Kentucky Wildcats: Morning Quickies - Down Go The Hoosiers Edition

The Indiana Hoosiers' ascent to #1 did not survive the trip to Champaign. The blown defensive assignment on this will haunt Tom Crean and the Hoosier faithful for the rest of the year.

Tweet of the Morning:

Shameful RT @lbsports: Duke fans accused of chanting "How's your grandma" at player whose grandmother just died bit.ly/11U2YJg

— Matt Jones (@KySportsRadio) February 8, 2013

Indeed, it would be, if it were true. But apparently, it just isn't:

About that alleged Duke "How's Your Grandmother" chant: A reporter covering the game says it didn't happen bit.ly/V3J3TU

— John Clay (@johnclayiv) February 8, 2013

And that's a good thing.

Your Quickies:

Kentucky football

• Mark Story: Stoops, Brown have given UK football a winning argument // Kentucky.com

  The question was basic: What pitch were Mark Stoops, Neal Brown and the new Kentucky coaching staff using to sell UK football to recruits? In separate interviews before national signing day, now-UK signees Jaleel Hytchye and Jacob Hyde gave almost identical answers.

  Hyde, the defensive tackle from Clay County, explained that new Wildcats head man Stoops coordinated a defense last season at Florida State that ranked among the nation's elite in most major statistical categories. He also pointed out that new Kentucky offensive coordinator Brown, in the same role last year at Texas Tech, had one of the country's most prolific passing attacks.

• Kentucky football: Cats look to junior college ranks to bolster roster // Kentucky.com

  "I like some of these junior college kids he's bringing in," said Taylor, the director of recruiting for NCSA Athletic Recruiting. "It adds some experience to a young roster and the other young talent they're bringing in."

  This is a good point, although we have seen good JUCO players take a year to develop to their full potential. Chris Matthews, Steve Johnson and DeQuin Evans come to mind.
• UK assistants break down Cats’ class // Kyle Tucker – UK Beat

• VTM Readers Fax Tuberville 50 Yard Line Steakhouse Menu, Are Awesome // Viva The Matadors
  This is related to the incident that pried Javess Blue lose from Texas Tech and brought him to UK. Funny stuff.

• Chad Scott and Neal Brown like versatility that Ryan Timmons will give UK offense // vaughtsviews

  "He’s a guy that’s been running this offense since the seventh grade. He knew the offense. He knew that he could come in here and have a chance to compete early," UK offensive coordinator Neal Brown said.

  This is a guy who could become Kentucky's version of Percy Harvin.

Kentucky basketball

• Yeah, this James Young guy isn't bad. Via Sam Henson:
  

• Notebook: Marcus Lee’s game has room for growth // NextCats
  Marcus Lee is now a five star. He is a very good shot blocker, something Calipari seems careful to ensure we have every year. It helps make up for the steals we don't get.

• Andrew Wiggins Get’s Buckets // Ky Cat Stats

• Scout.com // Six former Cats part of NBA All-Star weekend

  Kentucky will be well-represented at the upcoming NBA All-Star weekend in Houston. Six former Wildcats have been selected to participate in various festivities associated with the event, including Eric Bledsoe in the dunk contest.

  I'm excited for the young Wildcats

Other UK sports

• Kentucky Gymnastics Hosts No. 6 Georgia // UKAthletics.com

  The 18th-ranked Kentucky gymnastics team will take on a top-10 Southeastern Conference adversary for the fourth consecutive week on Friday inside Memorial Coliseum.

  Another opportunity for the Gym Cats to excel.

• Cousino Tabbed Preseason SEC Player of the Year // UKAthletics.com
  I can't remember the last time Kentucky had a baseball player tabbed as the SEC POY.

• Goss' Big Finish Propels Hoops Past Arkansas // UKAthletics.com

  "We were just so out of sync," Mitchell said. "We have a couple of players hanging their head right now, and we just couldn't get anything going.

  Kentucky men's basketball has the same problem. Getting the win and avoiding a second straight loss was big, though.

• Sophomore Bria Goss leads UK comeback over Arkansas // Kentucky.com
  This game could be a cathartic experience for Goss. Breaking out of a slump can really get a player back on track in a hurry.

Links posts

• Tom Leach // Friday Links
• John Clay's Big Blue Links // John Clay's Sidelines

• SEC M5: 02.08.13 Edition // Rush The Court
  The Independent Voice of College Basketball

College football

• The legend of Dan Kendra: The rise, fall and happy landing of the nation's top recruit // SBNation.com
  SB Nation's latest longform. This is a great read, well worth the time. You will love it.

• Arkansas recruit's mother hires Johnnie Cochran's law firm // The Courier-Journal

  A prospect younger than 21 cannot submit an official, binding letter of intent without a legal guardian's signature. Collins was prevented from signing with Arkansas on Wednesday after his mother confiscated his signing papers and disappeared. His mother preferred that Collins stay closer to home and choose Miami (Fla.), where he was once verbally committed.

  Pilot to bombardier... pilot to bombardier... What the f***, over.

• National Signing Day winners and ... // FLORIDA TODAY

  Louisville (No. 41): Like USC, Louisville’s class was limited by a lack of numbers — the Cardinals simply didn’t have a tremendous number of scholarships to offer. Nevertheless, Charlie Strong and his staff didn’t capitalize on the team’s Big East championship and Sugar Bowl victory as some might have expected. Rivals.com ranked Louisville’s class as the fourth-best in the Big East, counting Pittsburgh and Syracuse.

  Loser!

College basketball

• LSU surging after poor SEC start // The Town Talk
  Seems that maybe that close call at Rupp will look better than we thought...

• Night Court: Nate Wolters gives CBB most points in a game since '09 // CBSSports.com

  Who says college hoops has a scoring problem? South Dakota State star senior Nate Wolters put up a career-best 53 points Thursday night -- on the road -- against IPFW. Wolters' performance was the most points for a player in a non-overtime college hoops game since Kentucky's Jodie Meeks scored 54 on Jan. 13, 2009. (Will there be shirts made for this one?)

  A Jodie Meeks reference! Brings back good (and bad) memories, doesn't it?

• Missouri vs. Texas A&M - Recap - February 07, 2013 // SI.com
  Ouch. Bowers is back, so no excuses for this loss. I never was a believer in Mizzou.

• Another No. 1 goes down: Indiana falls to Illinois // CBSSports.com
  More on the Indiana loss. All I can say is that Kentucky didn't lose this many games last year.

• 15 wins that could send bubble teams to tourney, more Hoop Thoughts -- Seth Davis // SI.com

  I realize Marshall Henderson gets most of the attention at Ole Miss, but to me, this team's real strength is its senior forward tandem of Murphy Holloway and Reginald Buckner. Tough, strong, always ready to play.

  I think this is right. Also:

  I like the way Julius Mays is evolving into a Glue Guy for Kentucky the way Darius Miller did. Just one more way the Wildcats are getting better in all the right ways.

  I could not agree more. Mays has always helped the team, but lately, he's been doing more than helping.

• ATB: Illini Come Up Huge, Wolters Drops 53 Points, and Missouri’s Plight… // Rush The Court
  Indiana bites the dust on a blown defensive assignment that led to a point-blank unopposed layup.

• Bracket Science 101: Know your tournament overachievers // CBSSports.com
  This is a pretty interesting article, in case you missed it yesterday.

• Conference Power Rankings: SEC - Men's College Basketball Nation Blog // ESPN

Other sports news

• Incoming!
  
  Via Sam Henson.