The Big Blue Lowdown

That said, I don’t think anything I expected about how the game was played or what Cornell would do did not come to pass. A few things to keep in mind:

-Kentucky’s 62 points was tied for their season low—the only other time they scored that few points was in the South Carolina loss. Credit must be given to Cornell for locking up and discombobulating the Cats offense. Few of us expected that kind of defense from the brainiacs.

-Cornell had trouble getting shots off all night. I mean, they got maybe five clean looks in the last 10:00 minutes of the first half and maybe another five the entire second half. They were completely blanketed. UK’s length really bothered them, and it was clear they hadn’t seen anything like that all year. Few teams not in the NBA have, actually.

-Anyone who was calling for a blowout better admit that you started getting a little nervous when the Cornellians cut the Cats’ lead to six with 5:00 minutes to play. That turnaround hook by Big Cuz was the shot of the game—maybe the year. It stopped the bleeding and gave Kentucky back the momentum.  That shot doesnt fall and I can already see Louis “Norman” Dale hitting another off-balance three to make it a one possession game. This thing was a hell of a lot closer than it should have been, or than a lot of the BBN is claiming.

-Calipari played an interesting rotation last night, with Harris getting a lot of minutes. All in all, UK’s players were so much bigger and faster, it is frankly amazing that Cornell could even compete. Many have said that they would have picked Cornell against any other team left in the tournament save Kentucky. I would have to agree on that. Anyone who was talking smack about that team better recognize that it was no Ivy League goon squad full of non scholly chumps. That was the equivalent of a late ‘90s Rick Majerus coached Utah team—old, physically mature, good shooting with an athletic guard running the show, and two potential NBA players on the roster. In another bracket, that team could have made the Final Four.

-The referees were a joke last night. Just because one team has paid mercenaries does not mean that the rules stop applying. The intentional foul on Big Cuz was a joke and a dangerous one at that. There were some other incidences of chippiness that the Big Red got away with. I think we probably have to expect that the same thing will happen again if UK plays Duke or some other potential media darling.

-Cousins really is the next Shaq. The guy is like a Philistine, with bodies hanging on his arms and people submarining him and slapping him in the face on every play. And he only gets stronger and better the rougher they get. He was spinning on guys, dunking, blocking shots, hitting finger rolls, hooks. What is a DeMarcus Cousins? A freak. He hasn’t even grown into his body yet. That loose ball at midcourt in the first half when he hit the deck registered on the richter scale…he looked like a giant walrus crushing into some seals on the arctic coast. And for all the talk of his immaturity, he sure does a good job of dealing with more physical attacking and fouling than any other player in college hoops. My only lament is that there is not a single post player left in the tournament that is a true match for this monster. Boy, am I going to miss seeing him in Kentucky blue next year.

-Great win for Kentucky. They showed once again they can win vs. any style, in any environment, in any type of game. Their FT shooting was an abortion until the end, when EB stepped it up. Btw, Eric Bledsoe might end up being better than Wall at the next level where they play man to man and he can flit in and out and around mofos with the basketball on a string. His dunk vs. Wake (a “savage act of freakery”) really sealed the deal that he is top 15.
-I’d say the Cats were the smarter team, overall. More poised, less emotional, and played a cleaner game. Just goes to show you that basketball is a game and Kentucky plays it well in all phases. Even a cerebral, disciplined team like Cornell can unravel in the face of tremendous players who double as unselfish, team-first, sound decision makers…