03.01.2010

Lets Not Jump Off the Bridge

Per Gary Parrish at CBS Sports about UT:

“So the past five seasons now feature wins over an undefeated and eventual national-title-winning Florida team (2006), a fourth-ranked Florida team that also won the national title (2007), a Memphis team that was ranked No. 1 and eventually played for a national title (2008), a Kansas team that was ranked No. 1 (last month), and a Kentucky team that was ranked No. 2 (Saturday).”

Per Me:

And how far has UT gone in the Big Tournament??? Not past the sweet 16!!!

A good season for UT (straight from the mouth of Bruce Pearl) is beating UK, which he had not done in his last four tries before today… A good season for UK is winning the SEC and then going to the final four and UK is half way home… See the difference???

Don’t give me the bullshit football comparison either of UK fans just being happy to go to any bowl game vs. what UT fans want like in basketball just to beat Kentucky… The people I tailgate and go to the games with want and expect more out of football just like basketball…

Per some crazy on a UT Web Site:

You have to choose one college basketball coach to lead your team in a big game against a heavyweight opponent. Who ya got? Bill Self? John Calipari? Roy Williams? Mike Krzyzewski? Me, I'll take Bruce Pearl, as long as it's not a regional semifinal in the NCAA Tournament.

Per Me:

The ONLY big games are the regional finals and the two after that… There are games and there are big games…

Anyway…

On a weekend where the number 1, number 2 and number 3 teams are beaten there will be a shake up at the top and Purdue with the injury to Hummel will probably drop allot further than KU and UK will… UT??? Even with victories over number 1 and number 2 this year at home they will be done by the second weekend of the tournament (actually by the first weekend I predict)…

Bruce Pearl has made UT competitive once again but that and $1.65 will get them a tall coffee at Starbucks… He won three SEC tittles when UK was down and has not gotten his team past the sweet 16 and until he does I say he is second tier… His program is toxic… Just look at the issues he has had and the team has had off the court… I just do not ever seeing him getting UT to the final four!!!

As for UK… A loss in this games does not hurt UK at all (probably helps) and was predicted by allot of people so know one should really be surprised… After playing the late game on ESPN Thursday night and then turning around for Noon road game on Saturday I thought UK showed well in this game (they did not in the fist half) and had a chance to win in the 2nd Half… I admit it looked bad for a while and I was frustrated with how the team was playing but they showed me something with how hard they finally played in the 2nd half on the defensive end…

Coach Cal was very upset after the game with effort and I think this weeks practices are going to be rough on some of the guys… He called out a few (not by name) for effort… My guess is Bledsoe and Dodson who have not played well at all (although Bledsoe played pretty good defense yesterday in the 2nd half)…

Bottom line is this… UK can win it’s 44th SEC Championship by winning one of the last two and UT can finish as high as third after beating UK today…  

By the way I disagree with Coach Cal by a large margin about the importance of conference championships...  They are very very important...  I do think his point was UK is not satisfied with just a conference championship and this program is about final fours and championship banners...  I agree but you get those by winning your conference...   

 

A Championship Run for UK

Has to start this week against UGA… UK needs to win the last two and at least one in the conference tournament to secure a number one seed… A loss in the last two and early SEC tournament exit spells number two seed with the movement you are going to see this week in the polls…

Any road game in any conference is tough and at this point and two road losses by this team is tolerable… Two losses period is tolerable… The one coming up at UGA is going to be a tough one (they have only lost once at home all year)… Anyone who though that UK would only have two losses at this point in the season please stand up!!!

UK shot free throws at a level on Saturday that they will need to shoot in tournament (78%) but they have to have more assists and less turnovers… Defense is the key!!! UK played good defense and sometimes-great defense in the 2nd half against UT and that should show well when they watch film of this game to prepare for the next… The first half defense was the example of what not to do and the 2nd half was an example of how to play lock down defense… They also did a great job of attacking the zone in the second half and proved the point that you do not have to shoot and make threes to beat a zone you just have to find the seams and hit the jump shots…

As for three-point shooting Bledsoe, Miller and Dodson are just cold as ice to this point… Bledsoe has hit a wall on the offensive end and on the defensive end (a few good moments on Saturday in the 2nd half) and Dodson has not shown up for several games… You cannot shoot 2 for 22 from the arc and win games but you can shoot 2 for 10 from the arc and win games if you make half the other twelve shots taken inside the paint (that equals a win yesterday)… You do not have to be a perimeter team when you are as capable as this team is in the paint… Attempt 12 three pointers a game not 15, 20 or 22…

I of course am pulling for my team (not against other teams) as I always do and think they are capable of doing just about anything… They could end up in the final four and they could lose in the second round because of the youth on this squad… Flip a coin at this point…

Either way I am proud of the way this team has played this year and the excitement that coach has brought back to the program… Kentucky is back in the conversation and I believe they will be for a the next several years under the leadership of John Calipari…

Random

· At this point I cannot decide if the SEC is just weak, mediocre, pretty good or what… We will see how the conference fairs in the big dance before passing judgment…

· TheVilleHatesUK… This is a person screen name I saw on CBS Sports.com… Wow… Now that is excessive…

· I have enjoyed what I have been able to watch from the Winter Olympics… Curling has been really fun to watch but I need to research the rules and the strategy some more… Just when I think I have it figured out I don’t… Did not matter to me that most of the events were shown taped and not live by NBC… I missed the hockey final but from the highlights it looks like something I should have watched…

· Are the natives getting restless a little at IU??? I think Tom Crean has to show a turnaround or some progress next year and the success that Steve Alford is having at New Mexico will also have people what “iffing” in Indiana… Of course outdate Assembly Hall is not helping Crean recruit… IU like UK has to address their outdated game day facility…

· How long before the SEC Tournament is in Louisville??? The new arena here is going to be awesome… Go on line and check it out… Very well done… Should mean the city will get some early round tournament games and I see some better music acts showing up in the new venue…

· Are you thinking baseball??? I am for sure… Really excited about St Louis chances this year… They have to address the bullpen and closer role, as I do not think Ryan Franklin is a championship style guy for this position… He is really their only option at this point…

· Tiger’s road is a long one back… He had a long way to fall and I believe he fell all the way to the very bottom right next to the Titanic…

Music

Not much to report in the area of music… Have been downloading a few “one” songs from I Tunes where all I really want is a song not an album… My wife and I did go to the Titanic exhibit that is here in Louisville this weekend… Very cool to see the film they showed and get an up close view of the artifacts they had on display… They provide lots of information about passengers, crew, the builder of the ship, etc… I was always fascinated as a kid that they could not find this great ship…