Kentucky’s New Number One Ranking Short Lived Against South Carolina, 26 January 2010

The Kentucky Wildcats came into South Carolina ranked number one in the country for the first time since the 2003-2004 season.  The South Carolina Gamecocks came into the game having a mediocre season with a record of 11 wins, 8 losses and 2 wins, 3 losses in the Southeastern Conference.  The game started at a fast pace, which favored Kentucky, but it quickly slowed.  The first half was plagued with turnovers, including 3 apiece from John Wall, Eric Bledsoe, and DeMarcus Cousins of Kentucky.  DeMarcus Cousins (UK) was the only threat on offense from the Cats, scoring 10 points and grabbing 9 rebounds in the first half.  The next leading scorers of the half for the Cats were John Wall, Darnell Dodson, and Patrick Patterson with 5 points each.  South Carolina’s Devan Downey led the way for SC, scoring 13 of their 26 points in the first half.  Kentucky had a slight lead at half-time with a score of 29-26.

The second half started slow and to South Carolina’s advantage.  The Kentucky Wildcats could not find an answer for Devan Downey, who was a one-man team throughout the whole basketball game.   The game was close throughout the second half and DeMarcus Cousins (UK) kept Kentucky in the game throughout with John Wall picking up the slack in the end, but, the Wildcats could not stop Devan Downey.  Devan Downey (SC) finished the game with 30 points, almost half of SC’s total points for the game.  The Wildcats kept the game close to the end, but could not pull off the win on the road.  The final score of the basketball game was 68-62 in favor of the South Carolina Gamecocks. 

Top Performers for Kentucky were:
DeMarcus Cousins - 27 points, 12 rebounds, 3 blocks (3 turnovers)
John Wall - 19 points, 4 rebounds, 2 assists, 1 steal (4 turnovers)
Patrick Patterson - 5 points, 8 rebounds, 2 blocks
Darnell Dodson - 5 points, 2 rebounds, 2 steals
Eric Bledsoe - 4 points, 5 assists, 2 rebounds (5 turnovers)
Daniel Orton - 2 points, 4 rebounds, 1 steal

Without the play of DeMarcus Cousins for Kentucky, South Carolina might have blown UK out.  Besides Cousins and Wall (late in the game), no one else decided to show up for Kentucky on offense, after assuming the number one ranking in the nation just yesterday.  Maybe it was all too much for the players, dealing with the Haiti relief efforts, to gaining the number one ranking, or maybe it was just inexperience that finally rared it’s ugly head.  Either way, Kentucky finally lost today, but not all is lost.  No one should have expected the Wildcats to go undefeated on the season and a loss mid-season really doesn’t mean anything.  The Cats will get back in practice, figure out where they went wrong and get their heads together.  This WILL STILL BE a strong team to beat when March rolls around.

Kentucky’s next game is at home against the Vanderbilt Commodores on Saturday, 30 January 2010, at 4:00 p.m. (EST).

One Team Shows Up, Kentucky at South Carolina

Well, it was the biggest game of the year for both teams, the Kentucky Wildcats and the South Carolina Gamecocks.

One team showed up and one man showed up for the other team.

To skip the suspense, the South Carolina Gamecocks beat the Kentucky Wildcats easily in South Carolina by 18 points.

The man that actually did show up for the Wildcats was Patrick Patterson as He finished with 28 points and 12 rebounds.  Patrick had to work hard for every shot He put up and He was blocked at least 5+ times.  I stated in the pregame report that Jodie Meeks needed to get 30+ points and one of the other guys needed to step up for the Cats.  That was not the case at all.  Meeks finished with only 18 points and no other Wildcat managed to get more than 5 points.

There was literally no effort in the Wildcats tonight besides Patrick Patterson and maybe a little from Landon Slone, but He is mostly a short minute, defensive guy.

THE BENCH ONLY SCORED A TOTAL OF 5 POINTS AND THAT WAS FROM ONE GUY!!!  Darius Miller came off the bench to score the only 5 bench points.  Michael Porter had 0 points and 5 turnovers.   This was just truly the worst effort that I have seen the Cats put forth for the whole year.  Sure, they had some other bad games, such as the VMI and the Ole Miss games, but this basketball game was the most meaningful one of the year for them and they showed no effort.  It was almost like South Carolina was playing a Junior Varsity team…yes, that’s how bad it was.

South Carolina finished with 16 blocks and caused UK to turn the ball over 20 times.  If this is the kind of effort Kentucky puts forth in meaningful games, then we are destined to have an early exit in the NCAA Tournament, if we even make the Tournament.

The final score of the basketball game was 77-59 in favor of the Gamecocks.

Kentucky Wildcats vs South Carolina Gamecocks, 25 Feb 2009

The Kentucky Wildcats’ next game is versus the University of South Carolina Gamecocks in South Carolina on Wed. 25 February 2009, at 7:00 p.m. (EST).

As most may recall, the Gamecocks defeated the Wildcats on a runner with only 3 seconds left in the game on 31 January 2009 at Rupp Arena.  The final score of that basketball game was 78-77.

For the Cats to be successful in this game, Jodie Meeks must put up 25+ points, Patrick Patterson must come up big with 20+ points, and we need a third scorer to get at least 15+ points.  Our hopefuls for a third scorer are either Perry Stevenson, Darius Miller, or Kevin Galloway.  If Michael Porter could give us another 9 points and one of the guys listed above could give us about 10+ points, then we would be in good shape with that as well.

It is going to be tough since the Gamecocks beat us at home and now, we have to return the favor and beat them at home.  There is a lot riding on this basketball game.  It is a battle of first place in the Southeastern Conference “East Division”.  Currently, Kentucky sits at the top, tied with Florida and South Carolina with 8-4 records in the SEC.

2 Losses in a Row, South Carolina Beats Kentucky, 78-77

After a slow start and a somewhat similar first half compared to the last few games, Kentucky was finally able to get it together early in the second half, but the Gamecocks put a run together and the lead was back and forth late in the second half all the way to the end.  Kentucky had a last second shot put up by Jodie Meeks from half-court as the final buzzer sounded, but it fell just short and clanked off the front of the rim.  The final score was 78-77 in favor of the South Carolina Gamecocks.

Jodie Meeks had only 2 points in the first half, but was able to get his looks in the second half as He finished with 20 points and 2 assists.  Jodie Meeks reminds me so much of Richard Hamilton of the Detroit Pistons, the way He rolls through screens to get open looks at the basket and how He is always moving on the defensive end.  Jodie doesn’t get enough credit for his defense, but I see it Jodie, keep it up!

Patrick Patterson, what can I say?  I think this was one of his best basketball games as a UK Wildcat.  He was good on the boards, at the free throw line, and everywhere in-between.  Patrick finished with 28 points, 7 rebounds, 2 assists, and 2 blocks.

Perry Stevenson has to be one of the most timely blockers in the game.  He is 4th in the SEC and Perry is one of the reasons that Kentucky is leading the nation in blocked shots this year.  He had an all-around game with 8 points, 11 rebounds, 4 assists, and 4 blocks.

It was a better game on the offensive end for the Kentucky Wildcats’ basketball players, but yet again, way too many turnovers with bad decisions and carelessness.

A few more notable players for the Cats in the basketball game were:
DeAndre Liggins: 8 points, 5 rebounds, and 2 assists
Josh Harrellson: 5 points and 3 rebounds
Darius Miller: 4 points, 3 rebounds, and 1 block

The stars for the South Carolina Gamecocks were Zam Fredrick with 24 points and Devan Downey with 23 points and 4 assists.