The BBL’s own JRokDimes offers his candid thoughts on Thursday night’s Kentucky-Cornell matchup in the East Regional Semifinal.

Folks, I will eat my helping of crow. The final margin of 17 (Kentucky 62-Cornell 45) does seem to reflect a dominating performance by the Cats. We at the BBL were wrong to insist that the game would be close throughout.

Bring on the Mountaineers!

The Kentucky Wildcats advanced to the SEC Tournament championship game after an impressive 74-45 victory over 13th ranked Tennessee, avenging a February loss to the Vols in Knoxville.

UK was led by a huge DeMarcus Cousins performance of 19 points and 15 boards, while John Wall controlled the tempo from start to finish and created offense seemingly any time the Cats needed it.

The Big Picture
With every passing day in March, the picture comes more into focus for this Kentucky Wildcats team. The picture we speak of is the Cats’ postseason destiny.

What will be their ultimate fate?

We know, of course, that this team has the talent to win it all. But the margin for error is thinner than many in the Big Blue Nation would like to believe.

As we see them, here are the knowns and unknowns that should dictate the future of this Wildcats squad.

Known Commodities
Kentucky right now is the most talented team in college basketball. It is difficult to argue to the contrary. They possess great depth and very little dropoff in overall athleticism when going to the bench.

The Cats consistently get great performances from an array of supporting cast members, and on any given night, there is more than one Kentucky player who can hurt you.

Wall’s spectacular guard play and Cousins’ domination of the interior are the highlights. Spot shooting from Darnell Dodson, Eric Bledsoe and Darius Miller are also wild cards that can kill a team when they least expect it.

But this team is much more than that. They can dominate the glass, play suffocating halfcourt defense, and show the ability to go on huge spurts, as evidenced Saturday in their decisive 14-0 second half run to bury Tennesee.

Known Unknowns
The unknowns about this team are many.

Can Kentucky hit enough perimeter shots to keep defenses honest? Will the effort and mental focus of such a young group be able to hold out for a deep tourney run? Is Calipari a good enough Xs and Os coach to get this team through the tense moments of a white knuckler in the Big Dance? And will this team ever solve a zone?

We don’t know the answers. To be perfectly frank, we doubt the Cats will have the right answers to all these questions. This team makes a lot of serious fundamental mistakes. And free throw shooting continues to be abysmal for stretches.

But the bottom line is that Kentucky just beat a top 15 team (and a near certain 3 or 4 seed in the NCAA tournament) by 29 points on a neutral floor.

Even when the pieces are not all in place, there is enough there to overcome UK’s considerable deficits.

BBL’s Take
Sunday Kentucky will meet the winner of Vanderbilt and Mississippi State for the right to a 26th SEC tourney title. Win that game and this UK steam roller will head to the tournament with a number one seed and a favorable draw.

We still see an early exit as a definite possibility, depending on the opponent. But things could just as easily go the other way.

The Wildcats’ plot continues to thicken.

The Wildcats were not extremely impressive in their final home game of the 2009-10 season, but they did what they needed to do to close out a Florida team desperate for a tourney-clinching win.

The Cats were led, on Senior Day, by Darius Miller and Eric Bledsoe, who tallied 14 points each in an emotional game that could be the final game in Rupp Arena for as many as five Wildcats–three seniors plus John Wall, Patrick Patterson and DeMarcus Cousins.

Overall, Kentucky did not rebound as well as they normally do, and the Cats were outscored in the paint 36-22 for the game. UK’s young perimeter struggled with inconsistency once again, and team defense as a whole was not up to par.

Much to our displeasure, some of the worst signs from earlier in the season continued to show, including streaky outside shooting and turnovers.

But, lest we paint a completely negative picture, the BBL would like to congratulate this year’s Kentucky Wildcats on a stellar 29-2 season overall, 14-2 SEC record and regular season conference championship…the school’s 44th.

Now the real fun begins with the SEC tournament heating up this week in Nashville. The Cats will face the winner of Georgia and Auburn at 1:00 p.m. Friday.

Before then the BBL will have breakdowns on the SEC tournament, a retrospective on UK’s season, and a look ahead to the Big Dance next week.

Get ready for the madness.

Another big road test for the Cats faced and overcome.

The nation is well aware of the talent and potential of Kentucky. Most are also well aware of how deadly this team could be on any given night. But it seems there is a general disregard for the accomplishments thus far of this UK team, and a lack of overall respect for the quality of the SEC, as well.

The BBL thinks America should take Kentucky’s record for granted at its own risk. Winning in Athens is no small task. Yeah, Georgia has a losing record and no, they aren’t a postseason threat of any sort. But this is a team with a 13-3 home record that claims more quality wins than most teams in America (wins over Georgia Tech, Illinois, Vandy, Tennessee and Florida).

True, Georgia showed its immaturity and started to completely fold in the second half under heavy UK defensive pressure, but this was not an easy place to go into and win in convincing fashion. This was a solid road performance for Kentucky, regardless of what you might hear elsewhere in the national media.

Here our some of our thoughts in this first of two game summaries on UK’s solid 80-68 victory over Georgia.

John Wall found his stroke a bit Wednesday, hitting three of his first four threes and showing that he can make you pay for leaving him open on the perimeter. His first half left-handed dunk was absolutely stupefying. Overall, Wall showed great leadership and demonstrated that he has learned when to slow it down and when to push it. We are starting to change our minds about his progress…he is getting better.

Maybe the loss to Tennessee really was what this team needed to wake up out of the poor shooting funk they’ve been in. A 52% first half really set the tone and showed a short memory.

The return of Darnell Dodson was a beautiful thing to witness. We said here that DD’s body was wearing down and we were worried about his ability to contribute in March. Dodson showed his trademark lack of conscience and kept shooting even after a rough start. This is the kind of fearlessness UK needs to make a run, as his scoring provides another deadly weapon for defenses to respect.

Patrick Patterson continued his late season surge with another double-double, pulling in 10 rebounds to go with his 17 points. PP is the glue right now, and we think as he goes, so goes UK.

There is a lot that can be said right now about Eric Bledsoe. The guy has all the talent in the world, but just simply hasn’t been able to put it together for long stretches. His decision making is abysmal and the turnovers are bound to cost Kentucky at a critical moment. We still look forward eagerly to what he can do next year, but right now, sometimes Bledsoe is a liability to this team.

Coach Calipari threatened to play the bench more and followed through, giving valuable minutes to Ramon Harris, Perry Stevenson and Josh Harrellson, who all acquitted themselves nicely. Having upperclassmen contribute like these three is a total bonus. Harris and Stevenson looked really active and found their way into some rebounds and a putback or two. It’s clear that their legs are fresh due to the limited minutes they’ve seen this year. In all, the Kentucky bench dropped a season high 24 points.

Travis Leslie is seriously one of the top five college dunkers of all time. Hands down. No other way to put it. However, he struggled against UK’s length and athleticism, and had trouble with Darius Miller in particular.

DeMarcus Cousins had a mostly quiet night, relatively speaking. But his steal, open court handle and drive to the hoop with a left handed finish was a sign of the once in a generation potential this guy possesses. In a season of amazing highlights for Big Cuz, that was about as amazing as anything.

The Cats put together an absolute block party tonight, swatting 14 shots and showing that you simply can’t bring it into the lane on this team.

Oh, and also, once again, basketball royalty was in attendance Wednesday night, as the bread truck himself, Mr. Charles Barkley watched the Cats and Dogs get down.

We won’t jump to any conclusions after watching Kentucky fall to Tennessee 74-65 Saturday afternoon in Knoxville.

Sure, there are plenty of eyebrow raisers about the way Kentucky played. But all in all, this was not an extremely damaging loss. The Cats may drop a spot in the polls, but nothing more. Their No. 1 seed resume wasn’t tarnished, and they still have two more chances to clinch an SEC regular season championship.

Nonetheless, the BBL offers our thoughts on Saturday’s loss.

Why They Lost
The primary reason for Kentucky’s defeat is a very simple one. The Cats shot the ball woefully from start to finish.

You won’t win many games when you shoot 2 for 22 from beyond the three-point arc and 35% from the field overall. You also won’t win many games on the road against ranked opponents when you get behind by as many as 19 points in the second half.

The fact that Kentucky tied the game and was in a position to possibly win it is, if anything, a testament to the fight in this group. And don’t believe any of the pundits who will try to say that UK crawled back into this game on talent alone.

Kentucky played excellent halfcourt defense in the game’s final 15 minutes, rebounded well and showed a combination of determination and heart that is frankly rare for a team led by underclassmen. Couple this with the fact that UK was playing an early Saturday game on the road after a late game Thursday night, and it really is remarkable how it all went down.

But let’s also give some credit to Tennessee and coach Bruce Pearl. The Vols defended well and executed another well devised gameplan of slowing the tempo and looking for scoring options late on each shot clock. They got good contributions from 10 different players, and really played unselfishly, getting some great interior passes for buckets late in the game.

Cause for Concern
No secret here. Kentucky has to find a way to knock down perimeter jumpers.

They will be zoned relentlessly by every opponent from here on out. Good decision making from John Wall and UK’s ability to attack the offensive glass will help, but at some point, someone has to step up and make defenses respect UK from outside.

At times, we thought Eric Bledsoe, Darius Miller or Darnell Dodson could be the guy to do it. But this has just not panned out. Dodson has faded badly. His body seems worn out and he doesn’t have the same quickness on his release. He’ll need to get stronger next year if he is to become a big time scoring option. Miller, while hitting only one of five from three, stepped up and scored some big baskets during the Cats big second half push. Bledsoe chipped in nine points and five boards, but was hot and cold for most of the day.

Unfortunately, John Calipari decided not to give DeAndre Liggins a lot of good minutes. Liggins made a nice move to the hoop and hit a runner early in the game, but was essentially not heard from the rest of the game. We’d like to see him get a few more of Bledsoe’s minutes, given Eric’s poor shooting and penchant for turnovers.

Signs of Promise
All in all, the Cats performance wasn’t too far off what has become the median—another double double from DeMarcus Cousins, a solid yeoman performance from Patrick Patteson and spectacular plays and heady leadership from Wall. It was mostly the supporting cast that left a lot to be desired.

Perhaps one of the most encouraging takeaways from the Tennessee loss came in a one line quote from Wall after the game. “Just imagine two weeks from now, if we lost this game, our season’s over with,” he told reporters.

It’s hard to make a big deal about such a small comment. But the BBL thinks this speaks volumes about where this young team’s mindset is. These Cats are not motivated by a desire to do anything less than win the national championship. And their gutty comeback—spurred by Wall’s intensity—reflected this sentiment.

Tennessee is a deep and talented team. They’ve beaten top ranked Kansas already this season, and showed they can play with anyone. UK shouldn’t hang their heads on this one. The Cats close out the regular season with a road date at Georgia and a home tilt with Florida. They’ll need a few days rest and a short memory. All goals remain intact and all possibilities are still open. The road only gets tougher from here.

And so, the Cats got their revenge. The 82-61 win over South Carolina Thursday night in front of packed Rupp Arena was mighty satisfying for a Kentucky team that continues to improve, gel personnel wise and find all sorts of lethal weapons with which to punish the opposition.

As usual, we offer you our thoughts on what’s developing with this special group of Wildcats.

First off, let us just say that Rupp Arena is becoming the place to be seen in college hoops. After hosting such illustrious spectators as LeBron James and Ashley Judd earlier this season, Ben Roethlisberger and Magic Johnson showed up to watch the Cats hoop Thursday night. Says a lot about the state of basketball in Lexington.

DeMarcus Cousins is ridiculous. The big man hasn’t even grown into his body yet, has very little vertical leap at this point, and yet he is already nearly unstoppable, showing amazing touch, a variety of moves and a fierce desire to score and dominate games. Enjoy him for another month, Cat fans, this guy will be taking his road show to NBA millions soon and, barring something unexpected, a long and fruitful pro career. Maybe HOF?

Darius Miller is back…again. When Darius gets a good start, he plays with confidence and is capable of knocking down any shot. UK will need this production big time in March.

We thought Patrick Patterson had completely disappeared just two weeks ago. We were wrong. PP is back in the NBA lottery pick hunt, and his soft hands and scoring ability are coming up big. He finally showed up with a nice all-around game against a South Carolina squad that had become his nemesis over the past couple seasons. That up and under move in the early second half when he scored with the left hand was the real deal.

One quick thought. Patterson and Cousins would be the starting power forward-center tandem for 20 NBA teams right now.

South Carolina made the game interesting at multiple points and remained within striking distance for far too long. But as has become customary with this team, you never really got the feeling that Kentucky was letting it slip away. It was just a matter of when the next big run would be. It’s that kind of confidence and swagger that separates this UK group from any other since the Pitino era.

DeAndre Liggins is flat out all over the court. Guy has become a totally different person. His length and lateral quickness make him a nasty defender and excellent garbage rebounder. He just gets better with every game. As much as the complexion of this team will change next season, the BBL can’t wait to see what happens when Liggins becomes a featured option. We’re calling it now. He’ll be an Evan Turner-esque stat stuffer and all-SEC standout next year.

John Wall is still the catalyst and it’s hard to find too much bad to say about him. But he and Eric Bledsoe are still too out of control. They push the ball when it doesn’t need to be. It makes us wonder if both of these superb talents being on the floor at the same time contributes to them pressing too hard. Next year, sans Wall, it will be interesting to see if Bledsoe can improve his grasp of game tempo. Right now, EB is sort of lost. His jumper is broken and his sense of awareness on the court is at a season low.

South Carolina is in good hands under coach Darrin Horn. They have some active, athletic big men who block shots and get a lot of buckets around the goal. If Horn can keep recruiting like he has, and word is his next class is top 25 caliber, then this team will be a force in the SEC East for the next few years.

If you doubted that the diminutive Devan Downey could play in the NBA, that pull up 35-foot jumper before halftime should probably make you think differently.

As we stated last week, sometimes Brad Nessler seems to be the superior analyst to Dick Vitale. Thursday night, a few possessions into the game, Vitale claimed that South Carolina had no answer for Cousins on the interior. To this, Nessler responded, “I don’t think anyone has an answer for that, Dick.”

Good win for the Cats. Now do the John Wall.

Wow, what a war.

Kentucky pulled off a huge win Saturday night over Vanderbilt in a game characterized by rugged physical defense, poor shooting and high drama in the closing minutes.

As John Calipari said in the post-game interview, “that was an Elite Eight style game.” He was right. The atmosphere was about as intense as any in college hoops this year.

While Kentucky did not play a great game, this was the kind of gritty performance that championship teams are capable of displaying. Here are some of the BBL’s thoughts:

John Wall showed once again why he is everyone’s leading contender for player of the year. He did not have an excellent game, but par usual, he stepped up big time in the clutch hitting a go ahead basket and a free throw and blocking a would-be game-winning shot inside the final minute.

Unfortunately, Wall and Eric Bledsoe were just plain sloppy tonight, missing multiple opportunities to get the ball to DeMarcus Cousins and Patrick Patterson on the low block, while combining for five turnovers and a slew of poor shots. The maddening thing is that neither of these kids have shown a lot of progress in terms of learning to be more patient with the ball. This is probably the BBL’s single biggest criticism of Kentucky and Calipari at the moment.

The Cats dodged another bullet with regard to the referees’ leniency during the Eric Bledsoe blowup. A legitimate argument could be made for a flagrant foul or even an ejection, depending on the officials’ interpretation. As it was, Bledsoe was given a technical, as was Vandy’s Jeffrey Taylor, and no free throws were taken by either team. Bledsoe returned to the game three minutes later. He was largely ineffective, however, and showed a lot of immaturity in the game.

Kentucky is a different team when Patterson is involved in the offense and rebounding. His three point shot to put UK up three was enormous. It is just such a shame that somewhere along the line in the last couple years, PP lost some explosion. He still has a lot of raw power and can jump in traffic. But his two missed dunks vs. Vanderbilt were both critical. And these were not the first dunks he’s missed this year.

DeMarcus Cousins’ footwork is amazing. Drop steps, baseline spins, catlike quickness. Guy is the total package. Completely unstoppable on the block against a single defender. He absolutely must be double teamed.

Daniel Orton is an excellent outlet passer. He has great floor vision for a big man. His shot blocking, of course, continues to impress. If and when he polishes his offensive game and learns the difference between a good and a bad foul, he has All-American center written all over him. He is an abomination at the FT line right now, however.

A.J. Ogilvy couldn’t get a shot off against UK’s front line. In the mid first half, Orton swatted a running layup into the 10th row. A couple plays later, Cousins just completely denied him on a easy chip shot.

The BBL actually thinks it’s gotten to the point where Brad Nessler, as the play by play guy, is offering better in-game analysis than Dick Vitale. Nothing against Vitale. He knows the game and has been college basketball’s biggest ambassador, but at times he seems desperate to talk about matters unrelated or insignificant to the actual game. And of course, his thoughts and commentary seem to inevitably ramble their way to Duke.

John Wall still struggles a bit as a one on one defender, despite the great block. However, he’s one of the best help side defenders in the country, and he’s been taking some big charges in key moments lately.

Jeffrey Taylor is a potential future NBA star. Dude has a sick crossover, can shoot and has good overall athleticism. This comes in a 6-7 body.

Vanderbilt head coach Kevin Stallings is one of the best in the business. He coached a near perfect game tonight. Excellent personnel rotation allowed him to keep Ogilvy on the floor after he’d picked up his fourth foul midway through the second half. Stallings also went to zone when Cousins came out of the game and threw some puzzling defensive looks at UK. His use of timeouts was also superb, as he iced UK foul shooters with great success late in the game. And of course, setting up the play that almost sent the game to OT was a work of brilliance and, for Kentucky fans, the stuff of nightmares with its resemblance to Christian Laettner’s turnaround jumper in ‘92.

Kentucky is now a near shoe-in for a No. 1 seed in the NCAA tournament, barring a complete collapse. Huge road win, and to anyone who watched, it served notice that this team just finds a way to keep winning.

Kentucky went into a hostile road environment Tuesday night and took the best shot from a talented Mississippi State team in desperate need of a win. Here are a five big post-game thoughts:

1. Patrick Patterson was clutch Tuesday. He rebounded better than he has in weeks. He also made his free throws and hit the huge jumper to tie the game in regulation. That is the Patterson Kentucky needs to see in the tournament.

2. The Kentucky big men just absolutely erase you inside. When they block shots and rebound like they did tonight, it’s gonna be tough for anyone to beat them. In particular, DeMarcus Cousins has become a total beast on the interior, and his rebounding and scoring dominance reduced opposing center Jarvis Varnado (statistically one of the best bigs in the nation) to an afterthought.

3. The Cats’ youth showed in Starkville. Late in regulation, they had a series of three straight possessions where UK guards jacked up shots without taking more than five seconds off the shot clock. They have to show more patience than that.

4. DeAndre Liggins seems to be gradually making his way up to the point where he is a top three option offensively for Kentucky. Coach Cal showed a lot of confidence in him by leaving him on the floor for the entirety of overtime. He is now the defensive stopper who Kentucky will task with guarding opposing teams’ leading scorers.

5. If Mississippi State can finish the SEC season strong, they will likely get into the tourney. They dont have a great resume but playing that game Tuesday night on ESPN really helped their profile. That is a sign that Kentucky is back on the map—when an opposing team can lose to the Cats and it actually helps them.

Kentucky went into a hostile arena Tuesday night and, with the eyes of a national TV audience upon them, showed serious moxie in beating the Mississippi State Bulldogs 81-75 in overtime.

The game was officiated very closely, as both teams were called for a number of ticky-tack contact fouls from the start. MSU center Jarvis Varnado missed 16 minutes of the second half after picking up his second, third and fourth fouls right around the 18:00 minute mark.

With Varnado sitting most of the game, DeMarcus Cousins was a man child around the goal, finishing on a number of put back offensive rebounds. Unfortunately, he also was unable to play for long stretches due to foul trouble. Without him playing consistent minutes, UK once again struggled to score in the halfcourt set.

Thankfully for the Wildcats, Patrick Patterson decided to show up Tuesday, scoring 19 points and pulling in 10 boards. His highlights included a number of solid, low-post offensive moves as well as a game-tying jumper from the baseline that sent the game into overtime.

UK also received good play from Darius Miller in typical unsuspecting fashion. He made some huge shots in the second half, including a stretch of seven straight points at a time when the Cats had fallen behind by four.

MSU’s Dee Bost played a sensational game, seemingly driving by UK’s big men and scoring layups all night long. The Bulldogs also got clutch shooting from Barry Stewart and some key offensive rebound stick backs from Romero Osby.

As we’ve stated in the past, it’s obvious to the BBL that UK’s inexperienced guards will struggle significantly against veteran backcourts. They are easily pushed around when screened and routinely give up back door cuts due to a lack of concentration and focus. This is a recipe for disaster in a closely guarded and officiated NCAA tournament game.

Ultimately, Kentucky fought valiantly to win this game. The Cats outscored MSU 7-0 over the final three minutes of regulation, triggered by a huge three from DeAndre Liggins with about 2:00 to play. In overtime, UK’s size and depth overpowered MSU, which by that time was without Varnado, who had already fouled out.

We would be remiss not to mention that, as if on cue, John Wall became superman in the last two minutes of OT. Wall broke a 72-72 tie with a hanging, acrobatic layup, where he got fouled and hit the free throw to put UK up three. On MSU’s ensuing possession, he pinned a Bost layup attempt against the backboard to deny the Bulldogs a chance to get within one. Wall barely missed a triple-double on the night, ending up with 18 points, 10 rebounds and 8 assists.

Mississippi State also played their hearts out and kept the pressure on Kentucky by hitting some incredibly deep three pointers late in the game. The Bulldogs, desperately in need of a win to bolster their NCAA tournament resume, were playing without leading scorer Ravern Johnson who was suspended for breaking team rules.

UK was lucky to get out of Starkville with a win, proving how difficult it is to win on the road in a BCS conference. In fact, the BBL predicted a loss here earlier in the season. Now, at 25-1, Kentucky’s season is beginning to look historic. But Saturday’s game at Vanderbilt should be another huge challenge.

It’s now looking more and more likely that UK will receive a No. 1 seed in the tournament. This would be an absolutely tremendous achievement in Coach Calipari’s first season at UK.

The Kentucky Wildcats have been summarily castigated by local and national media outlets after a “subpar” double digit victory over Alabama at Rupp Arena Tuesday night.

John Wall’s six turnovers and the Cats’ overall sloppy play seem to be the most story-worthy topics related to UK’s performance, despite the fact that ‘Bama never got closer than six points after the 10:00 minute mark of the first half and only rarely threatened to make things interesting.

In truth, the criticism of Kentucky has been somewhat merited, as there were alarming signs throughout the evening. But how concerned should Cat fans be? We offer our thoughts on what problems this team is facing and how they could affect the season’s ultimate goal of hanging banner number eight.

Youth and Inexperience
It’s easy to forget how young this team is. The Wall-DeMarcus Cousins hoopla has been so pronounced it almost seems like these guys are already in the NBA. But when your top eight players include four freshmen and three sophomores, you can’t fall back on the comfort of knowing you’ve been there before. Quite frankly, this team hasn’t. Keep in mind that even Patrick Patterson, the “cagey veteran” of the bunch, has not played a single minute in an NCAA tournament game. How will this affect these kids come March?

Mental Focus
It goes hand in hand with the youth thing, but Kentucky’s mental focus was flagging in their loan loss to South Carolina, and then again for spurts vs. Alabama. Cousins has shown a propensity to let emotion get the better of him. Meanwhile, Darius Miller has at times looked psychologically frazzled or lost. Thankfully, one of the more remarkable qualities about John Wall has been his composure and poise. No matter how many times he might turn it over, Wall is ready to bounce back and respond, even under great adversity (see Miami of Ohio, Stanford, UConn). All in all, UK will need to avoid emotional meltdowns, team infighting and the kinds of unforced mistakes that occur when your head isn’t in the game.

Patterson’s Production
It’s been discussed ad nauseum both here and elsewhere, but Patterson must be a go-to option for this Kentucky team in late game situations. In the early part of the year, PP was a post-up threat and consistently found a way to get buckets close in with the jump hook or spin move into the paint. His game today revolves more around mid-range face up jumpers, but with the attention Cousins commands, Patterson should have more opportunities to score from the weakside post. More importantly, however, Patterson needs to find a renewed sense of aggression and embrace the role of gritty, lunch pail guy who never quits on a play.

Wing Scorers
We discussed the importance of UK’s “3D Men” earlier this week. Tuesday night was another example of how erratic production from the three position can impact Kentucky’s fortunes. Miller and Darnell Dodson were practically invisible against Alabama, and if it wasn’t for Liggins’ workmanlike 26 minutes, the Cats would have received absolutely nothing from the wing. All in all, as a team, Kentucky was 3-16 from behind the three point arc, and that will also need to change for UK to win in March. Eric Bledsoe will need to get in on the act, as he is currently UK’s most accurate deep threat but went 0-3 Tuesday.

BBL’s Take
It’s becoming clearer every day that Kentucky hasn’t faced a truly elite team in college basketball. Sure, the SEC has offered its challenges (and there are more to come), but nearly all of the major obstacles we identified in the preseason have failed to live up to expectation. It is a scary proposition to think that a team as young as Kentucky could potentially enter the NCAA team without a single opportunity to even play a top 10 caliber team. What this means is that the margin for error will be drastically reduced in late round tourney games, and some of the flaws that UK has up to now gotten away with will flat out get them beat.