Kentucky Wildcats 66, Alabama Crimson Tide, 55: Postmortem
by Truzenzuzex on Feb 9, 2010 11:52 PM EST
in Basketball
11 comments
We had been talking a bit recently how the Kentucky Wildcats had been playing pretty basketball in the last few games. Tonight, they decided that was just too girly for them, I guess, and decided to get real ugly.
But most of that ugliness was delivered courtesy of the Alabama Crimson Tide, who scrambled and fought impressively the entire game, despite being overmatched inside. Alabama's defense was every bit as impressive as its division-leading status would indicate, and they brought all the scrap and effort that you would expect from a team coached by Anthony Grant. The Tide showed just a bit today the kind of effort and heart that will soon return them to one of the best teams in the SEC West. Overall, a very impressive effort from the Elephants.
This was an interesting game tonight. Alabama played a zone, just as everyone else has done against the 'Cats, and it was a very effective zone, too. Kentucky struggled a lot in the post-up game, as the Tide were very diligent in double-teaming DeMarcus Cousins every time he touched the basketball. Cuz did a lot of passing out of the post, but he also turned the ball over quite a bit doing it, showing that, as good as he is, he has plenty of improvement left to make.
In the end, though, the Wildcats did just enough to win by a not-too-scary margin of 11 points. More observations on that after the jump.
11 comments | 0 recs |
Alabama Crimson Tide @ Kentucky Wildcats: Open Game Thread
by Truzenzuzex on Feb 9, 2010 9:00 PM EST
in Open Thread
698 comments
Tonight, the Alabama Crimson Tide journey to a snow-covered Commonwealth for a tilt with the Kentucky Wildcats in Rupp Arena.
Game particulars are as follows, courtesy of UKAthletics.com:
| Date & Time | Tues., Feb. 9, 9:00 p.m |
| Coverage | TV: ESPNU Radio: BBSN GameTracker  Online Audio  |
| Location | Rupp Arena Lexington, Ky. |
After a fairly easy time in the bayou with the LSU Tigers last Saturday, the Wildcats welcome a much tougher opponent into their den, an opponent that is smarting from two one-point losses and a three game losing streak.
More after the jump.
698 comments | 0 recs |
Alabama Crimson Tide @ Kentucky Wildcats: Game Preview
by Truzenzuzex on Feb 9, 2010 5:33 PM EST
in Basketball
11 comments
Tonight, the Alabama Crimson Tide roll into Rupp Arena for an inter-divisional SEC contest with the Kentucky Wildcats. The Wildcats and the Tide have been going opposite directions lately with the Tide losing its last three in a row, two of them by only a single point. Kentucky, meanwhile, has been handling their opponents with relative ease and is coming off a stress-free victory over the LSU Tigers down in Baton Rouge.
Let's take a quick look at the comparison between the Crimson Tide and the Wildcats, courtesy of Statsheet.com:
| Rank and Records | UK | ALA |
| RPI | #6 | #103 |
| Strength of Schedule | #68 | #59 |
| Overall | 22-1 | 13-10 |
| Conference | 7-1 | 3-6 |
| Home | 14-0 | 9-5 |
| Away | 4-1 | 2-3 |
| Neutral | 4-0 | 2-2 |
| Top 25 | 6-0 | 1-5 |
| RPI Top 50 | 6-0 | 1-5 |
The Crimson Tide have had significant losses to the Cornell Big Red (52), the Florida St. Seminoles (22), the Purdue Boilermakers (10), the Kansas St. Wildcats (9), the Vanderbilt Commodores (26), the Tennessee Volunteers (19), the Florida Gators (47), and the Mississippi Rebels (40). Alabama has had significant victories over the Baylor Bears (16) and the Mississippi St. Bulldogs (38). All rankings are courtesy of Kenpom.com.
More after the jump. Just like last time, I did the first part of this analysis and Ken did the second part starting with the position analysis. For more on the Alabama Crimson Tide, be sure to check out SB Nation's excellent Alabama blog, Roll Bama Roll.
11 comments | 0 recs |
Q&A With Roll Bama Roll
by Truzenzuzex on Feb 9, 2010 9:31 AM EST
in Basketball
16 comments
Roll Bama Roll, SB Nation's excellent Alabama Crimson Tide blog, graciously asked us to do a Q&A. Bama07 is new to the front page of RBR, and does much of their basketball blogging. He and I exchanged questions over the last couple of days.
Of course, most of you who have been here for a while are familiar with this format, so no explanation is necessary. You can find his questions and my answers over at Roll Bama Roll. My questions and his answers follow below:
A Sea of Blue: After many long years of great recruiting but dubious coaching, Alabama finally replaced Mark Gottfried with Anthony Grant. How do you think Alabama fans like the hire, and what do you think of his performance so far?
Roll 'Bama Roll: Thusfar I've heard virtually no one come out and say that they think we didn't make a good hire. Almost universally, Alabama fans think Anthony Grant is the right man for the job and will take us where we want to go eventually. With the culture of our fanbase obviously being centered around football, his no-nonsense attitude, focus on defense and intensity, and talk of "doings the things that lead to winning" remind us of another certain someone who has an office next door, and generally gives us a good feeling that he likewise has what it takes to recruit and develop winners and more importantly instill a winning attitude in a program that has forgotten what it takes to win.
16 comments | 0 recs |
Upon Further Review: Has UK Improved Since the Non-Conference Season?
by Truzenzuzex on Feb 8, 2010 7:39 PM EST
in Basketball
63 comments
That sounds like an easy question, doesn't it? Surely the Kentucky Wildcats have improved since the pre-season schedule -- they have to, right?
Well, not necessarily. North Carolina certainly hasn't improved -- in fact, they've arguably devolved into a team eerily reminiscent of Kentucky last season. In fact, I'm not sure last year's UK team wouldn't beat North Carolina at this moment in the season.
Other teams have devolved, too. The victory against the Connecticut Huskies now looks pretty average, just like the North Carolina Tar Heels game. The win over the Louisville Cardinals still looks pretty good. It's pretty interesting to see how teams, when they get tested, behave. Sometimes teams respond, and sometimes they do not.
So what do you think? Do you think UK has improved? Well, follow me past the jump and find out.
63 comments | 0 recs |
The Big Blue Daily Mail -- Monday Morning Edition
by Truzenzuzex on Feb 8, 2010 9:45 AM EST
in News
65 comments
This morning, no commentary, just the links. Enjoy!
- Daily Reveille - DeMarcus Cousins helps Kentucky steamroll LSU
- Darius Miller: Enigma Wrapped in Riddle " Big Blue Lowdown :: The Top Destination for Kentucky Hoops
- Kentucky never let LSU have a chance to win | Vaught's Views
- Wildcats Thunder Blog: Kentucky vs Alabama......A Preview
-
BBL: Kentucky men and women keep on rolling John Clay’s Sidelines
John Clay's Big Blue Links -
SEC links: Georgia, Tennessee signees in war of words John Clay’s Sidelines
SEC links by John Clay.
More after the jump.
65 comments | 0 recs |
Saints-Colts: Super Bowl XLIV Open Thread - SB Nation
Join the rest of SB Nation at the super Bowl Open Thread over at SBN's main site.
2 days ago
Truzenzuzex
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Kentucky 81, LSU 55: Postmortem
by Ken Howlett on Feb 6, 2010 9:25 PM EST
in Basketball
37 comments
My apologies for getting the post-game up nearly three hours after the end of the game, but my Internet availability has been spotty for most of the day. KH
The Kentucky Wildcats (22-1, 7-1) did what they were supposed to do this afternoon in Baton Rouge, Louisiana, and that is, beat a team with several missing links, badly. The LSU Tigers (9-14, 0-9), though, deserve a hearty congratulations for never giving up, never letting up, and competing until the final horn.
The 81-55 Kentucky road victory represents the second largest margin of victory this team has had against SEC competition (behind the 31 point dismantling of a now surging Arkansas squad), and hopefully the win also indicates that this team is unafraid to keep their boot on the throat of their opponent, regardless of time and score.
For more information on the game that was, follow me after the jump:
37 comments | 0 recs |
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Southeastern Conference Standings
(updated 2.10.2010 at 1:37 AM EST)
| East | Conf | Overall | ||
|---|---|---|---|---|
| W | L | W | L | |
Kentucky Wildcats
|
8 | 1 | 23 | 1 |
|
Vanderbilt Commodores
|
7 | 2 | 18 | 5 |
|
Tennessee Volunteers
|
6 | 3 | 18 | 5 |
|
Florida Gators
|
6 | 3 | 17 | 6 |
|
South Carolina Gamecocks
|
4 | 4 | 13 | 9 |
|
Georgia Bulldogs
|
2 | 6 | 10 | 11 |
| West | Conf | Overall | ||
|---|---|---|---|---|
| W | L | W | L | |
|
Arkansas Razorbacks
|
5 | 3 | 12 | 11 |
|
Mississippi Rebels
|
5 | 4 | 17 | 6 |
|
Mississippi St. Bulldogs
|
4 | 4 | 16 | 7 |
|
Alabama Crimson Tide
|
3 | 7 | 13 | 11 |
|
Auburn Tigers
|
2 | 6 | 11 | 12 |
|
LSU Tigers
|
0 | 9 | 9 | 14 |
Wildcats Basketball Schedule
Next 5 Games
|
Tennessee
|
Sat 02/13 | 9:00 PM EST |
|
@
Mississippi St.
|
Tue 02/16 | 9:00 PM EST |
|
@
Vanderbilt
|
Sat 02/20 | 6:00 PM EST |
|
South Carolina
|
Thu 02/25 | 9:00 PM EST |
|
@
Tennessee
|
Sat 02/27 | 12:00 PM EST |
Last 5 Games
|
Alabama
|
Tue 02/09 | W 66 - 55 |
|
@
LSU
|
Sat 02/06 | W 81 - 55 |
|
Mississippi
|
Tue 02/02 | W 85 - 75 |
|
Vanderbilt
|
Sat 01/30 | W 85 - 72 |
|
@
South Carolina
|
Tue 01/26 | L 62 - 68 |
Certain photos copyright © 2010 by Associated Press or Getty Images. Any commercial use or distribution without the express written consent of Associated Press and Getty Images is strictly prohibited.
