Kentucky Makes Case for #1, Hammers Hogs 101-70

John Calipari has been begging for his team to step on an opponent’s throat when the ‘Cats get a lead. After staking themselves to a 30 point halftime lead, I think UK’s 14-0 spurt to start the second half qualifies. In fact, UK’s play in the first 26 minutes was as dominant as the ‘Cats have looked in SEC play in years.

They picked a good time to do it, because the nation was looking to crown a new #1 after Texas lost to Kansas State this week (and just lost again to Connecticut). UK stepped into the void and now could easily be the first unanimously top ranked team this season.

As fun as it was to watch UK’s balanced offensive attack, it was its defensive attack (and today, it was an attack) that made this game a laugher from the very beginning. Coming, we talked a lot about Arkansas’ offensive weapons. Rotnei Clarke has the ability to light it up from anywhere, Courtney Fortson can get pretty much anywhere he wants with the ball, and Michael Washington and Marshawn Powell form one of the more dangerous post duos in the conference.

UK, though, looked well rested and well prepared to deal with the Razorbacks. In the first half, the UK defense nearly matched the Arkansas offense block for made field goal. UK had seven of its nine blocks in the first half and Arkansas made just 9-39 first half shots. Rotnei Clarke had just 2 points on 1-6 shooting and Powell had just 3 points. Fortson and Washington tried to do it themselves, scoring 22 of Arkansas’ 27 points, but it was far from enough.

11 of UK’s 13 players saw the floor in the first half, and 10 of the 11 scored. John Calipari used that wave of able bodies to throw at Arkansas’ stars. Courtney Fortson was guarded by John Wall, Eric Bledsoe, and DeAndre Liggins in the first half. Rotnei Clark had to deal with Wall, Bledsoe, and Darius Miller. Arkansas’ big guys had to go up against Patrick Patterson, DeMarcus Cousins, Daniel Orton, Perry Stevenson, and Josh Harrellson.

I’d like to specifically mention the efforts of Liggins and Orton. The two only played 11 minutes between them, but they played every second with reckless abandon, flying around the court and terrorizing whomever they guarded. Liggins hit the floor at least four times in the first half, while Orton registered three blocks and a steal. Liggins and Orton aren’t going to be 25 minute per game guys this season, but if they can provide the kind of defensive spark that they did in the first half the rest of this season, UK will be tough to contend with.

The only black mark, if you can even call it that, on UK’s performance tonight was the lull in their play from about the 14 minute mark in the second half up until about eight minutes left when UK’s lead was cut to 31. DeMarcus Cousins quickly had four straight points, including a tip in and a beautiful take to the basket and finish.

Big Cuz has had better statistical performances than this afternoon (16 points and 14 boards), but I’m not sure he’s ever flashed more potential than he did today. He had a couple stunning post moves and finishes, he dominated the glass when he was in, and played pretty good defense. Besides, he took a nasty blow to the face which had him looking more like a Montreal Canadien than a Kentucky Wildcat.

As much as Cousins had NBA scouts salivating, he’s still no John Wall. Wall had had a bit of a rough time over the past few games, but looked every bit of the #1 pick in the 2010 NBA Draft today. He had 16 points, 7 assists, 3 rebounds, 3 steals, and 2 blocks against only 2 turnovers, looking completely in control. He was also an impact defensive player. He could have easily gone for 25 if some of his shots had gone down (including one ridiculous spinning layup that was the play of the game even though he missed it) and could have easily gone for 35 if he wanted to, but this was John Wall’s game for the 26 minutes he was in.

His backcourt counterpart, Eric Bledsoe, has been hearing lots of talk himself about his NBA future, with ESPN Draft Insider Chad Ford calling him a top 20 pick and Bill Simmons countering by calling him this year’s Russell Westbrook and a top six pick. Bledsoe showed why, scoring 10 points to go with 7 boards and 6 assists. However, he also showed why another year at UK may just do him some good. He got caught trying to do a bit too much on multiple occasions, turning it over six times.

Another star today was Darius Miller. He has had his ups and downs this season, but this was an up day. He was aggressive throughout and was rewarded with a career high in scoring. He led the ‘Cats with 18 on 7-9 shooting and 4-6 from behind the arc, and also pitched in with 5 rebounds and 4 assists.

The one guy to get lost in the shuffle a bit was Patrick Patterson. Patterson just couldn’t get his shot to fall today, shooting only 2-9, and was the only starter not to reach double figures.

Regardless, the Kentucky Wildcats were an absolute buzzsaw today. As John Calipari said, “If we played anybody in the country the way we played today, they are going to get smashed.” It’s a fitting performance for a team that is about to become #1 in the country, and it is probably the most UK has looked like the best in the NCAA all season.