There was just so much stuff I had to get a post out early today.  There will likely be a PM edition of the BBDM today.

• Vols’ Chism evaluates Cousins’ play | Vaught's Views

• One irritating moment - Beyond the Arc - msnbc.com
  Preach, Brother Miller. I hate that song.

• Cats lose first home game | courier-journal.com | The Courier-Journal

• No asterisks of infamy for Jayhawks | KUsports.com

  This Mayer fellow is shameless. He never tires of taking shots at every program under the sun and pumping up KU, always acting as if KU has been a good NCAA citizen. It hasn't, but this guy apparently has selective memory loss.  The highbrow pomposity of Mayer is actually breathtaking.

  The fact of the matter is, the Kansas Jayhawks are the most penalized NCAA institution in Division I college basketball.  Mayer does get around to alluding to Kansas' NCAA difficulties at the very end, but declines to specify.  Instead, he confines his comments to teams who have had the "asterisk" by them, as though its okay to implicate all these other programs as somehow inferior to KU despite KU's record of NCAA lawlessness.

  Of course, Mayer reserves special vitriol for UK, singling the NCAA out as "gutless" for not vacating wins for the point-shaving scandals.  You will rarely see a more sneering, pharisaical, sanctimonious screed than this.  I'm not proud of UK's scofflaw past, but at least I'm not trying to score points off everyone else in a paroxysm of unctuous elitism.

More after the jump.

• Report: John Calipari attended high schoool workout that was in violation of New Jersey rules | courier-journal.com | The Courier-Journal
  This is news ... how? I mean, you see the lede, you think Calipari was involved in some kind of violation, when instead it was just a case of New Jersey's parochial stupidity.

• Bubble Watch Update: No Change In Last Four In Heading Into Wednesday - SB Nation
  I think Mississippi St. needs at least a finals appearance in the SEC Tournament to get into the NCAA tourney. Ole Miss needs a win or two as well.

• The Leach Report
  Wednesday links.

• Wall topped by Turner for Player of the Year
  So says TSN.

• Report: Ernie Kent’s told his team he’s done | College Hoops Journal
  Is Tubby Smith Oregon's next target?

• Kentucky basketball's strength of schedule draws many critics | courier-journal.com | The Courier-Journal

  While three computer rankings rate UK's schedule among the weakest played by top 10 teams this season, Calipari has little doubt it's prepared his team for postseason play, which for the Cats begins Friday at the Southeastern Conference Tournament in Nashville, Tenn.

  Prepared or not, there is no doubt UK played a weak schedule.  To be fair, though, a lot of it wasn't Calipari's fault.  Who would have expected pre-season top ten teams UConn and North Carolina to be so pathetic?  Louisville is hardly great this year either, and Indiana is in the midst of a rebuilding phase.

  Put those four teams in the top 25 where they traditionally are, and you have a schedule anyone would be proud of.

• Danny Jett's Inner Circle: SEC Basketball Awards Shocker Plus A Large Explosion
  Danny Jett is surprised at Kevin Stallings' selection as SEC COY.

• Twitter / Gary Parrish: Vandy's success wasn't the ...

  Vandy's success wasn't the main reason Stallings won SEC COY. The main reason is that other SEC coaches don't like Pearl or Calipari.

  So this is now the third or fourth media person who has asserted this.  That still doesn't make it true, but there is that old saying about smoke and fire.

• SEC links: Media poll on SEC’s best and worst John Clay’s Sidelines
  John Clay's SEC links.

• Kentucky's John Calipari excels at one-year wonders | tennessean.com | The Tennessean

  It will be interesting to see if the Academic Progress Rate affects Kentucky if Wall, Cousins and Bledsoe leave early and not be academically eligible.

  I can't speak for Cousins and Bledsoe, but we know Wall has had a high GPA since he has been at UK.  This is wishful thinking, I believe.

• Calipari Makes a Quick Trip to Las Vegas

• What A Difference A Wall Makes For Kentucky Fans And John Calipari | Yooxe

  It doesn’t matter that Calipari has left a trail of sanctions in his wake: the man is on his way to Nick Saban status in the Bluegrass State. Soon he, too, will be more popular than God. Jemele Hill’s assertion that Kentucky fans would root for Charles Manson if he won enough games is in the running for "Most Accurate Statement That’s Ever Required A Public Apology."

  You can just feel the love oozing out of every pore of this douchebag's body, can't you?

• Wildcats indebted to Tennessee for wakeup call | KentuckySports.com

  While I'm not usually an advocate of "the good loss," I think this one was a lesson Kentucky needed before March Madness.

  That was also Calipari's post-game spin.

  Spin is all it is to me.  Maybe we can make lemonade out of a lemon, but make no mistake -- a lemon is what it was.

• Cats ease their draft worries on Pro Day | KentuckySports.com
  Lots of improvement in Wildcat times over the Combine. That's great news.

• Maker's Mark signing might be big blue bottleneck - Business - Kentucky.com
  I think I'll wait for it to hit the stores.

• UK men's resurgence doesn't lift rest of SEC | KentuckySports.com

  Florida, Mississippi and Mississippi State are perceived as teams on the metaphorical bubble. For Donovan, it's plausible that one or more could gain an NCAA Tournament bid here this week.

  "The league is much better," he said. "At this point in time last year, we really had to do damage in this tournament (to earn a bid). This year, I think we're in the mix. Ole Miss is in the mix. Mississippi State is in the mix."

  I agree with Donovan.  What I don't really get is Tipton's lede.

• Kentucky Ink Webcast - Show 5
  Definitely worth your time to watch.

• Eric Crawford | Calipari shortchanged by SEC peers | courier-journal.com | The Courier-Journal

  I know, they voted the honor to Vanderbilt's Kevin Stallings, and Stallings is outstanding. But he's not the SEC Coach of the Year. Not this year. Say what you want, but this vote feels more anti-Calipari than pro-Stallings.

  And this notion that because you have great players and win almost all your games that you can't be doing as good a coaching job as some guy with a little less talent and a little less success is ridiculous.

  I pretty much think it's unanimous.  The national and local media are all scratching their head over this choice, and the conclusion by most everyone is that it is a deliberate attempt to snub Calipari by the SEC coaches. 

  I welcome it, because all these guys are going to have to get use to seeing their teams get their brains beaten out for the foreseeable future.  That has got to be depressing enough to make you do something like try to get back at a coach via a COY vote.  By the way, how many games did Vanderbilt win versus Kentucky this year?  Just askin'.

• Ole Miss Team Bus Parks on Live Landmine in Nashville?
  Too weird.

• Who might greyshirt in 2010? | Vaught's Views
• Rush The Court " SEC Tournament Preview
• Count Downey as a Wall fan | Vaught's Views

• Sprints Would Always Want to Win the SEC Basketball Championship // 03.11.10 - Team Speed Kills
  All the SEC news that's fit to make fun of.

• NCAA Offenses Erase Colleges' Lucrative Wins | Page 2 of 2 | Sports | Financial Articles & Investing News | TheStreet.com

  The NCAA has never accused Calipari of wrongdoing, but with projected NBA star in point guard John Wall and an inside track on a No. 1 seed in the tournament, both Calipari and Kentucky are under intense scrutiny.

  By whom?  Stated as a fact without any supporting evidence at all.  Great reporting job.

• SEC Tournament survey | tennessean.com | Nashville Southeastern Conference | The Tennessean
  For what it's worth.

• Anything but Gatorade: IT'S TOURNEY TIME

  Since I'm going to the tournament and the UT/Ole Miss game is right after the Kentucky game, I'm totally buying an Admiral Ackbar costume for that game. The Vols will never see it coming. Go Cats, go Dores, and go to Nashville this weekend, it's going to be a blast.

  An Admiral Ackbar costume?  I must have missed the relevance of this.

• SEC Tournament preview: Kentucky recaptures royal role | clarionledger.com | The Clarion-Ledger

  "We'd like to win the tournament, but it's not the end-all for us," Calipari said. "Our goal is that seed. We lose the first game, we're not going to be a (No. 1) seed. If we lose the second, I think we've done enough. We get to the third game, we're fine. If we win it, we're fine."

  I hate to disagree with Coach Cal, but I think we're fine no matter what happens.

• Hype, passion missing this season - CharlotteObserver.com

  This ACC tournament would be an incredible challenge for even the brightest marketer.

  Consider the following quirks in this week's lineup:

  The home-state megapower is in such disarray that its Hall of Fame coach said he's tired of yelling at players who constantly repeat the same mistakes.

  We've got plenty of hype and passion around here, ACC guys.