Friday Morning Notes...

Gomez here...

Its Friday again, and I'm pretty happy about that. But we have lots to talk about, so lets dive in...

:: Kentucky reminded South Carolina who's the boss (Tony and Angela were not in attendance, but Magic and Big Ben were) by putting a beat down on the Gamecocks, 82-61. To be honest, and fair I guess, I have to admit the final margin of victory didn't really point to how competitive most of the game was. However, a late 13-0 spurt put them away, and gave us the blow-out victory we all wanted over South Carolina.

:: The Player of the Game was Patrick Patterson, who had 23 points, 8 rebounds, 4 blocks and 2 steals. We've all been waiting on the real Patrick Patterson to show up, and I think he finally has folks. He's established himself as the meat and potatoes of this team. We're certainly a more dangerous team with him playing this way, so let's hope he keeps this up.

:: There's an interesting competition brewing for that fifth spot in the rotation. While Darius Miller, Darnall Dodson and DeAndre Liggins have all been fighting for that block of playing time, Liggins had somewhat emerged as the guy to come off the bench with a spark and play the majority of the playing time at that position. However, Miller made his case for playing time last night, finishing with 7 points, 8 rebounds and 2 blocks. Liggins had another solid game, but also spent a great deal of time on the bench watching Miller. Meanwhile, Dodson was only played sparingly. It'll be interesting to see how this shakes out, but it was great seeing Miller perform at a higher level.

:: ESPN's Jimmy "Violent Cuts" Dykes said Kentucky's 3 point shooting might keep them from winning an 8th national championship, and as much as I hate to admit it, he could be right. Kentucky has yet to see a 3 point shooter emerge and remain consistent. While Patterson and Liggins have shot the ball well from beyond the arc, they're not in the position to shoot that many. Meanwhile, Wall, Bledsoe, Miller and Dodson have all gone very cold from long range. Case in point, that bunch was only 1 for 8 last night from 3 point land. No sense in daydreaming about how unbelievable this team would be with Jodie Meeks, but seeing these three point shots brick off towards the rafters on a consistent basis, you can't help but wonder.

:: The Cats have a quick turnaround now and must be ready to play Tennessee on Saturday afternoon. Playing the late game on Thursday followed by the early game on Saturday might actually help the young Cats get ready for the upcoming tournaments, but I sorta think our boys might come out flat on Saturday. Let's hope I'm wrong. The Lady Cats got beat last night at Tennessee, so lets hope that's not some type of premonition of what's to come.

Well, that's all for now, check back later for the goods.