My feelings as a UK fan this season have transformed into two distinct but polar-opposite latitudes, and today's win over Florida pretty much cemented them.
I am almost afraid to watch away games (but still do) because of this gut feeling that, no matter what happens in the first half, the second half, the first five minutes or the final five minutes, the Cats are going to lose. With the exception of an early win at South Carolina, they have yet to allay my fears.
On the other hand, I have supreme confidence that when this team takes the floor at Rupp Arena, it will win. Pure and simple. The opponent doesn't matter. The previous performance doesn't matter. I have no qualms at all about watching UK destroy opponents on its home floor, and today's game backed up and boosted my confidence.
That being said, the Cats still didn't play a perfect game. Far from it, actually. There was, at times, a distinct lack of defensive rebounding, especially in key situations, and too many stupid fouls were committed too early in the contest.
On the other hand, Darius Miller stepped up in a huge way at Rupp Arena for the second time in as many home games. He shot the three well, he drove to the basket and used his size effectively and he was just an extremely difficult match-up defensively for the Florida Gators. Absolutely great performance out of an experienced player that should strive to consistently put up numbers like the ones he had today.
Brandon Knight, wonderful. Terrence Jones, solid, but still way too dependent on his left hand. Josh Harrellson, a beast, as usual.
I can't wait for Tuesday's prime-time matchup against Vandy at Rupp, I have no doubt the Cats will win.
The season finale @ Tennessee? Check back later.
Saturday, February 26, 2011
Tuesday, February 15, 2011
MSU Half-Time
Wow. What a way to end the half.
Kentucky played without energy, without intensity and without the lead for the entire first half. But everything changed in that frantic, final second.
There is no doubt that Brandon Knight was shooting the basketball. He is a smart kid, a smart player. He knew that Mississippi State was going to foul because they only had 5 team fouls, so he saw the contact coming and threw up a shot.
No logical reason for Rick Stansbury to complain.
But even if you throw that aside, there is one, I repeat ONE second on the clock! What else is the guy trying to do? Throw a pass?
No logical reason for Rick Stansbury to argue for over three minutes.
Put ALL of that aside, and your team will have, at the very least, a two-point lead at half-time in Rupp Arena.
No logical reason for Rick Stansbury to get a technical foul and incite the Big Blue Nation.
And yet....
Stansbury argued the call, berated the officials for a good three minutes and got a technical foul for his troubles.
And in the process, he single-handedly reversed the momentum of the game and nearly blew his team's five-point lead in the final second.
Instead of having a five-point lead in a silenced Rupp Arena looking for something to cheer about, the Bulldogs now have over 23,000 rabid screaming fans and a negligible one-point lead to look forward to as the second half gets under way.
Mississippi State is tired. They are slow. They are a team comprised of a good, experienced point guard, a standstill shooter and a fat, pretentious center who doesn't play defense. There is no possible way the Cats will lose this game, especially after the way the half ended.
Stansbury has practically gift-wrapped this one for UK. All the Cats have to do is open their present and get the W.
Kentucky played without energy, without intensity and without the lead for the entire first half. But everything changed in that frantic, final second.
There is no doubt that Brandon Knight was shooting the basketball. He is a smart kid, a smart player. He knew that Mississippi State was going to foul because they only had 5 team fouls, so he saw the contact coming and threw up a shot.
No logical reason for Rick Stansbury to complain.
But even if you throw that aside, there is one, I repeat ONE second on the clock! What else is the guy trying to do? Throw a pass?
No logical reason for Rick Stansbury to argue for over three minutes.
Put ALL of that aside, and your team will have, at the very least, a two-point lead at half-time in Rupp Arena.
No logical reason for Rick Stansbury to get a technical foul and incite the Big Blue Nation.
And yet....
Stansbury argued the call, berated the officials for a good three minutes and got a technical foul for his troubles.
And in the process, he single-handedly reversed the momentum of the game and nearly blew his team's five-point lead in the final second.
Instead of having a five-point lead in a silenced Rupp Arena looking for something to cheer about, the Bulldogs now have over 23,000 rabid screaming fans and a negligible one-point lead to look forward to as the second half gets under way.
Mississippi State is tired. They are slow. They are a team comprised of a good, experienced point guard, a standstill shooter and a fat, pretentious center who doesn't play defense. There is no possible way the Cats will lose this game, especially after the way the half ended.
Stansbury has practically gift-wrapped this one for UK. All the Cats have to do is open their present and get the W.
Tuesday, February 8, 2011
Half-time
My, oh my, how half-time thoughts can change in a matter of minutes.
I had the intro ready to go: Home, sweet home. It's amazing how much better the Cats play at home.
Um, scratch that. Partially, at least.
Kentucky did indeed prove that they are a much better team at home. But they also proved, yet again, that they cannot play with a large lead. Up until this point in the season, the let-downs had all come late in the second half, but I guess the team figured since it is a rivalry game, after all, and it is on national TV, they should start blowing the lead in the first half.
It certainly doesn't help having Knight on the bench with two fouls, but the idiotic nature of some of our turnovers is just infuriating.
Liggins throws a one hand pass. Liggins drives straight into a defender and loses possession. Two or three players get called for player control fouls. Maddening.
UK shot just under 60% from the field after missing its first 5 shots and yet we are still only up 7. We need to learn how to put teams away. Fast. The only positive thing about having a melt-down in the first half is that it gives Cal a chance to motivate the guys at half-time, and I'm sure the paint is peeling.
Better on-the-ball defense will win us this game, and having Knight back on the floor will certainly help with that. It's obvious that the Vols cannot defend our quicker and more athletic wing players, so Liggins and Miller need to penetrate and look for kicks to Knight and Lamb.
As long as we come out with the same intensity as we played with for most of the first half - minus the jittery play - there is no way that a team as dysfunctional offensively as Tennessee should beat the Cats.
I had the intro ready to go: Home, sweet home. It's amazing how much better the Cats play at home.
Um, scratch that. Partially, at least.
Kentucky did indeed prove that they are a much better team at home. But they also proved, yet again, that they cannot play with a large lead. Up until this point in the season, the let-downs had all come late in the second half, but I guess the team figured since it is a rivalry game, after all, and it is on national TV, they should start blowing the lead in the first half.
It certainly doesn't help having Knight on the bench with two fouls, but the idiotic nature of some of our turnovers is just infuriating.
Liggins throws a one hand pass. Liggins drives straight into a defender and loses possession. Two or three players get called for player control fouls. Maddening.
UK shot just under 60% from the field after missing its first 5 shots and yet we are still only up 7. We need to learn how to put teams away. Fast. The only positive thing about having a melt-down in the first half is that it gives Cal a chance to motivate the guys at half-time, and I'm sure the paint is peeling.
Better on-the-ball defense will win us this game, and having Knight back on the floor will certainly help with that. It's obvious that the Vols cannot defend our quicker and more athletic wing players, so Liggins and Miller need to penetrate and look for kicks to Knight and Lamb.
As long as we come out with the same intensity as we played with for most of the first half - minus the jittery play - there is no way that a team as dysfunctional offensively as Tennessee should beat the Cats.
Tuesday, February 1, 2011
Pre-Game Thoughts
Keys to tonight's game @ Ole Miss:
- Shut down Chris Warren. He is by far the Rebels' best player, averaging over 18 points and almost 4 assists per game. I would assume that Liggins will be matched up against Warren who, at 5-10, will have a real problem dealing with Deandre's size and length. UK also needs to keep Warren away from the charity stripe, where he shoots an impressive 94%.
- Take the crowd out of it early. You can bet it will be a tough atmosphere, as always, and it would certainly benefit the Cats to come out and silence the crowd early on. 3's are a great way to do that, so let's hope Lamb and Knight can knock down some shots early.
- Put them away. The Rebels have lost 5 of their first 6 conference games, so this is certainly a make-or-break moment for them, and being at home, they'll be especially charged up. It should be a blowout victory for UK, but nothing is ever easy on the road in the SEC, and given the way the Cats have finished their last two games, it could be close until the end. Hopefully Calipari has worked on instilling that killer instinct in his team, and hopefully the boys respond.
Ole Miss has been one of the worst teams in the SEC so far this year, and hopefully UK will compound their misery with another defeat tonight. I think Jones and Knight will dominate early and get the Cats out to a big lead, one that they will not relinquish.
84-68, Cats.
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