Ten and oh. That sounds pretty good, doesn’t it. I had very high expectations for the Kentucky Wildcats this season, but they were based on the maturation of a bunch of young players and the development of a team playing a brand new style over the course of the year. My expectations were not that this team would be this precocious. Every test that is thrown at them, they find a way to pass it, and in the case of today’s game against IU, ace it.

The ‘Cats went into their first hostile environment of the season, facing the also young, but well coached Indiana Hoosiers and their always rowdy fans. They were greeted by a series of less than welcoming chants (such as “S-A-T”, “Cal’s a cheater”, and the ever so original “F*** John Wall”).

IU leapt out to an early 17-9 lead behind lights out shooting and boisterous fan support, but UK was unfazed. Led by John Wall and Eric Bledsoe, UK quickly erased the deficit, and when Wall threw down a fast break dunk all over Jordan Hulls with 4:40 left in the half, UK took a 36-27 lead. I figured that the outcome was no longer in doubt at that point, but in fact, IU hung around for the rest of the first half behind 60% shooting and 17 Maurice Creek points, then even taking the lead early in the second half 48-47.

Then, UK unleashed one of its soon to be patented big runs, going on an 18-0 spurt that put the game squarely in their control.

At this point, people around the country are going out of their way to turn on UK games to watch the John Wall show. Wall did not disappoint, but those that stuck around also got to see what was arguably UK’s best played game to date, at least offensively.

John Calipari got solid contributions from a bunch of his players. First and foremost was Eric Bledsoe. Since his stellar opening game performance, Bledsoe has been a bit inconsistent, struggling with poor decision making and a balky ankly, all the while having to adjust with playing off the ball more than he has at any point in his career. Eric poured in 23 points on 8-10 shooting, 4-5 from three. Coming into this season, outside shooting was a perceived weakness, but to this point, Eric Bledsoe has shown that he has the ability to shoot teams out of a zone, which is exactly what he did in the first half.

No surprise here, but Patrick Patterson pitched in a double-double with 19 points and 11 boards, 8 of which were offensive. Patterson led a stirring Kentucky charge on the glass, as the ‘Cats used their superior size and athleticism to outrebound IU 49-24, and 21-8 on the offensive glass.

Also coming to play in a big way in the second half especially was DeMarcus Cousins. He had 14 points and 8 rebounds overall, 12 and 6 of which were in the second half.

DeMarcus, whether he is playing well or not, continues to be absolutely fascinating to me. I commented during the game that I wish there were two channels that showed each UK game, one showing the regular coverage and the other solely focused on following DeMarcus Cousins the entire time. I would watch that every time, because DeMarcus is just hilarious with his body language and interaction with coaches, teammates, and opponents. At one point today, DeMarcus managed to pick an IU player completely off the grund after tying him up on a jump ball, then putting his hands up as if to say “what did I do?”

Joining the group in double figures was Darnell Dodson with 10 points, who continues to impress me with his ability to score the ball in a variety of ways. He seems to have a knack for finding open space, which is a vital skill when you are playing with guys like Wall and Bledsoe.

Dodson is providing some serious competition for Darius Miller for minutes, but has also shown that he can play alongside Miller or Ramon Harris. Harris is a player that I will admit to not being all that enthusiastic about, but his willingness to rebound, defend, and go hard after the 50-50 balls that Coach Cal so often talks about have won me over. Ramon belongs on this team and he belongs in the rotation.

Can you believe that I’ve written this much and talked so little about John Wall? I can’t really believe it myself, but so many guys played well today. That strong play still doesn’t change the fact that Wall was still the best player on the floor even though he scored only 11 points. He also added 8 assists and 7 rebounds, dominating the game for the 39 minutes he was on the floor in a less “oh my goodness did he really just do that” kind of way.

Wall and the ‘Cats as a unit cut down on the turnovers today, giving up the ball only 13 times against a disciplined defensive squad. Eric Bledsoe was responsible for 6 of the 13. On Bledsoe’s turnovers, Cal said “I told him after the game that if he played that well I’ll take your six turnovers.”

Defensively, UK was much, much better in the second half, playing switches better than they have all season and working well as a team. After IU’s 60% shooting in the first half, they allowed only 33.3% shooting in the second.

However, the trend of an opponent’s best wing player going off in a big way against UK continued, as Maurice Creek was the only Hoosier to reach double figures, scoring 31 points on 9-14 shooting. Cal tried a variety of guys against him, but he kept getting it done. UK could have done better, but the freshman deserves a lot of credit, he’s going to be a good one for Tom Crean.

UK has a week off during finals before taking the floor three times in six days starting on Saturday against Austin Peay. The ‘Cats won number 1,998 today and are on pace to win number 2,000 against Drexel a week from Monday.

It also appears that DeAndre Liggins will be available during this stretch of home games in which UK will be favored significantly. He played the last 40 seconds or so today against IU, his first time of the season. I’m not sure if we’ll ever know for sure the reason for his absence, but it’s good to have him back, and I really believe he has a chance to be a meaningful contributor.