Kentucky Holds Off Alabama Behind Wall and Patterson, 12 March 2010

It was the first game of an SEC Tournament for about half the Kentucky basketball players and the Alabama Crimson Tide showed them what it’s all about.  The Tide jumped out to an early lead on Kentucky in the first half of the basketball game.  Alabama had just survived South Carolina the day before and should have been sluggish, but they came with fresh legs while Kentucky proved to be the sluggish team in the first half.  Alabama led by as much as 11 points in the first half, but behind a mini-run by Kentucky, the lead for the Crimson Tide was only 5 at half-time by a score of 35-30, due in part to Darnell Dodson’s (UK) 3-pointer as time expired in the half.

In the second half, John Wall and Patrick Patterson turned up the heat.  John Wall became the leader that Kentucky needed and Patrick Patterson became the go-to-guy while DeMarcus Cousins was not having a good game.  Patterson, Wall scored 40+ points in the game between them, leading Kentucky back to overtake the lead from Alabama in the second half.  After Kentucky regained the lead, the Cats never gave it up, but Alabama still fought and kept the game close all the way to the end.  The final score of the game was 73-67 in favor of the Kentucky Wildcats.

Top Performers for Kentucky were:
John Wall - 23 points, 7 rebounds, 5 assists
Patrick Patterson - 20 points, 4 rebounds, 2 steals, 1 assist, 1 block
Eric Bledsoe - 10 points, 4 rebounds, 3 assists, 1 steal
DeMarcus Cousins - 7 points, 8 rebounds, 2 blocks, 1 steal, 1 assist
Perry Stevenson - 4 points, 1 rebound, 1 assist, 1 block
Darius Miller - 4 points, 2 rebounds

The Kentucky Wildcats will face the Tennessee Volunteers tomorrow at 1:00 p.m. (EST).  The Volunteers were only 1 of 2 teams to beat the Wildcats this year as all Kentucky fans know.  This would be a sweet revenge for the Wildcats, but it will be tough and the Cats must do a better job against Tennessee than they diplayed against the Crimson Tide today.  It should prove to be a good game and hopefully Wall and Patterson can continue their good play into tomorrow’s game.

Kentucky Beats Alabama at Home, 9 February 2010

The Alabama Crimson Tide came into Rupp Arena on a 3-game skid while the Kentucky Wildcats have won their last 3 in a row.  Alabama jumped out to an early lead for about half of the first half, but Kentucky eventually took the lead.  The Wildcats were not able to put Alabama away in the first half, but did lead the rest of the half.  The score at half-time was 31-24 in favor of the UK Wildcats.

The second half started at a slow pace just as the first half had ended.  The Wildcats were able to maintain the lead throughout the rest of the basketball game, but Alabama made several mini-runs to get close.  Alabama was not able to sustain a good enough run to get them over the hump.  John Wall had a big scoring game, but had a lot of turnovers as well.  The final score of the basketball game was 66 to 55 in favor of the Kentucky Wildcats.

Top Performers for Kentucky were:
John Wall - 22 points, 10 rebounds, 2 assists, 3 steals (6 turnovers)
DeMarcus Cousins - 16 points, 13 rebounds, 2 assists, 1 block
Patrick Patterson - 9 points, 4 rebounds, 1 steal, 1 block
DeAndre Liggins - 8 points, 7 rebounds, 1 steal, 1 assist, 1 block
Eric Bledsoe - 8 points, 4 assists (3 turnovers)

This was just one of those ugly basketball games that could easily be forgotten in the near future.  Both teams were not very impressive, but Kentucky was able to pull off the win.  There will be games like this and it is important that Kentucky comes out on top.

Kentucky’s next basketball game is on 13 February, 2010 at 9:00 p.m. (EST) against the Tennessee Volunteers in Rupp Arena.