1st Tournament win in 12 years

by -Zoso- on Nov 30, 2008 2:43 AM EST Comment 49 comments

Just listened to the post game radio show,made the comment that this is the first time in TWELVE years that UK has won a preseason tournament,not since the Great Alaska Shoot-out in 1996.I know we had a long Final Four drought,but was unaware of this stat.This was a great win tonight,and as cat fans we should expect to win these games,and not make excuses for losing.Good to get the monkey off our back since the Clinton adminstration.GO CATS!

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Interesting

Did you know the only SECT that Pitino failed to W was the 1996 tourney?

It mattered not.

by FortyYearCatFan on Nov 30, 2008 8:29 AM EST reply actions 0 recs

I think it helped

Mississippi State was the #2 team in the country (by my reckoning, anyway, I don’t count Syracuse CBS cheat-factor) so the loss was no shame. Also I think the team was getting a big head from being so good, so I think it helped our focus.

by EEWildcat on Nov 30, 2008 12:31 PM EST up reply actions 0 recs

UMass Was #2 And UK #1 Then

They flipped after the L to Miss St.

Miss St was Top 5 or 10 but not #2.

by FortyYearCatFan on Nov 30, 2008 12:47 PM EST up reply actions 0 recs

I said in my book

Miss St made the final four and would have been in the final game if not for CBS cheat factor. So my top 3 are
1. UK
2. Miss St.
3. UMass

Miss St. had an outstanding team in March. UMass was one-dimensional (but good).

Your milage (and national polls) may vary.

by EEWildcat on Nov 30, 2008 1:00 PM EST up reply actions 0 recs

Actually Miss St #25 Then

Entered NCAA ranked #19 after W over UK.

by FortyYearCatFan on Nov 30, 2008 1:13 PM EST up reply actions 0 recs

Great, IMHO

We definitely aren’t off to as bad a start as last year, and several other recent years. It’s good to see us starting out better, hopefully we can spend the season perfecting our team rather than just getting a basic team going.

by EEWildcat on Nov 30, 2008 12:34 PM EST reply actions 0 recs

2007 Team

Started 15-3 that year.

by FortyYearCatFan on Nov 30, 2008 12:47 PM EST reply actions 0 recs

Stats are fun

I bolded a few “slow starts” – 3 losses before reaching 7 wins or 4 before 10 wins. 07 wasn’t that bad, given rankings of losses and the nice run they went on after that.

2008-09 0-2
2007-08 7-9 (ouch)
2006-07 4-3 (only top 25 losses- not as bad as it looks)
2005-06 10-6
2004-05 10-2 (great start!)
2003-04 11-2 (another great one!)
2002-03 6-3 (plus 1 exhibition loss)
2001-02 9-4
2000-01 4-5 (ouch again)
1999-00 4-4
1998-99 10-3
1997-98 10-2 (awesome, and we won the championship somehow!)
1996-97 0-1, then 14-2 (runners-up)
1995-96 1-1, then 26-2 (legendary)
1994-95 6-2
1993-94 11-2 (nice! but lost to a national team in exhibition – oh well!)
1992-93 11-1 (awesome)
1991-92 6-2
1990-91 4-2, then 10-3

by EEWildcat on Nov 30, 2008 1:31 PM EST up reply actions 0 recs

And Overall W-L Results Not That Much Different

The 1991 thru 1997 teams didn’t finish as well as the 1998 through 2008 teams.

by FortyYearCatFan on Nov 30, 2008 2:37 PM EST up reply actions 0 recs

All the best NCAA tournament teams started out well

1997-98 10-2 (NCAA Champion)
1996-97 14-2 (NCAA Runner Up)
1995-96 26-2 (NCAA Champion)
1992-93 11-1 (NCAA Final Four)

by EEWildcat on Nov 30, 2008 2:56 PM EST up reply actions 0 recs

2009 Not Looking Good By Those Numbers

We’ll C what happens.

by FortyYearCatFan on Nov 30, 2008 3:01 PM EST up reply actions 0 recs

"First pre-conference tourney championship since Clinton administration..."

Shouldn’t that read “since before the Smith administration?”

by Ken Pomeroy on Nov 30, 2008 1:17 PM EST reply actions 0 recs

Smith Won 1 NCAA Title And 5 SECT Championships

Just the the prior Pitino administration.

But Smith won 5 SEC titles compared to just 2 for Pitino.

11 titles (that count) for Smith to 8 for Pitino.

by FortyYearCatFan on Nov 30, 2008 2:35 PM EST up reply actions 0 recs

Topic was pre-conference tournaments.

Couldn’t find any that Smith won — in ten years. Man, that’s embarrassing.

Way to show ‘em how it’s done, BCG!

by Ken Pomeroy on Nov 30, 2008 11:48 PM EST up reply actions 0 recs

Except For

Great 8 in Chicago. Premier Classic in Arizona. Delta Airlines Classic in Atlanta. Nokia Sugar Bowl Classic in New Orleans. John Wooden Classic in California. Basketbowl in Detroit.

Except for those 6, he didn’t win any.

by FortyYearCatFan on Dec 1, 2008 6:31 AM EST up reply actions 0 recs

Basketbowl

Wasnt a tournament.

DEEETROIT BASKETBALLL!!!

by davw83 on Dec 1, 2008 11:11 AM EST up reply actions 0 recs

It Was Identified As Such

On Jon Scott website.

by FortyYearCatFan on Dec 1, 2008 11:14 AM EST up reply actions 0 recs

Jon Scott

O well Jon Scott calls it a tournament so then it must be.

One game between two teams with a fancy name for marketing purposes does not a tournament make. Wake up.

DEEETROIT BASKETBALLL!!!

by davw83 on Dec 1, 2008 12:58 PM EST up reply actions 0 recs

It Was A Nice W

And tournament caliber, no doubt.

by FortyYearCatFan on Dec 1, 2008 1:19 PM EST up reply actions 0 recs

Nice W

It is a nice W and very high profile but Im not sure about tournament caliber.

Playing and winning one game are very different than playing and wining a tournament and I would consider a tournament victory (depending on the quality of competition) to be nicer. That said, the Vegas “Tournament” wasnt much of a tournament either but two games in two days is tougher than one game.

DEEETROIT BASKETBALLL!!!

by davw83 on Dec 1, 2008 2:50 PM EST up reply actions 0 recs

75K Fans And Hostile Setting (In Michigan)

I’m pretty sure the Basketbowl game was a tougher W than either Vegas game.

by FortyYearCatFan on Dec 1, 2008 3:08 PM EST up reply actions 0 recs

HMM

I wasnt really saying that the basketbowl wasnt a tougher win in particular but I can see how you would infer that. Im not really sure if there is a way to guage the toughness of the games but you may be right due to our homecourt advantage in the recent vegas action.

My point was more that wins in a tournament style back to back game setting are tougher than a single game no with multiple days off in between. I was referring to tourney style play as opposed to one regular season game, not the basketbowl in particular.

DEEETROIT BASKETBALLL!!!

by davw83 on Dec 1, 2008 4:38 PM EST up reply actions 0 recs

I'm not so sure the setting was hostile

Yes it was in Michigan, but the whole point of that particular game was based on the premise that because UK fans travel it would be possible to fill the entire stadium without any curtains or other means of cutting off seats. UK fans represented a large portion of the crowd. Maybe not a majority, but certainly a larger percentage than if the game had been played at Michigan State.

On a related note, they are going to try the same thing for the UNC-Mich. St. game this year in the ACC-Big 10 challenge. I’ll be interested to see if they are able to fill up the stadium again.

"That's not a Sherman tank, it's Frank Thomas!" - Monkeyball

by JLeverenz on Dec 1, 2008 10:36 PM EST up reply actions 0 recs

78K Fans

In Detroit.

Not hostile???

by FortyYearCatFan on Dec 2, 2008 6:30 AM EST up reply actions 0 recs

Did you read what I posted?

The reason the game was in Detroit and on Ford Field was because UK fans would buy a lot of tickets to fill up the stadium. There were a lot of UK fans at that game, hardly what I would call a hostile environment.

"That's not a Sherman tank, it's Frank Thomas!" - Monkeyball

by JLeverenz on Dec 2, 2008 9:29 AM EST up reply actions 0 recs

It Was Mostly Mich St Fans

Lots of UK fans, too.

But mostly Green and White.

by FortyYearCatFan on Dec 2, 2008 12:58 PM EST up reply actions 0 recs

guys... come on

Tubby is a good coach, Billy is a good coach and they both will win many, many games…

UK is going to be a beast very, very soon, so why all the bickering..?

“Can’t we all, just get along”

FortyYearCatFan: I disagree with your assessment of the 2 games we just won… They were both very tough wins considering the position we find ourselves in at this time in UK basketball history… HUGH WINS…..

Steelers fan 1st! UK is my 2nd love.

by vinceuk1 on Dec 1, 2008 3:14 PM EST up reply actions 0 recs

No Bickering At All

Just discussion back-n-forth. Nothing more, nothing less.

The W over WVU and K-St are nice W to be sure. But nothing more, nothing less.

by FortyYearCatFan on Dec 1, 2008 3:32 PM EST up reply actions 0 recs

ok, well said...

We will just have to disagree on this issue… I think those wins were HUGH….
but, I respect your opinion…

Steelers fan 1st! UK is my 2nd love.

by vinceuk1 on Dec 1, 2008 3:38 PM EST up reply actions 0 recs

Miami And Louisville

THOSE would be (will be) HUGE W for UK.

by FortyYearCatFan on Dec 1, 2008 3:52 PM EST up reply actions 0 recs

Jon Scott

did not call it a tournament.If you read it says tornaments AND special events.A 1 game event is not a tournament.

by -Zoso- on Dec 1, 2008 6:01 PM EST up reply actions 0 recs

If It Has A Special Name

It counts.

by FortyYearCatFan on Dec 1, 2008 7:20 PM EST up reply actions 0 recs

FortyYear...

You are something else…lol…good…not bad.

by kykat51 on Dec 1, 2008 7:30 PM EST up reply actions 0 recs

I still think

You should have been a defense lawyer :-)

by kykat51 on Dec 1, 2008 7:36 PM EST up reply actions 0 recs

It counts

Only in spin.What is your definition of a tournament?Mulitple teams in multiple games,not a “event”.

by -Zoso- on Dec 1, 2008 8:19 PM EST up reply actions 0 recs

Jon Scott

He groups them all in the same spot on his website. Go check it.

by FortyYearCatFan on Dec 1, 2008 8:31 PM EST up reply actions 0 recs

As has been mentioned previously, grouping them together doesn't make them equivalent.

"That's not a Sherman tank, it's Frank Thomas!" - Monkeyball

by JLeverenz on Dec 1, 2008 10:44 PM EST up reply actions 0 recs

How About Similar

The 1 game “events” usually, if not always, matched RANKED teams.

by FortyYearCatFan on Dec 2, 2008 6:31 AM EST up reply actions 0 recs

NABC CLassic

He won the 2008 version of this event last month FWIW.

by FortyYearCatFan on Dec 1, 2008 6:40 AM EST up reply actions 0 recs

12-2 heading into Louisville game looks very doable....

Baring any more “VMI’s”…

???

Steelers fan 1st! UK is my 2nd love.

by vinceuk1 on Nov 30, 2008 3:07 PM EST reply actions 0 recs

And after the Louisville loss to WKU the

game doesn’t look so formidable.

by bluecrip on Nov 30, 2008 7:04 PM EST up reply actions 0 recs

Miami is a legit opponent

But if we can handle them at Rupp this Saturday, then I do agree.

Of course its difficult, its a shortcut... if it was easy it'd just be "the way."

by chirop1 on Dec 1, 2008 9:17 AM EST up reply actions 0 recs

I'm not sure we will beat Miami.

It’s gonna take another Herculean defensive effort to beat them.

by bluecrip on Dec 1, 2008 10:23 AM EST reply actions 0 recs

Tough ACC team for sure...

Dwayne Collins is gonna’ be a load in the paint… With their aggressive play, they are foul pron, so I’d like to see Harrelson start the game, and the way Stevenson has been playing, (or lack there of), he just might be starting by then…

Their Guards penetrate often and that could cause UK problems…

I feel UK can break their press easier then the last 2 opponents we played because they do not bring their bigs in the back court on the press, at least the game I watched…

Steelers fan 1st! UK is my 2nd love.

by vinceuk1 on Dec 1, 2008 10:32 AM EST up reply actions 0 recs

I was wondering this myself yesterday

I didn’t realize it had been that long since a regular season* tournament win.

*It can’t be a preseason tournament, right? I mean, the season has already started and even if it hadn’t the games count towards the regular season record.

"That's not a Sherman tank, it's Frank Thomas!" - Monkeyball

by JLeverenz on Dec 1, 2008 3:34 PM EST reply actions 0 recs