Post UK-Georgia Thoughts

Sunday afternoon’s 68-45 win over Georgia may not have been the most enthralling SEC game you will see this season, but it was a very business-like performance by Kentucky, and it’s nice to have a team good enough to have a team that “takes care of business” and wins by 23.  As gritty and determined last year’s Cats were, they certainly did not have the luxury of many (if any comfortable wins in conference.  As a matter of fact, can you recall how many games UK won against conference opponents by double digits?  The answer: one.  UK beat Alabama 62-52 in Rupp Arena for their only one of the season.

This year, UK has played three conference games, and has won three conference games by 10 or more (10, 18, and 23).  In fact, UK has two road wins by double digits.  I have to say, I am very excited with the way UK has opened conference play.  Wins over SEC East opponents are always precious, especially over the UT’s and Vandy’s of the world.  Even though the atmosphere in Athens left a little to be desired (lots of empty seats), you only have to look at the trouble UGA gave UT at home to know that UGA will give some teams problems if they are hitting some shots (that’s a big if based on that performance though).

UK is now tied atop the SEC standings with a 3-0 record along with Florida and Mississippi State as the only team of the three that played more than one road game.  Also, Florida’s three wins were much easier than UK’s (Arkansas, Mississippi, @Auburn), and Mississippi State has to travel to Lexington this season.  Anything can happen, but I would call UK the favorite in the SEC at this point.

 Like I said, it wasn’t the prettiest game today, but there is still plenty to talk about.  I would be remiss to not start with Jodie Meeks after what he did in Knoxville.  He followed up his 54 point effort with a comparatively pedestrian 22 points on 8-16 shooting, 3-8 on threes.  There were times when Jodie seemed to force things just a bit (6 turnovers and a number of questionable shots), but you have to give credit to a guy who can score 22 right after a 54 point game, with the way UGA focused on him.  Jodie’s two most noteworthy plays of the day were dunks.  First was a beautiful one handed follow on a Perry Stevenson miss, second was a great cut to the basket by Jodie and a thunderous two hander.  With a shooting performance like Jodie had, it’s easy to forget about his explosive athleticism, but Jodie reminded us today.

DeAndre Liggins made his return to the rotation after his notable absence against Tennessee.  He, for the most part, avoided those bad mistakes that have plagued him all season and caused Coach Gillispie to quickly take him out.  Liggins (23) played more minutes than Michael Porter (17) for the first time since the Appalachian State game in December.  Liggins turned in a 2 point, 4 assist, 4 rebound performance with a block and a steal and only 2 turnovers.  His defense was pretty solid most of the game, and I think Gillispie wanted to give him a chance to get some serious minutes in an SEC road game, and I think he responded pretty well. 

Darius Miller did not get as much time on the floor as I would have guessed (15 minutes) today.  I really thought he might have a breakout game, instead, he played solidly but not spectacularly, but he did contribute meaningfully.  Kevin Galloway also got double digit minutes, and he showed the kind of passing he brings to the table with 3 nice assists (2 that led to Patterson dunks).  If these three guys can consistently have these kinds of efforts, they will be very valuable, but I still look for Miller or Liggins to really step up beyond that.

Speaking of consistency, how much fun is it to watch the way the team challenges shots in the paint every time?  The Cats added to their season total (3^rd in the nation entering this game) with 11 today, led by Patrick Patterson’s 4.  Even Jared Carter got in on the act with a late rejection.  By the way, did you see Jared Carter catch a pass uncontested under the basket (he’s 7’2, mind you) and immediately pass it to the wing?  It’s gotten past the point where any UK fan can possibly harbor hope that he can contribute, but at least he provides some valuable unintentional comedy.  This year’s Senior Day is going to be just a tad less emotional that last season’s with Ramel and Joe saying goodbye.

What I take away from this game is that UK is not planning on having any letdowns this year, especially with the way they are committed to defense.  UGA was forced into 19 turnovers and shot only 31.1% from the field.   Next up, Kentucky plays its two games against Alabama teams, with Auburn making a trip to Rupp on Wednesday and UK heading to Tuscaloosa (I’ll take any chance I can to write that word) next weekend.  The rest of UK’s schedule in January is favorable, then comes a 5 game stretch (Mississippi State, Florida, @Arkansas, @Vandy, UT) that will go a long way toward deciding the SEC race.  Before that, UK needs to continue with business-like performances like today’s, and they won’t be far from reentering the polls for the first time since Gardner-Webb last year.  I’ll be along tomorrow with the voting, as well as an update of UK’s standing in the RPI.

Before I get to the report card, I should probably let you in on the answer to my question posed in “Let’s play a little game”.  I wouldn’t want to disappoint with all the interest everybody showed!!  The mystery player was JJ Redick in 2005-2006.  Redick won or shared most National POTY awards that season, which should show you that Jodie belongs in the corversation.

Turnovers/point guard play: B-

UK was a little more careless with the ball that I would have liked, but, for the most part, the point guards weren’t the guys making the mistakes.  Jodie, Patterson, and Ramon Harris were responsible for 13 of UK’s 18 turnovers, while Porter and Liggins only gave it away twice between them.  Porter was again a steadying presence, committing nary a turnover (in his last four games, he now has as many steals (5) as turnovers).  Ball movement was good for the most part, but there were a couple stretches where things got sloppy.  Not terrible overall, but by no means is there no room to improve.

Rebounding: B+

UK won on the glass 38-33 today, and I want to quickly point out a trend that we are seeing with UK: non-front court guys are doing a nice job crashing the boards lately.  Against Vandy, we saw guys like Meeks, Miller, Liggins and Harris outperform the big guys on the boards; against UT, Jodie Meeks was the second leading rebounder; and today, Michael Porter led the way with 6 boards.  With the way that UK’s bigs contest shots so well, they are often not in prime rebounding position, but they are able to get by with it because other guys are covering.

Getting the ball to Patterson: B+

Patterson got the ball plenty of times in good position today, but he did not shoot as well as we have been accustomed to this year.  For the first time all season, he has shot under 50% from the field in consecutive outings.  I’m not suggesting this is anything at all to worry about, I’m merely pointing out that he’s not perfect.  However, Patterson catching the ball deep in the post remains UK’s best offensive option, even with Jodie Meeks playing the way he is.  Patterson is just so accurate, and he is such a great passer. 

Secondary Scoring: B

Perry Stevenson was the guy who stepped up today.  He got to the foul line (4-4), got open dunks, made nice pump fakes, and nailed a 3 on his way to 13 points.  Only one guy a game needs to have this kind of game for UK to be very dangerous, so props to Perry.  Michael Porter also tossed in 7 points including 5-5 from the line.  His foul shooting of late is very, very encouraging.  We learned last year how valuable it can be to have a point guard who is money from the line late in games.