Louisville Cardinals (4) 62 @ Kentucky Wildcats (3) 69: Final Postmortem of the Year
by Glenn Logan on Dec 31, 2011 3:39 PM EST
in Kentucky Wildcats Basketball
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Today, the Wildcats did something I was not sure they could do -- win a tough, physical contest against a deeper team with a lot of talent. They did it by shooting 29% from the field, but they also made 74% of their free throws to defeat the Louisville Cardinals in Rupp Arena.
I thought Louisville played as hard and as intensely as is possible. Yes, they fouled way too much, but there have been games this year when that strategy would have put Kentucky in a bind, and on the road, it may well have worked. Unfortunately, it hurt even the extremely deep Cardinals when Kentucky made a high percentage of their charity tosses. Louisville deserves great credit for their effort, and they showed us unquestionably the best defense we have seen all year. The Cardinals stole the ball, blocked shots, and took charges. Against a lesser team, I don't see how they lose. But Kentucky is not a lesser team.
I thought, honestly, that Kentucky did not play a smart game overall, and that cost the Wildcats a lot of points and a lot of fouls. Overall, the game was mostly won by the individual efforts of Michael Kidd-Gilchrist, Anthony Davis, and surprisingly, Terrence Jones.
With that said, any win over Louisville is a great, spectacular, and in all other ways awesome win. I don't care if it's by 15 like it was last year, or a foul-plagued Sumo wrestling match like it was this year. It was a great win, and I am very happy to be able to wear my colors here in Louisville and watch Cardinal fans quail rather than hoot in derision. I think most of us who are forced to live in areas where Kentucky fans are outnumbered feel the same way.
Superlatives:
- Michael Kidd-Gilchrist. What can you say about 24 points and 19 rebounds? Without him, we lose this game. Game ball.
- Anthony Davis showed exactly what you miss when he is out of the game in the second half. 12-13 from the line, 18 points and 10 rebounds to go with 6 huge blocks and 3 steals. The layups that Louisville made in the first half got sent the other way in the second.
- Terrence Jones is still not himself, and his hand was obviously bothering him. With that said, he got 11 rebounds, 3 steals and played some pretty good defense. He helped the team.
- Marquis Teague had 5 assists, and did some good things on defense.
- Darius Miller had 3 offensive rebounds and a couple of big baskets.
- Twany Beckham got only two minutes late in the half with foul trouble, but he made a pretty assist to Kyle Wiltjer.
- The team shot free throws really well. Doron Lamb and Davis led the way.
- Kentucky simply dominated the glass, and Louisville is an awesome rebounding team, normally. That's really something, and says a lot about Kentucky's effort today.
- You have to admire Kentucky's defense as well, holding Louisville to 32% from the floor.
Not so superlative:
- Darius Miller's 8 turnovers. Ouch.
- Marquis Teague's 4 turnovers. Will it ever end?
- Doron Lamb, other than making free throws, was not very good. He made one big shot, but he got beat all the time on defense, turned the ball over four times, and just didn't play well in my opinion.
- Wiltjer had two rebounds in 15 minutes. He's 6'9"! C'mon, Kyle, rebound the ball!
- Jones's shooting -- from everywhere. Yes, he has an excuse, but it still stank.
- Dumb fouls. These guys have got to learn not to grab a defender after he picks their pocket. Just hustle back and try to turn a negative into a positive, don't create a double-negative. Same way when they get beat off the bounce -- trust your defensive rotation and don't foul.
Overall, we lost the turnover battle but made up for it by winning the rebounding and shooting excellent free throws. That's not the way you draw it up, obviously, but finding unusual paths to victory is just as important in the course of a season is winning by stellar play.
I'm very happy to win this game, and I know you all are as well. I did not think Kentucky played well at all, and without an extraordinary effort by three players, I think we lose this game. Credit Louisville's defense with a lot of that, but Kentucky helped them out quite a bit with really poor execution on offense and a lot of foolish grabbing and poor decision making. For me, I'm happy with the win, but disappointed the 'Cats didn't play better.
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Just win baby!
Some quotes from an ESPN blog that i thought were interesting….
Ugly. According to ESPN researcher Jason McCallum, UK became the first team in the last 15 years to beat a top-5 opponent while shooting under 30 percent.
Kentucky finished with a 49.8 percent offensive rebounding rate, an insanely high mark.
Slower Traffic Keep Right!
Agree, but
Thanks to Luville for turning this into a really ugly dirty game and allowing the Cats to prove they could win one like that against a good team It was a valuable experience.
I agree about Jones. He can’t catch the ball with that hand or go up with it. Which hurt his efficiency a great deal today, but he played good D.
Teague was mostly terrible on offense….make the easy pass…and pass the ball to folks who can shoot it.
Overall a good day, watched Arsenal win before the Cats won. Tomorrow…go Broncos.
by darkandbloody@gmail.com on Dec 31, 2011 3:53 PM EST reply actions
Quick note on Jones
I worked the game for CoachCal.com, and did some player interviews after the game (actually, me holding a recorder in their faces), and on TV it looks like Jones has two small white bandages wrapped around his pinky. But he was wearing what looked like some type of brace, solid black in color, which held his ring finger and pinky tighty together. And it wasn’t a thin brace, it was probably half-an-inch think, at least. It must be very tough to have any touch on his shots at all, but, that doesn’t excuse the (paraphrasing Cal) many One-footers he missed. Cal continued, he should dunk those shots instead of trying to either lay the ball in off the glass or finger roll. He did, though, in my view, play very hard, both rebounding the ball, and efforting 50-50 balls.
He was in pain after the game, and noted that when his hand takes contact it hurts pretty bad.
Jones did excellent work on the boards
but he is obviously just not right otherwise. He immediately looks to dump the ball after a rebound or other play in the open court because he can’t handle with the finger injury. Also, it seems like he has lost some power from his low-post game, even as if his vertical has decreased somehow, because he’s getting blocked a lot and missing pretty much every shot he puts up that isn’t a dunk.
I really hope his finger gets better soon!
expectations are premeditated resentments - cheshirecat
Refs?
Good comments Glen, I have to concurn on the Cat’s performance from the Charity Stripe- without it, we don’t win. On the other hand, the Cat’s defense was very impressive, as was their rebounding.
Good effort by Davis to not foul out. MKG is a beast, Davis is gettng back to normal.
Is it just me,or does anyone else feel the refs called this way to close? Too many whistles on both sides.
Terrible Officiating
I thought the refs were inconsistent, which drives me nuts. There were some flagrant fouls (not technically speaking) UL committed against UK and then some ‘ticky-tack’ calls the other way. Being at the game, it is always more difficult to be objective but I thought the officiating was the worst I’ve seen in several seasons.
Yes but this game has gotten a little testy in the past
I thought they did a good job overall at being consistent. They called a lot of fouls, but it was UL’s plan to play tough, they didn’t adjust to the way the game was called. I think if they had, they might have beat us, because as you said the FT’s were huge.
I agree
the refs wanted to call it tight to try and squelch any possible hostilities that might break out, or what have you. So at first i understood, but it just never let up at all throughout the game. Everything was a foul on both ends, and it was just annoying. I’d say they were consistent, because nothing got overlooked that had the slightest possibility of being a foul.
expectations are premeditated resentments - cheshirecat
Gotta remember
It was the Tony Greene crew!!!!!!!
"The credit belongs to the man who is actually in the arena . . .who spends himself for a worthy cause . . ."
by oldcat'69 on Jan 1, 2012 12:28 PM EST via mobile up reply actions
I think the refs could have called more fouls than they did
Watched the replay and many bumps were disregarded.
Yes, it was very physical.
The Cardinals had no choice. They could not beat us without the physicality, and I’m sure Pitino rammed that home.
This is exactly the kind of scrum I expected.
A Sea of Blue -- Kentucky Sports for the Discerning Fan
Replay???
is there a replay on the cbs site? my tivo was not programmed correctly so i missed it
only one rule in my house - uk has to be your favorite college bball team
by memphis wildcat on Dec 31, 2011 7:10 PM EST up reply actions
Not That I Can Find
"In times of universal deceit, telling the truth will be a revolutionary act." - George Orwell
We don't talk about officiating often on the front page unless it affects the outcome.
A Sea of Blue -- Kentucky Sports for the Discerning Fan
An ugly win..
is still a win. and I am encouraged to see that our young Cats didn’t melt under the heat and hacking of the Cards. It was the sort of game where the “natural talent” does not get the chance to show throw, as everytime it seems you have a clean shot you get fouled, and frequently not a gentle "touch’ foul. And not that many games ago they were not shooting FTs that confidently and well.
This was a game without “flow”, but still at the end they came back from losing their lead, and took everything that the Cards threw at them, and a lot of what the Cards tried to throw at the rim they took too :-)
A great way ato usher the old year out and prepare to go into conference play.
Happy Blue Year one and all!
Miller's D
One superlative I would add to your excellent list: I thought Darius did a great job shadowing Kuric and denying him open 3s.
Everyone who shadowed Kuric did a good job
Good job on Siva as well. Russ Smith is another story.
It's really
hard to guard some of the shots Russ Smith puts up. He just has a way with hitting those off-balance shots in the lane. I’ve never seen a guy do it like him other than maybe Devon Downey.
by Clint Phelps on Dec 31, 2011 7:53 PM EST up reply actions
Made Mike James
look all world there. you can let one do it but it is when you let it get infectious you lose.
I have kleptomania,
but when it gets bad,
I take something for it.
Give U of L credit
They played as gritty a game as you can. Pitino exposed UK’s real weakness, not our bigs lack of physicality, but the lack of a reasonable backup for Teague. Louisville made their hay when he was out of the game. Their press killed us.
Given the heat
UL brings, my biggest fear was double digit turnovers by Teague. 4 may be too many, but given the nature of the pressure, two a half average to’s in this game wasn’t as bad as his obvious lack of an outside shooting touch. He needs to penetrate and/or pass.
For me, it wasn't the 4 turnovers.
It was how many turnovers he almost had. He telegraphed so many routine passes that just barely escaped being picked off. I was yelling at him all game long for his carelessness. Shooting the gaps is what UofL does! He seemed oblivious. Someone needs to introduce this guy to the pass fake. Or teach him to pass the ball with a little zip.
This is true
he telegraphed a bunch of passes, and UL shot the gaps constantly, and really no one of UK’s team seemed to pick up on that. A lot of guys made weak passes that nearly got (or actually did get) picked off.
But no one else on UK’s team is capable of beating the press at all. Lamb can occasionally get it up the floor, but it’s like a 50/50 bet. Miller had a horrible time. No one else is even willing to try and dribble up against the press, for good reason. Teague gets berated for these turnovers, but it would be FAR worse if someone else had to take over his role, and that is what people sometimes forget.
expectations are premeditated resentments - cheshirecat
Beckham was playing the 2 guard when he was in, but
I saw flashes there of a pretty good ball handler. I think he can help out more – and be a guy to bring into the game in these situations as necessary. I know Cal is trying to develop Lamb because he is too short to be a 2 guard in the pros. And I am good with that to a point. But we need all the tools in the toolbox so we need to work on developing Beckham as well when we can. He can at least work with Lamb, Miller, or whoever to get the ball up the floor. There is no doubt in my mind that teams will try to go at Teague as a weak point. Get Teague and Davis in foul trouble and – if you play good pressure defense – 14 point runs are possible. Beckham helped to steady things when he was in.
Kentucky Basketball - The Reason for Living
Play by MKG
may have been one of the finest performances I have ever seen out of a Wildcat.
We said that this time last year about Jorts
Funny how the big games bring out the best in some guys.
Harrelson's play was awesome
But 19 rebounds don’t come around very often.
Yep, that was an awesome performance.
He’s only a freshman! Wow, by the end of the year if he continues to get better and better, I think he may be the number 1 pick. AD better get on his horse and ride, he’s got a lot of competition for that number 1 spot. MKG just took a big step up in saying he wants it!
The more I think about it, this was an EXCELLENT win
The book last year was to play the WV game against UK. Come in tough and rough ‘us up. We really hadn’t been tested that way this year, but the way we handled it has got to have coaches throughout Div 1 quaking in their boots. Not only are we really talented, were tough as heck also. That was why TJ was in the game even though his finger limits his offense. He’s one tough cookie and we needed that today. He was one tough cookie on the boards and D and he only picked up one foul. That’s very good in this game.
The fact that the toughness didn’t even really rattle us (except for a few minutes late in the 1st half when UL quit trying to out-rough us and made some shots), has got to have folks wondering how to play us.
Agree on Jones
I thought he played tough today. On several defensive rebounds, he simply ripped them down. Miller’s toughness is another story.
Jones did an excellent job on the boards
pretty much all of it in heavy traffic too.
expectations are premeditated resentments - cheshirecat
Jones gave what he could
After the IU debacle, Calipari noted that when a player was off in one area of his game, he should focus on the basics. Jones’ pinky is still obviously bothering him so he went out and played great defense and rebounded like a man (he would have had a ton more if AD and MKG weren’t grabbing nearly everything off the glass). I’m encouraged with TJ’s performance and think that as his injury heals, he will become an offensive threat just in time for tournament play.
Any win against Louisville is an excellent win. :-)
A Sea of Blue -- Kentucky Sports for the Discerning Fan
"hello? Of course I saw the game. That MKG is super awesome!"
Slower Traffic Keep Right!
by SevenRings on Dec 31, 2011 4:25 PM EST reply actions 1 recs
Perils Of Panama
December 31 and temp is 74. Golf course full, tennis courts busy, a volleyball game at the poolside court — that’s the good Panama — the bad, power went off with 30 seconds remaining in first half. My battery backup kept my internet on for 17 minutes but no TV, no computer until after 3 p.m. So a question, is the game archived anywhere? Not likely but thought I’d ask.
First half impressions: Pitino made a mistake by not pressuring the ball until his team trailed by 15, until then UK was free to run offense as it wished. Once pressure was applied Cats flinched but didn’t fold and I was pleased and, truth be told, a tad surprised at how well they responded to the expected physicality — the only way Cards were going to win. UK’s shot selection was good but it was one of those days when the lid was on basket. The rebounding dominance speaks well of Cats’ effort and the 50/50 balls were aggressively pursued. Disappointed in bench contributions: Wiltjer is still a HS player, Beckham is yet(if he ever does this season) to find a niche, Vargas is, well, Vargas, and T. Jones — one doesn’t want to criticize an injured player but Jones, despite his 11 boards and adequate defense, appears to have a very low pain threshold and thus plays with fear and timidity. These are only first-half impressions so take them with a cellar full of salt. Overall quite pleased with win — shoot under 30% and beat a ranked team, unheard of. So I checked in the east and sure enough there’s still that star, a miracle, at least in the southern hemisphere. Surely there must be video of the game somewhere. Feliz año nuevo.
"In times of universal deceit, telling the truth will be a revolutionary act." - George Orwell
Visual, Don't Know
But Yahoo! keeps play-by-play of the game on their website,
by FortyYearCatFan on Dec 31, 2011 5:27 PM EST up reply actions
no dice obie trice
unless someone took my comment before the season started to heart…record EVERY GAME and you’ll make a lot of UK fans HAPPY in the years to come…
if only I lived in Kentucky….:(
GO BIG BLUE!
btw, i don’t have a way to record the games (not even VHS!) otherwise i’d give you a copy
I have kleptomania,
but when it gets bad,
I take something for it.
I refuse to record games.
Every time I record a game, they lose. Haven’t recorded one in years. I’m not superstitious, but why take a chance? [Remove tongue from cheek]
Slogan for the NCAA: If it ain't broke, break it.
fantastic!
please let someone else do it for you! i don’t subscribe to superstition either but i would hate to let something as silly as that ruin what could be a MAGICAL season ;j
now, where oh where do we find someone with the technology to do such a thing? hhhhhhmmmhhhhhhhhh…..
I have kleptomania,
but when it gets bad,
I take something for it.
I really wanted a double digit win
but i think the score really reflected the intensity of the game. i was impressed with the rebounding, though.
I Thought UK W By 5 Or 6
I’m happy with 7 point W shooting 29% FG.
by FortyYearCatFan on Dec 31, 2011 5:26 PM EST reply actions
As the game ended
My 7 year old said " momma, what was your favorite part?"
I replied “my favorite part was that we won, what was yours?”
She said “my favorite part was the squeaky sound their shoes made on the floor”
GOTTA LOVE THAT!
by KYGRLNNM on Dec 31, 2011 5:40 PM EST reply actions 1 recs
The squeaky sound is one of my favorite game sounds
Blue... there is no other color to Bleed !!!
by a2d2 on Dec 31, 2011 6:16 PM EST via iPhone app up reply actions
100% agreed
it can make like 3 or 4 different sounds, but they are all gorgeous
expectations are premeditated resentments - cheshirecat
That squeak
Any time I approach a gym I listen for the squeak and when I hear it, my heart jumps and I know that heaven is just a few more steps away.
by darkandbloody@gmail.com on Dec 31, 2011 6:35 PM EST up reply actions
thanks for that share
warms the soul cause i can relate….that squeaky sound
I have kleptomania,
but when it gets bad,
I take something for it.
My take-
UK 57 rebounds, Louisville 31. Offensive rebounds- UK 20, Louisville 10. made free throws- UK 32, Louisville-18. MKG and AD were absolutely fantastic. When the game was on the line UK got tough. They refused to lose. M. Teague needs to slash and pass, and forget about 3 point shooting. Smooth has got to shoot better than he did. T. Jones was a beast on the boards, and showed toughness. Wilt needs to take notice of how T. Jones contributed… Overall a satisifying win… Bring on the SEC…
"You are what you are and you ain't what you ain't"
Forgot to mention... 21 turnovers is far too many. Need to work on that...
"You are what you are and you ain't what you ain't"
Most of that was forced by the defense.
Best defense we are likely to see all year.
A Sea of Blue -- Kentucky Sports for the Discerning Fan
Mixed bag tonight
I love Darius, but he is the most inconsistent player I have EVER seen play. He looked horrible all game, his head just wasn’t in it. I understand that he did have to dribble up quite a bit through the Louisville press, which is not really what he should have to do, but that’s really no excuse. Lamb never really got into the game either, but he didn’t hurt the team. Terrence seemed to have his head on straight, although it was far from a great performance. He was hustling at least. Teague was shook. I hope he learns from this.
i don’t need to mentions MKG but I will. BEAST MODE. It’s going to take a collapse of downright monumental scale for MKG not to end up being in my top 5 favorite Cats EVER when the season is over. I love that guy.
Anthony Davis came alive in the second half, but what made the biggest impression on me was his free throw shooting. AD is gonna get hacked a ton, so he needs to be at least decent at the line. He was spectacular today. And he’s got such a smooth, pretty stroke, there’s no reason he shouldn’t be. Hopefully this is a sing of things to come.
Agree Miller should be more consistent his senior year, however...
Miller did a hit his first 3, made a very athletic reverse, dipsy do lay in and was also very effective taking the Cards leading scorer out of his game today…that IMO is helping the team.
loved the dipsy-do.
or reverse or whatever. That was fun to see and super smart since there was defender on the right side.
Darius isn’t comfortable handling the ball that much and with Teague in foul trouble that’s what he had to do. I was nervous just watching him handle the ball that much and he looked pretty darn nervous himself.
It won’t happen every game that he is asked to bring the ball up the court with over-aggressive swarming pressure so I guess I see the 8 turnovers as not great but not something worth laboring over intently. Not everyone is going to have a great game every time. It’s just not going to happen. There aren’t very many instances when you ask 8 or so (as that seems to be our rotation up til now) young kids to do everything perfectly that it will actually happen. I don’t expect that and honestly, not all 8 have to for you to be successful as we saw today. Darius didn’t cost us the game and obviously as long as it doesn’t become a habit, it’s pretty fine with me.
uh, that should be
“defender on the left side” for the dipsy-do part.
I’ve had a few drinks— It’s New Years after all.
Cheers to you all, my asob family. Here’s to a great 2012 for all of us!
Something I haven't seen mentioned....
is that the fouls against AD were designed to make him miss easy shots…take away the hard fouls and he scores at least as many points.
what seemed weird about Miller to me
was the way he attacked the zone…
in the past he’s done well with getting the first bounce towards the lane and creating. watch the previous games, when teams went zone, 2-3 especially, Miller was one of the first ones to lead the way. He just wouldn’t CONSISTENTLY do it, i.e. until someone stopped him besides himself.
Today he didn’t show his ability and smarts on zone busting. Maybe he was bored? I don’t know. I KNOW, BECAUSE I’VE SEEN MILLER DO IT, THAT HE SHOULD HAVE BEEN MORE OF A FACTOR OFFENSIVELY. For whatever reason he took himself out of the game in that respect. He did hustle in other areas and was integral in the team’s win. Just tough to see such a good player have a rough game.
I have kleptomania,
but when it gets bad,
I take something for it.
Wanted: An AD Post Up Game
Again this is only a first half perspective (and he may have well displayed something in second half) and from previous games as well but in order for UK to be its best and Anthony Davis to reach his potential he needs a post up game, doesn’t have to be a dominant center but just a modicum of moves.
"In times of universal deceit, telling the truth will be a revolutionary act." - George Orwell
24 and 19?
Isn’t that the stuff of legends? Not having seen a second of the game, i’ll defer to others, but how is that not an all-time performance?
Feliz 2012 from Madrid!
It was an all time, gritty, gutsy performance! MKG was an absolute BEAST!
by Hillbilly Bennett on Dec 31, 2011 7:10 PM EST via mobile up reply actions
And the only one who managed to be a threat from 3
which forced Louisville to play a little farther out than they wanted to. He absolutely put the team on his back and won this game with help from Anthony Davis. Pretty much did everything right in this game, and that’s something I rarely say about any performance.
expectations are premeditated resentments - cheshirecat
MKG & Anthony Davis...
Put the team on their backs in the 2nd half and carried us to the victory! Rupp was rocking and the cards fought like hell. Any day we can get a W in an ugly game while shooting only 29% is a good day in my book. Nice win for the Big Blue!
by Hillbilly Bennett on Dec 31, 2011 7:08 PM EST via mobile reply actions
Another thing about AD
This is probably the best I’ve seen him play one on one defense in the post. He wasn’t trying to block every single shot by their bigs, he played smart and patient. Down the stretch he did a particularly good job of playing fundamental defense on Dieng. While MKG had a massive game, I think AD showed some real improvement and growth.
Ugly game but awesome W
I’ll take the latter with the former every time.
Big win for the Cats headed into the new year.
MKG is awesome. Can’t believe I’m saying it this year, but he’s the Wildcats’ best player. Kudos to the young man for working his tail off.
MK-G: MIP
Gary Parrish says that Gillie is Cats Most Important Player.
"In times of universal deceit, telling the truth will be a revolutionary act." - George Orwell
I agree
I was concerned earlier in the year that his “constant motor” would create significant bad along with the good (a la Liggins as a freshman, perhaps). I have never had my concerns about a player vanquished so quickly! He’s indispensable to this UK team.
expectations are premeditated resentments - cheshirecat
Go Hoosiers
IU up 2 on OSU with 3 to go.
"In times of universal deceit, telling the truth will be a revolutionary act." - George Orwell
Buckeyes Go Down 74-70
Cream and crimson is back. UK #2! OSU made serious mistakes in clutch: turnover and forced, unneeded 3.
"In times of universal deceit, telling the truth will be a revolutionary act." - George Orwell
I was just about to post this... We should be #2 Monday...
"You are what you are and you ain't what you ain't"
Anyone attend today's game? Could Rupp crowd take a lesson from the IU noise levels?
Watching both Louisville/UK and OSU/IU games on the TV (like the UK/IU game) the IU fans were so loud today the opposing team can’t function. Not suggesting the UK Rupp crowd attack opposing team viewers but to just be very, very LOUD.
Rupp Crowd Was Great Today
I was there and the noise level was excellent. There was excellent atmosphere and especially after each made three. The crowd (even in lower level) was constantly on it’s feet, and more so on defense than I can recall. Our home court advantage doesn’t take back seat to anyone.
And they did it without Zeller for much of the game.
I am all for people expressing their opinions, as long as they back them up with facts.
Decided to check out the Cardchronicle
Some very classy comments about KY and a whole bunch of Pinto hating. The best part was the pre-game stuff. Totally hilarious!!!! They even compared us (KY fans) to the Taliban. SERIOUSLY???? I cant stop laughing.
I browsed around over there earlier,
and I was surprised at the lack of excuse making, particularly when talking about the officiating. In fact some of them said that the officiating was terrible for both teams.
I am all for people expressing their opinions, as long as they back them up with facts.
Time for a shower
Any time I take a quick peek over there I feel like I just stepped out of a sewer manhole.
"He still carries a lunch bucket. What's up with that?"
by BlueCollarMan on Dec 31, 2011 11:03 PM EST up reply actions
Yep. Great game to watch.
This made our loss up there a better loss. IU is back, at least they are when playing at home.
I am all for people expressing their opinions, as long as they back them up with facts.
Consider the source.
I am all for people expressing their opinions, as long as they back them up with facts.
I know.....
Ohio loses to Kansas – they move up in the rankings….. now beat by Indiana . Logic to me
point blank period
only one rule in my house - uk has to be your favorite college bball team
by memphis wildcat on Dec 31, 2011 11:18 PM EST up reply actions
Did you notice they didn't storm the court this time?
I think they were embarrassed by what transpired a couple of weeks ago.
I can’t believe I was rooting for IU. Oh, and talk about a badly officiated game!
I was absolutely torn about who to root for!
and yes, when that IU teams starts to play on the road or on neutral courts, reality will have to set in for that fanbase. They must be on cloud nine at the moment though.
expectations are premeditated resentments - cheshirecat
Guess IU is better than I gave them credit for
Another big win for them. Congrats! IU.
God Bless Our Troops............Especially Our Snipers!
by bigbill992001 on Jan 1, 2012 3:05 AM EST up reply actions
Jorts A Double-Double
Harrellson started and 14 and 10 after 3 quarters, Knicks up 78-65.
"In times of universal deceit, telling the truth will be a revolutionary act." - George Orwell
UK Versus Louisville
UK has 29 W to 14 for Louisville (all-time).
UK has 20 W to 11 for Louisville (since 1983 when series began).
UK has 7 W to 4 for Louisville (since Pitino went there).
Little Brother indeed.
Shouldn't there be an asterik by the four losses to Pitino?
If I am not mistaken, two of those were while Gillespie was here and shouldn’t be given equal weight to the other games. :)
I am all for people expressing their opinions, as long as they back them up with facts.
I Don't Think So
Gillispie beat other decent teams in 2008 and 2009 seasons.
by FortyYearCatFan on Jan 1, 2012 9:42 PM EST up reply actions
Per request of Glenn and a2d2
I submit the following observations of the Rupp Arena crowd yesterday.
The atmosphere was absolutely charged with anticipation of a great game. The crowd rose to its feet to watch the singing of the national anthem when they found out that they were going to be the singers. It was a very special moment to be part of 24,000+ paying tribute to the great nation that makes all of this possible. I am still getting chills as I type this.
The referees quickly made it clear that this was going to be a foul fest. The crowd showed its displeasure, with boos being as common as cheers. As angry as the crowd was at times, I have to point out that we did not stoop to IU level. No cursing, at least not as a unit, and no objects thrown on the floor like last night’s IU game with OSU.
The crowd was equally as intense as for the UNC game. Since we lead by 6 to 8 points most of the game, the crowd did seem to relax slightly more at times than against the tarheels. More than once the crowd rose to its feet when UL went on offense, screaming for a defensive stop, and they were rewarded frequently.
I did not see many UL fans in my immediate area but the ones that were there were treated courteously just as were the UNC fans earlier in the season. Of course a win does bring out the best in people.
Coach Pitino was booed soundly. I noticed something a bit different as the starting lineups were being introduced. The UL players never broke their huddle to step in front of the crowd. As a result, the crowd reaction was quite muted.
It was a great win but the game never really got going. The officiating absolutely killed all momentum without really stopping the repeated muggings by the UL defense. UK players were often grabbed and spun around or pulled off balance and no call ensued. Then someone would barely brush an opponent and the refs would fight over who got to blow the whistle first.
There was not, by my observation, a single incident of poor sportsmanship among the players nor the crowd. My heart could not take it, but every game should be this thrilling. I left feeling like I needed to lay back and light a cigarette, and I don’t even smoke.
I am all for people expressing their opinions, as long as they back them up with facts.
Excellent summary of the atmosphere inside Rupp
I cannot recall another time when the opposing players did not come out for their introductions, instead remaining huddled – looked like Pitino was orchestrating that to keep his kids from being booed.
Also noted that when Calipari came out, he walked down the UL bench shaking hands with each assistant coach. Pitino did not return the honor.
The singing of the National Anthem by the crowd was unique to me and will be a lasting memory of this game.
In the end, it was wonderful to be there and certainly less stressful than the Tar Heels game where it seemed we were playing catch-up all day. The ‘ugly’ physical game was undoubtedly exactly what Pitino wanted and gave Louisville their best chance to win.
Question
I watched the replay again on TV. Near the end of the game, UK lost the ball out of bounds on the UL end when the refs say the ball went off Lamb. It looked to me like Russ Smith wrapped his arm around Lamb and pulled him out of bounds. Did it look that way in person at the game?
Absolutely,
and it wasn’t the only time something like that occurred and went uncalled. I read somewhere that Pitino’s strategy was foul 100% of the time, hope only 40% would get called, pray that UK couldn’t hit from the line, and hope that the ref’s felt they had to call more fouls on UK just to keep it looking fair. Pretty much how it played out except we hit our free throws and spoiled his plan. It looked more like a mugging than a basketball game. I feel it was an excellent experience for our young players and we will know what to expect when we go up against less talented but more physical teams from here on out.
I am all for people expressing their opinions, as long as they back them up with facts.
Agree
Wineman, and jdog, I started to write a comment yesterday about LuVille’;s fouling and decided it wasn’t worth it. I agree with Wineman’s description or rather his reference. Jdog, I recall a play like that with Davis, not Lamb.
Re IU not storming the court. I think they came close to doing it and had additional security to prevent it. Talk about a badly officiated game. Goodness, it was very strange to watch. On the other hand, OSU went brain dead several times during the game and completely so in the final 40 seconds.
Lastly, anyone watch what the Zags did to da Gangsters(Xavier) last night? Zags were in control throughout. and they played very well. Everyone on this blog likes bball and you need to find an opportunity to watch some WCC bball this year. I think it is more fun to watch than most other conferences and there is the added bonus that neither Knight or Dickie V will ever call a game.
by darkandbloody@gmail.com on Jan 1, 2012 12:43 PM EST up reply actions
I saw Gonzaga last month
They played Hawaii here in Vancouver (homecoming game for senior Robert Sacre, who’s from North Van). Solid team, very well-coached and tough as a pineknot.
Thanks wineman
I am so glad our fans [mostly] are hospitable.
Blue... there is no other color to Bleed !!!
Time lapse of yesterday's game
Very interesting…notice home many stay for what I believe is the Coach Cal show.
by darkandbloody@gmail.com on Jan 1, 2012 12:52 PM EST reply actions
A win is a win
Ugly, sure. But I’ll take an ugly win over a loss every time.
MKG for Heisman.
Dayman, Fighter of the Nightman, Champion of the Sun
This may not get any notice due to my timing...
But I think KW doesn’t go after the rebounds for two reasons:
1) He’s still feeling out the game and trying to get back either on offense or defense
2) I also think he’s afraid of being too aggressive to get the board, and committing a foul, thus having Cal pull him out.
Just my take. I’m sure he’ll get better.
http://www.JohnWallWear.com
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