Kentucky Wildcats Morning Quickies: Frank Martin Death Stare Edition

Good morning, ladies and gentlemen of the Big Blue Nation, and welcome to the Tuesday Morning Quickies.

Tonight, Kentucky goes for their ninth straight victory hosting the South Carolina Gamecocks in Rupp Arena. Here are a few quick notes about the game:

• Despite a hot 4-0 start including victories over Florida in Gainesville and Mississippi St. in Columbia in overtime, the Gamecocks have fallen back a bit recently with losses to LSU and Tennessee. But there is no shame in those, as both were on the road against some of the best teams in the league.
• Cocky & Co. have some really ordinary-looking stats. They are not in the top 3 of the SEC in any stat except getting to the free throw line, but they play fast, play hard, and get wins.
• Chris Silva, who is celebrating his 50th year in a Gamecock uniform and reportedly considering finding another occupation soon, is having his best season ever by far. He is 8th in the country in fouls drawn per 40 minutes, 20th in free throw rate, and 44th in block percentage. He even makes 37% from three. He’s a one-man wrecking crew.
• Tonight will be a contrast in style. South Carolina is the third fastest team in the SEC in terms of pace. Kentucky is #12. Kentucky has been able to play games well at both fast and slow pace, so UK should be able to dictate tempo according to their needs. USC was able to speed Florida up, but I doubt they can do that to Kentucky. They couldn’t against Oklahoma St.

I like Kentucky in this one, but it’s likely to be a tough, physical game. South Carolina is better than their record, and Kentucky can’t look at that as an indicator of the level of competition.

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Your Quickies:

Kentucky football

• National Signing Day is Wednesday. Here’s what the experts are saying about Kentucky’s chances with the remaining top recruits.
• What to expect on national signing day, and where Kentucky stands right now in 2019.
• Remember the time Super Bowl MVP Julian Edelman ran wild on the Wildcats? It did happen.

Kentucky basketball

• The Calipari girls get into a spat with Jay Bilas. Bilas was out of his league, and frankly wrong with the hot take response. He’s usually better than that.

More here from the Lexington Herald-Leader.

• 2020 big Makur Maker, cousin of NBA player Thon Maker, is drawing Kentucky’s interest and thinking about reclassifying.
• Recent Kentucky double-double streaks. PJ Washington is currently on one, and since that time, UK is arguably playing its best basketball.
• Kentucky loves the open floor, but what they cannot do is fail to guard in a wide-open game.
• PJ Washington’s leadership is giving the surging Wildcats a boost.
• South Carolina get ready for Rupp Arena. Frank Martin’s intense stare could possibly set one of the banners in the rafters on fire, I fear.

Other Kentucky sports

Projecting Kentucky baseball position by position.

College football

• Todd Gurly and Sony Michel faced each other in the Super Bowl, and were teammates (and greats) at Georgia.

College basketball

• Arizona’s Sean Miller is being scrutinized by the NCAA again.
• Kansas’ Silvio De Sousa must sit out until 2021, according to the NCAA.
• Wait, what? Tennessee writer says the Vols should’ve been dropped to #2 because of their RealTime RPI ranking.

Other sports news

• Tragedy: Dodgers fan reportedly dies after being hit by a foul ball.
• The Pelicans want a high price for Anthony Davis.
• Rob Gronkowski can walk away a champion. And he should.
• It’s okay to admit the Super Bowl wasn’t a good game. I disagree completely. It was a very good game, both defenses were terrific in an era in which offensive players are given every possible advantage to increase scoring.

For the record, I don’t watch the NFL — except for the Super Bowl. The reason is that the Super Bowl is part of Americana, an American tradition that deserves the respect of my attention. I don’t watch the halftime nonsense, and the commercials barely impinge on my consciousness unless they are really original or really funny — I don’t remember any of the controversial ones.

This one has stuck with me through the years, though. I still guffaw every time I see it, and I’ll never forget seeing it for the first time.

Other news

• InSight Lander completes seismometer deployment on Mars.
• “X-Factor” golf swing popular with today’s pros linked to back injury.
• The magnetic North Pole is moving, heading toward Siberia.