By Leem0
Posted January 27, 2012, 4:53 pm
1/28 Marquette at VILLANOVA 12:00 pm ESPN2 Marquette -1.5
Prediction: Villanova 75-74
1/28 St.Johns’ at DUKE 12:00 pm ESPN Duke -19.5
Prediction: Duke 87-63
1/28 WAKE FOREST at Clemson 12:00 pm ESPN Full Court Clemson -11.5
Prediction: Clemson 74-64
1/28 West Virginia at Syracuse 1:00 pm ESPNU Syracuse -12
Prediction: Syracuse 76-64
1/28 Texas at BAYLOR 1:00 pm CBS Baylor -9
Prediction: Baylor 78-66
1/28 Texas Tech at MISSOURI 1:30 pm ESPN Full Court Missouri -23.5
Prediction: Missouri 89-60
1/28 Arkansas at ALABAMA 1:30 pm ESPN Full Court Alabama -9.5
Prediction: Alabama 72-60
1/28 Mississippi St. at FLORIDA 1:30 pm ESPN Full Court Florida -9.5
Prediction: Florida 80-68
1/28 Kansas at IOWA ST. 2:00 pm ESPN Kansas -7
Prediction: Kansas 73-71
1/28 Virginia Tech at MARYLAND 2:30 pm hESPN Full Court Virginia Tech -3
Prediction: Maryland 73-71
1/28 OKLAHOMA ST. at Texas A&M 4:00 pm ESPN Full Court TAM -5.5
Prediction: Tx A&M 65-60
1/28 Purdue at NORTHWESTERN 4:00 pm ESPN2 Pickem
Prediction: Northwestern 72-69
1/28 GEORGETOWN at Pittsburgh 4:00 pm ESPN Pittsburgh -2
Prediction: Georgetown 67-64
1/28 Kentucky at LSU 4:00 pm ESPN Full Court Kentucky -10
Prediction: Kentucky 73-66
1/28 Auburn at TENNESSEE 6:00 pm ESPN2 Tennessee -8
Prediction: Tennessee 69-60
1/28 Washington at ARIZONA 7:00 pm ESPN Arizona -4
Prediction: Arizona 77-69
1/28 South Carolina at MISSIPPI 7:00 pm FSN Regional Mississippi -6.5
Prediction: Mississippi 68-58
1/28 VIRGINIA at N.C. St. 8:00 pm ESPN2 N.C. St. -2.5
Prediction: N.C. St. 63-61
1/28 Illinois at MINNESOTA 8:00 pm Big Ten Network Minnesota -5
Prediction: Minnesota 69-63
CAPATALIZED team is favored against the spread
5 star locks of the day: Iowa St +7, Maryland +3 and Georgetown +2
I am going to bet $10 on the KY moneyline and let it ride until the SEC Tournament. I will either lose $10 or I will have some money to spend in New Orleans. Let's hope the CATS go 10-0!
2011-2012 Season
Year to date (Straight up picks): 21-7
Year to date (Against the spread): 12-13
By SkyAntoine
Posted January 26, 2012, 7:08 pm
Coach Cal will take his talents to South Baton Rouge Saturday when the #1 Cats (20-1, 6-0 SEC) take on the #73 ranked LSU Tigers (12-8, 2-4 SEC). The Tigers will be looking to salvage their season and there is no better starting point than knocking off Kentucky. Sometime between now and 30 seconds ago Calipari told his players and the press that Kentucky is LSU's Super Bowl and how they will "play out of their mind" Saturday.
The month of January has not been kind to LSU who has dropped 5 of their last 7 games since the world celebrated Kentucky defeating Louisville. Prior to January 1, LSU had won 7 straight with a big home win over Marquette. Losses away to Alabama, Florida and Mississippi State, although respectable teams, have shaken the confidence of LSU. On their current stretch of games, LSU Coach Trent Johnson said. "I've got a group that's really struggling (emotionally) right now. They fought. And we're just tired of coming up short. It hurts."
Kentucky, by all accounts, is much more emotionally stable and expected to take care of business before playing the Dirty Snitches of Tennessee next Tuesday. In this week's SEC Teleconference Coach Johnson said, "I don’t know if it’s Kentucky or the Miami Heat we have to play on Saturday.” It's understandable how he gets easily confused between the two. We do have MKG.
What to watch for Saturday...
- Leading scorer Justin Hamilton will learn about ball spikes. UK's defense has been incredibly awesome to very good to good most games. A few teams have given us fits fighting around picks and a couple of times I think we were watching butterflies rather than sticking with assignments, but we continue to be solid on defense.
- Can UK put a team away? We get up by 10...then we're up by 4...then we push it out to 9... Sound familiar? Fans can clamor over good, tight, buzzer beaters all you want, but I'm ready to see an old fashioned beat down. Maybe Cal will pull a Steve Spurrier and run up the score.
- Assists/Turnover and rebounds for Teague. The kid has been playing solid lately and it still seems like everyone is looking for him to prove that he can run this team. Regardless, point guard play cannot be underestimated and we need Teague to continue to build for March (and April).
- Terrence Jones cannot be in every other Tweet about how much we are outscored when he's in the game.
- Will Eloy make the court? Apparently he's developed superhuman skills in practice, yet we're keeping our secret weapon on the bench.
- Will Lamb get back in the groove? It was strange watching him miss 75% of his shots versus Georgia, but maybe I was just concentrating on his lack of hair.
- Will Darius Miller ever be referred to as "Disaperious" Miller again? Let's hope not. He's got that "I want #8" look in his eye and so does the Big Blue Nation.
GBB!
This guy isn't walking through LSU's door.
By Bean
Posted January 26, 2012, 6:03 pm
Nebraska @ Iowa (-6)
Nebraska has a nice win at home this year over Indiana, and Iowa has a couple nice wins over Wisconsin and Michigan. I’ll take Iowa at home over the Huskers.
Iowa 62 Nebraska 50
NC State @ North Carolina (-15)
This is UNC’s first game since losing Dexter Strickland for the season with a torn ACL. NC State is thriving under first year coach Mark Gottfried and has a couple of the ACC’s better players in Lorenzo Brown and C.J. Leslie. But UNC has won the past 8 meetings against NC State and is playing at home. I worry about them covering the spread since they are not a very good free throw shooting team.
North Carolina 83 NC State 73
Florida (-5.5) @ Ole Miss
Ole Miss is a team that will sneak up on teams if you aren’t careful and they are undefeated at home. Florida loves to play small ball with their four guards and their motto always seems to be “live by the 3 die by the 3.” Patric Young is a hoss down low and they need to feed him the rock more if they want to contend in March. I agree with Leem0’s 5 star lock of the day and I’m calling for the outright upset.
Ole Miss 69 Florida 65
Indiana @ Wisconsin (-7)
I refuse to say anything nice about Indiana. Yeah they beat Kentucky on a last second miracle, yeah they beat Ohio State at home when Jared Sullinger was still not 100%, blah blah blah. I’m sick of hearing “Indiana’s back! Indiana’s back!” OK, they’re back. If being back means losing to teams like Nebraska and Minnesota. Wisconsin is always in the hunt and have one of the more underrated coached in the game in Bo Ryan.
Wisconsin 75 Indiana 64
Boston College @ Virginia (-19)
Who picked this crappy game as part of the picks? Ummmm…..Boston College…..ummmm…….uhhhhh. I got nothing. But Virginia has Michael Scott, Dunder Mifflin Paper Compa……oh wait. Mike Scott. Got it.
Virginia 66 BC 48
Washington State @ Arizona (-8.5)
Man the Pac 12 is really crappy this year. Arizona is not nearly as good as I thought they would be. And freshman PG Josiah Turner has been a disappointment. This game would be more exciting if Arizona was wearing the new Star Wars uniforms that Nike released yesterday.
Arizona 75 Wazzu 68
Gonzaga (-14.5) @ Portland
Portland is the home of Terrence Jones. That is all.
Gonzaga 81 Portland 71
Record to Date: 4-2 / 3-3 ATS
Gonzaga always have players that look like this:
By Weege
Posted January 26, 2012, 6:00 pm
I was a freshman in high school. I had begged my Dad for years to take me to a UK game at Rupp Arena. The old man is a chain smoker with bad knees, so the idea of climbing a mountain of steps and going two hours without a smoke didn’t really appeal to him. He wasn’t a big basketball fan back then and he didn’t see why anyone would pay that much money and go to all that trouble to go to a game you could just watch on television. Nevertheless, he knew how big of a deal it was to me so when the opportunity arose he offered to take me. He had to be in Frankfort for work early in the morning the day after a UK game so he got some tickets through a friend and planned for us to get a hotel in Lexington and go to the game. So we packed our suitcases and headed off to the game. I could not have been more excited.
The majority of our two hour drive went smoothly other than the cloud of smoke I was forced to breathe, but when we got to Versailles Road the car started making a weird noise and Dad had to pull over. He diagnosed the problem and then informed me that the car wasn’t drivable and even worse, we might have to miss the game! Dad made some calls and to our surprise a tow truck quickly arrived to tow our car. Dad took one look at the tow truck driver and decided he didn’t want to leave our luggage in the car with that guy, so we decided to take it with us to the game. We had never been to Rupp and we were so naïve we thought there would be somewhere we could store our luggage when we got there. Dad made a call and one of his officers picked us up and dropped us off at the front entrance.
So we entered Rupp Arena carrying suitcases (with no wheels). A security guard stopped us and searched our luggage. You should have seen the look on his face when he said, “There’s a gun in here!” as he jumped back about three feet and then looked all around and stared at us like we were criminals. Yes, my Dad had a gun in his luggage and forgot to mention that to anybody. Within seconds there were about a dozen security guards making everyone back up while they fumbled through the rest of our stuff. By the time my Dad told them he was a police officer and showed them his badge all of our clothes including a pair of tighty whiteys were scattered on the floor for all to see. To my surprise, they gave him his gun back and allowed us to proceed.
There was no offer of storing our luggage, so we began trying to figure out where our seats were as we marched on with our bags. The mob of over 23,000 people darted around us in all directions and gave us bewildering looks while time after time we bumped into people with our luggage. As we walked out of the ramp on the upper level all the delusional thoughts I’d been having about sitting comfortably in some cozy seat while my suitcase was beside me quickly vanished, and I realized we were in over our heads. Just as we were about to throw in the towel we found our seats and amazingly they were in the first row of the upper level. We were able to stuff the majority of our bags under our seats and put our feet on the parts that stuck out without blocking off the row. That particular row was the ONLY ROW that would allow us to do that. If we had been in row 2 or any other row we would have been out of luck.
I don’t remember much about the actual game that was played on the floor. I remember being amazed at how loud it was. I remember gazing at all the banners in the rafters. I remember gawking at the cheerleaders and dancers. I remember wondering if maybe someday I would be good enough to play for UK (another delusional thought). I remember thinking the players were like celebrities and thinking how cool it would be a part of the team. I remember chanting C-A-T-S as loud as I could.
I also remember how uncomfortable Dad was in his seat. I remember the look of relief on his face when it was finally time to go and he could finally smoke. But most of all, I remember realizing that he went through all of that trouble for me. I’ve always referred to that experience as our “initiation” into The Big Blue Nation. It’s 21 years later now and I’ve probably gone to a hundred UK games, but I’ll never forget the first one.
By Leem0
Posted January 26, 2012, 1:59 am
1/26 NEBRASKA at Iowa 7:00 pm
ESPNU Iowa - 6
Prediction: Iowa 70-61
1/26 N.C. ST. at North Carolina 7:00 pm
ESPN North Carolina - 15
Prediction: North Carolina 85-71
1/26 Florida at MISSISSIPPI 7:00 pm
ESPN2 Florida – 5.5
Prediction: Florida 74-72
1/26 Indiana at WISCONSIN 9:00 pm
ESPN2 Wisconsin - 7
Prediction: Wisconsin 74-65
1/26 Boston College at VIRGINIA 9:00 pm
ESPNU Virginia - 19
Prediction: Virginia 69-48
1/26 Washington St. at ARIZONA 10:30 pm
FSN Regional Arizona – 8.5
Prediction: Arizona 73-62
1/26 GONZAGA at Portland 11:00 pm
ESPN2 Gonzaga – 14.5
Prediction: Gonzaga 79-64
CAPATALIZED teams are favored against the spread
* 5 star lock of the day Mississippi +5.5
2011-2012 Season
Year to date (Straight up picks): 15-6
Year to date (Against the spread): 6-12
By Weege
Posted January 25, 2012, 11:59 pm
For the past couple weeks we’ve been hearing about how hard Eloy has been working in practice. So how does he manage to get ZERO playing time against Georgia? Eloy has amassed a whopping 8 minutes of playing time in the last five games combined. I realize it’s hard to get PT when you have three All-American caliber big men gobbling up all the minutes, but Eloy is worthy of at least a few junk minutes per game. I was at the SEC Tournament last year and Eloy came up with some HUGE plays against Florida in the championship game. It ended up being a blowout, but Eloy’s critical plays tilted the momentum to the Cats and they never looked back. Come on Cal, throw the Centaurgas in there and let him at least bang with the bigs and pull down a couple nasty boards. At a minimum he could give Davis a few more minutes to catch his breath and rough somebody up with his elbows and hooves.
By Bean
Posted January 25, 2012, 11:49 pm
I thought I would take a few minutes and share my opinions on the overall state of the program and where we stand in my mind. And I mean aside from the obvious “we’re really flippin’ good” point of view. I hope everyone is enjoying the ride of the season that we’re on, because I tend to find myself, and others, complaining about how this team is playing at times. I will have to stop myself when I start saying things to myself like “man we don’t blow teams out like I thought we would,” and “man I can’t stand Terrence Jones!” Guys, it was only three short years ago when we had one Clyde Billy at the helm of the program locking players in bathroom stalls and acting like a general buffoon. Let’s enjoy this while we can because Calipari is not going to be here forever.
Lately I have literally been having dreams (and nightmare’s) of Kentucky cutting down the nets for the first time since 1998. The nightmare part comes in when I dream that we lose to some crap team like Butler or West Virginia and I have to wake up and convince myself it was only a dream. I am that tied to the program to literally have dreams and nightmares based on their success.
By nature, you might call me a Negative Ninny or Pessimistic Peter or whatever you want to call me for seeing things in a negative light. I was the guy last year who told everyone who would listen that we had “no shot” against Ohio State. Of course I believe we did have a good shot to beat them, but I like to convince myself that we aren’t going to win so that I will not be so disappointed when we do lose. If I am convinced that we are going to win, then I set myself up for nothing but disappointment. I do not take losing well. This trait might have started in 1992 after the loss to Duke, but I think it really started with the loss to Arizona in the 1997 Championship game. At the time I was a freshman at UK and when we beat Minnesota in the Final Four matchup, then realized that UNC had lost to Arizona while celebrating down on Woodland & Euclid, I thought we had #7 (at the time) in the bag.
Well the universe had other ideas. I remember celebrating for the game at some random apartment with my college roommate at the time getting sloshed off of Two Dogs and cheap beer. I remember Anthony Epps nailing a three at the end of regulation to force overtime and almost crying, because I thought he had saved us from a sure loss and we would prevail in overtime. Well, when Nazr Mohammed couldn’t hit a free throw to save his life and all Arizona could do was hit their free throws, I realized that the impossible came true. We lost. And I spent the next several days in a fog.
Soon thereafter Pitino left for the Celtics, Kentucky hired Tubby Smith from Georgia, and he subsequently won a championship with Pitino’s players. I’m not here to debate Tubby’s successes and failures. His greatest coaching job to this day was his coaching in that Duke game by saving his timeouts. I do think that Tubby should have his “jersey” retired in Rupp’s rafters at some point, but that is a debate that we will get into another time.
For now I want all of the Big Blue Nation to realize what a run we are on. This team is poised to hang banner #8 in Rupp Arena’s rafters. I see this team growing with every game they play. I know that Syracuse, Baylor, Missouri, North Carolina, and Ohio State all have really good teams this year. But I do not believe they have the mix of talent, experience, coaching, and intangibles that this Kentucky team has. Darius Miller appears to be stepping up into a leadership role right as his career is ending. I see him calling for the ball at the end of games and he now has a killer mentality that one needs to gut out victories in March. I never believed that Terrence Jones was that type of player. He is a tremendous talent for sure, but I don’t believe he can be counted on late in the game to make a play that saves this team in the tournament.
I see growth in Marquis Teague with each game he plays. He does not need to do anything more than be the floor leader that sets things up for his teammates. Last night for the most part, he did that. We do not need his scoring as much as we need his taking care of the ball and setting up guys like Doron and Davis.
Speaking of Davis, I am a total homer but I do not see anyone else as college basketball’s player of the year. Yes I believe Thomas Robinson of Kansas is the front runner, but it should be Davis. People need to realize that just because it doesn’t show up in the stat sheet as a point or rebound doesn’t mean it does not matter. The guy is going to shatter the UK record for blocks in a season! He changes everything on the defensive end. And his offensive game is starting to improve each and every game. When you have a guy that other teams must game plan against on the defensive end, then you have something that no other team has.
But I totally believe that the key to this team lies with Doron Lamb and Kyle Wiltjer. Yes, Kyle Wiltjer. Lamb gives Kentucky the one ingredient they have been missing each of the past two seasons. A knockdown shooter from three point range. I firmly believe that he should’ve gotten the last shot in last year’s loss to UConn. I believe that had a play been run to get Lamb a look at a 3, we would’ve advanced and had banner #8 in Rupp this year. But things didn’t turn out that way, so maybe he’ll have his shot this year. And I say Wiltjer based on two areas: we have no bench save for Eloy, and Kyle can also be a knockdown shooter from long range. He showed that last night with the two 3’s he knocked down. As long as he doesn’t get scared of the big stage, can get on the floor with his improving defense and rebounding, I believe there will come a time when either Lamb or Wiltjer will be needed to knock down a big three. And I think they answer the call. My point being, if this team is hitting their shots from outside, nobody beats us. Syracuse poses a big challenge with their 2-3 zone, but if we are hitting shots, then that opens everything up.
So, in closing, I just wanted to state that I think about hanging banner #8 a lot. Maybe too much. I am trying to “enjoy the ride” as Calipari preaches, instead of concentrating solely on the outcome. I realize that we are not going to be blessed with Michael Man-Gilchrist, The Unibrow, Doron “3-goggles” Lamb, T Jones and Darius “Stone Cold Killer” Miller forever. In fact, this might be the last year we get to enjoy them on the floor. In the end, I do believe that this is our time. Kentucky has gone way too long without having won a championship, and Calipari simply is overdue. I would argue that he could have as many as three or four championships at this point. He was knocked off in 1996 by our very own Cats, yet his UMass team was a #1 seed. In 2007 his Memphis team was the best team left standing when they lost to Mario Chalmers answered prayer. In 2010, Calipari and the Cats were the clear favorite remaining when we couldn’t throw it in the ocean and lost to West Virginia. And last year, we were the Vegas favorite to win it all when we again went cold and lost by one point to Kemba and UConn. This is the year. This time, the last second shot by the other team rims out. This time, our guys make the shots they need to make. This time, the good guys prevail.
Let’s enjoy the rest of the season. And maybe we can all celebrate Banner Number Eight together. I’ll see ya’ll at the corner of Woodland and Euclid.
Go Big Blue!
By Weege
Posted January 25, 2012, 3:27 pm
Nike has selected nine teams to wear their new Nike Hyper Elite Platinum uniforms at various games during the season. Kentucky is one of the teams selected, along with Arizona, Baylor (women’s), Duke, Florida, Syracuse, Connecticut (men’s and women’s) and North Carolina. All nine teams selected to wear the new uniforms have won national championships wearing Nike shoes and apparel in the past.
The uniforms are designed for maximum performance. The shorts have laser perforations in the side panels for increased breathability while featuring a lightweight woven design with new 4 way stretch technology. The hem is bonded on the shorts and the neckline of the jersey to enhance both comfort and style. The front of the jersey features a lightweight Nike Sphere fabric, while the back includes a cool new Nike Aerograph.
The new unis will be unleashed for selected rivalry games beginning in just a few days. Kentucky will be sporting the uniforms on January 31st for their matchup with Tennessee. I asked why Tennessee wouldn’t be wearing the new uniforms and I was told, “Because they don’t win championships and because if Jarnelle Stokes’ size 20 shoe was to get caught in his shorts they would morph into MC Hammer pants.”
By Bean
Posted January 25, 2012, 3:26 pm
In an ongoing effort to prove once and for all who can pick basketball winners and who’s just a loser, I will be making picks along with our very own Leem0 & his lame locks to see who is the best. I consult only with the super computer that is stored inside my rather large head. Here are your winners for Wednesday:
Duke (-10.5) @ Maryland – ESPN 9:00
Duke is coming off a heartbreaking loss at home on Michael Snaer’s last second three pointer at the buzzer. Maryland is at home and the place will surely be rocking as they always bring their best for the Dookies. I think Duke bounces back and wins a close game on the road. Duke 79 Maryland 72
Minnesota @ Michigan State (-9.5) – 8:30
Tom Izzo always has Michigan State in the hunt for another trip to the Final Four. It seems like that guy gets his teams playing its very best in March. He has taken more mediocre teams to the Final Four than anybody, PERIOD. We all know what Tubby Smith brings to the table; teams that play good defense and make teams work for every point they get. Minnesota has peformed admirably despite losing its all conference big man Trevor Mbakwe. I’m not betting against Izzo at home. MSU 68 Minnesota 55.
Missouri (-8.5) @ Oklahoma State – 7:30 ESPN2
Oklahoma State is reeling having lost five of their last seven games. Missouri is up to the number two team in the nation and is off a huge road win over Baylor last Saturday. I continue to be impressed with Missouri. They lost their best big man in Laurence Bowers before the season and Ricardo Ratliffe has stepped up to fill his spot. They play four guards and are a matchup nightmare for any team. This team will be going deep into March and are a viable threat to win the National Championship. Mizzou 77 – Oklahoma State 65.
Notre Dame @ Seton Hall (-6.5) – 8:00 ESPN3
Notre Dame is coming off their big win over the #1 ranked Orange of Syracuse, while Seton Hall continues their up and down season. They knocked off both UConn and West Virginia, then followed those wins up with losses against South Florida and Villanova. The Pirates do have a couple of nice players in Herb Pope & Jordan Theodore, but can they handle Luke Harangody’s clone, Jack Cooley, and slow down the Irish. I say they can. Seton Hall 70 – Notre Dame 64.
LSU @ Mississippi State (-8.5) – 8:00 ESPN3
I can’t quite figure out Mississippi State. Every year it seems they have a fairly talented team to make a deep run in March, but then they inevitably lose in the early rounds. They boast one of the conferences best point guards in Dee Bost, and have the newcomer of the year in Arnett Moultrie. LSU is putting together a nice season and this could be a spot for them to spring an upset. Miss State is off a big time road win at Vandy and have a tough road game at Florida on Saturday. As long as Renardo Sidney doesn’t try to eat Dee Bost, I say they win at home. Miss State 70 LSU 66.
Villanova @ Louisville (-9.5) – 7:00 ESPN
Louisville continues to battle injuries, although they did get a return from Kyle Kuric in last Saturday’s win over Pittsburgh. How they continue to be ranked in the top 25 is beyond me. They are currently the 10th best team in a very average Big East. Villanova has not had the success this year that they have enjoyed in the past. But they do have some momentum with back to back wins. With this one being on the road at the Chicken Palace, I say the Dirty Birds pull this one out. Throw ya L’s up Cardinal Fans! Louisville 65 Villanova 57.
By SkyAntoine
Posted January 25, 2012, 12:09 pm
The Cats didn't let the #1 ranking jinx them tonight as they got a solid road win in Athens. Led by 19 points from senior Darius Miller including 4-4 on three pointers, the Cats shot 47% from beyond the arc and out rebounded Georgia 40-18. The Dawgs tried to mimic Alabama's ugly play versus Kentucky on Saturday, but with shots dropping from outside Anthony Davis was not a key factor in point production taking only two field goal attempts. Although Davis only scored 4 points he had 12 rebounds and another 5 blocks giving him a paltry 98 swats for the year. And, if there was a category for intimidating the opposing team's players into throwing up slop shots, then he would be leading the nation by a mile. Wiltjer dropped in a couple of threes and Kidd-Gilchrist logged his 5th double-double of the year with 14 points, 11 boards, 3 assists and a block to boot.
A couple of take aways from the game:
- Why did Lamb ditch the fro? He might not have gotten to Oscar Gamble or Artis Gilmore status by March, but it had potential. Hopefully, it doesn't have a Sampson effect.
- Darius Miller looks like he wants the ball in his hand. A far cry from the Ole Miss game last season when he passed up a three in the closing seconds. UK needs him to continue to play hungry to keep this train rolling.
- "Kidd-Gilchrist is a man." This should be the first thing that rolls off your tongue when you wake up in the morning. Enjoy it while you can.
- After Coach Robic piqued my interest in declaring Eloy Vargas was playing harder than anyone in practice...he is yet to appear in a game. Stop teasing us.
- Teague had 7 rebounds, 7 assists and 0 turnovers. Plus, he didn't have to be told by the crowd that the shot clock was running out. I'll take it.
- The Georgia fan in the American underwear skimpies has to be wondering if it was worth it.
- We won a road win without fretting the whole game how this was going to turn out. We're at LSU (12-7, 2-3) on Saturday and fans would like to see a commanding win.
By Leem0
Posted January 25, 2012, 12:08 pm
1/25 Penn St at OHIO ST. 6:30 pm Big Ten Network Ohio St. -23.5
Prediction: OSU 80-52
1/25 West Virginia at St. John’ 7:00 pm ESPNU WVU -8
Prediction: WVU 75-67
1/25 PROVIDENCE at Pittsburgh 7:00 pm ESPN Full Court Pittsburgh -9
Prediction: Pitt 73-66
1/25 Villanova at LOUISVILLE 7:00 pm ESPN Louisville -8
Prediction: Louisville 74-64
1/25 Florida St. at WAKE FOREST 7:00 pm FSN Regional Florida St. -8
Prediction: FSU 71-66
1/25 MISSOURI at Oklahoma St. 7:30 pm ESPN2 Missouri -8.5
Prediction: Missouri 80-69
1/25 Alabama at South Carolina 8:00 pm ESPN Full Court Alabama -6
Prediction: Bama 65-59
1/25 Louisiana St. at MISSISSIPPI ST. 8:00 pm ESPN Full Court Mississippi St -8.5
Prediction: Miss St. 73-64
1/25 Notre Dame at SETON HALL 8:00 pm ESPN Full Court Seton Hall -6.5
Prediction: SHU 74-62
1/25 Minnesota at MICHIGAN ST. 8:30 pm Big Ten Network Michigan St. -10.5
Prediction: MSU 76-63
1/25 Auburn at ARKANSAS 9:00 pm CSS Arkansas -10.5
Prediction: Arkansas 76-65
1/25 Kansas St at Texas Tech 9:00 pm ESPNU Kansas St. -11
Prediction: Kansas St. 75-64
1/25 Duke at MARYLAND 9:00 pm ESPN Duke -11
Prediction: Duke 79-74
Leemo’s 5 star lock of the day: Maryland +11
2011-2012 Season
Year to date (Straight up picks): 6-2
Year to date (Against the spread): 2-4
By Bean
Posted January 25, 2012, 12:07 pm
I suppose I should start off my first post on Kentucky Basketball Forum as an introduction to myself. My name is Jason Green, but please, call me Bean. I was born in 1977 and raised in western Kentucky by my parents, Lee & Judy Green. I am from the legendary Muhlenberg County (yes, the same one from the song) in Central City, KY. I will not bore you with the details of my childhood, just the part where I became a rabid Kentucky basketball fan. My earliest memories were from the Eddie Sutton years. Nothing much there to brag about except IREX! That's right, Rex Chapman, the guy who was cool enough to own an IROC and repaint it to say IREX! That's just cool. Then the rebirth came with Rick Pitino's arrival. The culmination came with not a win, but a loss. THE loss of my era. The year was 1992, and I remember the day like it was yesterday. My parents were getting ready for a dinner party at a friend’s house. I remember watching the other games with my Dad while he was waiting for Mom to finish getting ready. "Do we have a chance," I asked. "Well son, we've got a small chance, but I wouldn't count on the good guys winning this one" he said. Duke had the best team in the county, coming off a national championship over mighty UNLV the year prior. They boasted the best player in the country, hated Christian Laettner. He was loathed by every fan of every other team in the nation. But he was hated the most by Kentucky fans on this evening, and the hatred was about to get much worse. I remember watching the most beautiful game of basketball I have ever seen to this day. Four Kentucky boys taking it to the more hyped Blue Devils. Pelphrey with key rebounds and baskets. Feldhaus for three. Mashburn doing everything. And Sean Woods. Oh Sean Woods. Most definitely my favorite Cat of the bunch. I about did a double backflip off my parents couch when he hit that runner that Billy Packer termed "a terrible shot." I just would rather leave it at that. But I can't. I still to this day want to grab Rick Pitino by his throat and ask him what the (bleep) he was thinking for not guarding the in bounds passer. Why give him the free look? Even Ray Charles could see they were going to Laettner. And they don't even put Feldhaus or Pelphrey in front of Laettner???? They just let him catch it for free??? At least let him work for the shot. Or maybe Pitino was thinking "they'll call a foul for sure if we put a man in front. He's the golden child, and he always gets the call." And Pitino might be right. Earlier in the game Laettner clearly stomped on Aminu Timberlake's chest for no particular reason. And he was not tossed from the game. A techinical only. Laettner would later admit,in 2011, that he thought it was Farmer who he was stomping on. Farmer had shoved Laettner into the basket support on the previous possession. But Laettner's argument has serious flaws. The most obvious of which, is that Timberlake was a 6'5" black man. Farmer was a 5'10" white boy with the best moustache this side of Magnum PI. Sorry Christian, but your logic is flawed. Just admit it. You were pissed, and you stomped on my boy Aminu. You got lucky. And Pitino probably thought you would get lucky again and get the call. But as I have often said, you make decisions out of fear. You cannot put TWO men BEHIND Laettner out of FEAR that you MIGHT get called for the foul! We all know the rest. Grant Hill makes a perfect pass, unimpeded by a defender, to the perfect player to take the perfect last second shot. I remember calling my parents at that dinner party after Sean Woods’ miraculous shot, proclaiming victory. "Well there's still 2.1 seconds left," my Dad said. “No way they score,” I thought. The rest is history. That was the last time I remember crying after a loss. There was recently a book published by Gene Wojciechowski titled "The Last Great Game: Duke vs. Kentucky And The 2.1 Seconds That Changed Basketball." I'm about half way through it and it is a fascinating look at both programs and the road they traveled leading up to that game and that shot. I recommend it for any fan of Kentucky basketball. Anyway, I don't want to take up any more of your time than I already have. I hope you are as excited to be a part of Kentucky Basketball Forum as I am. Please follow along with us as we enjoy the rebirth of this great basketball power. Ultimately, I hope this season ends with Kentucky cutting down the nets and putting Kentucky basketball back atop the college basketball mountain. Win or lose there will be plenty to talk about.
By Weege
Posted January 24, 2012, 1:00 pm
I love Rupp Arena. I also love the eRUPPtion zone. I am all for putting your students and rowdiest fans down as close as possible to the court. However, for the life of me I cannot comprehend why the eRUPPtion zone is on the wrong end of the court! I’ve been complaining about this for the past few years and I’ve never heard anybody else mention it. Wouldn’t you rather have your fans going crazy and trying to make your opponents miss free throws AT THE END OF THE GAME instead of in the first half? Wouldn’t that make more sense?
Because of the location of the eRUPPtion zone the students go nuts during the first half, and then they sit on their hands quietly in the second half when Kentucky shoots free throws. Meanwhile, the visiting team shoots free throws into a back drop of senior citizens. That’s not the way it should be. If we’re in dog fight with a 50 game home court winning streak on the line and our opponent steps to the line for a critical one and one, I want to see a bearded lumberjack straight out of Lord of the Rings going crazy and swinging his ax handle toward the shooter. I want to see giant Fat Heads of PeeWee Herman and Alf bobbing up and down. I want to see hypnotizing spiral spinners and blue Spidermen throwing imaginary webs at the rim. Unfortunately, that’s not going to happen this season. Instead, our opponents will calmly sink free throws while old season ticket holder great grandmothers sit there quietly and knit signs that say “I hope you miss it, Sonny”. Let’s start a movement! MOVE THE ERRUPTION ZONE TO THE OTHER END OF THE COURT! Who’s with me?
By Leem0
Posted January 23, 2012, 5:03 pm
1/ 23 Syracuse at Cincinnati 7:00 pm ESPN Syracuse -5.5
Prediction: Syracuse 70-68
1/23 Texas A&M at Kansas 9:00 pm ESPN Kansas -18
Prediction: Kansas 77-54
1/24 Michigan at Purdue 7:00 pm ESPN Purdue -6
Prediction: Purdue 71-65
1/24 Tennessee at Vanderbilt 7:00 pm ESPNU Vanderbilt -9.5
Prediction: Vanderbilt 76-62
1/24 South Florida at Marquette 8:00 pm CSS Marquette -11.5
Prediction: Marquette 75-62
1/24 Baylor at Oklahoma 8:00 pm ESPN Full Court Baylor -4.5
Prediciton: Baylor 76-72
1/24Miami at Georgia Tech 9:00 pm ESPNU Miami -1.5
Prediction: G. Tech 71-70
1/24 KENTUCKY at Georgia 9:00 pm ESPN KENTUCKY -11.5
Prediction: UK 75-64
* Highlighted teams are favored against the spread
2011-2012 Season Against the Spread
Last Night: 0-0
Year to date: 0-0
By Weege
Posted January 23, 2012, 11:03 am
It is only fitting that the first post on KentuckyBasketballForum.com is about UK being ranked first in the nation! When the polls come out later today the Cats will officially be sitting at the top, ranked #1, right where they belong.
The goal of this site is to cover all aspects of Kentucky basketball and provide you with a one stop destination for UK basketball information, including the following:
• Pre-game analysis
• In-game commentary
• Post-game summaries
• Current player interviews and former player interviews
• Current stats for former Wildcats currently in the NBA
• Interesting stories and entertaining articles
• Humorous jabs at rival teams
• Breaking news
• Recruiting rundowns
Much like the current Wildcats, we have a plan:
1. Like Marquis Teague, we will rub you the wrong way at times by making the wrong decisions, but you will eventually grow to love us.
2. Like Michael Kidd-Gilchrist, we will be aggressive (and we will probably change our name at some point).
3. Like Anthony Davis, we will swat any junk posts to the third row.
4. Like Terrence Jones, we will dislocate our pinkies by typing so much.
5. Like Darius Miller, we will disappear at times, but we will show up when it matters most.
We hope you’ll find this site useful and entertaining. For now you can post comments, but we will be adding a full message board in the very near future so you can engage in dialogue back and forth. Welcome to our site! We’re very glad to have you here!
