Saturday Quickies: Don’t lose to Tennessee Edition

Good morning, Big Blue Nation. The Kentucky Wildcats are back in Rupp Arena after suffering another meltdown in the last four minutes of a basketball game that ended up as a loss to the Missouri Tigers. Tonight they face a reeling Tennessee Volunteers team that just can’t score right now.

Kentucky has the same issues as the Vols do on offense: they can’t shoot or manufacture a meaningful half-court set.

It’s hard to analyze a game like this when you know the season is over. If Kentucky loses, so what. If they win, it does nothing to fundamentally change the trajectory of the season because nobody believes this team is going to pull off some miraculous comeback.

But losing to Tennessee always stinks and beating them would give me some sense of satisfaction. It sucks that this is where we are with this team but there’s no sugar coating any of this.

Tweets of the Day

It’s not just the losing that’s been miserable. All of the off-court drama is tiring as well.

Quickies

What’s wrong with Tennessee | Rocky Top Talk- As I mentioned earlier, the Vols are struggling mightily right now and this article offers some explanations.

Reed Sheppard Mania | WYMT- Kentucky fans have gone all-in on Reed Sheppard, the son of Kentucky great Jeff Sheppard. He scored 54 points in a win last night for Laurel County High School. He is just a sophomore but fans are already clamoring for John Calipari to offer him a scholarship.

John Calipari discusses recruiting more shooters | Saturdays Down South- Calipari admits “the game is changing” and “shooting is at a premium”. Gee... ya think? Glad it took a cratered season for Cal to recognize this.

Kentucky commit Nolan Hickman balled out yesterday on ESPNU. The four star point guard is living up to his growing hype:

Mike Edwards prepares for the Super Bowl | UK Athletics- The former Wildcat has been playing lights out for the Bucs and now has a chance to help Tom Brady win yet another Super Bowl.

Devin Askew forced to play through struggles | Cats Pause- Many fans have been wondering why Devin Askew has been playing so many minutes and the answer is as direct as it is frustrating: Calipari just doesn’t have anybody else.

Kevin Durant is cleared to play, then gets pulled mid-game | CBS- Durant tested negative three times before the game yesterday but was pulled out of the game because he had been around someone that was positive for COVID. He voiced his frustrations via twitter.

Counting the reasons why Kentucky and Duke are struggling | Sporting News- Duke is trending towards being out of the tournament while the Cats need to win the SEC Tournament to get in. What a strange year.

Things you may not know about Tom Brady | USA Today- The GOAT still has plenty left in the tank.

I’ll be back on the airwaves for another therapy session tonight as soon as Kentucky Wildcats vs. Tennessee Volunteers goes final.