Wildcats.”

The very moment that this stops being a team effort, is the moment that the magic of this season will disappear. By no means am I assuming that these thoughts are John Wall’s, but I know that all the hype can eventually start to invade your mind. This team is very unique. Their chemistry has caught the eyes of millions across this country. They play with poise, grace, and unselfishness, and as long as we continue to play that way, we'll be fine.

We as Cats fans may feel wounded this morning. The cuts could possibly even be deep, but we still bleed BLUE! Just remember, that while being ranked number one was an unforgettable feeling and an accomplishment, it’s the last team standing in March that will never be forgotten. Get your game-face on and keep your eye on the prize, guys!

Love you…Go Big Blue!

Fancy
Feline

Feel Good Stuff

I won't say much about the loss last night. Other than it upset me more than I thought, and I've been walking around in a daze. I will say kudos to South Carolina; they just outworked us and their fans and players really showed up. Devin Downey is my favorite non-UK SEC player, and he showed why last night. He just willed his team to win, which he almost did against Florida too (I just wish we could flip flop the outcomes of his last 2 games).

But at least we have lost and can start noticing and fixing our problems. I thought since most people are a little down (although not out, since we are still 19-1, and seem angry and ready to prove this loss was a fluke of hubris), we should have a little pick me up this morning.

Here's a great feel good story I read via Orton's Twitter (@danielorton33 if you are interested). This really makes me like Orton even more. Also, some of his tweets there are pretty thoughtful and motivational and certainly worth your follow.

Now I'm trying this hyper link stuff so if it doesn't work just let me know...

Cal and Cuz after Loss...

Horn talks about his team's big upset win...

No We Can't..... Go Undefeated

Tonight, for the first time, our young squad pooped something other than ice cream. They pooped their pants. It was a comedy of errors, and a clinic on how to lose to an inferior opponent. Horrible rebounding? Check. Missed bunny layups? Check. One has to wonder if the weight of rising to the top of the polls, along with the nationwide attention following President Obama's glowing praise for our fund-raising efforts lead us to drink the poison. I don't buy into the crowd that might say Obama was to blame or a jinx (although just to be safe you might ignore that call next time Obama dials you up for a late night chat), but I can see an argument that it could have gone a little further to feeding our big blue egos.

This Kentucky team has looked at the opposing team all year like they didn't belong on the same court, and it finally caught up to them tonight. South Carolina had the kind of heart and determination you expect to see from experienced teams come March, and our talent wasn't enough to bail us out on this night. You have to wonder if tasting defeat was needed for this team to reach their potential. We can't expect teams to roll over and die, or to simply turn on the jets the last five minutes and still beat a game opponent like we have several times this year. That isn't going to happen six straight times in the tournament, and I would rather our team learn that lesson sooner than later.

Hopefully this loss will galvanize this team and cause them to re-evaluate their greatness. There are so many nuances this team can improve upon over the next 10+ games before March Madness to grow as a team. Our defense has improved leaps and bounds, but now we have to finish off that hard work and block somebody out. To get beat on the glass the way we did tonight simply can't happen, especially against a team as small as South Carolina. Hard to understand how that team got 16 offensive rebounds like they did tonight. If this game can serve as a wake up call for the rest of the year, we might all look back and be thankful for that bunch of Cocks that handed it to us tonight.

As good as we have been at times this year, this team has got a laundry list of things it can improve upon. We have got to do a better job of making each other better and setting each other up. We need our guards to help set up easy opportunities for our big guys, and for Cousins not to be such a black hole when he gets the ball. It is time for Patterson to take Cousins aside and let him know he better start dumping him the ball when the double team comes. That kind of selfish, or at the very least unintelligent play is going to keep us from being the team we can be if it isn't corrected. Both Wall and Bledsoe are great just how they are, but both get out of control more times than you would like. A lot of this comes from the break neck pace Cal wants them to play, but hopefully they can come to understand how to stay under control and make smarter decisions with the ball.

The Indianapolis Colts seem to be pretty smart. They thought better of taking the added pressure of being undefeated into the Playoffs, choosing rather to rest their players over chasing history. Considering our team was unable to handle two days of the burden of being #1, we are better off not carrying the burden of being unbeaten into March. Now Calipari should have the teams undivided attention. Cal can use the detractors words as motivation and give the team a reason to prove the world wrong. It was going to be tough for this team to believe they pooped anything but ice cream if they could just out-talent everybody at the end of games. As sweet as it would have been to take one of the last vestiges of Bobby Knight away from the consciousness of college basketball (Indiana was the last to have an undefeated season), a loss was probably needed for this team to get to that level.

I don't think this game needs to be some great signal for our demise like some might want to make it out to be. It was a hostile environment, and we missed a ton of shots that are almost always going to go down. It was a lot like the Madden game where nothing goes right which costs you your undefeated imaginary video game season. The signs were out there. I was nervous about this game when I saw Vegas had the line at 5.5. When the line seems to be low like that it always makes me nervous. In my opinion, Vegas wanted the action to be on UK for this game, because they liked South Carolina's chances. That coupled with Cats fans being way over-confident (my Facebook page was blowing up with people coming out of the woodworks about how we were about to hammer the Cocks) and Karma didn't really have any choice but to knock us down a notch. We were overdue for the Madden game where nothing goes right. Here is to hoping we can put the wake up call to good use and get back on track for a tough Vanderbilt squad on Saturday. We don't want to drop both of our games atop the polls ala Texas!

Cats vs. Gamecocks

Here's your gametime post... share your in-game thoughts in the comments section below!

Quick Clicks...

:: Cats get phone call from President Obama
:: Decourcy says its too early for UK fans to get over-excited
:: Parrish thinks undefeated season very unlikely for UK
:: Downey is ready for Wall and Kentucky
:: Three Cats projected in NBA Draft's top 10 picks

MORE LATER...

Cal on SportsCenter...

John Wall on USC's Downey...

Coach Cal on being #1

Survey Says...!

Gomez here...

We asked you guys if you thought the Cats would go undefeated in the SEC and here were the results...

NO - 46 votes (56%)
YES - 36 votes (44%)

Now, you might have noticed, we didn't give you guys an easy out by adding a third indifferent option like "Maybe" or "Not Sure." We kept it simple, and by doing so, forced our readers to pick one or the other. And the results were actually pretty close. While there is a few more of us that think they'll eventually lose a game or two in the SEC, there's still a pretty solid group that believe the Cats will enter tourney time with a 31-0 record.

If that were to happen, here's a list of the toughest games still on the schedule that Kentucky will have to win to achieve that impressive feat...

:: at South Carolina (01/26/10) - It starts tonight with a visit to the home of the Gamecocks. Sure, Carolina's record isn't impressive, and they've lost three in a row, but don't make a mistake about it, they'll be ready to play and I expect a tough game.

:: Ole Miss (02/02/10) - The Rebels are one of the only four SEC teams ranked nationally, and they're a solid team. Luckily, we play them at home this season, so that will help, but its still a tough game.

:: at Mississippi State (02/16/10) - The Bulldogs are a tough team to figure out. If they're playing at their best, Kentucky could easily get beat. However, if the Cats come ready to play and knock the Bulldogs in the mouth first (speaking figuratively, of course!), we could win this one easily. Again, it all depends on which Mississippi State team shows up.

:: at Vandy (02/20/10) - This game doesn't really need much of an explanation. Its Vandy on the road, and that's always tough. Period.

:: at Tennessee (02/27/10) - Tennessee is still trying to figure themselves out, but they've played better than anyone expected since Tyler Smith's exit from the team. And, they've already beat Kansas at home this season, the Jayhawks' only loss.

:: at Georgia (03/03/10) - The Bulldogs just keep getting better and better, and they proved that with a double-digit win over the Vols this past Saturday. When we hosted them in Rupp, they gave us all they wanted, and they'll be confident when we face off again. Expect a barn burner.

So there ya have it. We might go 31-0, but if we do, we'll have to win some very tough games before that can happen.

Leave your thoughts in the comments section below. More later...

Our Cats are Unstoppable...

Facebook Fun...

This is fake, but funny...

Just enjoying the ride...

Gomez here...

Man that looks good, doesn't it? I know the haters and the Debbie Downers are already screaming for UK fans to calm down, but I don't wanna hear that crap. We're enjoying the ride, as we've been instructed to do so by our coach, and this is certainly a nice stop along the way.

Sure, we'll probably lose a game or two (sorry Midge... I don't think we'll go undefeated), but for now, we're 19-0 and ranked #1 in the country. That is worth something folks, especially considering where we've been and how quickly we've rebounded from it.

The schedule gets more difficult and we'll be challenged with some very tough road games in the SEC, beginning tomorrow night at South Carolina. But for now, let's just bask in the glow from atop the standings and look down on all those that would love to trade places with us, if only they were given the chance.

Man, it's good to be Blue.

More of Bob Knight on UK (and others)...

Back on Top...

As expected, Kentucky moved up to the top spot in both major polls today, which leads me to a very simple question... What does a return to the number one ranking actually mean for Big Blue Nation? Well, some will say it doesn't mean very much; but sorry, I just don't believe that... not in Kentucky, where basketball isn't just everything, it's the only thing (Sorry Joker).

No, in Kentucky, it means a whole lot more than it does anywhere else. That's especially true right now, because for the past several seasons, UK hasn't been relevant in college basketball at all. Matter of fact, it was just last year that Kentucky finished a mediocre 8-8 in the SEC, missed the NCAA tournament for the first time in 18 years, and then took an early exit from the NIT. I can remember watching the final seconds tick off the clock in Kentucky's season ending loss to Notre Dame, wondering what the future held... would Clyde return, if not would the next coach fare any better, is Kentucky basketball as we knew it gone forever?

For most of us, something we enjoyed and cherished was being trashed and forsaken, and it was horrible to watch. Thankfully, Mitch pulled the trigger and sent Clyde packing, and then hired the best possible choice for the job, John Calipari. What Cal has done is simply remarkable. He has pulled Kentucky out of the mediocrity it was mired in and has resurrected it back to not only respectable status, but downright domination. Saturday's dismantling of Arkansas was a throw back to when Kentucky did this almost every game to every opponent, no matter when or where the contest was being played. It was also a glimpse of what is to come for Kentucky fans.

And now today, to see Kentucky with that "1" beside our team's name only solidifies what Big Blue Nation has felt all season long...

It feels really good being back on top.

Fancy's Monday Morning Thoughts...

Don’t you just love Monday mornings? The horrifying sound of your alarm signaling the start of another work-week, the whining children that stayed up too late the night before and do not wish to participate in morning routines, and the whaling and gnashing of teeth caused by our severe cases of road rage. However, this particular Monday morning, Big Blue Nation seemed to be a little different, maybe a smidgen more pleasant. The birds were singing, there was a brief moment of sunshine before the beautiful snowflakes, and our Wildcats are the #1 team in the country!!!

WOW! Our guys really put on a show Saturday! Coach Cal always says, “Play to win,” and they did just that. Every single player that stepped on that floor hustled... diving for balls, offensive rebounds, and an unbeatable defense. They wanted it so bad that they didn’t care if they even lost their teeth! They played with heart, they played with intensity, they played to win. Congratulations Cats!

Now, that I have addressed the obvious achievement of getting the “W” on Saturday, I want to move on to a bigger “W.” In my previous columns, I have rarely (or maybe not even at all) mentioned the man behind the players, Coach John Calipari. Coaches come and go, and are mainly there for one reason…to lead his team to victories. However, this guy is different. Undoubtedly, he enforces his philosophy “play to win,” but it seems he has made it his personal goal to exemplify how to win in life, as well.

Obviously, the game was thrilling to watch, but have you ever listened to the post-game show or The John Calipari Show? This man is taking his position to a whole new level. He seems to have made it his personal goal to teach life-lessons as well as basketball. During his post-game show Saturday, Tom Leach mentioned the score of the Georgia vs. Tennessee game, in which Tennessee lost, and those who had stayed behind at Rupp to listen applauded at the defeat of the Vols. Calipari somewhat scolded the crowd and insisted they not root against a rival team. He is convinced that this will in turn result in a loss for our beloved Cats. Also during the show, when the obvious fact of our Wildcats rising to the number one spot was mentioned, Calipari prepared fans. “I am just going to go ahead and prepare you that they will probably say we haven’t played anybody.” His requests were for no one to get angry and call-in, or blog about the misfortune, but take it all in stride and not worry about sour grapes. Basically, he was saying that it doesn’t change the fact that UK is going to be the #1 team in the country. I thought to myself, “What a classy guy!”

To confirm that thought, I was watching his show on Sunday with my husband, and it focused on Hoops for Haiti. The show begins with him surrounded by his team who all sported a blue t-shirt designed special for the fundraising event. He took this opportunity to teach his team that there is more to life than basketball, and at some point in your life, you have to start caring about other people and doing your part. You see, loving basketball is great, but loving people exceeds any other type of love you may experience in life. “You can use your fame for good, or you can use your fame for bad,” was a statement he made to the guys that echoed in my mind for the remainder of the weekend. These guys are so blessed to have this man who loves the game, but more importantly loves them. The goals he has set for himself and for his team far exceeds the game of basketball. While he is teaching skills, strategies, and fundamentals, to succeed in the game, he is also teaching respect, compassion, and responsibility for the game of life! Coach Calipari… truly a class act!

Love you…..Go Big Blue!

Fancy
Feline

Sunday Quick Clicks...

:: Pat Forde welcomes Kentucky back to the top spot
:: Wall has no choice but to enter the NBA draft this summer
:: Kentucky embraces the #1 ranking
:: Yesterday, UK showed why they're ready to be #1
:: Cal expecting to reload after this season

More later...

Cal's Cats: Can You Believe We Are #1??? Edition

-If you would have told me this time last year that in a year UK will be undefeated at 19-0 and North Carolina would be unranked I would have laughed in your face…but that is where we are at. Rankings will be coming out and that is what will occur thanks to North Carolina falling apart despite all their McDonald’s All-Americans, thanks to Texas losing two straight and thanks to UK dominating Arkansas yesterday.

-I was very excited about yesterday’s win not just because we knew if we won, we would be #1 for the first time since 2003. My excitement came from the fact that UK went out and ran them off the court with a final 101-70 score. This was the worst SEC loss for Arkansas since joining the SEC in 1991.

This is something that we knew they could do with all that talent but something we haven’t really seen against any SEC school.
UK has been knocked for playing down when faced with teams not as talented and having to play clutch at the end to win. The consensus is, if we continue to play that way, some team will be unstoppable at the end and will beat us.

The key for UK is to put teams away early like the Arkansas game went. Arkansas went on a little run in the second half and we missed shot after shot but the bottom line is…it didn’t matter. We already put them away and at that point it, we can afford for a team to get hot because the game is out of reach.

Yes Arkansas is not a great team and they looked awful yesterday, missing dunks and layups and could not rebound. Remember though, this team almost beat Texas. Part of them looking horrible is a testament to our defense to shut down guys like Clarke.

If you look at the rest of the schedule there is some tough games, UT twice, Vandy twice, Ole Miss, Miss. St., etc. We are better then all of these teams and if we lose any of those games it will be an upset.

Will we lose? More than likely yes, anytime you hear an ESPN say that we will, don’t boo them because you know deep down you think so as well. If there is any chance of us going undefeated then UK will need to play with the intensity they brought Saturday.

Do we need to lose to have a better chance in the NCAA tourney? Most seem to buy into this but unless the team is practicing with an arrogance and don’t believe they have much to learn then yes we need to lose but if Cal is able to keep them humble and desiring to be better and better than no we don’t need to lose.

An interesting stat to keep in mind though, Cal has taken two different programs undefeated to the final four: UMASS and Memphis and neither team came home with the title…but the question is would they have if they had lost in the season? Who knows…

Cal has been aware of this problem of not playing for 40 minutes and told them in practice that when they play like that, they are going to practice as if they lost. This means a meaner Cal and longer practices. UK came motivated Saturday, was it because of the tough practices, having a week off, or being number 1? That isn’t clear but whatever motivation they had, if they can continue playing with full intensity, we should all have big smiles on our faces because it’s going to be fun down the stretch.

We play at South Carolina Tuesday at 9 eastern on ESPN. South Carolina comes in 11-8, 2-3 in the SEC. South Carolina was expected preseason to possibly be a dark horse in the SEC. Then they lost two of their starters to some injuries and off court issues and expectations went down.
They still have Devan Downey who is averaging 21.9 ppg. We all have seen in the past how good of a player he is and it is at South Carolina. South Carolina is a tough place to play, their fans are like us very passionate about their team and usually have some personal attacking chants directed at our players and coaches.

We can only hope UK will feed off this but like Florida, South Carolina’s home court typically takes an average team and makes every game a battle. We will need to take South Carolina out early and take the crowd out of it.

All of South Carolina’s non conference loses were away, which means they were undefeated at home in the non-conference (7-0). Now granted they didn’t play a slew of talent at home. Non conference they played only one ranked team and that was a loss to Clemson on the road. In the SEC they haven’t faced the top talent either, so hopefully they will not be prepared for the talent UK will bring.

It took a last second shot by Florida’s Parson to take down South Carolina, so you would expect them to come in angry wanting to “bounce back” from that (Downey you can pick up Coach Cal’s book on this at your local book store, please do not read until after Tuesday though…thanks).

Bottom line we should win but we should win all of the SEC games but that doesn’t mean we will…so we will see if UK comes to play or if they will come in over confident being ranked #1 for the first time.

Many of you remember South Carolina blowing us out at South Carolina last year and hopefully guys like Patterson, Miller, Stevenson, Harris, and Harrelson let the rest of the team know how bad they want revenge on Downey and company.

I’m predicting a 15 point win, 80-65.

-In recruiting, I’m hearing good things about Leslie but it sounds like he may not want to make anything public until he announces on ESPNU. ESPN is pushing big recruits to announce via the U to help boost this station. Guys like Irving, Harris, Payne and our commit Poole have all went the ESPNU route of announcing their decision. Leslie seems to want to do the same thing and there is no current word on when he will make it official.

It’s great to be #1! Go Cats!

Today around the SEC...

Kentucky and Arkansas wasn't the only game in the SEC today, just the only one most of us had a close eye on. We'll take a few minutes out of our busy Saturday night to review a day in the SEC which had a little of everything: a big upset, a buzzer beater, outstanding performances, and lots more. Let's take a closer look...

:: The fighting Pearls of Tennessee might finally be crashing down to earth. They got beat handily in Athens today, falling to the Bulldogs 78-63. To be honest, the game was never really in doubt, as Georgia jumped to an early lead and maintained it throughout, coming away with what is a pretty big upset on paper. However, maybe the biggest news from this game was the continued emergence of Georgia guard, Travis Leslie. He had 19 and 9 rebounds for the Bulldogs. His stellar play has been a main key to Georgia's consistently improving play.

:: Mississippi State went into Alabama and lost their first conference game today. The Bulldogs continue to be a mystery team since no one knows which Mississippi State squad is going to get off the bus. Today, State guard Dee Bost really struggled, turning the ball over 5 time to only 2 assists, while shootings an icy cold 3 of 13. Meanwhile, Mikhail Torrance of Alabama had a beastful game: 20 points, 5 assists, 4 rebounds and a steal. It was a big win for Bama for sure, as their new coach continues to rebuild the Crimson Tide program.

:: Vandy took care of Auburn at home today, and advanced their conference record to 4-0 for the first time in nearly 5o years. Vanderbilt has been playing solid basketball as of late, so Kentucky can expect tough game next Saturday when the Dores come to town. An even tougher task awaits later in the season when Kentucky visits Nashville on February 20th.

:: In a thrilling finish, Florida held on to beat South Carolina 58-56 in Gainesville. Chandler Parsons nailed a 3-pointer with one second to go, after Devan Downey had just hit a lay up to give South Carolina a one point lead with only 5 seconds remaining. Both teams played extremely hard and it was fun game to watch. Downey continued his awesome scoring, tossing in 36 points in the losing effort. We'll have a tough test trying to contain him on Tuesday night.

:: Ole Miss kept their national ranking in check by traveling to Baton Rouge and defeating the Tigers of LSU. Andy's Dandies (sorry for that, it popped in my mind, and I felt obligated to write it) improved to an overall record of 15-4 overall and 3-2 in the SEC. The Rebs visit Lexington on Tuesday, February 2nd.

More later...

Cats dominate Hawgs in Lexington

Kentucky played their most complete game today, absolutely blistering the Razorbacks with a final score of 101-70, and it wasn't even really that close. The game was never in doubt. Kentucky used smoking hot shooting to put their opponents away early, and unlike other games this season, were able to keep their foot on the gas and run over the other team. The score at halftime was 57-27.

One of the biggest reasons Kentucky was able to dominate today was their defense. They absolutely put the Razorbacks on lock down. Rotnei Clarke finished with only 13 points and was only 2 for 9 from three point range. The entire Razorback team only shot the ball 30% overall and were a dismal 18% from 3 point range.

On the other side of the ball, the Cats were lead by Darius Miller's 18 points, while Cousins and Wall added 16 points a piece. Eric Bledsoe had 10, and Patrick Patterson pitched in 9. But all the Cats had something to offer with 11 of the 12 players scoring at least 3 points each. Mark Krebs was the only Kentucky player that failed to score.

With today's victory, the Cats are now ready to ascend to the number one ranking in all of the land, and today, they certainly looked like the best team in the country. We'll have more on this game, and the fall out from it, later tonight, but for now, lets just enjoy this awesome victory.

GO BIG BLUE!!!

I Can't Complain....Literally

I'm back, with a vengeance. I want to promise my loyal reader(s) that I have at least 2 good articles brewing, but am having trouble finding time to write them. I have to get caught up on Mad Men and 24 and its hard to write these in class, not because I'm paying attention, but because I'm checking out recruiting news, other great stuff on the BBNR, or playing Sporcle quizzes.

But I wanted to write today about the inability to complain about this team.

See I'm the kind of guy that loves to complain, loves to point out weaknesses. Not because I'm a Debbie Downer (Waaaa Whaaaa!) but because I never want to jinx anything. I never want to get my hopes up too high just to get them dashed. I will never say, well we are winning that game. I'm never comfortable with a lead until its mathematically impossible for us to lose it. It's just the way I'm wired. Same reason I'll never believe I got an A in a class until I see the grade (also, I don't get A's in classes...only because I'm trying to entertain all you readers, not because I'm lazy and am trying to make the Cubs win the World Series on MVP 2004 for the Playstation 2 and go undefeated by playing every single game).

I just always feel better with a chink in the armor, something we need to work on. It's the same reason the debate rages for undefeated teams on if they need to lose a game before the tournament. If you check out Bill Simmons Book of Basketball, which is 700 pages and I read it cover to cover in about 3 weeks (TAKE THAT Law School books that I still haven't opened this semester). He talks about all the greatest teams in NBA history (96 Chicago Bulls, 87 Lakers, 86 Celtics, etc.) all had to have an excruciating loss the previous year to harden and dedicate them to become the amazing team they did. Well about half our team has never lost a game in college. Besides Patterson, Harris, Miller, and Stevenson nobody playing any major minutes has gone through the terrible embarrassment of missing the NCAA for the NIT last year.

But this team, no matter what they have done, remains perfect in the Win-Loss Column (the most important column, narrowly edging out my column for the BBNR, and the column of meats and cheeses I put on my famous One foot high victory sandwich "The Heart Clogger"). So we have literally nothing to complain about.

Sure we can be bothered about lack of consistent outside shooting, Cousins' attitude when he gets frustrated, our uncanny ability to make other teams shoot 3's like they are on fire in NBA Jam, or our inability to put teams away, letting many comeback after we build up big leads. But so far Nothing we have done has hurt us. We've had many close calls, some against inferior teams in terms of talent. But right now we are sitting at 18-0 and have the opportunity to take back the number 1 ranking that we haven't seen since 2003. I mean last year we were unranked and missed the tournament, this year we are the team that gets talked about playing the worst NBA team to see if it would actually be a close game (one of my favorite nonsense arguments sportscasters make, but you know what, why not. We have 3-4 possible lottery picks in this draft and another 2 for next years and have 15 more wins than the Nets, bring them on).

After the last few years we should be happy just being competitive but THIS?!?! They have exceeded every single expectation so far. Cal can say we are really 10-8, a thing I actually like because it might keep the players from getting caught up in the hype, but we are undefeated and all the players are showing tons of swagger and no nervousness to finish off a team in the end.

This inability to complain actually worries me. I have drank the Kool-Aid (I hope that reference doesn't cause a huge pitcher of red drink to smash through my wall). I want the undefeated season. I'm in with John Wall. I'm being realistic, I know we have lots of weak points but its attainable at least. So now I watch every game with a sense of urgency. There is no comfort of a problem we need to fix so we can say well that's why we could lose (because again, none of our problems have hurt us enough for a loss).

Of course with my luck this post will be a huge jinx and we blow the game. After all WAY too many people are already putting UK at number 1, they have been since Texas lost. I hate when everybody thinks one thing will happen because it rarely does. (Same reason I hate everyone for picking the Cowboys for the Super Bowl guaranteeing them a loss in the Playoffs). Plus Pelphrey is a good coach and Arkansas is a tough team, and if anybody can help break through the Rupp Mystic its a guy that played there right? We also rank at 248 in 3 point field goal defense nationally. Just behind that team of 80 year olds at the YMCA that NEVER miss free throws and just ahead of a college inter-mural team of fat guys that show up for games only half sober. Which seems like a big deal when Rotnei Clarke shoots about 50% from 3 and already has a game this year where he went off 13-17 from 3 and dropped in 51 points. (did that stat just give you shivers, my eyes bulged out when I saw it) I am TERRIFIED of that guy.

But until the other shoe drops I just won't be able to complain about this team. I'll get nervous, worried, turn my fingernails into fingernubs, but from where I'm sitting there's just no reason to complain. (at least not yet).


Let us know what you think in the comments section. About the Arkansas game, UK on the verge of a possible number 1 ranking and how that could effect our play, about how surreal it is to be where we are now compared to the past few years, or just how bad my articles are.