The whole witty-repartee thing is coming, I promise. But first, some actual analysis of tomorrow's game at 4PM in Lexington, ESPN. Vanderbilt, as we all know, is fond of finding white guys from Kentucky that the Cats didn't want or recruit, shutting them in a room with a pop-a-shot and removing them twice a year when they play Kentucky. A couple guys on their roster fit that bill in Jordan Smart (Lex Cath) and Aaron Noll (Cov Cath), who collectively have played 30 minutes and scored 2 points the entire season. Watch tomorrow as they both start and go for 15 apiece, all of them deep threes.
Statistically speaking, since 1980 Vandy's only beaten UK 15 times while the Cats have won 47. Obviously, that does not matter at all, but it's fun to look at. The chart looks like this PacMan, see?
In all seriousness, the key to victory tomorrow for Kentucky will have to be rebounding. The numbers say that the Cats are the best offensive rebounding team in the country, but South Carolina begs to differ. If the Cats control the boards, they win the game, pure and simple. Vanderbilt will make shots, that is for sure. Jermaine Beal is a good guard, but he's not like Devan Downey in that one of our young guys can't stay in front of him. I think Cousins, Orton, and Patterson will be able to body up pretty well with anyone the Commodores have in the paint, including Tchiengang, Ogilvy, and Ezeli, but what you have to watch out for is how those guys move without the ball; they're good at that. Jeffery Taylor will also be a fun matchup to watch, as either Patterson or Miller will probably have their hands full trying to hang with him, depending on the lineup.
I'm going to the game tomorrow with my wife, who in case you forgot, went to Vanderbilt. It is never a comfortable game for either of us because I'm a blatant Kentucky fan who cheers when the other team gets a tech or makes a stupid foul or misses a free throw. She doesn't really like it when I do that for teams that AREN'T Vanderbilt, and she REALLY hates it when that team IS Vanderbilt. So that should be a great ride home after the game, no matter who wins. She's actually a pretty good sport for the most part, but I really do hope Kentucky pounds the Dores into the floor tomorrow. Go Cats!
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