Kentucky Survives Florida Atlantic, 76-69

I’ll be the first to admit that I thought this game would be over early and that UK would blow out FAU by half-time, but that was not the case at all.  Coach Billie Gillespie had changed up the starting lineup before the game and I believe that had a little bit to do with the Wildcats being out of sync early.

It was all tied up at half-time (37-37) and was back and forth through the early second half, but Kentucky finally proved to be too much for the Florida Atlantic Owls late in the game.  The Wildcats go on to win with a final score of 76-69.

The big men once again proved to be the focal point of UK.  Patrick Patterson was a beast with 27 points, 14 rebounds, and 3 blocks.  Perry Stevenson had an all-around game with 10 points, 6 rebounds, and 2 blocks.  Jodie Meeks had a good game, but nothing like the last couple of games as he only scored 18 points and went 2-6 from 3-point land.

Improvement from recent games:  The Cats only turned the ball over 7 times in this game.  They had averaged over 19 turnovers per game in the first 12 games.

Hand it to the Florida Atlantic Owls for not giving up and making this a close game throughout.  Paul Graham III (Owls) had a great game with 31 points leading the effort from FAU.

This is Kentucky’s 5th win in a row and brings their record to 10 wins and 3 losses.

Next Game, Kentucky vs. Florida Atlantic

The Kentucky Wildcats’ next game is versus the Florida Atlantic Owls.  The game is scheduled for Saturday, 27 December 2008 at 3:00 p.m in Rupp Arena.

UK should have no problem beating FAU and should continue their win streak.  Expect great games from Kentucky’s Patrick Patterson and Jodie Meeks.  Patterson and Meeks have been on fire the last couple of basketball games and expect them to continue their streaks in this game.

Kentucky should run away with this one early and expect to see a blowout before half-time.