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 Takes Care of Florida on Senior Day, 7 March 2010

It was Senior Day in Rupp Arena, so naturally, the Seniors for the Kentucky Wildcats started the game.  The Seniors honored were Mark Krebs, Perry Stevenson, and Ramon Harris.  Patrick Patterson was also honored since he will be graduating in May of this year.  Now, on to the game.

The Florida Gators came into Kentucky on the bubble watch for the NCAA Tournament.  A win against the Kentucky Wildcats would probably put them in the tournament, but it wasn’t meant to be on Kentucky’s Senior Day.  The Wildcats took the lead from the opening tip and never looked back.  The Wildcats eventually built an 18-point lead in the first half, but the Gators were able to cut it to 10 points at half-time by a score of 41-31 in favor of the Kentucky Wildcats.

In the second half, the Gators started to chip away at Kentucky’s lead.  The lead dwindled all the way down to 2 points, but that was as far as the Gators could cut the lead to.  Behind John Wall, Kentucky was able to maintain a lead in the game to finish the season out with a win.  The final score of the game was 74-66 in favor of the Kentucky Wildcats.  The Wildcats finish the regular season out with a 29 win, 2 loss record and will be the #1 seed in the SEC Tournament Championship next weekend.

Top Performers for Kentucky were:
Darius Miller - 14 points, 2 rebounds, 2 assists
Eric Bledsoe - 14 points, 3 rebounds, 1 assist
Patrick Patterson - 13 points, 5 rebounds, 4 steals, 2 blocks
John Wall - 11 points, 8 assists, 2 rebounds
Darnell Dodson - 10 points, 4 rebounds, 1 steal
DeMarcus Cousins - 8 points, 9 rebounds, 2 blocks, 1 steal
Daniel Orton - 2 points, 4 blocks, 3 rebounds, 1 assist

The Kentucky Wildcats finish a perfect 18-0 in Rupp Arena for this season.  The Cats will have a first round bye in the SEC Tournament next week and will face either South Carolina or Alabama in their first game of the tournament.  The Wildcats are almost a lock for a #1 seed in the NCAA Tournament, depending on how they do in the Southeastern Conference Tournament.

Kentucky Routes Georgia, 3 March 2010

After losing to the Tennessee Volunteers last week, the Kentucky Wildcats looked to get back on track in Georgia against the Bulldogs on Wednesday night.  The game started with the two teams going back and forth for most of the first half.  Neither team could run away with the game and the Kentucky Wildcats finished with a lead at the half by a score of 40-36.

In the second half, the Wildcats came out on a mission.  The Kentucky Wildcats went on a 12 to nothing scoring run to start the second half and never looked back.  Kentucky was able to maintain a double-digit lead for the rest of the basketball game (minus a split-second when they led by only 9) to win the game with ease.  The final score of the game was 80-68 in favor of the Kentucky Wildcats.

Top Performers for Kentucky were:
John Wall - 24 points, 6 assists, 3 steals, 1 block
Patrick Patterson - 17 points, 10 rebounds, 4 blocks, 2 steals
Darnell Dodson - 11 points, 2 rebounds
DeMarcus Cousins - 6 points, 6 blocks, 4 rebounds
Eric Bledsoe - 5 points, 2 rebounds, 1 steal, 1 assist
Daniel Orton - 4 points, 4 rebounds, 2 blocks
DeAndre Liggins - 5 points, 1 steal

Kentucky was able to get the shooting back on track after finishing this game with a 54% field goal percentage.  Kentucky’s big men were outstanding in this game, recording 12 blocks.  The Wildcats as a team had a season high in blocks with 14. 

Kentucky’s next and final regular season game will be at home on Senior night against the Florida Gators.  That game will be played on Sunday, the 7th of March 2010, at noon.

Kentucky Fights Hard, But Loses to Tennessee, 27 February 2010

Kentucky came in on an 8-game win streak while the Tennessee Volunteers had been sliding lately.  The game started off with Kentucky scoring the first 4 points, but that’s when it all started to turn around.  Tennessee went on a run and found themselves up by double-digits for most of the half.  The score at half-time was 40-29 in favor of the Tennessee Volunteers.

Tennessee started the second half maintaining and eventually building their lead.  The Tennessee Volunteers went up by as much as 19 points before Kentucky made their run.  Kentucky was able to tie the game at 65 in the late minutes of the game, but couldn’t get another point the rest of the way.  Tennessee won the game by a score of 74-65 over the Number 2 ranked Wildcats.

Top Performers for Kentucky were:
John Wall - 19 points, 5 rebounds, 6 assists (5 turnovers)
DeMarcus Cousins - 15 points, 14 rebounds, 2 blocks
Patrick Patterson - 10 points, 5 rebounds, 2 blocks
Eric Bledsoe - 9 points, 5 rebounds, 2 steals, 1 assist (3 turnovers)
Darius Miller - 7 points, 4 rebounds, 2 steals, 2 blocks, 1 assist

The refs didn’t help the Cats out much with some of their bad calls, but the main reason Kentucky lost this game was their poor field goal shooting.  The Cats only shot 35% from the field, including a meer 9% from 3-point land (2 of 22).   This is not a huge loss for the Cats, they are still good for a number one seed in the NCAA Tournament.  Especially if they can finish the rest of their season strong.

The Cats’ next game is on the road again, against the Georgia Bulldogs at 8:00p.m. on March 3rd, 2010.

Kentucky Gets Revenge Against South Carolina, 25 February 2010

The South Carolina GameCocks have been the only team able to beat the Kentucky Wildcats so far this year, but that was in South Carolina.  Tonight’s game was held in Rupp Arena, so could Kentucky get their revenge?

The basketball game started with the Kentucky Wildcats on a mission.  The Wildcats were able to get a small lead and carry that all the way to half-time.  The lead would have been 14 points at half-time by the Cats, but Devan Downy (SC) was able to hit a deep 3-pointer as time expired in the first half.  Patrick Patterson and DeMarcus Cousins were leaders for the Cats at half-time.

Kentucky started the second half holding strong, but Devan Downey started to get hot.  Downey had a stretch where he scored 7 straight points for the South Carolina GameCocks.  The GameCocks were able to get back in the game behind Downey.  Kentucky let the lead dwindle to 6 before they went on a spurt to put the game away with about 7 minutes left in the game.  The Wildcats cruised the rest of the way through the game.  The final score of the game was 82-61 in favor of the Kentucky Wildcats.

Top Performers for Kentucky were:
Patrick Patterson - 23 points, 8 rebounds, 4 blocks, 2 steals
DeMarcus Cousins - 19 points, 11 rebounds, 2 assists
John Wall - 12 points, 5 rebounds, 4 assists, 2 steals (6 turnovers)
Daniel Orton - 9 points, 5 rebounds, 2 steals
Eric Bledsoe - 8 points, 2 assists, 2 rebounds, 2 blocks
Darius Miller - 7 points, 8 rebounds, 2 blocks
DeAndre Liggins - 4 points, 2 rebounds, 2 steals, 1 assist

The Kentucky Wildcats looked good in their revenge against South Carolina.  The Cats shot 50% from the field and 75% from the free throw line in an easy win against the GameCocks.  Devan Downey (South Carolina) was still able to get 26 points in the game, but it didn’t matter.  The Wildcats go to 27-1 overall and 12-1 in the SEC.

The Wildcats next game is at Tennessee against the Volunteers on Saturday, 27 February 2010.  The game is set to kick-off around 12:00p.m. (EST).

Another Tough Game for Kentucky at Vanderbilt, 20 February 2010

The Kentucky Wildcats came into Vanderbilt after a huge scare against the Mississippi St. Bulldogs on Tuesday night, but the Cats were able to survive in that game.  The Wildcats are on a 6-game winning streak after their first loss of the season in South Carolina, but hardly any of the games have come easy.  Would this game be another tough game for the Wildcats?

The first half of the game was horrendous for both teams on the offensive end.  Kentucky only shot 40% from the field, while Vanderbilt only shot 29% from the field.  With all those misses, surprisingly enough, there wasn’t that many rebounds for both teams, Kentucky only grabbing 12 rebounds while Vandy pulled down 19 rebounds.  Kentucky only shot 50% from the free throw line in the first half, going 5-10 from the stripe, but amazingly, the Cats led at half-time by 2 points.  The score at half-time was 27-25 in favor of the Kentucky Wildcats.

The second half would be much of the same.  Neither team was able to gather more than a 4-point lead in the second half.  The game was close all the way to the end.  Kentucky was up by 1 point with less than 10 seconds left, but Vanderbilt had the ball.  Vandy dribbled the ball down the court and attempted a 3-pointer, but John Wall was there for the defensive stop, getting the block, grabbing the ball, and getting fouled with only 2.5 seconds left.  John Wall couldn’t get the first free throw to go down, but did get the second.  Now, Kentucky had a 2-point lead, but the Commodores had another shot.  Vanderbilt was able to throw the ball down the court to Ogilvy cleanly. Ogilvy headed to the goal, shot a floater, but missed it as time expired.  Kentucky came away with the win by a final score of 58-56 in what was a thriller of a game.

Top Performers for Kentucky were:
DeMarcus Cousins - 19 points, 6 rebounds, 3 steals, 1 block (5 turnovers)
Patrick Patterson - 13 points, 13 rebounds, 2 assists
John Wall - 13 points, 5 rebounds, 1 assist, 1 block
Eric Bledsoe - 8 points, 3 assists, 2 rebounds
Darius Miller - 3 points, 2 rebounds, 1 block

Patrick Patterson came through in this game, not only getting a double-double, but also hitting a clutch 3-pointer in the final minutes.  This was a very sloppy and physical game, but Kentucky was able to come away with another win.  Hopefully, the next game won’t be so dramatic, but teams are getting more competitive with only a few games left before the tournament starts.

Kentucky’s next basketball game is at home against the South Carolina Gamecocks, the only team to beat the Wildcats so far this year.  The game is Thursday, 25 February 2010 at 9:00 p.m.(EST).

Kentucky Slips by Mississippi State in Overtime, 16 February 2010

The Kentucky Wildcats came into Mississippi St with a 24-1 (9-1 SEC) record on the season.  Mississippi State looked to knock off the Wildcats to build their resume for the NCAA Tournament.  The game started physical and continued that way throughout the first half.  The game was back and forth and Kentucky finished the half with a 32-29 lead.

The Mississippi State Bulldogs came out strong in the second half, but Jarvis Varnado (Miss St) picked up two quick fouls back-to-back to cause Mississippi St to go small, giving Kentucky the advantage inside the paint and on the rebounds.  The game would remain close throughout the rest of the game.  Mississippi State held a 7-point lead with only a few minutes left, but Kentucky was able to push the game into overtime.  The score at regulation was 67 apiece after DeAndre Liggins missed a last-second 2-point shot to send the game into overtime.

The overtime belonged to the Kentucky Wildcats.  The Wildcats outscored the Bulldogs 14-8 in the overtime.  The final score of the basketball game was 81-75 in favor of the Kentucky Wildcats.

Top Performers for Kentucky were:
DeMarcus Cousins - 19 points, 14 rebounds, 3 assists, 1 block (5 turnovers)
Patrick Patterson - 19 points, 10 rebounds, 3 blocks, 1 steal
John Wall - 18 points, 10 rebounds, 8 assists, 3 steals, 2 blocks (3 turnovers)
Darius Miller - 9 points, 2 rebounds, 2 blocks, 1 assist
Eric Bledsoe - 7 points, 1 block
DeAndre Liggins - 6 points, 3 rebounds, 2 assists, 1 block
Daniel Orton - 2 points, 4 rebounds, 2 blocks

Some Mississippi State fans, in a classless act at the end of the basketball game, started throwing water bottles on the floor while the players were still on the floor.  Luckily, no player from either team was hit with the water bottles.  The Kentucky players and coaches were able to get off the floor with no incidents.

Kentucky was able to get a balanced scoring contribution from the Wildcat players.  Although the Cats didn’t shoot the ball well from behind the 3-point line, the Wildcats were able to dominate on the boards, out-rebounding the Bulldogs by 21 rebounds.

Kentucky’s next game is on the road against the Vanderbilt Commodores.  The game is scheduled on the 20th of February, 2010, at 6:00 p.m. (EST).

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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