I have to admit, as a Gator, the first half was fantastic. But I like the historic teams, and I sure as hell don't want to see the SEC's legend get kicked around.

That said, I am pretty concerned with our second trip to Lexington. UK could run the table after this and make the NCAAs. Unless you guys have a game against CCNY I don't know about.

I checked in on the game online a only a few times last night.  Probably would have followed more closly if my first view hadn't been the halftime score...I slept with a lump in my stomach the size of Texas.  I knew it was going to be tough to win there, but a loss like that was unexpected.  Thanks for a little morning perspective.

There is no room for middle ground with my emotional state concerning this edition of the Wildcats. I will either be the poster child for good mental health or the raving lunatic complete with butterfly nets and long sleve shirts that tie in the back. The biggest decision I have to make is between a fetal position and the vegetative state.

Before slipping completely away would someone tell me what the hey that was last night? Look like a good old country ass kickin but it passed that about 3 minutes into the second half. Well it is nice to have the support group of ASOB. Dear God,......are we a sick bunch or what?

Ramel and Joe took a step back to their old way of playing last night,and that hurt.And then havint the team not step it up a notch when Vandy took it to them was really dreadful.

Gillispies first game at Vandy couls also be a factor as he seemed as stunned as his players,and could never get his team back on track.

Playing three on five is not a recipe for success regardless of who you are playing.Gillispie has got to find two more starters who can at least provide some solace of an offensive threat or there may be more games like this one.Jasper and Stevenson need to start,and both have to become more offensive oriented.

. . .but I thought that my emotions maybe were blinding me a bit.  However, after a night's sleep and clear eyed reflection, I want to mention something.  I know that it has become a taboo subject to talk about one-sided refereeing.  Makes you look like a poor loser.  But I just want to say that the first half of that game was one of the most obviously lopsided refereeing jobs that I have ever seen in my life.  The only game I can remember being this bad was the Duke-UNC game a few years ago where Duke was handed a comeback by the refs at Cameron.  Don't get me wrong, we still would have lost by 20 or so even if the refs were calling it in the Cats favor.  There is no question that Vandy outplayed UK and I don't want to take anything away from their win.  However, the hard nosed defense in the first half entailed a great deal of fouling on the part of Commodores.  And I mean repeated, obvious fouling with nearly complete impunity.  The positioning in the paint looked like something out of the WWE.  The perimeter defense looked like it was drawn up by an NFL offensive lineman.  A certain amount of contact is a necessary part of the game.  But I think that repeated blatant fouling should be called.  I don't care if the fouling is not intentional and only incidental to the players being fired up.  It should still be called.  I know that one-sided refereeing is the rule, not the exception, in conference games, but the first half of yesterday's game should be as embarassing for the refs as it was for the Cats.

The reason I'm bringing this up is that the problem seems to be getting tangibly worse every year.  I have yet to see an SEC gane this year where the refs were not distracting me from the action by obviously one-sided foul (or non-foul) calling.  I don't know if it is a training issue or a management issue (well I know it is a management issue from the recent comments by the management).  However, something needs to change soon.  I don't want the SEC to become the Big East or the ACC.  I'm sick of seeing a guy get karate chopped on his arm while driving the lane without a foul call only to see the same guy get a foul called on him for simply holding his spot on the floor against a someone who runs into him and then tries to shoot around his arms.

or did Billy give the ref the finger after receiving that technical last night?  Am I the only one who saw that?

www.BillyGsucks.com

I'm amazed how much of the "world is over" feeling I get from seeing a loss like this.  I know it's just a game, one game, but it really feels like someone shot my dog.  Of course, the next morning, a calmer head prevails and it doesn't seem quite so bad.  However, I can never quite sum it up as you do here and it certainly helps to read it.  

As a Gator, I remember when UK used to kick our butts...so - you're right - the measure of your team will be how they now respond...  While I was rooting for Vanderbilt (c'mon - look at their football program - they need to have something to cheer about) - I hated to see the beating.  Coach Gillespie was a class act in the post-game interview.  Am I the only one who thought the basketball floor was laid out was too weird and distracting? Team seats at the far end of the floor almost under the baskets - no ability for the coaches to roam the sidelines...look at the 5 second violation when 4 guys ran up the floor and Coach G couldn't get anyone's attention. (Not that it would have helped in last night's game). Very weird layout.  

When I was a kid around age 11 or 12 my father started using the term "have pride in your work". Whether it was raking the leaves, my penmanship, cleaning my room, or my school work.(He never had to remind to "have pride" regarding athletic competitions, because I HATED to lose in anything and always played my absolute hardest)

As most 12 year olds, I would scoff at his notion of pride in my work, but nonetheless I obeyed his admonition to me. I thought he was nutty, though. "Have pride in my penmanship, c'mon dad", was often heard in my house.

He told me that anything I put my name on, regardless of how mundane, was a direct reflection of me, and my family. As I grew older I began to better understand exactly what he was talking about.

He was teaching me to have character, and integrity in my work. To borrow an adage of old, "if something is worth doing, it is worth doing right", was his lesson to me.

After rewatching last nights game ( yes I did, the first time around everything happened so fast, at halftime it left me thinking "what just happened?") it is obvious the team had no "pride in their work", especially in the first half.

Vandy did what Vandy wanted to do, and they did it with ease. UK did not make anything difficult for Vanderbilt, which is the entire key to good defensive basketball. I've not witnessed a UK team give up so many wide open shots in quite some time, whether it be layups, or 3 pointers, the shots they took were uncontested, unmolested, and unpleasant to watch.

Something happened last night that I haven't seen out of this team before. They were knocked on their heels early, and never recovered until the second half, and then only moderately. It wasn't as if they were hustling and executing but nothing was going right, the converse is true. They simply didn't fire. Defensively, they looked nonchalant and noncombative.

Twice, on inbounds plays after a make, no one came back to take the inbounds pass. How can that happen? Allow me to answer; being totally unfocused, and absent any competitive desire is how that happens. Why, is the great question. Sadly, I have no answer for that one.

I do have some advice for the young men though: Have pride in your work fellas. It is a reflection of you and your coach, as well as your family. I know some may say, "have pride in the uniform you are wearing", and I agree with that, but in this case, they need to have pride in themselves. To allow a beating such as this, and make no mistake it was "allowed", shows less than zero pride, and athletic integrity.

I was expecting a loss, but not a total lack of competitive hunger. One could take 1,000 column inches analyzing and finding fault with last nights lack of performance. The details though, are not important; an all-around lay down is more to the point.

Gillispie likes to use the word "compete" in describing what he wants from his team. Compete from opening tip to the last whistle. It's all the coach of a shorthanded, moderately talented team can ask. In reality, it's not asking much. It's not being too demanding, or unreasonable. It's simply asking his team to have pride in their work, and play their hardest at all times. Last night we did not see the team reflect the coach, or his requirements. But this isn't about Gillispie, it's about each individual member of this basketball team. It's about playing to the best of their abilities. It's about being proud of an effort, even in defeat. It's about holding their heads high as they go to class, even after a loss. It's about telling their fathers and mothers, "we played our best, we just weren't good enough". Sadly, no member of the team can honestly say those words, or feel good about themselves.

Embarrasment. Embarrasment at their effort. That's what they should feel.

They are not alone. I am sure we have all been embarrased at something we have done regarding work, or school, or whatever. We are lucky enough to not have committed our sins on national television, though. Because of this, I say don't be too hard on the team, or the coaches.

Not yet anyway. The long term effects of this situation will be directly related to how the team performs Saturday at LSU. Redemption is a great thing.

Redemption will be there for the taking. It's one of the wonderful things about sports. There is always a "next game" in which to paint a beautiful portrait, to make the players, coaches, and fans forget the ugliness, and the total collapse of competitivness, and pride.

I believe this team will recover. They will not allow themselves to be merely a footnote in UK Basketball history. They will redeem, and be redeemed.

Earn respect, by playing with pride.

I was wondering if someone would shed some light on the Kelvin Sampson situation.  Basically my understanding is this.  He cheated at OU and was placed on probation.  Then, he cheated at IU and was placed on..... double secret probation?  Now that he's cheated again are they going to place him on triple secret uber-probation?  I can only imagine what probation he'll get if they catch him cheating AGAIN!

This is the first comment I have ever posted here at a Sea of Blue.  Matter of fact, I just signed up as ASOB member a few moments ago.  I guess you could say that I am ASOB stalker, as I visit the site multiple times every day to get the latest and greatest news/updates on my beloved Cats.  This has to be one of the best collegiate athletics blogs in the country.  Tru and the FakeGimel do a wonderful job of providing a straightforward analysis of all matters Blue; past, present, and future. I have been a Kentucky fan and season ticket holder as long as my memory can recall.  Anyways, I am currently a Nashville resident, and just had to vent some steam as I am sick and tired of my Vandy/Tennessee coworkers talking their Gold and Orange trash.  I am not exactly sure what happened last night, and I don't really think anyone does.  But, I know that this team will recover, just the same as they did after the beatings given to us earlier in the season by teams such as Gardner Webb, San Diego, UNC, UL, and IU.  I think  that this team has made great strides of improvement over the course of the last month and a half.  It is unfair for the UK fans to expect them to continue their winning streak without running into some sort of roadblock.  It certainly was ugly and embarassing, but by no means should the wildcat faithful call it a season and start looking forward to football and next years recruiting class.  There is still a lot of basketball left to play, and if the same team that showed up against UT and Vandy earlier in the year can find its way back to the court, then a Tourney title is not out of the question in my opinion.   Billy Clyde knows what he is doing, and I have faith that he can steer the ship in the right direction once again.  I have seen these boys play with big, big hearts, and I know they will again.  As for my coworkers, I have told them to enjoy it while it lasts, because the Big Blue shall rise once again.  I BLEED BLUE and I won't let anybody who wears gold and orange steal my big blue joy. C-A-T-S! CATS! CATS! CATS!    

I recently posted a comment regarding the impact of UK's slow starts on its abilty to win games. The conclusion I reached was that, with this team,  BG needed to put his best five players on the Court, at the tip off, to seize the momentum and avoid having to play catch up the rest of the game. Although last night's "Queen Holy Mother" of slow starts cannot be blamed on any particular player or line up, I still get pissed off every time I see Mark Coury walk out onto the court to start the game. Look, I'm sure Coury is a nice guy who trys really hard in practice. I also recognize that Stevenson is prone to fouling early and often. However, Coury is always overmatched against the other team's starting forward and, when he is on the court, it seems more often than not that the best we can hope for is that he doesn't completely screw things up before being yanked for Stevenson. In short, this team has absolutley no margin for error and simply cannot afford to fall behind early, especially on the road against a streaky, momentum-driven team like Vanderbilt.

I feel better now. Thanks for letting me vent. At least my 7 year-old's basketball team won last night.  

I can't add anything more about the game last night that hasn't already been said by others.

The important thing now is to focus on LSU and make sure that this game doesn't beat you twice.

...I had to note this amazing stat from the game.
Vandy had 2 turnovers in the first 35:46 of the game. Over 35 minutess with only two forced TO's.
Unprecedented.

There is something really ironic about our RPI getting better after getting pasted like that.