Thursday Morning News and Views...

I know it sounds like I'm beating a dead horse here, but I'm really excited about the turnaround in Fayetteville, AK. The reason for my excitement is that I, like most life-long UK fans, am a huge fan of John Pelphrey. As a member of the "Unforgettables," John was one of my favorite players when I was in high school, when Kentucky was the phoenix rising from the ashes of probation during the early years of the Pitino era. His hustle and grit were big reasons why the Wildcats were able to go from worst to first in the SEC, in what would be such a quick and astonishing turn around.

Since his playing career was ended by the infamous shot by the one who's name should not be named, I've followed his coaching career closely, all the way to his current stop in Arkansas. I think he's a good coach and a great guy, and he deserves every chance to rebuild the Razorback program; but after a very rough start to the season, it looked like the Pelphrey era would come to a quick and painful end. This was not anymore clear than it was in Lexington when Kentucky absolutely dominated them in every facet of the game on January 23. However, since that humbling loss, Arkansas has rattled off five wins a row and they're in first place in the SEC West. Last night, they blew LSU off the floor, beating down the Tigers 87-52 at Bud Walton Arena. Once again, we salute our favorite son and wish him continued success in the rebuilding process at Arkansas.

The other game that was going on last night was the Duke-Carolina match up on ESPN. While most of the game was boring and downright painful to watch, I was glad to hear Dick Vitale say that UNC was just "flat-out overrated" at the beginning of the season. There's no way that Carolina should have been a pre-season top 5 team, and it just goes to show you that you can't rank a team just because of the name across the front of their jersey or the head coach calling the plays from the sideline. Don't get me wrong; I have no doubt that Ole' Roy will get Carolina back in the hunt very quickly, but it won't be this season... unless you're talking about the hunt for a NIT title.

I was able to talk to our man Austin Martin last night after he got back from Lexington. He was on press row for the Bama game and had some interesting feedback from his interviews with John Wall and DeAndre Liggins. Seems that Wall told him that he was under the weather and that the team was starting to get a little tired. This isn't a good sign as we get closer and closer to tourney time, but you have to keep in mind that John Wall is a teenager and he's not used to the grind of a SEC schedule. Still, look for Coach Cal to start using the bench when he can and to maybe ease up on the intensity of the practice routines as the madness of March approaches.

Meanwhile, Austin said Liggins was very positive and that he's just enjoying his season at Kentucky. His story has been one of the best surprises to this Kentucky team. While all the hype continues to be focused on Patrick Patterson and the fab freshmen, DeAndre continues to be the spark off the bench that his team needs each and every game. Tuesday night, Liggins scored 8 points and grabbed seven boards during 26 minutes of action, all season high numbers. We couldn't be more happy for the kid and hope to see him continue to get better while helping this team reach their lofty potential.

Across campus, the smoking hot UK women's basketball team looks to keep its winning ways alive and avenge a 61-60 loss to then-No. 8 Georgia earlier this season when the #16 Lady Cats host the #19 Lady Bulldogs tonight at Memorial Coliseum. We're super proud of our Ladies, and hope they continue their impressive run through the SEC schedule. We also hope that they will eventually get the national attention they so clearly deserve. At 20-3 overall and 8-2 in the SEC, the Cats deserve to be ranked higher in the national polls than 16th, but their climb has been slow and steady. With another win tonight over a ranked opponent, Mitchell's squad would once again show the naysayers that they're for real and one of the best teams in all of women's basketball this season. We wish them luck.

Back on the men's side, everyone is looking forward to the big ESPN College Gameday event in Lexington on Saturday. We're hoping to be in attendance, and if so, will have live updates throughout the day. We'll share more about what you can expect from BBNR later today and tomorrow, so stay tuned.

Well, that's all for now... check back throughout the day for more news and views.

GO BIG BLUE!