No Cinderella in New Orleans...

It had the makings of a great movie... David versus Goliath, the Hickory Huskers against the Central City Bears, Seth Rogan versus Katherine Heigl. But then the game started, and any thoughts of a historic upset were thrown out the window almost immediately.

Nope, there was no Cinderella in New Orleans tonight as Kentucky just absolutely crushed the lofty hopes and dreams of the East Tennessee State Buccaneers, 100-71. Eric Bledsoe lead the way with a career high 29 points, including shooting 8 from 9 from 3 point range. Patrick Patterson added 22 points and 5 rebounds, while John Wall had a double-double with 17 points and 11 assists.

It was certainly a good sign to see Kentucky shoot the ball so well in New Orleans, shooting 15 of 33 from 3 point range and 52% overall. If they shoot the ball anywhere near this well against the winner of Texas and Wake Forest neither of those teams will stand much of a chance. Let's hope they stay on fire NBA Jam style. Boom-shakalaka!

And while Kentucky's offense was certainly impressive, the Wildcat intensity was matched on both ends of the court. Kentucky held ETSU to only 35.9% and collected 11 block shots. Meanwhile, the Kentucky guards held the Buccaneers to only 23% shooting from beyond the arc. They Wildcats went into lockdown mode, to say the least.

Now, I fully realized ETSU was outmatched and out-manned from the outset, but still, if Kentucky shoots the ball and defends like they did tonight throughout the rest of the tournament, no team in the field can stop them.

More thoughts on this game and the first day of the NCAA tournament later... stay tuned.