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.
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…
Bring on the Mountaineers!
We’re going to play Devil’s Advocate with the Big Blue Nation here and say, “uh oh” with regard to the Kentucky Wildcats next opponent in the 2010 NCAA Tournament. The team of which we speak is the Cornell Big Red.
Banner Carrier of the Ivy League
Cornell just overwhelmed and discombobulated two teams who spent the entire season in or around the Top 25. The games weren’t close. They dictated their style and their amoeba defensive zone prevented both Temple and Wisconsin from entering the ball in the post.
Cornell plays 12 to 15 guys and subs players in waves. It’s difficult to know who is on the floor at any given time when trying to guard them. It also hurts that they all shoot the ball equally well from behind the arc. Ryan Wittman has an NBA pedigree and can shoot from anywhere inside 30 feet. He must be face guarded and pressured all over the floor.
Cornell is incredibly cerebral and well coached. They will be a difficult matchup for anyone due to their precision passing and excellent shooting. They run a complicated circular offense that starts when they enter the ball into their 7-1 center Jeff Foote. He is also an excellent passer and is equally adept at pitching and catching, kicking out and hitting cutters.
DeMarcus Cousins and Daniel Orton will have to do a good job of keeping Foote in front of them. At the end he likes to whirl and dunk one handed after faking a number of passes. This guy appears to be a pro player and UK should not underestimate him.
“If” Kentucky plays outside-in (rarely have they done this consistently this year), they should win by 10 to 15 points due to physicality and size in the post. But if Cornell dares UK to shoot by giving up long threes in gaps, it could be a very long night if the Cats shoot poorly. Eric Bledsoe will need to physically overwhelm their point guard Louis Dale, who is heady and surprisingly athletic and quick. He can also shoot it off the bounce, evidenced by his 26 points against Wisconsin.
BBL’s Take
We don’t see this game as a blow out in any way. In fact, we think this could be the last potential “bad matchup” UK has remaining on their course for Banner #8. Cornell does not slow the game down. They take the first good or open shot they can get. If they shoot well and UK shoots poorly, anything can happen.
After Cornell, neither West Virginia nor Washington match up well with UK. Both play similar styles and lack great size in the post. They will wear out before the 10:00 minute mark in the second half. WVU doesn’t typically get great backcourt play, and U-Dub’s guards are small.
The BBL has found it interesting that Calipari has lengthened his bench in the first two games of the NCAA tournament. He appears ready to give Perry Stephenson and Ramon Harris extended minutes along with Orton, Darnell Dodson and DeAndre Liggins. UK is now employing a rotation with 10 players capable of seeing double digit minutes in the tournament. This type of depth will only help them in their four potential remaining games.
The BBL believes if Kentucky beats Cornell, they are headed to Indy and matched up with a team they’ll be favored by at least seven points. But that’s why they play the games.
BBL contributor UKHomer43 offers his considerably not optimistic thoughts on the eve of UK’s first 2010 NCAA tournament game.
I have analyzed the Bracket countless times now.
UK got the rawest deal I have ever seen. ETSU will push UK up and down the floor and after winning by 19 they will be exhausted vs Texas.
If UT’s goons come to play and Barnes sticks with Bradley and Brown in the backcourt, Texas will shock the world and beat UK in New Orleans (which will be a Pro-Texas crowd, as well.)
If UK does get by UT, I can’t see a worse matchup than Temple or Wisconsin.
Temple is the #1 defensive team in the nation and takes away perimeter shots. They are a good basketball team and coach Fran Dunphy’s style is deliberate and confounding. They will crush Cornell.
Wiscy is Wiscy and they could confuse and discombobulate UK’s turnover prone guards.
If Kentucky gets through to the Elite 8, they will win as their most likely opponent West Virginia doesn’t have enough size to match up with UK.
Unfortunately and no matter how anybody else spins it, the Cats’ road to the Final Four is paved with really bad matchups and styles to contend with. Not one team will try and run or “out-athlete” UK.
Just my take.
After impressive back-to-back road wins this past week, the Kentucky Wildcats improved their record to 26-1 overall and 11-1 in the SEC and, more importantly, virtually assured themselves of a No. 1 seed when the NCAA tournament brackets are announced March 14.
In their win over Vandy Saturday night, the Cats once again showed the nation that they are capable of beating good teams even when not playing their best basketball. While Kentucky’s youngsters were far from a portrait of maturity for most of the evening, they simply found a way to win the game at crunch time.
So, where to next for Kentucky?
Finishing Strong
The Cats could very well lose another game or two before the Big Dance. But an SEC regular season championship would be wrapped up with two more victories. The Cats will start the quest to close out strong with a revenge game this Thursday vs. South Carolina at Rupp. Needless to say, the Gamecocks, a horrible road team as it is, will not have the element of surprise in this one and, barring a superhuman effort from Devan Downey, we like Kentucky to roll in this one.
Then it’s back on the road for the Cats—at Tennessee on Feb. 27 and at Georgia on March 3. The Vols have shown they can beat anyone at home, as evidenced by their January victory over top ranked Kansas.
Georgia, despite a 4-8 SEC record, has been surprisingly tough at home, boasting a 12-3 record in home games, with impressive victories over the likes of Vandy, Tennessee and Georgia Tech. If there is a trap game left on the Cats schedule, this is it. UGA gave Kentucky a run for its money last month at Rupp and cannot be underestimated. The Cats finish at home March 7th on senior day against Florida.
The BBL feels that UK can actually lose two of these four and still earn a No. 1 seed, provided they don’t fall in the first round of the SEC tournament. At this point, however, we think UK is a lock to notch the school’s 12th 30-win season.
Tourney Prospects
Right now, the leading contenders for the top four seeds in the tourney include Kansas, Kentucky, Syracuse and Purdue, probably in that order. The next four seeds look likely to come from Villanova, Duke, Kansas State, Michigan State, West Virginia, Ohio State and Georgetown.
The four tournament regionals are in Salt Lake City, St. Louis, Houston and Syracuse. Kansas, as the potential overall top seed, looks like a lock to get sent down the road to St. Louis. After that, things get a little more interesting.
Syracuse, assuming they hold onto a top seed, cannot play a regional at home per NCAA rules, so the Orange will have to be sent either to Houston or Salt Lake City. Because Kentucky will almost certainly be one of the top two overall seeds, the selection committee will want to keep them as close to home as possible, which more than likely rules out SLC.
So Cat fans, for any of you planning to travel, we recommend limiting your search to two cities—Syracuse (667 miles from Lexington) or Houston (1,070 miles away). The BBL’s best guess is that UK will be sent to the more natural confines of the South Regional in Houston, while Syracuse will be sent west and the fourth No. 1 (Purdue, Villanova or Duke) will go to the Carrier Dome.
As for the first round, the Cats will almost certainly play in Milwaukee, which is the closest venue to home for Kentucky. UK has never played a tournament game in Milwaukee, but if there is any bright side to this venue, it’s that Kentucky is assured to not play Marquette in the first or second round. Marquette, of course, has knocked the Cats out of the tourney the last three times the programs have met. So there’s that.
BBL’s Take
It’s difficult to start speculating about actual opponents at this juncture. But we can talk a little about what kind of environments the Cats are likely to see, and what kinds fans should hope they do not.
Probably the scariest type of team Kentucky can be matched up with is one that plays physical halfcourt defense and can shoot well from the perimeter. UK has done a good job neutralizing good perimeter shooting teams of late (Vanderbilt and Mississippi State last week, in particular). But it should be noted that Kentucky could have easily lost both of those games had either team done just a tad bit better than a combined 12 for 55 from three-point land. Teams that fit this bill include Syracuse, Kansas and West Virginia, but none of them would be likely to play UK before a regional final.
In a tournament-style setting, Kentucky will obviously be faced with officials used to doing games in other conferences. This is a bit of a crap shoot, but officials from the Big Ten or Big East may be used to calling low-scoring games with a lot of whistles blown. In general, there tend to be more fouls called during the NCAA tournament than the regular season. This would force the Cats to shoot more free throws and potentially subject the vaunted front court to foul trouble.
With the win or go home format, Kentucky’s considerable youth will be faced with the pressure of more intense moments. Moreover, playing games on short rest and with little time to prepare for different styles could have an impact on a team that has at times lacked mental focus.
The first season on John Calipari’s watch has been nothing short of magnificent. But for a program with a tradition as proud as Kentucky’s, what happens in March is what ultimately defines the season.
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.
One of the running themes of the 2009-10 college basketball season has been parity and the lack of a truly dominant team. It seems as if more ink and Internet bandwidth have been dedicated to talking about what isn’t going on than what is. These presumptions don’t come without good reason.
To wit: Defending champion North Carolina is muddling through its worst season in the Roy Williams era and threatening to miss the tourney altogether. Powerhouse programs like UConn, Louisville, UCLA and Indiana are slogging through seemingly forgettable seasons. The Pac 10 is downright bad and the SEC, ACC and Big Ten have been mostly underwhelming.
What’s more, the media who cover the pro game have made a habit out of proclaiming the upcoming NBA draft one of the weakest in recent history. And the general consensus is that the talent pool in college hoops is way down from where it has been over the past five years.
What it all adds up to is a sense that there are no teams with the potential to one day be immortalized in the pantheon of college hoops as, well, great.
We couldn’t disagree more.
This year’s Kentucky Wildcats are already knocking on the hallowed doors of a “historic” season, even by the lofty standards of a program as revered as the one in Lexington.
Consider the following mix of facts and highly plausible hypotheticals:
- As we already know, the Cats started the year 19-0, reached the top of the polls AND managed to become the first team in the history of college basketball to win 2,000 games. These are elite achievements no matter how you slice it.
- According to polling of journalists who vote for the various player of the year honors, UK PG John Wall is the leading candidate to take home the hardware as the nation’s best college basketball player.
- The school record for wins in a season is 36, set in 1948. With nine remaining regular season games, up to three SEC tournament games and potentially up to six NCAA tourney games, this year’s team (sitting now at 21-1) could realistically make a run at that number. Holding the all-time win record at the sport’s all-time winningest program would be worthy of the “greatness” moniker.
- Barring a monumental collapse, Kentucky will be favored to win the SEC regular season and tournament championships. This is from a league that could get up to six teams in the dance. If UK holds serve in conference, a number one seed in the NCAAs would be a shoe-in.
- This year’s Louisville-Kentucky game set an all-time Rupp Arena attendance record as 24,479 fans watched the Cats victory over the rival Cards. Pretty impressive for a program that has led the nation in attendance 12 out of the last 13 years.
- It’s almost a foregone conclusion that Wall will be the first pick in this summer’s NBA draft. Patrick Patterson, who graduates in May, is almost assured of being selected in the first round as well. And if Eric Bledsoe and DeMarcus Cousins declare early (and the BBL strongly believes that both will), the two of them are also first rounders. Four first rounders in the same draft from the same school. Unprecedented.
- Looking further into the future, this year’s roster may have up to nine players who could one day play pro ball. From an overall talent perspective, this would place them high on the list of consideration for most talented rosters ever.
- Statistically, this team is no slouch. Kentucky’s dominant front line is currently on pace to set single season school records for blocks, blocks per game, rebounds and rebounds per game. Their 82 PPG and 50% FG averages are also strong single season marks.
- And of course, above all, this team has a very realistic shot to cut down the nets in Indianapolis in April as the 2010 national champions.
How much of this will really happen? Very difficult to say. But all of it could.
This team is far from perfect, of course. There are still clear weaknesses–turnovers, lack of mental focus, mediocre to poor foul shooting at times. But these are all correctable problems, and these Cats are talented enough to accomplish their goals in spite of them.
So the question then is, what makes a team great? For our money, if Kentucky continues to get better and their precocious assortment of ridiculously gifted youngsters plays up to its considerable potential, the nation will know the answer.
