The Big Blue Lowdown

Kentucky’s nonconference slate is finally complete and the Southeastern Conference opener awaits this Saturday when the Cats host the South Carolina Gamecocks in the league opener for both teams.  The Wildcats now stand at 14-1 overall with significant wins over Kansas, North Carolina, and Louisville while a loss to the Indiana Hoosiers in Bloomington on a three at the buzzer is their only blemish on the year.

But now is when the real work begins, and as last year’s team found out,...

The Kentucky Wildcats overcame a poor shooting effort and a gritty performance to pull away to a 69-62 win over Louisvlle on Saturday. Michael Kidd-Gilchrist was an absolute beast for the Cats with 24 points and 19 rebounds while Anthony Davis had a huge second half to help the Wildcats pull away from the Cardinals in the second half after U of L fought back to force a 40-40 tie with 15 minutes to play.

The Wildcats actually led by 13 with 10 seconds to play, but a pair of late threes by...

So the game we have all been waiting for is finally here-the filthy Cards will visit Rupp Arena on Saturday for a game featuring two coaches who clearly disdain each other, two of the most historic programs in all of college basketball, and two teams ranked in the top 5. Whether Louisville actually deserves that ranking is a matter of much discussion, but nevertheless, that's where we stand now.

Before we talk about recent developments with the Cats and look ahead to Saturday, let me...

As expected, Kentucky is again the number 1 team in the country in both the AP and Coaches poll, with Ohio State firmly entrenched at #2 in both polls.  The only real question about the polls is how anyone could give Syracuse a vote at #1 after last week's games, but some coach apparently thinks the Orangemen are the top team in the country.  I guess in some fantasy land that's possible, but the Cats and the Buckeyes made pretty emphatic statements last week and, at least in the first week of...

Anthony Davis came within an eyelash of a triple-double, the team defense was ferocious and UK dominated St. John's at Rupp Arena Thursday night.

Many worried the Cats would overlook the Red Storm with UNC coming to town in two days. Not so.

Davis scored 15 points, grabbed 15 rebounds and had eight of a school-record 18 blocks, as the Cats rolled 81-59.

Terrence Jones exploded for 26 points and Doron Lamb dropped 16, and UK proved that there would be no letdown after it took over the...

As I write this today, the Cats are the No. 1 team in the nation. At this point in the season, is it too early for this team to have the bullseye on their back? No one knows for sure, but here is what we do know so far.

Strengths

    •    Defense. This team is the best shot blocking team in the nation. Davis (4.3 bpg) rightfully gets the pub, but Jones (2.2 bpg) and Kidd-Gilchrist (1.3 bpg) are intimidators as well. Overall, the Cats block 10 shots a night.

    •    Rebounding. The...

As expected, Kentucky assumed the top spot in both the AP and the Coaches polls today following this weekend's loss by then #1 North Carolina.  Kentucky is followed in both polls by Ohio State while the Tarheels, who will visit Rupp Arena on Saturday, fell to #5 in both surveys.

After spending the last few days traveling for Thanksgiving, it's nice to be back and, oh what a day to blog about the UK Wildcats!  While I know this is a basketball blog, let me send out some props to the UK football team (and yes, even Joker Phillips) for FINALLY ending The Streak against the Tennessee Volunteers.  While the 10-7 win wasn't pretty, does it really matter?  Any win against Tennessee is wonderful, and yesterday's was one of the all-time moments for this UK fan as I nearly...

This one was never close. The Wildcats took care of Radford in short order, scoring the game's first 14 points and building a 31-point lead by halftime on their way to a 48-point thrashing of Rupp Arena's latest sacrificial lamb.

Despite the inferiority of the opponent, the Wildcats showed a number of extremely positive signs. For one, freshman PG Marquis Teague put together a solid overall performance, turning the ball over only twice while notching five assists to go along with 13 points...

Although they received a much tougher test than anyone expected, the UK Wildcats withstood a stout challenge from Old Dominion this afternoon in a 62-52 win that ran the Cats' record to 4-0 on the year and claimed the Hall of Fame Tipoff Tournament championship.  Give ODU credit-they played the Wildcats tough, but in reality most of Kentucky's struggles were of the self-inflicted variety.  UK struggled offensively against the ODU zone defense, which, given how the Cats looked against ODU, I...

Kentucky blasted Penn State 85-47 in the Hall of Fame Tip-Off tournament in Connecticut. Doron Lamb led another balanced UK attacks with 26 points.

Probably the most surprising, and welcome, signed for UK, was the emergence of freshman Kyle Wiltjer who dropped 19 points and also demonstrated a complete game, showing his ability to see the floor and distribute the ball from in the paint.

Terrence Jones chipped in a stat sheet stuffer game with 15 points, nine rebounds and five assists.  ...

Through two games, Kentucky has shown a trend to come out wild and lacking discipline in the first half, and then emerges after half time as an NBA team.

Vs. Kansas:

1st Half- 28 points, poor shots, 12 turnovers

2nd Half- 47 points, better passing and ball rotation, 7 turnovers (still a little high)
 
1st Half Teague- O assists, 5 turnovers and out of control

2nd Half Teague, 4 assists, 1 turnover, much better control
 
Kansas is down this year but no slouch. They have young...

It wasn't always a thing of beauty, but Kentucky beat a decent Kansas team 75-65 tonight in Madison Square Garden in New York.  While the Cats slugged though the first half, good defense and a few timely threes by Doron Lamb allowed the Wildcats to break open a tie game at the half and build as much as a 17 point lead on several occasions in the second half.  The game was not as close as the score would indicate.

On a side note, congratulations to Duke head coach Mike Krzyzewski who passed...

Tonight is the official tip-off of the 2011-2012 season, and what is not to be excited about?  This edition of the Wildcats should be strong contenders to not only win the SEC, but make a push toward the Final Four in New Orleans.  Kentucky is in a small group of truly elite teams this season that includes North Carolina (who will visit Rupp Arena on December 3), Ohio State, and UCONN.

First up, however, is the Marist Red Foxes, who will invade Rupp for tonight's opener.  I confess to not...

WHAS tv's Adam Lefkoe has put together a great video on the Kentucky-Louisville basketball rivalry.  The first installment goes throught the history of the rivalry and it's developments over the past two decades.  This is great stuff and a nice primer as we count down to the opening tip of the 2011-2012 season tomorrow night.  Go Cats!