A Sea Of Blue

the only thing I'm gonna say

they need to work more on playin against a zone

Bluehound - February 11, 2012 reply

But ain't it great

to be able to say that with a W instead of a loss?

oh hell yes

I wasn’t bitchin lol

Bluehound - February 11, 2012 reply

+1

I beg to differ with Glenn on us being NCAA champs. Tonight’s game with Cuse would’ve a diff result.

We’ve work to do.

Bah.

Wrong. Well, okay, I’m a little drunk. So what? :-)

Maybe so, maybe not....purely hypothetical but a logical one nonetheless

You can't say that because we won't play Cuse

on their home court and they ain’t been exactly mind blowing lately.

possibly

but even on neutral court I think their 2-3 zone will stifle us. Not bitching, but that may be our only weakness that stands between us and #8.

It will certainly take something like that to stifle these Cats....

try playing them straight up and you will lose…everytime :)

CATS!!!

Great win guys!!!…as for Syracuse playing a 2-3 on us, i’ve been watching some of the “possibles” the last week or so and am not so impressed with their zones…Vandy plays a much tighter 2-3 and it closed things up on us…i haven’t seen that in any of the other “possibles”…Michigan State made OSU look REALLY sick !!!

I'm glad somebody agrees with me

Syracuse is not all that daunting to me. Yes, zone seems to get in KY’s head a little, but Syracuse’s talent just isn’t on our level. There are a lot of things that Syracuse does less than great.

While UK is 1st nationally in blocks, Syracuse is 3rd (7.4/game) and 4th in steals (10/game)

Cuse plays the Angry Birds on Monday...measure the two results.

I think the Cuse goes down.

I think so too

I’m going with the Falls City Buzzards in this game.

I tend to agree with ya, Viks

Our 3s werent dropping and Vandy’s been beat by mediocre teams. The 3, making it and defending it, is a real prob for us. We’re not consistent. And, we had our probs fouling. Syr.?………Thats a whole other prob. They aint Vandy. So, I wouldnt polish up the crown just yet. Each of the last 2 yrs, we’ve had similar games in the NCAAT and as we all know, it only takes 1 bad game.

bigbill992001 - February 12, 2012 reply

You failed to mention AD's performance.

With the exception of grabbing at the player who beat him to the basket, I thought he played like the POY he is. Huge blocks near the end.

AD is alway great.

I don’t need to mention him.

But I’m glad you did.

OK, the old "it goes without saying".

that's bs glenn.

AD was great and should have gotten honorable mention behind Teague…

big-cuz fan - February 11, 2012 reply

I am still buzzin' over this win....

The one play that really sticks out is down the stretch with the shot clock under 5 seconds, Teague drove to the left, slipped and somehow pushed the ball the Miller who made an up and under move at the buzzer for a huge bucket. That may have been the play of the game in my opinion.

Wiltjer may have played some good defense but did he even play in the 2nd half? If not, why?

Teague was simply amazing especially in the first half.

Jones played with incredible intensity.

Foul trouble and defensive rebounding lapses in the first half may have somewhat kept Vandy in the game (2nd half run not withstanding)

I think UK exposed Vandy’s weakness and it is man to man defense as you eluded to Glenn. They have always shot well only slowed UK when they went zone.

me too

I was very impressed with that Teague’s play. Truly amazingly play.

I'm halfway through a bottle of Wild Turkey 101.

So I am a little happy as well. :-)

OMG the kickin' chicken...not lying I had that last saturday for the first time in years

it will kick your butt

Nice price, nice proof.

:-)

So, you're sacrificing a liver to this victory!

Me, too!

TeamWeaver - February 11, 2012 reply

I sacrificed my liver years ago.

I have no idea why I am still alive.

So...

Were all drunk. Yay lol. Go Big Blue!

JohnPike - February 12, 2012 via Android app reply

we all should be drunk from drinking the blue cool aid .... hell I am

JP

I’m not.

I took Wild Turkey 101 at UK.

But I don’t remember if I passed or failed.

They say pass/no pass doesn't EFFECT a student's GPA :)

if you dont remember

that means you passed……..congrats !!

and still walking

you may have just passed out ... has that affect on me anyway

Thomas Mario Adams III - February 11, 2012 reply

The zone...

seemed to confuse us at first because we got so many good looks… not great looks. This team is so unselfish they passed up shots they should have taken and made. By the time we get another look it’s just as good… and we rushed it.

It's so stupid.

We always act like we have never seen a zone.

Pisses me off.

Stuck on stupid?

Great line...

I got that from the worlds shortest book,

“Great quotes from Jimmy Dykes”.

LMAO

Yeah, but at least it has one entry.

actually the problem is we've only Miller to play against a zone

If he has an off day such as today, we really struggle. I’ve not seen anybody else step up.

I hope we get Syracuse before it's all over

They are a talented team, but I think I want some of them.

See above, Syracuse is also one of the top defensive teams in the nation, I think we would chew them up inside though - not impressed with Melo

Probably but Syracuse is a big, long team with lots of quality depth....

they will be formidable, but so will OSU, KU, Mizzou and NC to name a few

yep ... there will be games just like tonight starting around the sweet 16

I am afraid of 'cuse.

They are very athletic and the zone d will give us fits.

tell me about it

We’ve time to get ready for cuse though. This team is very talented and won’t take long to learn. I’m banking on MKG.

Don't be.

That is all.

+1

I don't think they will make the Final Four.

huh?

too much to drink ? ;)

Just call it a hunch,

I am not that impressed with them.

okay

will be the happiest cat around if your hunch comes true.

I remember Syracuse players laying on the floor crying...96 I think.

I’m sure they remember too. Rember, careful what we wish for.

1975

I also remember them whining in 1975 Final Four when we stuffed their highly ranked team in the janitor’s closet.

I probably saw it and don't remember it.

My daddy had me drinking the big blue kool aid pretty young.

a good man !!

where ya stationed at over there ?

Be Careful

what you wish for. Wouldn’t bother me a bit if they get beat in the second round.

Baylor seems to be on a freefall; Kansas is rising as is Duke; Michigan State is starting to peak, as always at just the right time and, forgive me fellow Smurfs but so is that other group from just west of us.

This is true but.....

MKG can sooooo fill this role if he can shore up his midrange game!!!!

MKG just had an off game offensively

I think his midrange game is very strong.

I think he's very strong finishing around the basket

his midrange game I would say is lacking, personally.

Memorial JuJu

Almost all of MKGs shots were coming up short last night. For some reason he didn’t have a good game, however, I know he’ll look at the tape and learn from this experience. Let’s all remember folks that this was all of the freshmen’s first trip to Memorial which is unlike any other gym in the country.

but I haven't seen him step up.

Maybe today was his off-day!!!

Glenn, this may your best postmortem ever

I do think the play of the game was the push pass by Teague to Miller as Teague was falling down. Miller hit the short shot to preserve the lead at a critical point in the game.

jdogblue - February 11, 2012 reply

I agree with you.

That was a sick, saving pass. I think that was the play of the game.

Agree.

+100

That was truly awesome play by Teague .

And Miller.

That was not an easy catch + up and under shot guarded by two guys.

hangin all over him !!

BH

I said before this game that the officials would put us in foul trouble early. They are not impartial. Never have been.

I thought our boys played a very confident and level headed game and refused to allow the officials to take it away from them.

They definitely know who they are. Also I thought that basket by AD near the end, where he spun around the defensive man and scored on a reverse was a critical play.

A Huge Key

was Miller playing the rest of the game, and finishing with 4 fouls. I don’t think a less experienced player under the intense emotion gets thru that without fouling out.

BG

Yes. I agree. That was certainly a big key to the win. I also believe that at least one of those fouls was a call that the ref simply anticipated and missed.

Cal just said on radio show

might stream a scrimage on wednesday

Bluehound - February 11, 2012 reply

Sweet.

from Memorial....

help feed the BBN lol

a week is a long time to wait for another game

Speaking of zones and Syracuse....

before the Cuse won the National Championship the 2 most 3-pointers made in a championship game by a single player was both against Syracuse.

Someone from Indiana and Tony Delk who both made 7 I think. That is how you beat the zone. But you have to make them of course.

Someone from Indiana

was Alford.

Bingo,.... I was going to say him but remembered keith Smart and wasnt sure

STEVIE SHOOT A THREE POINTER

Not sure if anyone remembers this song, I am from Owensboro and all out radio stations were in indiana

1975

In that Final Four game I seem to recall we didn’t shoot that great against their zone. But we killed them on the boards. That’s another way to beat that zone, offensive rebounding.

But For Some Reason

Offensive rebounding seems to be a weak spot for this team. For the life of me I can’t figure that one out!

Our good friend JLev explained on Feb. 8

that defensive rebounding is where UK really needs to improve. Also, consider that the more efficient you are on offense (think Davis dunking the ball), the fewer offensive rebounds are available. Vandy missed 10 more shots than UK did. That’s 10 more opportunities to grab an offensive rebound.

The explanation also included going for a lot of blocked shots

which means not being in position to box out if the shot does get up

This is a very good point.

Bluegilla

They are a defensive oriented team and set on ready if the other team gets the rebound. Just watch how fast they get to the other end of the court.

And on a number of occasions, the other team doesn’t even get the ball there. It gets stolen or that defense causes them to turn it over.

I really think this is excatly what this team needed

To get up semi big and to get smacked back down and to be able to come together as a T E A M they won this not by being singular but by banding together and saying NO we shall not lose!

Agree 100%, we had a nice lead, lost it, fell behind,

regrouped and won with ferocious D. Passed a great test on the road.

I really think Memorial is the toughest place to play in D1

exactly

Yup.

Team effort. Great to see them fight and not give up.

JohnPike - February 12, 2012 via Android app reply

I enjoyed the last 4 mins of tonight's game as much as any this season

last 4 minutes of the game Vanderbilt did not score - I like that too

Not sure if you guys watched any of the Mizzu Baylor game

I think Mizzu is better than Cuse that team is strong everywhere

they are not as athletic

Maybe not but they can play inside and outside

D and transition game the are all around good team but…..the dont have a superstar…..but is that a bad thing ?

i want to play UNC, OSU and SU on the way to #8.

EASY CUZ! That's a tall order and our boys are up to it, but I don't know if my heart is.

Yeah, that might be a tough road.

We've already beat UNC

We’ll beat OSU again this year if we meet them, and SU is just not as good as UK.

Playing OSU would be fun

just to see how many JORTS posters would end up in the crowd.

TJ's play first half was incredible....

but what made it possible was Cal’s ability to put him on the bench – which was made possible because KW has stepped up his game….

It must be Hubris for opponents to continute to drive the lane against UK....

Seriously they have all seen the films and every game UK’s opponents gets their shots swatted back in their face but yet here they come challenging Davis and the boys.

Some will never learn.

Actually, we don't want them to learn.

Vandy tried and tried to get Davis fouls

that didnt work!

Cal's decision to play Miller with 4 fouls was great and Vanderbilt did not try to exploit it

and his ability to play with 4 fouls was incredible

Miller's contributions ...

… cannot ever be measured on the stat sheet. When he is in, I feel so much better.

Very true-

His three pointer probably was the biggest shot of the game… ( I think this was already mentioned)

Wiltjer will be that guy for the next 2-3 years

Yeah, if he stays for 4 he will be special

He’s grown in leaps and bounds already this year. He is nowhere near ready for the league yet, so we should have him next year. I’m not sure beyond that but it would be fun to watch him for 4 years.

I agree

his decision-making acumen doesn’t show up in the box score, but the team is different and more composed when he is in.

Just Wishin'

That he could make one of those hook shots. I know he has it in his arsenal but it’s just not very effective.

he made a really sweet one against Florida

I remember it. It was a thing of beauty.

Yep, seemed like it was in slow motion and settled gently into the net.

BSC

Kyle also made one in the pre-conference schedule. Don’t remember against who but it was pretty.

It reminded me of U of L’s big Charlie Tyra back in the fifties. He’s still the rebounding king for a single game in Div. I. He had 38.

He does have that shot

but it’s not a shot he needs to go to all that much. Like SkyCat says, he made a picture perfect one earlier this year!

Senior

(plus he’s pretty darn good)

yes ... absolutely

It was unfortunate that he even got into foul trouble in the first place...

most of them were odd fouls in the first place and he never really had a chance to get into the game and make a mark until the 2nd half.

He can get into the lane against the zone normally and he can stroke the 3.

very true...

SR

Right. I think our opponents forget that DM is 6’8" tall and is listed as a shooting guard.

great point.

and the oddest of those fouls was his very first really early on. The one where Jenkins practically threw his body into Darius in order to draw contact on the shot. Remember? Oh how I hate that crap. Hate hate hate. Drives me batshit crazy it does. I complain about it on the college level and I complain about it on the NBA level. That’s not a basketball skill, nor is is all that smart a tactic if you ask me, it’s cheap. Hate it.

I agree with you 100% BSC

Actually, I blame a lot of the non-skill “tactics” that are employed in basketball nowadays on the Euro game and the Euro players who brought that soccer mentality over with them. I don’t if it’s right, but it’s my perception anyway. I hate hate hate the flopping and basically anything that is really playing for a whistle rather than trying to actually play basketball. I also don’t like the “euro step,” but I could live with that.

Except in soccer you can get a yellow card for flopping.

I’ve seen it done. Technical fouls for flopping would clean it up.

GoLightning - February 12, 2012 reply

kcgard2

I’m sorry to rain on the parade, but that “garbage” started back in the sixties and has progressively gotten worse.

Your observation about the Euro players is correct. And they have accelerated the nonsense.

Wiltjer also was steamrolled and no foul called even though the ref. was standing right there watching. JMO

+1,000,000,000,000,000,000,000,000,000,000,000,000,000,000,000,000,000,000,000,000,000

and a rec

lol, indeed!

dumbasses

lol very apt description

Heh.

They are hoping for something.

It rarely appears.

thats is why i feel good about the tournament...

SEC teams the second time around don’t do it as much. in the tournament, teams won’t know any better

Thomas Mario Adams III - February 12, 2012 reply

Syracuse?

I’m not sure if folks really understand how BIG winning this game was for the Wildcats. There was every reason for them to lose, and anything less than a supreme effort by a great team, would have been in the loss column.

We suffered (rare) foul trouble, in a game that you lose if that happens… unless you are truly a special team.

By season’s end this team may well end up being considered Kentucky’s BEST team ever. That’s at Kentucky, not Syracuse! Right now they are not better than the ’96 team yet… but they damn sure are on track to be by the end.

In fact, they look alot like the ’96 team… but with Marcus Camby in the middle.

Syracuse , on the other hand is very good. It’s just not the right year for them.

You know ...

… Syracuse is legitimately a very good team. Let’s not talk this smack shit. They are very, very good.

We’ll worry about them when, and if, it becomes necessary. But trust me, I like UK’s chances in that gome.

Love your "Not so superlative" comment-

And I agree completely… WOW What a game…

I love...

… having nothing bad to say.

+1

Wow Marquis was great!

Amazing game from Marquis! He was fantastic! Player of the game, IMHO! He was very much a “work in progress” at the beginning of the season, but he was marvelous in this game. I feel even better about this team’s chances in the NCAA tournament after seeing him play in this game.

Davis did well, but this wasn’t one of his best games. He got muscled and manhandled by Ezeli and Tchiengang.

Refs were atrocious with the foul calling in the first half. I think Darius had 4 ridiculous touch fouls before any Vandy player had 2 fouls (and they were playing VERY physical basketball)

I have to give Vandy credit for coming out and executing a great gameplan in the second half. They set super high screens and made their shots. They played great and deserved the close near-win they got.

We need to do better hitting the front end of 1-and-1’s in end-of-game situations like that.

Otherwise, good tough game for the cats. The defense in the 1st half clearly won it for us, and should do well for us in March if we can keep it up!

EEWildcat - February 12, 2012 reply

Well said.

He really was great

I didnt even mind him testing the waters with that 3 in the 1st which IMO was a bad shot but he made a couple out there against UF but otherwise his complete game was great and a much deserved game bal!

You have to shoot those

To keep the other team honest (so you can set them up for penetration). Good decision to shoot it.

In fact, I didn’t see any bad decisions at all by Teague in this game, and that’s what really makes me hopeful. He didn’t do any of that “jump in the air then look for someone to pass for” that he did early in the season (that I noticed anyway). Fantastic passing, good job exploiting and scoring in the middle when they were sagging back to Davis… Can’t say enough good things about his play today!

EEWildcat - February 12, 2012 reply

I have to give it to him,

Teague was a joy to watch. I’ve been critical, but he’s been playing much better. And those one-on-one moves to the basket, those beautiful little floaters hitting nothing but net. Wow. Lambesque. I didn’t know how other teams could defend against 4 offensive threats. Now we have 5. Goosebumps.

Matt Jones just said ...

… the SEC race is now over. Regardless of what you think of him, he is 100% right.

No doubt-

This was our biggest test in the SEC…

I'm listening too and he is correct about that

Miss State and UF are still testers

But the SEC is all but wrapped up

With UK's defense, I think they will be very hard to beat....

every team will make some 3’s and have their little runs but to do it against UK’s defense for 40 minutes is almost impossible. As long as UK doesn’t have a terrible shooting night or miss a bunch of FT’s in a tight game (ala WVU game in 2010), they will beat anyone.

SR

Right again. We now have our own “40 minutes of hell”.

Well...

… yes, they might beat us.

But it won’t matter if they do.

Is that our final test?

How we play the rest of the conference schedule after essentially wrapping up the title? Seems like every victory is followed by another question.

You know...

… I am very happy about this game.

It was the kind of win that we need.

We were certainly challenged and we answered that challenge

Yes. This.

+1

BarryM - February 12, 2012 via mobile reply

Yeah..

Cal said he wanted nutty..he got nutty. Our boys in blue responded great! I love it!

JohnPike - February 12, 2012 via Android app reply

I though he was going to blow an o-ring tonight in the first half....

I bet he needed a shower and change of clothes after the game. He had to do some serious coaching tonight. And he did. He is a dream come true for the University of Kentucky.

He so is!

Its a perfect match, a coah that matches the intensity of the fanbase.

JohnPike - February 12, 2012 via Android app reply

he should be coach of the year ... should have at least been SEC coach of the year last year ...

I vote for coach Cal as the coach of the decade!

I think the way they played us in the first half allowed them to get so many offensive rebounds

but they couldn’t convert a lot of them .. in the second half they went to the zone and had better success .. it was almost like two separate games

I'm used to seeing Teague with lob to Davis ... tonight Lamb threw the lob to Jones .. not sure if Vandy was ready for that one

That was a sweet play

Even as I saw it coming, I wasn’t quite sure who was on the receiving end of that pass.

Did you notice

UK now has another option on the lob? After the high pickle roll (that’s what my wife calls it), Teague can lob to Davis, keep it or pass to Lamb cutting from the corner. It worked beautifully. Just when the other team thinks they know how to defend that play, Cal throws in a wrinkle. This team is beginning to accumulate as many plays as the 1996-1998 teams had.

mvp Coach Cal...

He has shaped ths team into a Juggernaut. Pushed all the right buttons and has them prepared for tough road games. He should win COY…
.

One of these days, he will get his due nationally ....

even if it is begrudgingly. Because too many people have it out for him and they are finally starting to recognize the man can flat out coach. It seems many are starting to come around but there are those that never will.

Something has to be said about winning with the best talent, getting superstars to buy in and playing team ball. Not many are up to the challenge but he sure is.

Dicky

Vitale had some nice things to say about Cal during the game.

BarryM - February 12, 2012 via mobile reply

Again, can't stand Dicky V. If we would have lost, he would have been singing

Syracuse praises and how he KNEW Ky was not the best in the land. That guy is a SNAKE.

Carpetbagger from Outlaw Josie Wales....

I think the word is whore.

That sounds a lot harsher than I mean it. But it fits. Whichever way the wind blows, you’ll find him.

I don't dislike him as much as I used to

He’s always been an irritant to me, kind of like a housefly on my face while I’m laid up in the hammock trying to catch some zzz’s.

I heard today at church that his cancer was back. That may be why his face looked swollen.

kydamcat - February 12, 2012 reply

I have always loved Dickie V's energy toward the game.

Even when I’m worn out with his chatter about Duke and UNC, I believe he absolutely loves basketball. If he is fighting cancer, I’ll send him my very best wishes.

Politician is the word that comes to my mind.

I use to despise Dicky V. but have changed my opinion entirely.

Yes, he loud, obnoxious and has a misguided love of some ACC wannabes; but, he thinks for himself – almost unheard of in today’s gaggle of talking heads. He celebrated Cal coming to Kentucky when all the other “experts” were trashing Cal and UK and has always been in Cal’s corner despite what others have said. That alone put me in his corner.

Also, he has a true passion for college basketball and tirelessly promotes the sport, its players, fans and coaches. Just turn the volume down when he’s on because he’s going to call it like he sees it and keeps a soft spot for his favorite teams – don’t we all?

hoboat33 - February 12, 2012 reply

I agree

kcgard2 - February 13, 2012 reply

Maybe Calipari had an ax to grind tonight .. since the guy on the other end of the court (Stallings) was SEC COY last year

Its sad

That Cal does not get NEARLY the credit he deserves for his coaching ability. Making all the superstars play together and play D is possibly the hardest thing a coach would have to do and Calipari does it EVERY SINGLE YEAR AND WINS

Not To Mention

That he’s doing with an almost completely new bunch of kids EVERY YEAR!!!!! How do you basically start from scratch every year and be in the top echelon of college hoops repeatedly. Because you damned well know how to teach, push all the right buttons and create chemistry which mixed in with incredible talent is the formula for much success. Name anybody else who does this year in and year out.

Sorry To Repeat

Posted before reading above.

SR

“It seems many are starting to come around but there are those that never will.”

Keeerect. A lot of it too, is because we are Kentucky. The result of Coach Rupp and his followers down the golden decades of BB history. Those who hate us…..really hate us. And you have to love that.

Truly a great win

This showed our character. But, we missed too many FTs in the closing minutes.
Is anyone else worried about our play against Vandy’s zone defense? Our next opponents will surely take notice. Is it a cause for concern?

BarryM - February 12, 2012 via mobile reply

Nope, just another step in the learn from experience process.

Yes and no.....

UK has seen zone quite a bit this season so its not like its the first time. However, it does seem to be the only real way to slow them down which could be some reason for concern.

Lamb and Miller can get most teams out of that zone real quick if they make 3’s. Syracuse is the one team that will not come out of that zone for any reason.

In the end, our opponents need to worry about our defense too. So it goes both ways

No reason to be concerned

The zone may have slowed us down a little but the reason they got back in the game was because our D let up. Our zone busters were in foul trouble most of the game. I mean Miller and MKG. If anything I am more happy because we got more out of this slowdown game than maybe any other game this year.

Agreed....

I am not that concerned. Was only pointing out that it’s the only defense all season that has really caused us a few problems but in the end, UK’s talent and defense is tougher to overcome for the opponents.

I agree with you totally

Its one of the very very few things that have even remotely caused us trouble. UK vs Syracuse would be epic. They are the only team I think that has the length and athleticism to beat us. But just as you said, they have to try and score on our machine like Defense. Which without doubt is the best in the country and its not even close

as i said earlier...

Vandy’s zone was tighter than most zones we see…thus squeezin’ out our zone busters and disallowing our movement inside…and you are absolutely correct on our D letting them get back in the game…

especially Miller, a great penetrator and has that floater in the lane and the three as well

Exactly

Miller is THE key to UK busting zones

Lamb is also important

On point Glenn as always

Most of us new how tough this game was gonna be. We all wondered how we would respond and and we def responded the right way. These Cats again showed why they are the best. How about Teague, in the toughest arena possible for freshman point guards, run this team flawlessly. He looked in total control and very confident. With every game I love this team more and more. This game has shown us again why this team is special.

lunardi just put SU as overall #1 seed in NCAAT

UK as #2

He will have to change that

after they lose to UL.

I'll be UofL's biggest fan on Monday night, and on Tuesday

morning, we’ll watch Lunardi eat those words.

+1

Right behind you

kydamcat - February 12, 2012 reply

Is he stoned? or just stupid?????

East Coast bias.

+1

It truly does exist

New Yorkers need to feel they are the Masters of the Universe in all its dimensions. It’s a big factor in the anti-American syndrome.

Prescriptive vs Descriptive.

Lunardi’s job to describe what he thinks the bracket would look like if the season ended today. It is not necessarily how he thinks it should look.

According to kenpom, the SU schedule is more difficult than UK’s. Both teams have one loss, but SU’s came with a suspended starter. I can see a committee, especially one that may not watch every game, putting SU above UK. Now if they looked at efficiency stats or watched all the games, then I would have an issue.

GoLightning - February 12, 2012 reply

Doesnt really matter does it....

As long as UK is a #1 seed and gets to play the first round in Louisville, UK should be happy. After all, OSU was the #1 overall last year and got a brutal bracket.

SR

How right you are. Only Duke and UNC get those brackets where they get to play the entire Regional either in NC or very close by.

The “Ducks” of Dixie. LOL

Have you noticed that all the projections

have both playing in greensboro? How BS is that?

UKlvrBM

Very, very BS! Typical.

I'm convinced the only reason that arena is in Greensboro

Is to give Duke, UNC and NC State a homecourt advantage in the NCAAs

BCinVA - February 12, 2012 reply

Think they will put UK and Duke in the same region for nostalgia this year??

Duke will probably get a #1 seed with 6 losses.

you see them as a #1 seed?? I guess they have some good wins - I think they will have to win the ACC tourney to get a 1

Duke will not be a #1 seed

I figured the committee would make them a 2 so they could be on a collision course with UK

It's always possible...

but if they do happen to be in the same bracket, I do not believe that it would be by some grand design for ratings etc.

Not picking at you, but I just don’ think like that. I trust the committee is always trying to rank the teams and put them in the right brackets regardless of history or trying to mess with one school. It’s not an easy job and most fans cry foul for one reason or another. They do have some problems making sure conference opponents at the top don’t meet up early which always can make some ranking look screwy.

Could you imagine being one of the committee members in that room and they decide to purposefully “screw” a team by giving them a bad seed or a nightmare matchup. If that were to happen, could you (as a former committee member) ever trust that process again. It just seems to conspiratorial to ever happen. But hey, that is my opinion and trust me, on bracket announcement night, there will people here crying foul no matter what and accusing them of trying to “screw” UK. It happens every year. Kind of a pet peeve of mine :)

It wouldn't surprise me if they did .. I feel like we will be the #1 overall seed and I feel confident no matter who they put in the 2 slot

No matter who we get and where we go, we still have to win 6 games

I have seen great UK games flame out early and some good ones go to the Final Four. Nothing is a given. I will be nervous no matter who we play because anything can happen on any given game.

Truer words were never spoken, written, typed.......

The past two years, we were the best team left in the Tourney. Its a crap shoot. Here’s hoping our loaded dice can get the right bounces!!!!!!

No doubt...so many crushing losses thru the years to count

and i bet its the same for many programs….just try to win 2 games and move along.

Bogans getting hurt bothers me more than them all............

That team was sooooooooo underrated in UK lore.

Agree 100%

Try not to think about it

I still have nightmares!!!!!!!

That team was awesome. I just poured a little bourbon out for them. Plus I need to stop. :)

Yes that stings to this day....

I still can’t get over the loss to UAB….I loved that team.

I'm one of those idiots who wonders what if........

Bogans is healthy……….. :(

no doubt....and that Novack kid came in and made like 5 3 pointers

not to mention D Wade….just a nightmare all the way around

That is my definition of a "perfect storm"

Of course, UNC and OSU can say the same about UK last year………

or a nightmare storm lol

Haha, I like yours better

I don't see a conspiracy theory, but I do think

the committee might try to pit teams “of interest” against each other, so yes I do think they are perfectly capable of setting up a UK-Duke collision course just for the “history”, blah, blah, blah.

ukcris

Won’t matter. If it happens, our guys will eat them alive. This UK team is one of the best I have ever had the honor of watching on the hardwood.

And our head coach is tops. BAR NONE.

I wouldn't be surprised to see something like this happen. OSU probably has

one or two more losses out there. They will try to sneak UNC or Duke in there if they can.

I wouldn't be surprised at all

tampering goes on in other facets of college bball, why such a stretch to think this one as well? It’s all about the money at the end, so while I’d like to give the benefit of the doubt, I will just have to say it wouldn’t surprise me in the least.

yes, they will

BeachBubbaTex - February 12, 2012 reply

If we have to meet Syracuse in the final four

would it be better to face them in the semi finals or championship game?

Which ever comes first.

We are better

Well I was kind of thinking

that meeting them in the semis would give us a few days to prep for that zone.

But

The chances of one of us getting there is not that good, both of us getting there the chances are very remote. But I have no doubt we are the 2 best teams in America and thats why I hope happens. I KNOW UK is going to be there. Its destiny this year. You can feel it in your bones. We as UK fans just know it. This is the team to do it.

As 7 says,

nothing is given. We aren’t entitled. We have a nice advantage this year, but nothing more. When you roll the dice in a single-elimination tournament, the best team often doesn’t win. That’s the madness that makes this tournament so compelling. Just a little something to keep in the back of our minds.

Good point

I never thought of it that way. Your right

Tough win against a team that went all Indiana in the 2nd half

btcoop71 - February 12, 2012 reply

Without all of the cursing from the fans.

Imagine that!

Two talented rivals can play a close game in a tough gym without nasty press clippings and violent clown behavior.

Digger Phelps will claim he nipped it in the bud.

I have something Digger can nip.....

that pompous windbag

+1

IU has never had any class - look at their Idol Bobby who they worshipped and still revere

KansasUKCat - February 12, 2012 reply

isn't that the truth.

I knew Vandy had good shooters, but for the life of me just wasn’t expecting them to start launching from like a whole body length behind the arc and certainly wasn’t expecting some of those shots to go down. Hot handed, they were.

We have to anticipate that from now on.....it is the only thing left that teams have to throw at us.....

We are going to see so much zone D and 3 pt shooting it is not even funny

GAE

I agree. But I also remember a quote from RP when he was here in 1995-96. “A team that lives by the three, will die by the three.”

Rewatching the game now....

Jenkins deserves an oscar for that foul from the 3 on Miller.

Jenkins has developed that leg kick out on his release to pick up the cheap foul or two every game

BCinVA - February 12, 2012 reply

Ah, if only I were a ref...

I commented on this above as well

but since I hate it so, complaining about it really is the only thing that makes me feel better. : )

I hated that also. Cheap, cheap, cheap.

Flopping and charges as being called right now degrade the game.

kywm

Absolutely. This is one of my pet peeves. Those actions have nothing to do with BB skills.

One athlete should beat another athlete because he out thinks him, out plays him and is a better athlete. If they are basically equal, then a real show will be put on.

You and I agree wholeheartedly it seems

when it comes to all the guys trying to act rather than trying to play basketball.

That should be an offensive foul.

We need a rule change. Kicking out the leg to try to force a call should be an offensive foul on the shooter. It is unsportsmanlike and a loophole that needs closing.

Definitely

GL

Yes sir. Even some of the announcers are beginning to remark about such tactics. That ain’t BB.

Their poor shooting in the first half was a combination of great d and bad karma for Jenkins flop.

is the game on ESPN next Saturday?

Check ukathletics.

All the remaining games are on ESPN, ESPN2 and one is on the SEC network which is picked up by wave3 in louisville. Not sure about anywhere else.

Yes ma'am

I think its the Ole miss game or UGA game that's on the SEC network.

thanks! i only get the games on ESPN out here.

I'm sorry..

Next week is against Ole Miss. It’s on the SEC network. Every other game is on ESPN or CBS.

you want a one word reason why

These one and doners are who they are…. maturity. I have never seen talent so composed and team oriented.

tenken - February 12, 2012 via mobile reply

Last 5 games.

OK, here it is:
Ole Miss. SEC Network
Miss. St. ESPN
Vandy CBS
Georgia ESPN/ESPN2
Florida CBS

five?

Sheesh! Season has really gone by!

tenken - February 12, 2012 via mobile reply

4-1 (and that might be too generous to the opposition)

BeachBubbaTex - February 12, 2012 reply

MSU and Florida away, the rest at home........

The Swamp for the last game will be the next pain in the butt…….assuming that the guys understand that, we should be ok….but we need to take every game seriously now….that Ole Miss game is a trap…..and Vandy at home is also one.

Looking forward

to Vandy bringing that zone for an entire game. We need more experience against it before the NCAA tourney.

Yes.......put a post up this morning all about that.

GAE

Ole Miss game. You’re right. History shows that some of the biggest upsets against UK have been by Ole Miss.

Thanks, I'll only get to see a couple more games.

they usually have pretty good coverage of the tourney, so I’m in luck there.

SEC network game..

may be on espn3 so make sure you check and don’t miss it

Wlap UK Talk Show (Kyle Macey)...

“critics” claiming that Miller’s second basket (Teague pushing the ball on the floor to Miller as he slipped) did not beat the shot clock. If it did, then paypacks are a b…..! Clearly, the “gym” set up is for Vandy….at what point does the benches and shot clocks be REQUIRED by SEC/NCAA to follow ever other arena?

well,

even if they take that two away we still win the game. So there, critics, hush.

I did think to myself that there was no way he beat the shot clock

but if the refs didn’t call it, you can be 100% sure that he actually did

did anyone else think that Ezeli

was really banging his shoulder into Davis enough to get called for an offensive foul just about every time he got the ball in the paint? All the while we were getting shafted on phantom calls?

cat stevie - February 12, 2012 reply

I remember Davis getting slammed from behind

under the Vandy basket. He lost the ball out of bounds and no foul was called. The great thing about AD is his no reaction to that other than to go right back to work.

Davis reminds us after the White foul (LSU) that he is Chicago!!!

Not the City...the attitude

He does have big shoulders.

hes a lot tuffer

than his thin frame would suggest

My husband said the same thing about Ezeli banging on Davis.

cat stevie

Yes. And that shoulder banging is going on with alarming incidence in BB in general. Some players just keep getting away with it.

There is school just to our SE which has two brothers who play the center position. They are two of the dirtiest BB players I have witnessed this year.

There, I call anybody by name. Hee. OL

bbb

I “didn’t” call anybody by name. Slept too late.

Technical difficulties.

ESPN had technical difficulties all game long. Midway through the second half, for example, the score graphic actually showed Vandy with the lead!
I know, right? Given our performances of late, it was an obvious glitch.

They finally fixed the darn thing near the end of the game.

lol.....was THAT what it was????

Yeah, kinda spoiled the game a little.

I’m lost without those graphics.

God is trying to teach us to appreciate what we have..........lol

I follow ESPN box score for score, fouls, rebounds, assts etc...as the game is played

I think he was being facetious there blue.....lol

Cpuld be, but he did write earlier in this thread...

He took Wild Turkey 101 but he can’t remember he passed or not :)

Cpuld=Could. All I had to drink was an Ale 8! I wish, they do not sell Ale 8 in Oregon

No, but they do ship it.....!!!!

Are you sure? Word is can only get by mule!!!

I guess there is the old Oregon Trail.

I believe that if you contact them dirtectly through the company corporate offices, they will send cases by UPS.

Assuming you pay the shipping of course. If not, I know some of their distributors will. My cousin gets a shipment sent to Texas every few months. Just don’t know what his source is.

Just being facetious :)

If he uses UPS, he's an idiot!

it was just familiarity that made me say UPS.....I dont know who he ships with.....lol...

http://ale8one.com/store/index.php?cPath=22&osCsid=JIouFXLaDuZdmTxqCstJL0

Here you go

you have your sensees back yet this morning A2??.....lol

Ah yes..... I had to do some consoling you know.

LOL....uh

Wow...I did drink the 8 when I lived in Lex. Thanks for the info.

I consider Ale 8 a Central Kentucky drink :)

By pure mistake, about 2 weeks ago I got a diet Ale 8 from a machine

And it was really good.

1st Ale 8 ever? Or 1st diet Ale 8?

First diet one. I'm from KY, of course I have had plenty of Ale 8!

I have read you are close to one of the Ohio St Yanks

wasn’t sure ? Snicker :)

Did someone say "snicker"

knew that was comin lol

The one with the caramel swirled looks tastier.

The one you posted has been melted and chilled and squashed while melted, see the wrapper imprints? I know my Snickers!

It was from my post game snack last night......had it in my pocket while the game was going on!!

Yep, must be another Solar Storm in your area!

there I was about to stroke out and it was just a glitch :)

Lunardi putting 'Cuse the #1 overall seed-

Last night made me mad. There is no way this should be the case. Maybe this is the type of thing Cal uses to continue to motivate our team. One of the best things about college hoops, is that it will all play out in the tournament…

don't let it bother you,

Lunardi is only right, like what was it, 78% of the time or something? (seriously, somebody, JLev perhaps told me a couple of years ago what his accuracy rate was, and it wasn’t 100%)

Thanks, BSC

I’m not worried. Our team is special this year. They are not freshman anymore. If you can take the pressure of a game like they won last night, you are ready for anything…

Ranking the Bracketologists

Lunardi is 27th in accuracy on this list that has everyone who has been predicting the bracket for at least three years. That data only goes back to 2006. The scoring system gives most emphasis on getting all of the teams correct and then correct seeding. There is no bonus for differentiating within a seed.

They also compile prediction of seeds for this year’s tournament. Only UK and SU get a 1 in all of them.
Link

GoLightning - February 12, 2012 reply

Actually, that site ranks on a ...

Paymon Scale. “This rubric awards 3 points for each team correctly picked, 2 points for each team correctly seeded, and 1 point for each team correctly seeded within one seed line.” This basically means they get points for ‘close’ and only recognize the 1 thru 16 seeding picks of the bracket – not the overall ranking within each level of bracket seeding, e.g., 1st overall seed, worst 2nd seed, et ceterat.

BigSkyCat – you’re giving Lunardi way too much credit – he is always below 50% in his seeding picks. For example, in 2010 he was only 41.5% (Link) and in 2011 he was 47.8% (Link).

Monday night the Cards play at the Cuse at the Yum Center with another key player back from injury

Blackshire score 13 yesterday against WV and was key. We will see.

I will be a UL fan for one of the very rare instances during that game

Hopefully Louisville can take care of that Monday.

HaHa!

for the first time in my life

I will root for Lville

Not this girl!!!!

I just can’t bring myself to do it.

It's ok.....I cant

either

I can say Go Cards before i could say

Go Heels or Go Duke.

As long as you stammer and stutter when you say it :)

In a NY minute - I'm going to search around

in my closet for something red and black to wear during the game. No one will be a bigger Card fan than me tomorrow night.

Wait a minute, UK women should wear Blue

or nothing at all. :)

Agree with wineman

Clap, maybe even cheer for them, but their colors?

Like Lady Ashley?

Especially her.

I don't own anything red. Cards are outta luck if I have to wear red.

Ata Girl!

Death before dishonor!

but its for the "cause" lol

I can easily.

A UL victory makes our win over them even more meaningful and it exposes Syracuse as less than the east coast media would have you believe. I hope they beat them by double digits.

Right on

I can't either.

I’d root against Louisville if they were playing the Hell National Team.

UKCat - February 12, 2012 reply

Never!

The enemy of my enemy.

Besides, it would make UK’s win over the Cards (#4 at the time) look a little better. Yeah, that’s what I’ll tell myself as I sit fully clothed in the shower after the victory.

Lunardi is just hedging his bets.....

Syracuse has played a tougher schedule than we have…..by virtue of being in the Big East, like it or not, they have seen more thrown at them. Now, they have played most of them at home so far, but they are a good team. Good enough to beat us? We may never know. It will take a few acts of God and some interesting Tourney play to find that out.

My personal opinion is that this team is much better than even the last undefeated team the NCAA ever saw. The pundits have always said that if Indiana had been able to shoot threes, then thwy would have been even better. Well, I will go one further. This Kentucky team could have beaten that team WITHOUT the three. Eamonn Brennan pointed it out this morning on ESPN.com. This team is one 10 second lapse from perfection and a whole other world of discussions.

I have the title of the review of the season in Sports Illustrated…. 2 Points From Perfection……The story of the 2011-2012NCAA Champion Kentucky Wildcats but dont tell anyone I said that.

Appreciate your enthusiasm

but that 1976 Indiana team was very, very good. Not as good as the 1975 team, though, in my opinion. Four of the starters were seniors and Benson was a junior. This UK team might be able to beat them, but I’m glad we don’t have to try it.

Oh, I know they were good.....no doubt about it......but this team is very, very good as well.

There are no holes in this team……none……no one can find one……they keep trying and come up short…..And Indiana couldn’t find them either, I don’t think…..maybe they could….maybe not

You might remember

The closest that IU team came to being beaten was against UK in Freedom Hall. UK was leading, but Benson slapped a ball into the air at the buzzer and it went in. IU then went on the win in OT.

yeah, and they were like a juggernaut after that game.....I am hoping that this one has the same effect on the Cats

This UK team could beat them easily

Those IU guys would be pushing 60 by now. LOL

UKCat - February 13, 2012 reply

Speaking from the depths of a mild hangover ...

… Joe Lunardi couldn’t find his azz with both hands and a GPS.

There. I feel better. :-)

kinda thought you might be......lol....

your use of colorful language and your overt enthusiasms last night gave you away

I about fell over when I saw so many comments on a late postmortem

Me thinks you aren’t the only one with mild depth. ’-)

If you finished that bottle of 101

there is no way the HO should be mild. :)

Oh, no.

I maybe got three fingers in. Enough to make me wake up sitting at the keyboard, but not enough to make me crawl around outside and bark like a dog. :-)

you didn't wake up naked at the keyboard did you???.....cause that brings to light a whole new set of problems

I crawled from a party to my dorm one time

Not a good memory. Don’t remember if I barked or not.

It's been a long time for me......but I do seem to remember howling at the moon.......

Solar Storms and Moon Howling down your way?

usually only on the weekends....but since they drained the lake down so low, its been open season on all kinds of weirdos.....lol

when is that supposed to be completed ??

Three years more.....if the new patching system at the dam holds

but this is the second or third attempt at it….so far, nothing has been a complete solution. I know the engineers are working to come up with something that would allow for the changes in the lake (which can be kind of drastic from one season to the next) to no effect the dam so much. The “birm” that they have installed sticks out another 30-35 feet from the existing structure.

ok, thanks

that damn has been an on goin project since it was built

yeah, and that is the idea behind this fix.....

somehow this is supposed to keep up with the lake…..danged if I know how though

They will never keep up with the Lake.

It has gravity and time on its’ side.

My people are in Somerset. That bridge on the Cumberland Parkway in western Pulaski County looks like it's built

over a mud puddle. If that mess isn’t fixed soon, I’m afraid the Ohio Navy will find somewhere else to pull their boats. That region needs those tourist $.

you just dont know how true that is.....

Houseboat industry went belly up two years ago with the economy….Lake hasnt been the same in 5-6 years….Biggest employer here is the School system…..

Somerset is the wettest dry county in the state....

or so I’ve been told :)

You know how it is......

depends on who you know…..lol

But now Pulaski is no longer completely dry....

Restaurant liquor sales only though

True. Whenever I'm home, I always

suggest to my sister that we have dinner at the Mexican place in Burnside. Funny how you don’t crave a Margarita until you can buy one……

meant to say "can't" buy one.

Reminds me of a Kentucky sayin about a takin a finger and finding a certain lower orfice of the body

And either this site, or my internet is having all kinds of glitches the last couple of days.

Missing keystrokes, screen bouncing….comments not posting….then double showing up…..grrrrr

Solar storms?

beats me.....but it is starting to draw my ire.....

Broadband out in your part of the country probably means no loose women allowed

You sure you don’t have dail-up service

KansasUKCat - February 12, 2012 reply

Maybe even dial-up

KansasUKCat - February 12, 2012 reply

I can't even dial-up the wife....

This site has been weird lately

Often I have to preview before it will let me post. When I try to load the site initially, it often comes up with a site not found error, a quick F5 fixes that. Something on SBN changed in the past week or two that is not nice.

We've been having some technical issues.

They are being worked on.

Reminds me of our IT people. They use exactly the same words.

Could be Digger Phelps and ESPN, I'm convinced he had something to do with the technical difficulties last night .... conspiracy?

Digger Phelps=Horses Behind. Got a matching brown highlighter for that image?

Digger, Bobby Knight, Billy Packer-

Are all from the same mold… Embrace the Hate…

I must object.

It is absolutely uncalled for to insult horses like that.

+1

Vandy had a great plan coming out at halftime

and their seniors delivered on it. As mentioned earlier in the thread, they played a zone that slowed us down, but it was the other end of the floor that they really excelled.

After barely scoring 20 points in the first half they scored 25 in the first 9 minutes of the 2nd half. They were running and cutting like crazy, and of course we switched as necessary. As soon as AD got pulled out to the 3 point line, they either dumped inside/drove or took a quick shot while one of our big rebounders was away from home. (They made a bunch of those quick shots, but if you look AD was out of position on most of them). AD’s position on the floor was their key, if he switched off and ended up outside, they went at the basket hard and fast.

While that nice cartoon of Stallings yesterday gave me a laugh, the consistent quality of his teams and their ability to rethinking their approach in-game is impressive.

Also, to be fair ...

… they went a little bit “nutty.” Be careful what you ask for, Coach.

he definitely got his coaching material for the next two weeks.........lol

They did go nutty

Maybe Cal will publicly wish for a blowout at the Miss St or next Florida game.

We needed nutty. Will encounter a lot of that in the post season.

Yeah, probably right.

Those other set of Cats play Monday also

as the Lady Vols gave them a gift already putting them two games up.

the game is on ESPN 2

And we shall be jamming the live blog for that baby!!!!

The DreadHeads will be out in full force!!!

GO CATS!

and some can cover eyes if you don’t wanna see…..Go Cards! Beat Cuse!

For the love of Pete!!

Humiliate Cuse.

OK... just got in from Nashville

I haven’t posted all season here but have been fathfully “lurking.” Saw Cats in Athens back in Jan. of course, and now saw them last night in Nashville (in town for conference- paid waaaay to much for a ticket- worth twice the price!). I gotta say it now… this team rivals 96 Cats in will-to-win (aka work ethic) and talent. We are only 7 deep and of course young- normally two insurmountable impediments to deep tourney runs. But, something that is not usually aptly transmitted on TV and can only be experienced in person are the dynamics between Cal, assistants, bench and team. Truly a juggernaut of coaching wisdom, hoops acumen, and just plain freakish talent. This will be the team to win it with one-and-dones, mark my words. And, something that confounds TV transmission, again, is the leadership of Miller- he is truly the glue that real leadership provides. Close behind, in an amazing display of rapdily accelerated maturity, is Teague in my humble opinion.

Two things that I want to concur with folks above: 1) Jenkins fall for a 3-point foul call (I was sitting right where it happened) and even worse, the ref “falling for the fall” is sickening and infinitely frustrating, amateurish playing and officiating. Arrgh! 2) Digger can kiss my (as we learned in med school) “magna hyancintho gluteus maximus!” Idiot seriously picks against UK every time- trying to compensate for all the years of Notre Dame beat-downs in Lull-vull that I was priviledged to have witnessed in my youth.

Finally- Ashley Judd is gorgeous, especially in a blue. The only woman on the planet I might seriously consider, well, I’ll stop there…

Digger actually picked us to win on Game Day broadcast.....

just took his shot at the fans when he got the chance….classless

In the run up to the game he said Vandy would win.

That it would be a close game, but Vandy would win. So maybe he changed his mind since the morning (which I did not see). The other two guys picked Kentucky. Honestly one of them has to pick against Kentucky in order to make a show out of the thing, right? Standard practice for televising games.

it's all crap anyway.....just stuff for ratings

Glad to hear from you.

Great comment, thanks for the report. Comment more often.

Ah... I was at game and was told

apparently incorrectly, that he picked VU on pre-game broadcast. I saw them at their little ESPN desk on floor. Sorry.

It's ok.....I cant imagine how crazy it was down there

some said last nite

that he picked Vandy in morn, then switched to Ky at nite

That's right; unless I dreamed it, I heard it myself ystdy morning.

Davis and Bilas picked KY....digger picked the Dores

Agree with BO

Digger picked Vandy right before the game.

Evidently I was wrong.....

not the first time

same here

No worries :)

No, Greg is incorrect.

Phelps did pick Vandy during the pre-game.Vitale and Bilas picked ’Cats.

KenPom giving the Cats less than a 35% chance of winning out

I hate stats

You read it wrong.

He gives us a 53% chance. We have about a 90% chance of finishing the regular season with only 1 more loss.

you sure????

this looks like him

sorry

thisssss

Maybe he should read his own website.

lol......

Where it says, at the bottom:

Projected record: 29-2 15-1
Chance of unbeaten record: 53.1%

I had not seen the website....just read the tweet.....

maybe you were not the only one partaking of the spirits last night…..????

I sent a reply to him on that one.

I can think of upwards of 10 snarks I could have made, but I avoided them. Just the facts. :-)

oh goody....picking a fight with the stats guy.....lol

isn’t that MY job????……lol

and now he is coming back at you.....lol.....I love it....

Absolutely positive.

you two

would argue with a damn mule….lol

only when the jackass is wrong!!!

Jackasses are never wrong,

that is why they keep arguing.

Endurance is our take-down move. ;-)

That's gotta be better than any other team though

There were surprising moments

of odd quiet. VU fans remind me of Chapel Hill crowd sometimes. The best was “go big blue” ringing through rafters last game minute or so. VU folks started for the exits like building was on fire while blue crowd hung out to see Erin whats-her-name on ESPN interview Cal and Davis. Then I hit on some righteous Bookers for post-game drinky-poo. What a great night.

Bookers...Nice!

I have an uncorked bottle of Bookers that will wait till banner #8

Last night was a bit of Knob Creek. With Knob Creek and Maker’s Mark both being such a great deal for the money, I find it hard to go after the really high end stuff often, although I do keep some around… just in case.

and Woodford Reserve, that's pretty good and.............

Just checked KenPom site

And the linear sum (final or actual) that he has UK at is .9728 while OSU is .9733. That difference (-.0005) is, statistically speaking, well under any seriously conservative confidence interval (similar idea to degrees of certainty in polling stats, but much more accurate). In empirical terms, the two are essentially equal in rank. No. 3, Kansas, is at .9597- a full .02 (nearly) behind UK/OSU. SOS is where in the linear variables he is using that OSU gets an edge, and that itself is a function of how and in what order he loads those variables. Not questioning him- I am sure he is sound- but certain probabilities are ubiquitously acknowledged. Put it this way: if it were a new drug, even the FDA would approve with that disparity, and they don’t approve crap! Remainder of season will provide further distancing between top 2 and the rest I bet.

CBS just tagged the song NOT AFRAID to describe Kentucky this season. Like it!!!

we really should have our own Pandora station

it would be chock full of all kinds of awesome tunes.

That punch to the back of Teague's head should be given to SEC officials for review ... clearly, he punched Teague in the back of the heaf

It is definitely worth a second look.....I didn't even see it the first time...

Is punch posted on YouTube

its really clear on the isolated look

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=2CziWU7fKfQ

you can see it over at KSR or on you tube ... Tchiengang should be suspended

thx

It definitely should have been called instead of ignored.

There were 3 officials – it happened right under the basket and was part of the play. No qustion that at least one of them SAW it. Then they actively CHOSE not to call it.

I tweeted it out to Gregg Doyel.....maybe he will pick up on it

Forearm Shiver rather than a Punch. Nasty either way. Teague kept his cool. Glad he did.

Looks to me like he slapped him hard in the back of the head.

Someone needs to be reviewing this play Monday morning.

Things do happen during a game and (at least for me) it

oops.....

it is hard to judge intent.

Hard to tell if he was trying to hurt him, and I suspect he was not trying to do that.

However he was trying to get open for the pass. At the very least it was an offensive foul. But it could have also been called a Flagrant 1 – foul charged against ChainGang, Cats get 2 shots and the ball. I do not think it was a Flagrant 2 type of foul.

At least he missed the easy layup...

And great job by Teague to ignor it and keep playing…

ignore...

These Cats.........

have tons of class by not reacting to thuggish tactics like that. More proof that the only way anybody is going to beat this team is with their fists………

slidemank - February 12, 2012 reply

They are learning it

Early in the year you could not say that about us. Cal has them growing in lots of ways; not just their ability to blend as a team. We aren’t even showboating as much. TJ kinda keeps his shows to huffing and puffing while getting back on D right now rather than posing for the camera. (Maybe he’s learned that the camera will follow you after you do something good, so you don’t need to pose).

To the top of the thread – that sure looked like it had ill intent. A blow to the head followed immediately by a raised hand for the pass. It should be reviewed.

He probably ignored it

because he couldn’t believe it really happened. Kinda like “Nah, I must me imagining that. Nobody would really take that obvious of a cheap shot.”

hoboat33 - February 12, 2012 reply

Holy crap!

Does he think he plays for LSU?

hoboat33 - February 12, 2012 reply

Lol...

First Davis at L.S.U. and now Teague at Vandy..

These Cats is just letting it slide by and taking care of business on the court.

Winners.

Not Whiners. They have a necessity to not react and get tossed, but I think they also have enough class to be above it.

well said...

Just a reminder,

several times this year our Cats have not let it slide. Early in the year when a player deliberately walked over a sitting Jones, knocking his head back. The Tennessee game, when Golden wouldn’t let Jones pass. White’s Flagrant 2 on Davis at LSU. Players had to be separated, technicals called. But apart from those few disappointments (there was another incident in the first half of the season where we got into it with the other team), I agree. They’ve shown commendable composure. A pro scout mentioned this in particular about Davis.

Giving them the "glare" and having one of your buddies hold you back is an old trick.

I’ve even used that. Keeps a fight from occurring at that moment and let’s the other guy know you ain’t gonna be pushed around again. In a refereed game it sends a message to the ref to get things under control. And of course you have to act tough when the cheerleaders are watching and stuff.

There may not be enough coffee in the world to bring me out of my slumber!

Still smilin’ though. That’s what a big win on the road against a tough conference opponent can do.

We do all realize that we let Glenn slide with misspelling the title to this post right???

Maybe ol’ tru isn’t the only one with a hangover….lol

I had to go back to the top just to make sure it didn't say commodes ;-)

In the words of the immortal Bill Cosby:

“Oh, toilet bowl, you are my only friend…..so cool and nice”

Dang - I feel terrible to have missed that opportunity.

Too late now. I have been a bit under the weather (cold) and I am obviously not at the top of my game. Quick – somebody say something nice about the NCAA so I can get my edge back.

Great game for our boys

Like you guys are saying, I was really impressed with the team’s composure. I didn’t even notice that cheapshot when I was watching the game live.

cakeonyou - February 12, 2012 reply

Saw this excerpt in an ESPN article about the WIldcats and thhought it was great....

As he prepared to fight George Foreman, Kentucky native and legendary boxer Muhammad Ali uttered one of his infamous rhymes:

"I done wrestled with an alligator. That’s right. I have wrestled with an alligator. I done tussled with a whale. I done handcuffed lightning, thrown thunder in jail. That’s bad! Only last week I murdered a rock, injured a stone, hospitalized a brick! I’m so mean I make medicine sick!"

Ali had undeniable swagger. And his native state’s top team maintains a similar vibe when it’s on the floor. The Wildcats are young, but they never look rattled.

Bring on all comers! UK ain’t scared!

Great qoute. I saw that and almost posted it here.

+1

Several questions were answered

last night. Among them were:

How will this team react when a team “goes nutty” and makes a bunch of threes in a row?

How will they react when an opponent with clear momentum goes ahead late in the game?

Can Marquis Teague lead this team to a long late-season run?

Can this team play against a very hot team in a difficult venue with very spotty officiating?

Does Ashley Judd sweat?

I’d say that last night’s game answered all of these questions in a way that indicates that Cal has done a hell of a coaching job and that Ashley is indeed human.

oldcat'69 - February 12, 2012 via mobile reply

Bilas Tweets On Teague Head Slap

@JayBilas: Wonder how many games NCAA will force Kentucky to vacate for Marquis Teague’s head viciously striking the fist of Vandy’s Steve Tchiengang?

Wild Weasel - February 12, 2012 reply

It wasn't his fist...

… but it still looked really bad.

Good,

the eyes of the world are on the dastardly deed.

Greg Alan Edwards - February 13, 2012 reply

Bilas' stock just rose in my eyes. Good one.

Effectively knocked the refs(Greene) and NCAA in less than 170 characters.

Did you know he’s not bad, just blind. His games have fewer fouls called than any other SEC referee. (Actually, he’s tied with Tom Eades at 30; but, lowest nonetheless.)

hoboat33 - February 13, 2012 reply

The last correct call Tony Greene made was to his mama........

And she refused to accept the charges.

kywineman - February 13, 2012 reply

I really like Jay Bilas

by far the best thing ESPN has going for them in analysis/talking heads

kcgard2 - February 13, 2012 reply

Well we certainly will have a lot of

small dramas to entertain ourselves with when Vandy comes to town. Tchiengang’s mugging of Teague, Jenkins theatrics, and I am sure there will be some whining from HCKS. The crowd will be fired up.