Tuesday, January 16, 2007

Thirty Million Reasons Why Kentucky Better Win A Title Soon

This comes courtesy of blueWorldorder over at Wildcats Thunder message board, I stumbled across this video there of Ramel Bradley and Joe Crawford giving a tour of the recently completed Joe Craft Center, the new multi-million dollar practice facility that UK just built. It's a must see, so I'm posting it here. Much thanks go to blueWorldorder and Wildcats Thunder for the vid. It's a nice short intimate tour with Bradley and Crawford that perhaps you wouldn't get to see anywhere else if you're not able to watch the Tubby Smith Call-In show locally.



Dude, your name and number on your chair, a decked out locker with a list of all past Kentucky players that wore your number, jacuzzi's, hot tubs, pool, an underwater treadmill ... I was waiting for the Kentucky cheerleaders to come walking in one by one with a platter of grapes and assorted fruits.

And Bradley ... keep practicin' that trey man. There's thirty-million reasons why you should.

Trifecta's Are Fine, But Look Who Reached The Free Throw Line

Miss St. 60 Kentucky 64


(Bradley Got Game - just gotta do somethin' with the ball at the end of each half don't ya?)

So the Bulldogs came into Rupp and gave the Wildcats a scare. So what. Right? Didn't Alabama lose a game? Hey didn't the Dukies suffer back to back conference losses? Didn't Ohio St. just almost lose a game against the Volunteers? Didn't North Carolina lose? So Kentucky won a close game at home against another non-ranker, but at least they're continuing to win and have one of the nation's longest winning streaks going this season. It's not all that bad.

Come Madness, winning is all that matters, and pulling out close games against a team you should win usually happens at least once for a team the further you advance in the NCAA's, so this is good experience I say. Hey, don't forget that Clark Kellog named Kentucky one of the five most dangerous non-ranked teams in the nation - I'd rather see Kentucky non-ranked all year because then when they win in March for respect I love to see the flip floppers jump the bandwagon and become Kentucky experts in a matter of seconds. It's just funny to watch, but Kentucky does have a long way to go. They still have to beat Florida, Tennessee, and Alabama. At least split with Florida and Tennessee and then re-take the SEC tourney. The way the Cat's are playing now - finding ways to win on nights they struggle and with an emerging back-court on the rise, Kentucky has set themselves up for what potentially could be a storybook season. Tubby did this sort of thing with a young team back in 04 when they reached the Elite Eight against MSU. I think we all remember that. If it wasn't for a Rondo freshman bobble turnover in OT, the Cats could of had a chance to end the game in the first OT to reach the Final Four. So Tubby has done well with inexperience, but the inexperience Kentucky has on the team this year is far more better off than they were two - three years ago. So what Kentucky almost lost to Miss. St., they won didn't they?

Maybe Kentucky was caught celebrating their new state-of-the-art Joe Craft Center the Thursday before and came out a bit flat. Kentucky shot one of their worst shooting affairs of the season, 36%. However, Kentucky still managed to hold their opponent under 40%. Jamont Gordon led the Bulldogs with his near double-double and four other guys [Rhodes, Delk, Stewart, Hansbrough] were two points or less from double figures. Stewart and Hansbrough managed 6-11 Threes together which might have been how they were able to stick around seeing how they couldn't get to the free throw line like Kentucky did.

And really if you ask what hurt Miss. St., you could say it was their free throws. Just three attempts.

Kentucky was 15-19 - including Bradley's clutch 3-4 down the stretch to help continue the winning streak. Not to take away from Morris' block at the end that could of tied the game because that was a clutch moment for the newly revived center for Kentucky which led to Bradley's last two free throws, but even Bradley's 1-2 at the line that gave them a 2 pt lead forced the Bulldogs to either go for a jumper (and maybe a foul) or look for the trifecta that they've been hitting all night and shock the Rupp crowd. They chose a jumper which was blocked and Bradley made his last two free throws, (but being up 61-60 with two shots at the line with 10 secs left in the game, Bradley has got to make both those shots in that situation as the season moves on).

Bradley's trey at the end of the first half gave Kentucky a 1 point lead, and his 3 of 4 free throws at the end of the second helped them win by 4. He finished with 11 on 3-10 shooting and 6 rebounds and game-high 37 min.

It wasn't until late in the game when Morris surpassed Crawford for the game-high 17 pts. Morris was clutch, shot 5-12, 7-8 at the line, assist, 3 blocks, and 2 steals. He didn't reach a double - double, but he did make the game-defining play at the end.

Joe Crawford led Kentucky in points for most the game, he shot 5-12, including three Tri's, for 14 pts in 33 minutes, and Jasper was held manageably to 8 pts and 8 grabs, but what he brought was the ability to drive and draw the foul also, he shot 4-5 at the line, and he does this so consistently. He also recorded 3 assists, block, and 4 steals, so Jasper wasn't completely shut down when Crawford and Bradley were putting up more points.

(Jasper: 8 pts, 8 grabs, 4 of 5 from the line, 4 assists, 3 steals, and block in providing a solid game along with Bradley and Crawford.)

Trio Watch, Bradley, Crawford, Jasper

Combined for 10-26 [5 Tri's] for 33 pts, 8 assists, 5 steals, and 5 TOs

· Similar to the Indiana game when they won by only 5, it was Kentucky's closest margin of victory since then.
· 10-0 now with this trio in the starting lineup
· Their 5 turnovers are the lowest since having only 4 among them against Houston; also is half of what they committed in their last game · Second straight game they've combined for 5+ steals
· Through 10 games they're averaging 11-24, 34.7 pts, 47% FG, 10 assists, 3.9 steals, 7 TOs per game
· 7 of the 10 games, the starting trio have combined for 33+ points, (21 pts being the lowest they've combined for)

Monday, January 15, 2007

Post Game Quatrains: Miss St.

(It's been a really crappy 24+ hours for me and I was going to post this up yesterday, so here it is and hopefully there will be more to come like this - this season. I'll try and get my game recap and thoughts later up this evening, but for now enjoy my post game quatrain, it's better than a late night binge at Krystals, or White Castle for some of you Big Blue faithful.)

[1.13.07 Mississippi State vs Kentucky]

State came into Rupp and didn't shoot that high
But thirty-nine percent was almost enough to make fans cry
Gordon's presence put pressure on the Cats to keep up
But his six turnovers proved to be the Bulldogs worst flub

With twenty-three thousand of my closest friends in sight
Morris stuffed Flash Gordon for the game clinching night
Bradley made his free throws down the game winning stretch
And the Bulldogs were left sniffing with nothing left to fetch

Thursday, January 11, 2007

Kentucky's Muscle Flexes Bradley's Hustle

Auburn 57 Kentucky 84


(Bradley's near triple double should have ‘ experts ’ scratching their heads.)

Florida, Georgia, Mississippi, Louisiana, and Alabama all must of had the night off last night with the exception of the Auburn Tigers of course because I was treated when the SUN network aired Kentucky's conference home opener. The odds are always against my favor of seeing a Kentucky game on TV unless its aired nationally or on ESPN, but it was a great night, and a great night for Kentucky.

Undersized and shooting poorly, Auburn didn't have a chance and Kentucky took advantage for a dominant, convincing 27 point win against the Tigers. Auburn shot under 30%, in part by embarrassing missed put backs and easy buckets, mostly in the 1st half where the Wildcats came out with a focal point of putting this game away early with a 17 point half-time lead. The second half was just as dominant but at a more rugged slower pace it seemed, and for the first time Kentucky showed they can dominate two complete half's in routing an SEC opponent who was clearly over-matched on both sides of the ball. Hopes are beginning to rise for this Wildcat bunch yet. Since the last time I saw them play, which was Indiana or L'ville, I have to say they looked pleasing. Their defense is very impressive - and improving, they look quicker, better conditioned, and they just look like a vastly improved ball handling team than they were in November. Honestly, they looked better than some teams in the Top 25, but this is not a knock at why they're not in the top 25 though. If they play like they did last night (aside from the result), I honestly think Kentucky has a legitimate shot at the SEC title, and if they reach that far, I don't care if they are ranked or not, rank is just a number for bragging rights and entertainment which is why they play the game. Let Kentucky be underdogs for awhile, they'll make people crap their pants quicker than a Rosie O'Donnell feud.

The game was tied just once before Bobby Perry's three point shot broke it for good at 5-2, and Auburn never broke even. Perry's hard work at the gym paid off, he finished with 12 pts, 4-7 shooting, and 3 assists. Joe Crawford lit it up for most of the game before Ramel Bradley took over for his first double double and game-high 7 assists. Kentucky came out shooting 56%, +16 in the paint, and absolutely dominated the defensive boards. I guess coach's call for Perry and Crawford needing to play better has them both practicing xtra in the gym together, I'm just going to need to see more solid performances from Perry before I take him off the struggling list.

“ I came in and hit some shots. I’ve been in the gym getting extra shots in trying to break out of it. I knew that I needed to get out of the slump to help out the team. Joe’s (Crawford) been working really hard too. I thought the team played really unselfishly tonight and we moved the ball well. ” -- Bobby Perry

Joe Crawford finished with the game-high 21 pts, on 7-12 shooting (3-3) and 5 rebounds before handing it over to Bradley who maybe didn't shoot well (4-11, 1-7) but he created opportunities for the better part of the second half. He was everywhere. He finished with 18 pts and 12 rebounds, 9-11 FTL, and a game-high 7 assists and adding 2 steals in a game-high 36 minutes. He was nothing short of spectacular last night pushing the ball up, calling the plays, and creating opportunities for Kentucky's offense.

Because of Bradley and Crawford's elevated play last night, Jasper was quieted for the most part as it was Bradley controlling the ball. Just another example when Bradley plays point he shoots worse (4-11), but playing shooting guard he lights it up. With them both combining for 39 of Kentucky's 84, the offense was well in hand, and because Auburn was just plain awful shooting the ball, with both Bradley and Crawford playing so well, Jasper was quieted to just 6 pts, 18 minutes. Bradley played so well he was flirting with a triple double, something I didn't realize until I read the post-game quotes. Bradley makes light of it …

“ I didn’t know I was that close. One of our managers kept telling me during timeouts to ‘pass the ball, pass the ball.’ I thought he was trying to tell me I was shooting too much, but I just had no idea he was trying to help me get those three assists. ” -- Ramel Bradley

Bradley is a force, and Tubby knows it. He was a major factor last night in morale.

Randolph Morris played a great first half but then faded from the offense in the second half due to early foul trouble. He picked up his 3rd foul early in the second half and that was when Bradley took over the game on his way to his near triple double. Morris finished with 5-6, 2-5 FTL, 12 pts, 6 rebounds and a game-high 4 blocks. Morris' shot is so dead-on it should be given an award itself. He has one of the best strokes, if not the best, in college basketball this year, and he's benefiting from it. Auburn double teamed him, sometimes triple teamed, but not before he claimed his 12 pts.

The stat that says it all quite simply: Auburn 27% FG, Kentucky 56%. Auburn just couldn't sink a basket and Kentucky did. Kentucky had 19 TOs but 19 assists, but Auburn's ratio didn't help their shooting woes at all, 10 assists to 16 TO's.

The only scare the Wildcats faced last night was in the second half when Auburn's Kelvin Lewis lit the three ball on three straight possessions to cut a 20+ Kentucky lead to 13 with about 7:30 to play. In fact, it was Auburn's three ball at the 8:49, 8:19, 7:50, Tolbert's at 7:18, and at 5:06 marks that might have helped them find a rhythm for just a moment if anything late in the game. Tubby took note,

“ I thought we did a good job up until the second half and then they were able to get some threes on us there, especially after they got [Kelvin] Lewis in the game and he lit us up with his four threes. ” -- Tubby Smith

Maybe if anyone hasn't realized just how good Kentucky's D has improved since November (and if you didn't catch the game last night), Auburn head coach Jeff Lebo confirms it from his experience,

“ Kentucky is good defensively. If you look at their percentages, they hold people to a very low percentage – in the 30s from the field. I think they are holding people to around 28 percent from the three point line, so they do a good job defensively. A lot of the missed shots are because of their defense and because they are so physical. ” -- Jeff Lebo

Let's re-read that, “ A lot of the missed shots are because of their defense and because they are so physical.”.

Perhaps their first dominant win of the season, yeah, against an undersized opponent, but Kentucky handed out a blow-out victory with two complete half's, the first this season. Consistency starts somewhere, and what better way maybe to start it with your conference home opener to send the message.

Highlight Notes

1st Half: (1) Bradley pushed the ball up on a fast break, missed the shot, then a trailing Joe Crawford stuffed the put back and one. Crawford owned the 1st half. (2) A Jodie Meeks feed to Randolph Morris just before the half was impressive. As soon as Morris touched the ball, he turned and layed it up for the score. Fast. Sweet. And One. That's Morris.

The funny thing about the second half that shows Kentucky's focus and dominance was when Tubby benched his starters at about the 1:30 mark shortly after two-straight monster jams and UK's bench still went on a 9-3 rampage to close the game [Jasper, Porter, Jasper, Harris].

(Jasper's late second-half reverse layup. It's a matter of time before Vitale starts screamin' about this kid.)

2nd Half: (1) Freshman to Freshman: Jodie Meeks drives the baseline then dishes to Perry Stevenson for the monster jam in the paint. Sweet. Preview of the future? (2) Two Straight Monster Jams: Bradley found an open Crawford in the paint for jam, then it was Crawford himself the next time around who found an open Morris in almost the same spot for another easy jam. It's like Big Blue Madness man! (3) Freshman Three: Michael Porter found an open three to get Kentucky at 80 with 40 secs left. That was just Beautiful to witness. (4) Again, the Freshman dish that is the freshman highlight of the night: Ramon Harris found Derrick Jasper at the baseline for an absolute exclaiming reverse layup on Auburn. Jasper is going to be special.

It's games like these that makes naming a game blog nominee so hard but so fun to do.

Trio Watch: Bradley, Crawford, Jasper

Combined for 14-26, 45 pts, 9 assists, 5 steals, 10 TOs

· Starting Trio now 9-0 and the 14 made shots among them tie their second best [EKU]
· Auburn marks the highest half-time lead [17] and winning margin [27] for Kentucky since starting the trio
· The 10 turnovers among the trio are their most since having 10 among them vs UMass


Monday, January 8, 2007

Stuffed Toughed Lorenzen


Lorenzen and Eli. (From Giants dot com, AP Photo/Chris Gardner)

From Giants.com

For the second week in a row, backup quarterback Jared Lorenzen entered the game to run a quarterback sneak in a short-yardage situation. Lorenzen gained two yards on a third-and-one on the Giants first possession. Two plays later, Manning and Burress hooked up for the Giants first touchdown. Lorenzen played for the first time last week in Washington, where he also picked up two yards on a sneak.

I actually caught the last quarter of the Giants/Eagles last night and I went berserk when I saw Jared Lorenzen on the field. I had short lived moments hoping that Coughlin had finally benched Eli over the Pillsbury Throw Boy. Maybe Eli got hurt, that's how Favre got his chance. Ah, but anyways, not that Lorenzen is that caliber of greatness (though I'll never stop hoping), but to see him in the game as a backup to Eli, it's good for him and good for Kentucky to see good things happen out of their former gridiron standouts of Commonwealth.

It was the second game in a row that Lorenzen came into the game for a third down and short to run a QB sneak up the gut of their opposing defense … and converted. Hey, it's no Tim Couch kinda moment of course where he's entrusted by the Giants to lead them down the field with his arm, yet as has been said before, Lorenzen is just one Eli Manning sprained ankle away from making some history. Last night's 3rd down sub of Eli is kinda like sticking a Jerome Bettis behind center and telling him to stuff it up the middle. Imagine Jerome Bettis having been a back up QB (maybe a taller Jerome Bettis), I'd be pretty sure Cowher would do the same thing Coughlin has done twice in their last two games on 3rd and short. It's hard to take down a Round Mound of Touchdown man, and I'm sure this won't be the last time Lorenzen comes in to sub Eli on third and short to only stuff it up the gut between the trenches for the first down.

With the off-season looming for the Giants now, Hefty Lefty will look to secure his backup roll to Eli, and who knows, if Eli continues to stink it up, Giants fans just might want to get ready for J-Lo, or is it J.Load? The NFL hasn't quite seen a left-handed QB like him before.

Sunday, January 7, 2007

Tubby Yells, Ole Miss Fell

What you don't see: the mini trampoline Tubby's jumping off of that the dance team left behind. (AP Photo/Rogelio V. Solis)

Not quite an impressive win for Kentucky last night, but I'm always happy with any SEC road-trip win the Wildcats earn. After Tubby talked about needing Perry and Crawford to play better, one of them showed up last night and it wasn't the one who's been trying to shake a morphed strain of senioritis lately either.

Joe Crawford answered coach's call with an almost near perfect shooting night for the game high 23 pts and a 4-to-1 assist/TO ratio which included 4 of 5 trifectlicious trifecta's on an SEC opening road win against the Rebels. Morris got his double-double - if he doesn't reach this every game, I'd almost say Kentucky's doomed to lose each time, I mean what can you say about Morris that already isn't obvious? He scored 14 and grabbed 10 (9 defensive) and instead of blocking the ball, he made up for it by stealing the rock three times. Bradley wasn't that bad either adding 7 boards, 13 pts (three of his four shots were three-balls), and added 5 assists (however 5 TOs) and a block. Freshman Derrick Jasper didn't put up huge numbers but he added 7 pts and 4 assists. The night really belonged to Crawford though, he and Bradley played a game high 37 minutes each and helped Kentucky in the second half pull away for a 10 point lead after trailing by 2 at the half. The game was tied for the 12th time at the 9:27 mark of the second half before Kentucky went on a 15-5 run to close the game for the win which included 8 straight points by Ramel Bradley.

Despite the struggle for three-fourths of the game, twelve ties man, the Wildcats did dominate in areas where you expect them to. This was the first game this season that Kentucky came back to win the game after trailing at the half. They shot 55%, held Ole Miss to under 40%. They held the rebounding edge by 3, specifically dominating on the defensive side, +8. They posted 18 assists to 13 turnovers and 5 team steals. More importantly, they were 9 more assists and just 4 more turnovers compared to what Ole Miss did. Both teams attempted 17 Threes but Kentucky landed twice theirs. Had Ole Miss connected on just a few more … but that's Kentucky's D. They do a very good job defending the long ball and make it hard for their opponent to get an open look most of the time. Kentucky's defense is on its way to becoming an exciting defense if they can continue to do just as well on the road and magnify this defensive performance against the SEC elite at home because home is where the heart is and they have to make things hard for their opponents especially when Florida rolls into Lexington.

I think this was a good grind out road win to begin the conference portion of the season for them. Meeks and Thomas saw some good minutes off the bench and even Stevenson, who's been really quiet lately, and Obrzut are seeing respectable time, and I have a feeling that Obrzut needs those minutes consistently because something tells me that he is going to play a bigger visible role off the bench for Morris or Perry as the conference schedule progresses onward. After all, we know the goal is to win back our conference.

Three Is A Very Good Number

Looking at numbers (I love to play with numbers from time to time), I noticed in Kentucky's three losses, they were the only games before taking on Ole Miss that they trailed at the half. Since their last loss to UNC in early December, Tubby Smith has started a trio of guards [Bradley, Crawford, Jasper] and are 8-0. Here is what I noticed …

Trio - Bradley, Crawford, Jasper

· Since the starting trio of guards, Kentucky is 8-0
· Out of those eight wins so far, only twice has the margin of victory been less than 10 [Indiana +5, Houston +7]
· Not only was the Ole Miss game the first game Kentucky has come back to win after trailing at the half this season but it's the first time during this span of the starting trio of guards that Kentucky has trailed at the half
· Ole Miss marks the first game since Chattanooga that the trio of guards have combined to make 15 shots, the highest for them
· Out of the last 8 straight games that the trio of guards have started for Kentucky, in 5 of those games the trio of guards have combined to make 10+ shots; Ole Miss marks the 4th straight game they've accomplished that
· In each of those 8 games that Kentucky has started the trio of guards, the trio's worst combined TO's are 10 [3 times]; Ole Miss marks the 3rd straight game they've combined for less than 10 turnovers [5-4-9]
· During their 8 game span of starting, the trio's Assist + Steals for each game have been 10 or more, 18 being the highest [Chatta] …

Assists
Hi: 13 [Chatta, UMass, Ole Miss]
Lo: 7 [L'ville]

Steals
Hi: 6 [EKU]
Lo: 1 [Ole Miss]

· The starting trio's assist/TO ratio during this span has been +3 or better in all but two games [Indiana, L'ville - both +1]

Two straight SEC home games coming up, then a TV travel date with the Gamecocks on ESPN, things are beginning to warm up now.

Saturday, January 6, 2007

BCS Beware: Rich Brooks On A Mission Man!

Ryan Parker has done it again with another Kentucky themed tune rocking YouTube, this one with sentiments of Rich Brooks and where the Kentucky football program is heading after beating Clemson.

I couldn't of put it any better.

We Love Rich Brooks


Yay, It's SEC Play!

I've never wanted to dance more in my life than I do right now.

I forgot, Kentucky opens up SEC play tonight (We'll see if they show the game tonight in my region) against Ole Miss on the road tonight. I'm hoping for a dominant blowout victory while I put these girls ahead of Ashley Judd on my hottest UK fans list.

Sorry Ashley. Enjoy the game, I know I probably won't be able to see it since the Gators seem to invade the regional satellites like a really bad chapter out of Men In Black. Hey, there's the last piece of the trilogy. I'll pitch it to Jay Leno some day.

Tubby seems to have split the season into Part 1 and 2, Part 2 obviously being conference play, and he lays it on the line saying the goal is to win the SEC but needing Perry and Crawford to play better than they have.

“Our goal is to win the SEC. I think our schedule has given us the opportunity to see a lot of different styles of play. Hopefully it will prepare us for all of the different styles we’ll see in the SEC this year. We’re trying to get guys to become more efficient. We need to get better play out of Bobby (Perry) and Joe (Crawford). Those guys have been through the wars a few years and understand it. We’re trying to get our freshmen to appreciate it, especially Derrick (Jasper) and Jodie (Meeks). The environment and atmosphere is going to be pretty hostile and you have to deal with all types of adversities and remain focused and poised.”

I'm not sure if that's begging Bobby Perry to pull out of his slump or not but that's got to put even more pressure on the senior as they warm up for Ole Miss tonight. Of course playing in the SEC this year is going to help by the time Florida rolls around, which isn't going to be a picnic at all.

· Game Notes

Seven Point Win Against Houston, Will Ole Miss Be Losin'?

(Sheray Thomas gets some respect from Ramel Bradley. Thomas and Meeks led the surge off the bench combining for 13 pts and 16 rebounds.)

A 7-0 run instigated by a 3-point swing by freshman Jodie Meeks and ended with Morris at the line with 29 seconds left helped lift Kentucky past Houston earlier this week 77-70, and as again, Kentucky did what they could to hold on to their 7 point halftime lead for the W.

It was one of their worst shooting affairs of the season that had the Wildcats struggling from the three-point arc, shooting 39% FG. The foursome of guards Kentucky has [Bradley, Crawford, Jasper, Meeks] shot only 7-27 Tri's but came away with 41 of Kentucky's 77. Morris again reached double double honors with game-highs 10 FT's, 20 pts, 10 rebounds and added 4 blocks. Bobby Perry continues to struggle to shake off the funk he's in, but he isn't completely absent. Outside of his 0-4 three point attempts, he shot just 2-7, got to the line, was involved on the defensive boards and kept his turnovers to near maximum minimum (1). Maybe the big story is how three of Kentucky's starting leaders could only muster up 10 of 36 shooting, and how Kentucky's bench came to the rescue to hold off Houston in maybe an unexpected scoring affair. Kentucky dominated the boards and their 19-10 assist-to-turnover ratio might finally be solved. Their guard foursome [Crawford, Bradley, Jasper, Meeks] had 13 among them, and Morris even added 3 himself. And while freshman Jodie Meeks came off the bench to post 3-8 shooting, 8 pts, 9 rebounds, Meeks' stock is rising. His eight was nearly the difference in the score, but I tend to look at it another way. Since Morris is the fuel that runs this offense, just 13 pts from him instead of 20 and this game would have been tied. He would have still had his double-double too, so 20+ from him is practically demanded of him in games like this when the team is shooting under 40 percent. Morris is clearly the MVP of this team thus far.

The difference really was Kentucky's bench though. Houston only played 7, Kentucky went something like 11 deep outscoring them 16-3. The Wildcats started off hot then cooled off for a 7 point half-time lead before basically doing what they could to hold off a late Houston surge in the second half to protect that lead. Here's how the game started: shot by Perry - three by Bradley - three by Crawford - shot by Morris. Kentucky went on a 10-0 run to start the game in the first 2 and half minutes. Then the game was tied at 68 with 2:49 left before going on a 7-0 run to clinch the win fueled by Joe Crawford's D. Didn't I just recently ramble on about I'd love to see Kentucky put together two awesome half's in one outing? I know there's always something to improve on, but I do notice their defense playing better and the offense seems to have more of a purpose, and lately, they've turned around their turnover margin but we'll see how that all equates in SEC play starting today against Ole Miss.

A huge part in Kentucky's close victories and avoiding a few upsets this season is their defense. It has improved with each game, I'd say significantly better since Indiana. So while some guys aren't putting up huge scoring numbers, collectively their getting it done, and getting it done on the other side of the ball. But I give some credit to Houston which caught Kentucky on a bad shooting night (Bradley's been hot, but this game outside his 3-10 three point shots, he was just 1-3 otherwise). Really both teams shot horribly, but here's something cool to look at …

Houston's (f) Dion Dowell + (g) Robert McKiver + (g) Oliver Lafayette = 20 made [10-29 Tri's], 53 pts

(g) Joe Crawford + (g) Ramel Bradley + (f) Bobby Perry = 10 made [5-21 Tri's], 29 pts

OR
(c) Randolph Morris + (g) Ramel Bradley + (g) Derrick Jasper = 14 made [4-12 Tri's], 43 pts

And what perhaps might be the most interesting

Houston's Robert McKiver + Oliver Lafayette = 35 pts
Ramel Bradley + Joe Crawford + Derrick Jasper = 33 pts

Add in Meeks' 8 and there's six of Kentucky's seven point win.

Of course you could say that since Houston only played seven, someone had to score.

Kentucky wasn't able to stop them though.

(-) Stayin' Steady

Randolph Morris: game-high *10-12 FTL, game-high *20 pts, game-high *10 rebounds, 4 blocks
Joe Crawford: 4-12, 10 pts, 4 assists, 2 steals
Ramel Bradley: 4-13 [3 Tri's], 11 pts, 7 rebounds, 2 assists
Derrick Jasper: 5-6 [1-2], 12 pts, 3 rebounds, game-high *6 assists

(↑) Risin'

(Jodie, “sneek the three”, Meeks. Once again, the freshman from Georgia snuck a three from the bench and is slowly joining Derrick Jasper as making a difference in their first year.)

Jodie Meeks: 3-8 [1-4], 8 pts, 9 rebounds

(↓) Fallin'

Bobby Perry: 2-11 [0-4], 4-4 FTL, 8 pts, 6 rebounds