Kentucky Impresses in Win Over Indiana

Just a couple of quick thoughts on Kentucky’s impressive win over Indiana before Guy gets in here and writes an 18-page diatribe.

First off, wow! That is easily the best 40 minutes that Kentucky has put together this season. I am not sure anyone in the country beats the Wildcats if they play like they did today. Sure, like Greg Anthony said, Kansas would give them a game. But, that was just an impressive performance.

Their energy on defense the entire game was great. They looked a little sloppy when they ran the 1-3-1 a couple times but in man-to-man they were all over the place. It got them in trouble in the first half a bit as they over-pursued and were forced to fly at open shooters, but you can’t fault the effort. Indiana took advantage of the open shots in the first half but you just had the feeling that they couldn’t keep it up.

My concern with this Kentucky team has always been that teams will just pack the zone in and force them to rely on their perimeter game. We knew that Indiana was going to zone the Wildcats, so I was interested to see how they handled it.

Against the zone, Kentucky was superb. They constantly found openings and created off of it. Patterson flashing to the middle or to the baseline for jumpers. It has been a long time since a Kentucky team looked that crisp in the halfcourt.

I am not sure I remember a game where a team dominated the boards and second chance points like Kentucky did today. The Hoosiers had no answer. And how many times did Indiana penetrate into the trees and have nowhere to go because of the ‘Cats size and athleticism underneath?

John Wall is special. He proved today that he can dominate the game without scoring the basketball. Everyone is enamored with his athleticism and rightfully so. But, what absolutely impresses the hell out of me is his poise and his ability to get the ball in the right spots.

His dunk in transition where he took off from the hash…unreal. I think Rod Strickland’s reaction on the bench says it all.

If Eric Bledsoe is knocking down shots like that, how do you defend them?

How fun is it to watch Patrick Patterson out there? The man is just a monster.

I could go on. Guy will be here for more.