Kentucky Defeats Tennessee, Takes Over 1st in SEC East

The basketball game was never in doubt.  The Kentucky Wildcats started out strong and kept their lead the whole game.

Jodie Meeks was well-defended the whole game, but managed to get points here and there.  He finished with 14 points, 2 rebounds, and 3 assists.  Patrick Patterson was back after missing two games with an ankle injury.  He had a big game with 19 points and 5 rebounds.

Tennessee’s staff, before the game, stated that other Cats’ players would have to beat them besides Meeks and Patterson.  Well, that was the case.  The following Kentucky Wildcat players came up big in today’s win against the Tennessee Volunteers:
Darius Miller - 17 points, 6 assists, 3 rebounds, and 2 blocks
Michael Porter - 9 points, 6 assists, 2 rebounds, and 1 block
Perry Stevenson - 6 points and 5 rebounds
Ramon Harris - 5 points and 3 rebounds
A.J. Stewart - 5 points

Tennessee had 3 players in double figures - Scotty Hopson with 14 points, J.P. Prince with 11 points, and Wayne Chism with 10 points.

The final score of the game was 77-58 in favor of Kentucky.

Kentucky vs. Tennessee, 21 Feb 2009

Kentucky’s next game is at home versus the Tennessee Volunteers on 21 Feb 2009, at 1:00 p.m. (EST).

Kentucky hopes that they can get another performance out of Jodie Meeks like the one He put on in Tennessee last month when he broke Kentuckys’ single game scoring record with 54 points.

This is a pivital game for the Wildcats as they sit atop the East in the SEC, but 3 other teams also sit there with them.  The following teams are in first place with 7-4 records: Kentucky, Florida, South Carolina, and Tennessee.

Kentucky has a chance to seal their own fate because they have all of these teams remaining on their schedule for the year, starting with Tennessee.  If the Cats can win out, then they would win the East in the Southeastern Conference, but that is much easier said then done.

We will see how they fair against Tennessee and take it one game at a time.

Kentucky Wins at Tennessee, 90-72, Jodie Meeks With 54 Points

Jodie Meeks (Wildcats) breaks records against Tennessee on 13 Jan 2009!!

The Kentucky Wildcats take care of the Tennessee Volunteers at Tennessee.  After a back and forth game in the first half until late, UK went into halftime with a small lead.  The second half was much different.  Kentucky came out, wait, Jodie Meeks came out strong and the Wildcats’ lead got as high as 16 until late in the second half, when the vols attempted to make a run, but Jodie Meeks proved to be just too much.  The Wildcats eventually pulled away late in the basketball game on Jodie Meeks’ scoring.  Kentucky wins the game, 90-72.

Let’s break down what Jodie Meeks did tonight:
54 Points (Career High and Team Record for points in a game) - Prior was 53 points by Dan Issel.
10 out of 15 from 3-point land (Sets single game record for 3-pointers in a game for the Wildcats) - Prior was 9 held by Jodie Meeks and Tony Delk.

Meeks’ game was so superb and spread out tonight.  He went 15 for 22 from the field with 10 of 15 from 3-pointers.  He was 14 for 14 from the free throw line.  He had 8 rebounds, 4 assists, and 1 steal with only 1 turnover for the game.

This was truly the best game that I have seen the Wildcats play this season and maybe the best game that I have seen them play since that 30+ point comeback against LSU many years back if anyone remembers that game and I’m sure some of you do. 

Sure, they had 15 turnovers and only 2 blocks, but their defense was in tune as they shut down Tennessee many times on offense and forced Tennessee to take many bad shots.  On the other end, Kentucky’s offense as a whole was not great, but apparently they only needed Jodie Meeks anyway.  I do think the focus was Jodie Meeks as many players set screens and a lot of the play calling was for Jodie Meeks.  So, I give the other Kentucky players credit for playing within the game and watching history in the making!

The next leading scorer for the Wildcats was Patrick Patterson with 9 points and 12 rebounds.

Tennessee’s leading scorer was Tyler Smith with 19 points and Wayne Chism added 18 points and 9 rebounds.

If Jodie Meeks broke any other records in this game that aren’t already mentioned, please add them to this post via the comment link.

GO BIG BLUE!!

Kentucky at Tennessee, Tuesday, 13-Jan-2009

The Kentucky Wildcat’s next game is vs. the Tennessee Volunteers at Tennessee on Tuesday, 13 Jan 2009 at 9:00 p.m (EST).

Kentucky will go in as the underdog as the Volunteers are ranked in the Top 25, but I like Kentucky’s chances.  Even though they are playing the basketball game in Tennessee, I believe the momentum is in favor of Kentucky at this time.  If Kentucky can come out strong and get a third scorer such as Ramon Harris or Perry Stevenson to get double digit points, then the game will be in favor of Kentucky.

UK really needs someone to step up and be a consistent scorer to compliment the games of Patrick Patterson and Jodie Meeks.  If we can get a third scorer that averages about 12-14 points a game, then we will be looking good for the SEC title.  The SEC is kind of in a down-year because there really isn’t any one team that stands out amongst the others.  Even the analysts can’t predict who will win the Southeastern Conference title at the end of the year.  I believe the contenders for the crown in the East will be Kentucky, Tennessee, and Florida.  In the West, I have Alabama, Mississippi St, and Arkansas as the top runners.

Kentucky and Tennessee are both 1-0 in the SEC.  Hopefully, Kentucky can put together another run in the SEC like they had last year when they went 12-4 in the conference.