The Pinkie Previews: UNC-Asheville (0-5) vs. Kentucky (6-0)

I’m not going to lie, I am still reeling a bit from another heart-breaking Tennessee loss on Saturday night. Despite the loss, the crowd was unbelievable the entire game. It was the best atmosphere I have seen at Commonwealth Stadium in forever. I am sure Coach Brooks and the squad were very appreciative of the effort.

But, now we are forced to wait for a week to see what bowl game the Wildcats will be participating in. In the meantime, the basketball ‘Cats have a game on Monday versus UNC-Asheville in Louisville and then the showdown at Rupp against the Tar Heels on Saturday.

I will be ready for basketball on Saturday, but Monday’s game against winless UNC-Asheville still has me thinking about Morgan Newton rolling right on a big third down conversion. GIVE THE BALL TO RANDALL COBB!!!!

The Bulldogs of UNC-Asheville simply are not a good basketball team. They are 0-5, with a 16-point loss at Charlotte, a 75-point crushing at Tennessee in which the Vols put up 124 points, a 19-point defeat to Campbell, a 21-point thump job at Georgia, and a narrow six-point loss against Furman.

Despite their struggles, the Bulldogs entered the season with high expectations. They were picked to finish second in the Big South Conference behind last season’s regular season and tournament champion, Radford. It is the their highest placement in the preseason poll since being tabbed the favorite in 2002-03.

Last season they finished fourth in the Big South with a 10-8 league record. They finished 15-16 overall.

The Bulldogs return three starters and eight lettermen from last year’s squad. Junior forward John Williams is Asheville’s leading returning scorer with 12.9 points per game, but he is only averaging 8.8 so far this year. He does lead the team with 6.0 rebounds and an impressive 2.8 blocks.

A pair of sophomore guards are the only Bulldogs averaging double figures. J.P. Primm leads all scorers with 12.2 a game and is their only player shooting over 30-percent from beyond the arc. Chris Stephenson is averaging 11.0 points-per-game.

Another sophomore guard Matt Dickey, who made the Big South All-Rookie team last season, is a contributor for UNC-Asheville. Dickey, who averaged 10.9 points per game last season, is averaging 8.8 this year. He is also leading the team in assists with 3.0.

Why are the Bulldogs so bad? Simply, look at the numbers.

Through five games, they are allowing 89.2 points-per-game, while scoring only 61.8. They are committing 19.2 turnovers a game and dishing out 12.0 assists. The Bulldogs are shooting 38-percent from the field, 25-percent from three-point land and 58-percent from the line.

They are bad. This should be a snooze-fest for the fans at Freedom Hall.

Now let me get back to sulking about Kentucky not beating Tennessee once in the last quarter century.