Kentucky Outlasts Tennessee at Home, 13 February 2010

It’s rivalry week in college basketball and there’s no bigger rivalry than the Kentucky Wildcats and the Tennessee Volunteers.  College GameDay (ESPN) found their way into Rupp Arena today and over 22,000 fans showed up for the occasion.  Over 24,000 fans found their way to the basketball game and most of them were wearing “blue” in support of the Big Blue Nation.

The game started with a series of mini-runs by both teams.  Kentucky was unable to get much going due to Tennessee’s 3-2 zone defense.  Tennessee used most of the shot clock on almost every one of their possessions in an attempt to slow the game down.  The game plan worked well as Kentucky was only able to get 30 points in the first half.  The score at half-time was 30-29 in favor of the Kentucky Wildcats.  John Wall had 9 points, but did not have any assists in the first half.  DeMarcus Cousins only had 4 points, but was able to pull down 7 rebounds in the first half.  The game was fairly even across the board at half-time.

Tennessee came out in the second half and executed their half-court game, continuing the 3-2 defense and holding the ball late within the shot clock on offense.  Tennessee’s strategy worked for about 32 minutes of the game, but the Kentucky guards, John Wall and Eric Bledsoe, started to come alive with about 8 minutes left in the game.  Kentucky went on a 16-4 run behind Bledsoe and Wall to seal the win for the Kentucky Wildcats.  DeMarcus Cousins was unable to get anything going on the offensive end and didn’t get his 8th straight double-double, but the Cats didn’t need him to produce to take the game over.  The final score of the basketball game was 73-62 in favor of the Kentucky Wildcats.

Top Performers for Kentucky were:
John Wall - 24 points, 4 rebounds, 3 assists, 1 steal (4 turnovers)
Eric Bledsoe - 16 points, 4 assists, 3 rebounds, 1 steal, 1 block
Patrick Patterson - 10 points, 7 rebounds, 1 assist
DeAndre Liggins - 7 points, 4 rebounds, 4 assists, 2 steals, 1 block
DeMarcus Cousins - 5 points, 12 rebounds, 1 steal
Darnell Dodson - 5 points, 1 steal
Daniel Orton - 4 points, 3 rebounds, 2 blocks

DeAndre Liggins gave the Kentucky Wildcats good minutes off the bench.  Liggins is showing great hussle on the defensive end and contributing on the offensive end.  Bench play will become important for Kentucky to make a deep run in March.

The Wildcats’ next game is on Tuesday, 16 February 2010, at 9:00 p.m.(EST) against Mississippi State in Mississippi.

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