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Everything You Need to Know about the 2010 SEC Tournament
By: Guy | March 10th, 2010 | Category: Cats
Tomorrow, the opening round of the 2010 SEC Tournament gets underway down in Nashville, Tennessee with four games. It has been four years since Nashville last played host. Games will be played at the recently renamed Bridgestone Arena, the home of the NHL’s Nashville Predators.
Most years, the Southeastern Conference heads to Atlanta and UK fans overrun the town. Kentucky fans love turning the town into “Cat-lanta” and they love calling it “Cat-lanta” even more. Unfortunately, I can’t think of any witty nickname for Nashville that incorporates UK, because Nashville is about to get a HEAVY dose of blue. Thousands of ‘Cats fans will flock, many of whom have no guarantees for tickets to the games. It’s going to be a big ole reunion, and it’s going to be a lot of fun.
I will be driving down to witness the festivities on Friday morning and I have absolutely no idea what I’m in for, but I know I’m excited. I’ll be posting recaps of UK games as usual and I will try to stop by with occasional reports letting you know about the action on and off the court, so keep an eye for that.
For now, let’s take a look some of the important things you need to know before you bear witness to the 2010 edition of the SEC Tournament.
The Favorite – Kentucky
Duh. UK dominated the conference on the floor and in the headlines all year long. They boast the most talent in the league and it’s not close. Plus, they will possess a homecourt advantage even though the tourney is being played in Nashville, the home of the Vanderbilt Commodores.
However, if you are pencilling the ‘Cats in for the title, slow down. Winning the SEC is not a priority for UK. They have a one seed locked up and are playing for a bigger goal. Other teams have more to gain from winning big in Nashville. With that said, this UK team is a competitive bunch and if a team comes at them, I think they’ll respond.
Darkhorse – South Carolina
I really think there are only four teams that can’t win the thing (Alabama, LSU, and Auburn). Teams like Georgia, Arkansas, and Florida would surprise me by winning, but not shock me. However, the underdog that is most likely to duplicate Georgia’s run from a couple years ago is South Carolina.
This is Devan Downey’s last shot to take his team to the NCAA Tournament, and he needs to win four in a row to pull it off. If South Carolina holds serve against Alabama, then can duplicate their win over UK in the second round, I think momentum could take them all the way through.
Best Player – John Wall
Again, duh.
It will be interesting, though, to see how Wall responds to playing games in back to back and potentially back to back to back days.
Most Likely to Have a Coming Out Party – Trey Thompkins
The sophomore was recognized on the All SEC team, but he still doesn’t get the publicity I think he deserves. In SEC play, he was the second leading scorer behind Devan Downey and the fourth leading rebounder. He can score in a variety of ways, play some defense, and rebound the ball. If Georgia makes a run, he will be the biggest reason why.
Best First Round Matchup – Georgia (E6) vs. Arkansas (W3)
Other than the fact that the top four teams in the SEC East were 24-0 against the West, the fact that the East’s six seed will be favored to beat the three seed in the West may be the most compelling evidence of the dominance of the East.
UGA and Arkansas both finished the season much worse than they would have liked. Arkansas was 7-4 and positioned for a first round bye in the SEC Tournament before dropping five in a row to close it out. Arkansas, had a respectable loss to UK before a terrible loss against LSU in their finale. Both will want to wipe that taste out of their mouths. I think both will be hungry to play and there will not be a shortage of talent on the floor. Courtney Fortson, Marshawn Powell, Michael Washington, Rotnei Clarke, Trey Thompkins, and Travis Leslie should provide reason enough to tune in.
Dream Matchup – UK-Vandy in the finals
Vandy and UK have been the best two teams in the conference all year. UK swept the season series and will be invading the Commodores hometown. Vandy will be playing for an historically high seed in the NCAA for their program (maybe even a two seed if things fall right) and UK could be playing for the overall number one seed if Kansas falters early. There would be lots of intrigue if this matchup happened.
My Picks
First Round
South Carolina (E5) over Alabama (W4)
Tennessee (E3) over LSU (W6)
Auburn (W5) over Florida (E4)
Georgia (E6) over Arkansas (W3)
Over the past few years, Florida has played worst when it matters the most. I think that continues this season and Auburn will capitalize. The Tigers have no business beating the Gators, but I have a feeling. Other than that upset, the East will pull off a clean sweep of the West.
Second Round
Kentucky (E1) over South Carolina (E5)
Ole Miss (W2) over Tennessee (E3)
Mississippi State (W1) over Auburn (W5)
Vanderbilt (E2) over Georgia (E6)
The teams most desperate for wins this week are Florida and the two Mississippi schools. In the secound round, I think we will get to see two of those teams face off in Florida and Mississippi State. This matchup will be very interesting, but I just don’t think Florida is very good. Also, I think Ole Miss will pull off a mini-upset of Tennessee here. Ole Miss comes in with a four game winning streak and I think they will catch the Vols looking forward to a semi-final matchup with UK.
Semi-Finals
Kentucky (E1) over Ole Miss (W2)
Vanderbilt (E2) over Mississippi State (W1)
When it comes down to it, I think the two best teams in the conference are going to show themselves to be just that to set up the matchup I mentioned earlier. Mississippi State could easily duplicate last year’s run in Tampa, but I don’t think they’ll have enough in the tank to take down Vandy.
Finals
Kentucky (E1) over Vanderbilt (E2)
Prepare yourselves for the “it’s hard to beat a team three times” cliches to be bandied about left and right. However, John Wall doesn’t know anything about that. He’s going to lead UK to a SEC Tournament title in his one shot.
The Pinkie Previews: Cincinnati (17-14, 7-11) vs. Louisville (20-11, 11-7)
By: Guy | March 10th, 2010 | Category: CardsA big chunk of the Pinkie crew is marooned down in Florida with a temporarily virus-infested computer, so I’m going to be stepping in to do a quick preview of this evening’s matchup between the Louisville Cardinals and Cincinnati Bearcats
Cincinnati Bearcats (11) vs. Louisville Cardinals (7)
Madison Square Garden New York, NY
Wednesday March 10, 2010
Time: 9:00 pm EST…but probably later
T.V.: ESPN
Last Meeting: UofL 68, Cincinnati 60 (Jan. 24, 2010 in Freedom Hall)
The University of Louisville Cardinals open second round play in the 2010 Big East Tournament against the Cincinnati Bearcats. The Bearcats entered the Tournament as the 11 seed and had to survive a 69-68 nailbiter to knock off Rutgers for their first ever win in the Big East Tournament. Lance Stephenson hit the go ahead free throw with 1.8 seconds left just hours after being named Big East Freshman of the Year.
Having defeated Syracuse for the second time this season in their farewell to Freedom Hall, the Cards play their first game of the season as NCAA Tournament locks. Even so, UofL stands to gain quite a bit this week by winning a couple games in Madison Square because the Cards would likely be destined for the dreaded 8/9 game in the NCAA Tournament if the season ended today.
Meet the Bearcats
Cincinnati is a team that focuses on two things: Defense and Rebounding. The Bearcats are one of the top rebounding teams in the nation, ranking in the top 40 in both offensive and defensive rebounding. Yancey Gates leads a frontline that pursues the ball very well off the glass.
Rebounding is the main reason why Cincinnati survived the first round, even though they shot just 37% from the field. They held a 44-28 advantage on the boards, including 19 offensive. We all know that the Cards are awful at closing out possessions on the defensive glass, so this is a major area of concern. UofL was able to stay within four boards of Cincinnati the last time around. If that repeats itself, I believe Louisville will advance.
The last time the teams met, the game looked like it would have major implications for the NCAA futures of both teams. Cincinnati entered the game 13-6 with a 4-3 Big East record, while UofL was 12-7 and 3-3. It turns out that that’s exactly what happened. Beginning with the UofL game, Cincinnati has finished the season 4-8, falling completely out of the running for an at-large bid, while UofL is 8-4 since that game and assured of a bid to the Big Dance.
The Bearcats are led by former Cardinal assistant (2001-03) and Pitino disciple, Mick Cronin. Slick Rick is 4-1 against Mick, with the lone loss coming in 2008 when the Cardinals fell 58-57. Pitino is 23-6 all-time against his former assistants.
Players To Watch
#5 Deonta Vaughn- Senior guard is averaging 11.2 ppg and has connected on 53 of 159, including just 9 of 40 (22.5%) the last 11 games. He drained 4 of 7 threes against UofL, but those were his only points. Cincinnati is most effective when he distributes the ball, but his assist numbers are down big in Big East play.
#33 Lance Stephenson- The aforementionedBig East Freshman of the Year is averaging 12.0 ppg and 5.4 rpg for the Bearcats this year. Stephenson is a physical scorer with NBA skills and could be a matchup nightmare for anyone at this level, particularly the Cards. In addition to his scoring, he is aggressively attacking the offensive glass in recent games, which is a bit frigtening for Ricky P and company.
#34 Yancy Gates- Sophomore forward averages 10.5 ppg and 6.0 rpg and is one of the top post players in the conference. Gates is foul prone however, and struggles to stay on the court and out of foul trouble. He was a revelation at the start of the season, notching two double-doubles in his first four outings. However, he has just two such performances since.
Keys To Victory
1) Rebounding – I’ve said it before and I’ll say it again: Cincinnati’s best option for beating UofL is making it hard on the Cards to score, closing out possessions with defensive boards, and attacking missed shots on the offensive glass. If UofL can limit Cincinnati’s second chance opportunities, the Bearcats are very capable of a brickfest.
2) Shot Selection – The Bearcats just don’t turn you over that much.
A rushed shot is an absolute gift to them because they are probably going to clean up the miss. UofL has to explore the defense, whether they are in zone or man, and make them defend for extended periods of time.
3) Samardo Samuels – Samuels, first of all, has got to pull his weight on the glass. If he doesn’t find a body to block out, Yancy Gates and company are going to have a field day. It would also be a bonus if Samuels could anchor himself in the post and get some of the Bearcat bigs in foul trouble.
4) Force Mistakes – UofL was able to dig out from a first half 11 point deficit in the two teams’ last matchup because of 11 steals and 17 forced turnovers. Stevenson, Vaughn, and Cashmere Wright are all extremely capable of trying to do too much. If Knowles, Sosa, Delk, Siva, and the ascendant Kyle Kuric can wreak some backcourt havoc, the Cards can get some baskets before the Bearcats can set their defense.
ZagsBlog on Brandon Knight: “Kentucky is probably where he ends up”
By: Guy | March 10th, 2010 | Category: Cats
Kentucky’s likely number one priority in the class of 2010 is top ranked point guard Brandon Knight. The Florida native just finished his high school season and is expected to make a college choice within a couple weeks. Many have speculated that Kentucky leads and a report by Adam Zagoria confirms that, though local schools like Florida and Miami may have more of a shot than some think:
Brandon Knight’s parents would like him to attend Kentucky while Knight himself is more inclined to stay local, multiple sources close to the situation said.
“The parents like UK. Brandon likes the idea of staying local, but he’s definitely not opposed to going away,” one source said.
A second source with direct knowledge of the situation went so far as to say Knight’s parents had already made up their mind in favor of Kentucky.
“You’re right,” the source said. “Do I think they made up their mind already? Yes, I do. It’s hard for me to believe they’ll stay locally.”
Added the first source: “Kentucky is probably where he ends up.”
Even though this article is titled “Brandon Knight, family split on college decision”, it doesn’t exactly read that way.
Knight would a logical heir to the positions previously occupied by Derrick Rose, Tyreke Evans, and most recently John Wall as John Calipari’s point guard. Like I said, a decision sooner rather than later is what I expect, and based on most everything I have heard, UK is the likely choice.
SEC Post Season Awards Revealed, Wildcats Prominently Featured
By: Guy | March 9th, 2010 | Category: Cats
This morning, the SEC announced its annual post season awards in a live online chat…welcome to the year 2010. Here are the UK players that were honored and the awards they received:
John Wall
Player of the Year
1st Team All Conference
All Freshman Team
Patrick Patterson
1st Team All Conference
All Defensive Team
DeMarcus Cousins
Freshman of the Year
1st Team All Conference
All Freshman Team
Eric Bledsoe
All Freshman Team
It’s fitting that UK dominated the post season conference awards as much as they dominated the regular season. The UK women’s team pulled off a clean sweep of Player of the Year, Coach of the Year, and Freshman of the Year honors, and the UK men’s team nearly matched the achievement, falling just short because Vandy coach Kevin Stallings took Coach of the Year honors.
John Calipari will be quick to remind you that there is a bigger goal waiting out there for these ‘Cats, but UK’s showing in these awards is proof of how much fun this regular season has been.
Monday Download and UK by the Numbers – 3/8
By: Guy | March 8th, 2010 | Category: CatsIt’s been an unexpectedly busy Monday with plenty of news and rumors of varying ridiculousness floating around. Before we get to the weekly numbers, here’s what’s going on:
-Lots of buzz on the recruiting trail after UK hosted Enes Kanter, Quincy Miller, Michael Gilchrist, and Deuce Bello. The visits, by all accounts, went very well. While decisions from Miller, Gilchrist, and Bello (who is marginal UK prospect) are a long way away, you cannot say the same for Kanter.
The Turkish big man is reportedly sky high on UK with some pointing to a commitment in a matter of days. I personally think we will have to wait longer than that, but he’s worth it. Word is that UK also leads for five star prospects Brandon Knight and Terrence Jones. Knight is likeliest of those two to make a decision soon, but quite honestly, there aren’t three 2010 kids I like more than Knight, Kanter, and Jones. No matter what happens, this class won’t be as well publicized as last year’s, but it could be excellent if things play out as planned.
With the positive news on Knight, it seems that UK is fading with Josh Selby. Selby was a late scratch for his visit to Lexington this weekend and to me it just feels like it will be Kansas.
-Outside of the good word on the trail, things have been alarmingly negative for a team that just finished a 29-2 regular season. A report on a LEO blog made the rounds today saying that violations by John Wall and DeMarcus Cousins were soon to emerge, as two major outlets were pursuing a story about illegal payments. The credibility of the report was questionable at best, but we will obviously monitor the situaiton.
Also, popular opinion following UK’s win over Florida is leaning toward UK being too young and not focused enough to live up to their talent and win a title. In all honesty, the more mainstream this opinion becomes, the better. The “nobody believes in us” phenomenon is one of the most powerful motivations in sports. For a team that struggles to motivate itself at times, hearing this kind of talk can be very beneficial. It allows John Calipari to band his team closer together and point them in a common direction.
Individual Stats
John Wall – 6.2 assists per game (6th nationally)
1.8 steals per game (t-89th nationally)
Patrick Patterson – 58.4% field goal shooting (44th nationally)
DeMarcus Cousins – 10.1 rebounds per game (20th nationally)
1.8 blocks per game (76th nationally)
RPI
With a 2-0 week and a loss by Syracuse to Louisville, the ‘Cats moved back up to number three according to RealTimeRPI.com. UK’s RPI and regular season accomplishments have them in all but guaranteed one seed position.
Ken Pomeroy
UK moved up a spot to ninth in Ken Pomeroy’s rankings this week. UK was pretty solid offensively this week, but a little below par on defense, which is the reason for the lack of upward movement according to KenPom.
Semi-Interested ‘Cats Beat Florida on Senior Day, 74-66
By: Guy | March 7th, 2010 | Category: Cats
Senior Day games are usually marked by emotion from start to finish. The seniors want to play a great last game, while teammates and fans want to send them off in style. As is always the case, pre-game festivities at Rupp culminated with the singing of “My Old Kentucky Home”, not surprisingly, John Calipari got a bit emotional.
Then, the ‘Cats took the floor. Normal starters John Wall and Patrick Patterson trotted out with departing seniors Perry Stevenson, Ramon Harris, and Mark Krebs. That group actually stayed on the floor past the first TV timeout, holding their own and staking UK to an early lead.
Eventually, though, Cal called on his traditional starters, who held on to a two to seven point lead until around the nine minute mark in the first half. At that point, UK went with a lineup of Eric Bledsoe, Patrick Patterson, Daniel Orton, Darius Miller, and Darnell Dodson. That’s not exactly the lineup you would expect to put together a 14-0 run in under four minutes, but that’s exactly what they did. Dodson and Miller had consecutive treys, Miller had a putback dunk, Bledsoe had a couple nice takes to the basket, and Dodson closed it out with a long two point jumper.
It looked like there was a chance that the seniors and Patterson would enjoy a last game victory lap as they blew out the hapless Gators. ‘Cats fans that had watched the first 30 games of the season knew better. You see, this UK team has just about the worst case of ADD I’ve seen.
They had Florida down, but they were only marginally interested in keeping it that way. They treaded water until the 1:30 mark in the half, then Florida pieced together a 6-0 run to close within ten at the break. From there, it was a battle the rest of the way.
Florida was able to whittle the lead to four early in the second half, then three with ten minutes left, and finally to two with with seven minutes left. All along though, no one really seemed all that worried, crowd included. It turned out there wasn’t much cause for concern, because it was John Wall time at the end again, UK made a couple free throws, and the ‘Cats moved to 29-2, obliterating any remain doubt about the prospect of a number one seed in the Tournament.
In all reality, it was a bit of a mail it in kind of performance by UK and even the crowd, making it all the more impressive that they were able to dispatch a team playing for its NCAA Tournament life. No one really played all that well, but UK got an anticlimactic win in bidding farewell to Patterson, the seniors, and likely Wall and Cousins, in spite of the “one more year” chants that we periodically thown around.
It was one of the more balanced performances by UK this season, highlighted by 8-18 shooting from deep and double figure scoring from Miller (14), Bledsoe (14), Patterson (13), Wall (11), and Dodson (10). Even though UK was outrebounded and outscored in the paint, UK played enough D and hit enough outside shots to get the W.
Perhaps the most encouraging aspect of the game was the play of Dodson and Miller, who were a combined 8-10 from the field. Both were aggressive and effective, but Dodson stuggled at times with decision making and defense, making it difficult for Cal to be comfortable with him on the floor as Florida was making a run. Miller seems to have had a bit of rebirth after being relegated to benchwarmer status for a few games. His continued confident play and really solid defense has to be frigtening for teams trying to piece together a gameplan to beat UK.
Dodson and Miller needed to get it done, because Wall, Cousins, and Patterson had pretty quiet games by their high standards in their likely last games. They combined for just 32 points on 10-27 shooting.
UK now heads to post-season play as SEC Champs, unbeaten at home, and presumably the #2 team in the land. It’s been quite a ride so far this season, but this game really had the feel that everybody was ready for what’s next.
Busy Senior Day Weekend at UK
By: Guy | March 5th, 2010 | Category: Cats
There has been a bit of intrigue this week leading up to UK’s Senior Day on Sunday regarding whom will be honored and who will be leaving early for the NBA. During UK’s media availability today, we got some clarification about plans for the big day.
Four players will be officially honored. Obviously, the guys who are listed as seniors in the program, Perry Stevenson, Ramon Harris, and Mark Krebs will get to walk through big rings with their picture and number. Additionally, Patrick Patterson confirmed today that even though he has a remaining year of eligibility that he may still use, he will take the opportunity to be honored in case he does not return.
John Calipari also confirmed that all four of those guys will get to start the game, meaning that the lineup at tipoff against Florida will almost certainly feature Patterson, Stevenson, Harris, Krebs, and John Wall.
The players who were available to the media were asked about their former coaches, including Billy Gillispie. They had some funny comments and Patterson had a strange one, saying he would not be surprised if Gillispie showed up for the game. Now, I don’t think that’s realistic at all unless Billy G plans on scalping a seat.
It’s going to be an interesting game for many reasons, but I am particularly fascinated by how UK will be honoring the past with Senior Day festivities and simultaneously hosting guys that could turn out to be the future of the program. UK has had some impressive visitor lists this season in terms of big name recruits, but if scheduled work out, this weekend could trump them all.
-Josh Selby, consensus top three point guard prospect in 2010, is tentatively scheduled to visit. His team needed to lose in the playoffs in order for the visit to happen, which they did, but the trip is not yet confirmed. By most accounts, Kansas is the leader here with UK focused intently on Brandon Knight, but this is a guy you don’t say no to.
-Enes Kanter, Turkish import and projected top 20 pick in the 2011 NBA Draft, is en route to Lexington as I write. There is a lot of talent in this weekend, but he may be the most intriguing player to me. I think he is good enough to step in and start right away at the four or five and I don’t think you’ll see much dropoff from DeMarcus Cousins. There are concerns about eligibility since he played with professional players in Europe, but Sandy Bell is on the case, because UK looks to be the leader for this Washington decommit.
-Michael Gilchrist (SF), Marquis Teague (PG), and Quincy Miller (PF) are three of the top five players in the class of 2011 and they are scheduled to attend.
Gilchrist is thought of as the best high schooler in the country regardless of class and UK is in excellent shape, with Villanova as the prime competition.
Teague is from Indianapolis and is notorious for cancelling scheduled trips due to a very busy family schedule. He had targeted a decision for this spring, but it looks more like he will wait until official visits during his senior year. UK and UofL are the main players and he is VERY important to the Cards program.
Quincy Miller
Miller (@qmillertime) is a loudly professed fan of the ‘Cats and particularly John Wall. No decision is imminent, but another UK visit is great news for the ‘Cats. He will also be at the UofL home game Saturday along with fellow 2011 prospect Deuce Bello, who will also come to Lexington.
What an insane list that is. UofL has a similarly deep list for the last game being played at Freedom Hall tomorrow, so the Bluegrass State will be hosting some SERIOUS young talent this weekend.
Yahoo Hands out All SEC Honors, Wall, Cousins, Patterson, Calipari Honored
By: Guy | March 4th, 2010 | Category: Cats
I talked a few weeks ago about the dominance UK basketball was about to show in the post season SEC awards. The official honors have yet to be handed out, but Yahoo is ahead of the game in naming their award winners:
FIRST TEAM
G John Wall, Kentucky
F DeMarcus Cousins, Kentucky
G Devan Downey, South Carolina
F Patrick Patterson, Kentucky
C Jarvis Varnado, Mississippi State
SECOND TEAM
F Trey Thompkins, Georgia
G Jermaine Beal, Vanderbilt
G Courtney Fortson, Arkansas
F Wayne Chism, Tennessee
F Tasmin Mitchell, LSU
THIRD TEAM
F Jeffery Taylor, Vanderbilt
G Dee Bost, Mississippi State
G Chris Warren, Ole Miss
G Erving Walker, Florida
G DeWayne Reed, Auburn
Player of the Year: John Wall, Kentucky
Coach of the Year: John Calipari, Kentucky
Freshman of the Year: John Wall, Kentucky
Newcomer of the Year: Vernon Macklin, Florida
Defensive Player of the Year: Jarvis Varnardo, Mississippi State
Sixth Man of the Year: John Jenkins, Vanderbilt
Most Improved: Travis Leslie, Georgia
Based on the fact that three UK players are on the first team and the ‘Cats swept the Player of the Year, Coach of the Year, and Freshman of the Year, it’s no shocker UK was THE story in the conference all year and have already clinched a share of the SEC title.
Another cool thing I ran across today was Chad Ford’s update from earlier this week of his profile of John Wall for the 2010 NBA Draft (Insider access). Some people have been saying Turner could supplant Wall as the top pick in 2010…that’s ridiculous and Ford agrees:
Evan Turner is the best player in college basketball. However, John Wall will be the better pro. The biggest reason is that Wall is a much better athlete and plays a position, point guard, that has such a huge impact on the game. Wall may be the best athlete I’ve ever seen. Get him in the NBA game and I don’t think anyone will be able to guard him.
I think Wall will mature in his decision making. The raw abilities are there. He sees the floor really well and is unselfish. The one attribute that really sets Wall apart is the killer instinct. How many times has he taken over a game in the last few minutes when Kentucky really needs him. That’s one of the reasons scouts love him. Star players do that and Wall has proven as a freshman he can and will do it.
Wow, possibly the best athlete he’s ever seen. Unreal praise from someone who has covered LeBron James.
John Wall Dunks on Travis Leslie
By: Guy | March 4th, 2010 | Category: CatsI’d say this makes up for what Travis Leslie did to DeMarcus Cousins back in January even though it was pretty scary to see John Wall hit the floor like that.
I already had come to this conclusion, but this is more evidence that John Wall is the best left handed dunker in the history of right handed people. Do you know any other righty who could have done that?
Also, WAVE 3 was kind enough to get their Louisville coverage of the UK-Georgia game up and running by this point, which was appreciated.
UK Takes Care of Business, Clinches Share of SEC Title
By: Guy | March 3rd, 2010 | Category: CatsAP Photo/Tricia Spaulding
UK’s trip to Athens to play Georgia started a bit inauspiciously in the first half. The ‘Cats were missing just a bit of intensity and DeMarcus Cousins picked up a couple quick fouls. Georgia was getting it done on the boards and UK was not. It was nip and tuck for the first eight minutes, thanks to a couple made threes by John Wall, but a Georgia spurt gave the Bulldogsa 26-20 advantage.
UK responded, grabbing a six point lead of its own at 38-32 with two and half minutes left in the half and ended the half up 40-36. Even so, it looked like the ‘Cats were in store for another SEC road battle if the ‘Cats didn’t lock down on D and hit the boards significantly harder.
UK, though, came out with a vengeance to start the second and it was all about defense. The perimeter players applied better ball pressure than I have seen all year and the bigs hedged on screens very effectively. They forced long passes in the half court and jumped passing lanes like it was their job. Those turnovers were quickly turned in transition baskets and when Georgia did get a shot up, UK got the rebounds. Before the Bulldogs knew what happened, UK was on an 11-0 run and had a 15 point lead.
For the next eight minutes, UK kept its foot on the Bulldogs throat pretty well. They had a 68-49 lead with just under nine minutes left, but they just couldn’t resist toying with Georgia a bit. Ricky McPhee hit a couple deep ones and the lead was right back down to nine. Even though the outcome was never really in doubt once Patrick Patterson answered with a nice post up deuce, it was still frustrating to see another let down.
With that said, I am pretty pleased with UK’s play in the second half tonight. We’ve been pointing to poor outside shooting as the reason why UK has played so many close games recently, but UK shot decently well from the outside in the first half, but held just a four point advantage. It was the lockdown defense that created separation, and I think that’s an excellent March lesson. UK is going to shoot poorly at times, but if they bring it defensively like they did for most of the second half, they can weather most any shooting slump.
By no means was it a good outside shooting night for UK (8-25), but it sure was nice to see a few go down. Darius Miller was throwing up bricks, but John Wall and Darnell Dodson were a combined 6-12 and created enough space for John Wall to wreak havoc in the seams of the defense. Wall was a perfect 5-5 from inside the arc, finishing with 24 points and a few Top 10 worthy plays, including one incredible left handed slam over Travis Leslie that avenged Leslie’s posterization of DeMarcus Cousins earlier this season. Wall also added six assists.
With Cousins limited to just 21 minutes due to foul trouble, there were opportunities aplenty for other UK bigs. Daniel Orton played some good minutes while Perry Stevenson and Josh Harrellson got some time. In Cousins absence, Patterson continued his strong play, scoring 17 points to go with 10 boards.
UK’s bigs were also excellent all game long in contesting shots around the basket. In fact, the ‘Cats had over half as many blocks (14) as Georgia had made field goals (25). Cousins and Patterson led the way with 6 and 4 respectively.
One thing I was very curious about entering the game was the way that John Calipari would handle the three position tonight. Darius Miller made his fourth straight start, but struggled from the outside and played just 15 minutes. Even though the shot wasn’t falling, he kept putting it up and he kept playing defense. He harrassed Travis Leslie badly every second he was on the floor. Darnell Dodson actually played the most minutes of the group, scoring 11 points in 21 minutes in one of his better recent performances. He was serviceable on defense and hit from the outside, which is all Cal needs out of him.
DeAndre Liggins saw plenty of time too, playing 16 minutes and scoring 5 points. He was aggressive taking it to the basket when it was there and made a couple nice dishes. I liked the way he played. Ramon Harris also played double digit minutes for the first time in a month and gave about what you would expect.
The reason why there were so many minutes to go around tonight was the fact that Eric Bledsoe played just 20 minutes, his fewest since the Drexel game in December. He was careless with the ball and bad on defense and didn’t deserve to play more than he did. Hopefully he will realize that his minutes aren’t a given, because UK needs him focused and playing smart.
Based on my praise for the ‘Cats second half play, you wouldn’t think it would have been UK’s worst rebounding performance of the season tonight. Georgia has more size than pretty much any other team in the SEC and they outrebounded the ‘Cats 35-26. UK also grabbed just seven offensive boards, a number DeMarcus Cousins often matches on his own. This was partially because UK shot over 54% tonight.
In summary, it sure was nice to see some shots fall, but it was even nicer to see UK get after it so hard on defense. Athens has been a graveyard for SEC East opponents this year (UGA beat Vandy, UT, USC, and Florida at home), so this is a solid win. If UK can duplicate its 8 steal, 14 block performance, they won’t lose many games the rest of the way. UK clinches a share of its 44th SEC title tonight and has a chance to win it all by themselves Sunday on Senior Day against Florida.
