Tomorrow night, the Kentucky Wildcats take on the Florida Gators at the O'Dome in Gainesville.
It's interesting, but if Kentucky is able to win this game, it would be the first time since 2005 that UK has beaten Florida in Gainesville.
Think about that for a minute.
The winningest team in college basketball, first team to 2000 wins, is on a five-year losing streak to an SEC opponent at their place. Five years. Not only that, but Kentucky has only beaten the Gators twice in their last ten attempts. Folks, that is about as futile as Kentucky has ever been against anybody.
This is the first time since 2005 that Kentucky has been ranked higher than Florida in the national polls. I doubt if the ESPN commentators will notice all this, but a bit of a rivalry has developed between Kentucky and Florida, and since 2005, the rivalry has been almost as one sided on the basketball floor as on the football field.
Needless to say, I think UK fans would love to get a measure of redemption by sticking it to Florida for a change. Tomorrow, we get our best chance in years to hand the Gators an "L" in their own gym.
The news follows the jump.
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Tom Leach talks with Oscar Robertson about John Wall
And much, much more. - Basketball Prospectus -- Around the Rim: Undefeated Kentucky Still Focusing on Improvement
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Expect 'Cats to crush SEC" Evansville Courier & Press
As for the Bulldogs of Georgia, they’re good enough to hang with third-ranked Kentucky for 10 or 15 minutes. But by halftime on Saturday, the Wildcats should be well on their way to 1-0 in the conference.
I'm not quite so sanguine. -
Chattanooga Times Free Press | SEC basketball tries to rebound
Yet there have been a slew of stunning setbacks, beginning Nov. 13 when Mississippi State, the defending SEC tournament champion, fell from the nationally ranked after being thumped at home by Rider. Alabama since has lost at home to Cornell, and neither Georgia nor South Carolina could defeat Wofford.
Heh. This must have been written before the Cornell-Kansas game -
SEC's return to order: UK leads the way | courier-journal.com | The Courier-Journal
The SEC is better than last year -- just not as much better as most of us thought it would be. Injuries and suspensions/dismissals have had a huge say in that. - Lacey impressed by Kentucky's hot start - Insider - ESPN
- For even great teams like Kansas, Cornell happens - NCAA Division I Mens Basketball - CBSSports.com
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Bulldogs will challenge in West, UK team to beat overall | clarionledger.com | The Clarion-Ledger
Pre-Southeastern Conference basketball play has concluded and an old, forgotten theme has been dusted off: Kentucky, then who else?
Heh. Veazey gets this right. What was old is new again, and I like it. -
Kentucky as advertised, but questions remain for rest of the SEC - Sports - TheSunNews.com
Many defenders of the league thought the Wildcats' struggles last year, and the lack of one outstanding team, were a big reason the SEC was knocked around in the media.
"It just goes back to they [Kentucky] have a lot to do with the perception of our league, whether it's good or bad," Stallings said. "It's good right now, [because] the perception and I think the reality is that they're very good." -
Sports Resolutions for 2010 – The Cheap Seat - Wilmington Star News - Wilmington, NC - Archive
– Less woofing, more playing. Kentucky and Louisville did not get this one of to a ringing start with their rivalry game "effort". But when John Calipari is involved, you know something eventually less-than-desired will happen.
This blog is called the The CheapShotSeat. Embrace. The. Hate. - Louisville Mojo: China's Got Nothing on Our Wall
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Rush The Court " Blog Archive " That’s Debatable: New Year’s Resolutions
My resolution is for John Calipari, and that’s for him to promise never to say that this Kentucky team is "lucky to be 15-0," and that they "really should be 9-6," like he was quoted as saying yesterday. He’s made statements similar to that one a couple of times earlier this year, too. That’s a pretty playful little move. I don’t think it’s true, and I don’t think Coach Calipari thinks it’s true. There’s no need for this self-abnegation.
Classic. Read the whole thing. - SBNation's College Basketball Power 16: The Debut Edition - SB Nation
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Liggins making up for lost time : The Kentucky Kernel
Liggins could mess around and wind up in the starting lineup. -
Texas Tech's Tommy Tuberville :: First Impressions - Double-T Nation
How ironic is it that Tubberville will succeed Mike Leach? -
Liggins' defense, energy impress coach | KentuckySports.com
"There's always something that shows me, uh-oh, I better get him out because I'm not going to guess he'll play through it," Calipari said when asked about the former Mr. Basketball. "He hasn't proven to me that he'll play through it.
I'm thinking Miller's starting job is in jeopardy. -
Phillips hires offensive line coach | KentuckySports.com
Arkansas offensive line coach Mike Summers is leaving the Razorbacks to take a similar job at Kentucky.
By all accounts, a very good hire. -
UK notebook: Joker hits recruiting trail | KentuckySports.com
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DeAndre is De-spark - Kentucky Sports Network
The telling stat though has to be that when the game was on the line, when Kentucky had to have their best players on the floor to win the game, who was out there? DeAndre Liggins. I have never been a big Liggins fan . I really thought he embarrassed the UK program last year when he refused to re-enter the game out in Las Vegas. This year when the Cats are rolling win after win , he's on the bench, suspended for undisclosed reasons. The Cats kept winning, and Liggins kept sitting. Here is a guy that had every reason to quit on this team and quit on himself, but all he's done is continue to work hard, keep his nose clean, and play as hard as he can when his number gets called. Liggins screwed up. He got in trouble, but he paid his dues , took his punishment, and appears to be a better man for it. You also know he'll just continue to get better and better this year because he's going up against John Wall and Eric Bledsoe every day in practice. The more minutes he plays the better he is going to get in his role on this team. I think he is bringing more to the team that Darius Miller. I also argue that he can help this team more than Ramon Harris. Harris doesn't help you much on the offensive end. Liggins can, and Liggins can do everything on the defensive end that Harris can do. My momma used to say something like, Everyone gets in trouble, but it's what your learn from it that matters! Liggins.....lesson learned! -
Eric Crawford | DeMarcus Cousins' one constant state: a great player | courier-journal.com | The Courier-Journal
UK trailed 47-46 with 13:36 left in the game when Cousins was fouled inside and his headband was knocked off. A teammate picked it up and handed it back to him, and Cousins flung it to the sideline.
The Rupp Arena crowd responded, "Oooooh." And Patterson said he knew then that Georgia was in trouble.
I just love that. Fantastic. -
Kentucky Milks ‘World Wide Wes’ Connection : U of L Card Game
Embrace. The. Hate. - Texas Longhorns replace Kansas Jayhawks as coaches' poll No. 1 - ESPN
- I think Calipari has a good point.
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Florida faces a rough matchup with Kentucky
He's right. Kentucky already looks like a team ready to contend for a national title, with senior Patrick Patterson (16.7 points, 8.1 rebounds) more versatile than ever, freshman post player DeMarcus Cousins (15.4, 9.4) a perfect compliment inside and guard John Wall (17.2 points, 7.1 assists) already a candidate for national player of the year as a freshman. -
Mark Story: 'Wall Dance' inspires Copy Cats | KentuckySports.com
19. DeAndre Liggins. Did you ever think you'd hear a Kentucky coach say of the enigmatic swingman, as John Calipari did Saturday, "I'm proud of him.
No. Never. - Freshman John Wall has captivated Kentucky Wildcats basketball - OrlandoSentinel.com
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UK Notebook: Calipari looked for a stopper, and Bledsoe volunteered: AMNews.com
I love Bledsoe's attitude on the floor. It's great to see.
However, when Calipari called for someone to guard Leslie late in the game, Bledsoe was the only volunteer. Calipari didn’t identify Bledsoe as the player, but teammates did and Bledsoe admitted it was him after Kentucky won 76-68. -
UK Basketball: Neither coach nor Patterson happy with forward's performance against Georgia: AMNews.com
"I like the matchup. I was looking forward to it and the first 10 minutes I think I held him scoreless," he said. "We were talking out there a bunch and we knew it was going to be a battle. I know he’s a tremendous ballplayer. He has a great jump shot, he’s a great ballhandler and had a tremendous feel for the game. I look forward to matching up with him again."
I can't wait for the rematch.
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