The Big Blue Daily Mail -- The Aftermath of Bracket Destruction

The Wildcats left nothing but wreckage in their path in the Big Easy.  The Sweet Sixteen and Cornell Big Red beckon.

• Kentucky-Louisville: A Prime Example Of A Silly Rivalry - SB Nation

  With all due respect to Jon, this is a prime example of silly commentary:

  When pressed, fans who subscribe to the "pick a side" mentality will almost invariably tell me that I "don't get it." I don't begrudge a fan's right to hate any team they so choose, but if you hate your team's rival, you should probably ask yourself whether you "get it." Why do you hate the team you hate? Is it a decision you came to independently, or are you just toeing the line along with your fellow fans?

  Well, most Kentucky fans despise Louisville because they have the audacity to exist.  It may be silly, but it's genuine.

  Is that reason enough for ya, Rodney King?

• Wildcats hitting their stride when it counts - College Basketball Nation Blog - ESPN

  Is that all right with you, DeMarcus? "

  I don’t care. I liked it when they hated us," he said. "We’re going to go play, but I love being the bad guy."

  Heh.  That's exactly the answer I would have expected from Cousins.

• FOXNews.com - Youth a double-edged sword for Kentucky

  Don't cancel the rest of the tournament just yet.

  As amazing as the Wildcats looked during the second round of the NCAA tournament at the Superdome, they continued a season-long trend by facing two teams that barely registered a pulse.

  This writer makes some very good points.  We have not seen this from the Wildcats this year.  Most of what we have seen is a team that has consistently failed to reach its potential and played inferior opponents close.  If the Wildcats revert to that form, dismissal becomes far more likely.

  But, oh, if they don't, this could be the most dominant team in NCAA history.

More after the jump.

• Schedule strength doesn't faze Calipari | KentuckySports.com

  Of the 65 teams in the NCAA Tournament, Kentucky's schedule rates almost squarely in the middle in terms of difficulty. Thirty-one teams played a tougher schedule. Thirty-three played a weaker schedule.

  Significant?

  "I doubt it," said Jay Bilas, a college basketball analyst for ESPN and ABC. "If they played North Carolina and Connecticut at their strongest, maybe they'd be 28-5. So what? They'd still be unbelievably good."

  I think Bilas is correct.  He often is.

• Basketball Prospectus | Articles | A New Era

  If Farokhmanesh misses that shot (as he did six out of ten times from beyond the arc), KU is headed back the other way down a point and with the shot clock turned off. Sometimes you have to be bold to be sensible.

  This was a singular moment in the tournament.  We look back now and say, "Oh, it made sense for him to take that shot."  Not even.  By any rational basketball standards, that shot was brain-dead.  It's only redeeming quality was that it went in.

• How Good Is Kentucky? Ask Wake Forest - The Quad Blog - NYTimes.com

  For those who still wonder how good top-seeded Kentucky is, Wake Forest Coach Dino Gaudio has some perspective.

  Kentucky is pretty good, but when they play at the top of their game, they look like the Boston Celtics.

• Over: Deacs washed away by blue tidal wave

  "It was just those bigs," Smith said, alluding to the Kentucky front line that contributed to his 1-for-9 shooting fiasco. "Their bigs are so big that you have trouble shooting those floaters over those guys. They just weren't falling tonight. Give those guys credit. They're a heck of a team. Coach (John) Calipari is a heck of a coach. If they make their shots, I would be surprised if they don't make the Final Four."

  Heh.  I think Ish Smith has it exactly right.

• Kentucky basketball notebook | Sophomore Darius Miller steps up to score 20 against Wake | courier-journal.com | The Courier-Journal

  On Saturday at the New Orleans Arena, the UK sophomore looked a lot like the Mason County High School star who led his Royals to a state title in 2008.

  This is how Darius played in high school.  I just hope he has rediscovered what earned him Mr. Basketball honors over Scotty Hopson two years ago.

• Like it or not, Kentucky playing like new tournament favorite - Mike DeCourcy - College Basketball - Sporting News

  There was Kansas on the television, dying the slowest death since Arnold Schwarzenegger in "The Terminator," and Kentucky coach John Calipari immediately recognized that was the last thing his Wildcats needed to see before their own second-round NCAA Tournament game.

  Off went the TV.

  You think the Calipari guy has done this before?  I'm thinking yes ...

• Sorry, these No. 1 Wildcats won't beat themselves - NCAA Division I Mens Basketball - CBSSports.com

  No. 1 seed Kentucky toyed around with another NCAA tournament foe Saturday as the Wildcats pummeled ninth-seeded Wake Forest into rubble 90-60 and laughed about it. Chris Paul could have taken the short stroll from his downtown New Orleans condo and thrown on a Wake Forest jersey and the Demon Deacons still would have been demolished.

  Heh.

• What We Learned: UK's Liggins earns his minutes; Baylor struggles against ODU's zone - Mike DeCourcy - College Basketball - Sporting News
  Liggins has truly earned a special place in Kentucky fans' hearts. Billy Gillispie may have done far more wrong than right, but recruiting Orton and Liggins were two things he got right.

• UK Notebook: Liggins had to come out to get a shoe change: AMNews.com
  Wearing two different sizes? Interesting.

• Calipari, Wall Earn Historical Adolph Rupp Awards
• Daniel Orton Discusses Loyalty and Sacrifice at Kentucky

• Scout.com: Orton has NBA interest next season

  "That is not something I am thinking about, but if I had a good tournament and we won the national championship that would be a possibility," said Orton Friday. "I would say you would have to think about it. That would be a great way to carry on my career. That is something I have always wanted to do, so who knows what could happen."

  A lot of ifs in there.

• Auburn basketball: Tubby Smith says he is happy at Minnesota - Auburn University - Ledger-Enquirer.com

  "Right now there’s a salary freeze at Minnesota, so from a raise standpoint it would be very challenging for me to do that immediately," Maturi told the Pioneer Press. "I think Tubby understands that because, frankly, if it were about money, then he will be offered more money by other institutions. That’s a fact. Somebody will offer him $3 million. We can’t pay him $3 million."

  I don't think Smith would sell Maturi.  Just doesn't match his character.

• John Calipari: "sleaziest coach"? - Brainiac
  Can you say "Brainiac is an oxymoron when applied to you, baby?"

• " BBL: Hot-shooting Kentucky keeps on rolling John Clay’s Sidelines
  John Clay's Big Blue Links.

• New team to beat? Kentucky crushes Wake - College basketball- nbcsports.msnbc.com

• Coast 2 Coast Recruiting: Brandon Knight to UK (Rumors)
  Love to have Brandon Knight here.

• NCAA Tournament: Call It Deacon Blues: Kentucky Rolls Over Wake Forest, 90-60 - SB Nation

• SIDNEY'S REVELATIONS: Kentucky is trading integrity for vacated Final Fours
  After last night, embracing the hate just got even easier than it has been. Jealous, much?

• Cornell's offense otherworldly - Beyond the Arc - msnbc.com
  We'll have much more about this later in the week.

• Wall a Naismith finalist | Vaught's Views
  Surprising nobody.

• Kentucky Sports Radio " Blog Archive " Let the Cornell Worry Begin!
  Heh. Indeed.