We offer up a few thoughts on the happenings that matter most to UK fans.
The Rebs Come to Town
Everything about this game screams trouble for the visitors. Sure, Mississippi is a solid team that has spent the bulk of the year ranked in the top 25. But frankly, Kentucky is a match-up nightmare for a banged up, undersized squad that will be traveling on short rest.
Ole Miss is coming off its worst loss of the season, falling at home Sunday night to Arkansas in a game where they were outrebounded 45-32 and dominated by the Razorbacks inside. Their interior struggles are compounded by the absence of center Reggie Buckner who will miss the UK game with an ankle injury. They’ll try to compensate for his absence with a quicker lineup, playing three or four guards at all times.
The Rebels’ dynamic backcourt duo of Chris Warren and Terrico White will need to have a great game if Ole Miss is to pull the shocker. White and Warren are dead-eye perimeter shooters who’ve combined for more than 100 threes on 39% shooting. But without a dangerous post game to rely on, they’ll find it tough to get open looks, as UK will likely park DeMarcus Cousins inside and cheat out on the perimeter defensively.
Kentucky’s long armed wings should make open looks a rarity for White and Warren, so the Rebels will need to get solid contributions from Eniel Polynice and Murphy Holloway, two athletic forwards who can get to the rack off the dribble. Ole Miss is athletic, but doesn’t possess the type of scrappy, shot blocking big men that helped South Carolina control the second half last week.
We look for Kentucky to really pound the ball inside and feed off the energy of a raucous crowd en route to a double-digit victory.
‘Poll’ Position
The number one ranking was fun while it lasted. After a week atop the polls, as expected, UK fell a few spots Monday, dropping to #3 in the ESPN-Coaches Poll and #4 in the AP.
The BBL takes little stock in the polls at this point. The SEC is not regarded as highly as many of the other “power” conferences and Kentucky’s signature out of conference wins are looking less than sterling at the moment (Louisville, UConn and UNC are earning headlines for their surprising collective futility.) So it’s no surprise that the Cats have slipped to the bottom of the one-loss pile.
We’ll wait and see how things shake out over the next month. Two dates with Tennessee, tomorrow’s game with Ole Miss and road games at Mississippi State, Vandy and Georgia give the Cats plenty of obstacles to earning a coveted No. 1 seed in the NCAA tourney.
This and That
-When the Cats tip off with Ole Miss at Rupp Arena Tuesday night, it will be the second of four consecutive Tuesday night games featured nationally on ESPN’s Super Tuesday. The next two are at home next week against Alabama and the big date with SEC West leader Mississippi State in Starkville on Feb. 16.
-We think too much was made of John Wall’s admittedly ill-advised comments Saturday about trying “not to listen” to Coach Calipari. Wall has proven himself a mature and heady performer on the court, and it’s easy to see how a couple bad games could produce a little frustration in a 19-year-old freshman. If anything, the mild stink raised over this story illustrates the pressure and scrutiny that comes with being a super star for Kentucky.
-Whether you like him or not, seeing LeBron James rocking blue gear and doing the “Y” during the Kentucky cheer at Rupp this weekend was a pretty awesome sight. And it was a reminder of the stark difference between where the Cats sit today in the basketball world vis a vis a year ago.
