HOGS AND ORANGES ALL ROLLED UP INTO ONE

 

That's about right.

Kentucky and Vanderbilt overlap in game times tomorrow, which is kind of interesting.  Kentucky plays at Tennessee at noon on CBS and Vanderbilt plays at the Pig Sty at 1:30 EST.  It's kind of a same-song-different-verse type game for Kentucky, as UT's wheels seem to be falling off.  Sure, it's a home game, but how many people do you think are going to show up on campus for noon tipoff?  "IF IT AIN'T IN NEYLAND, I AIN'T A-GOIN'", Vols fans will probably say.  That, or they'll have been up way too late getting high and robbing gas stations to make it to that bathtub of an arena in time.  None of this means that Kentucky will win easily, of course, but provided the Cats own the boards, the game should not be in doubt.

Vandy, on the other hand, is dealing with a rather enigmatic Arkansas team that has a terrible record but somehow has a chance to win the SEC West.  You could really say that about any West team except LSU, but the Hogs actually owned first place in the division for a little while down there.  Bud Walton Arena used to be a tough place to play.  Vandy just played a pretty bad game against UGA and won by the skin of A.J.'s yellow teeth.  Here's hoping they have a good game plan for stopping the Arkansas version of a dribble drive offense (they should) and getting some actual point production out of the front court that doesn't necessarily include wide open free throw shots.  Go Cats, Go Dores, and dammit winter, GO AWAY.  Have a good weekend.

GRIMACE WAS THE Y

I'm sure y'all saw this last night, but it bears repeating.  I hate the Lakers, but I've always liked Magic Johnson.  Doing the shizz/John Wall dance makes me like him a lot more.  He does look like grimace though - purple didn't help him any.

COMMODORES ARE SQUEAKY, CHICKENS ARE NOT

Softcore chicken porn.  Ohhhh yeahhhh.

Tale of two games last night, right?  Vanderbilt, still slightly hungover from their loss to Kentucky last Saturday I assume, had their hands full with a scrappy Georgia team that pushed them to overtime.  I saw most of the game, but then Kentucky came on TV and I sort of caught the overtime part by way of highlights.  As I predicted, Vanderbilt had to tough this one out thanks to the heroics of Trey Thompkins et al.  Georgia outshot and out-rebounded the Dores by a pretty good margin, requiring Vanderbilt to ultimately rely on the nerdiest of offensive weapons, the free throw line.  Good win for the Dores, but they'd better remember they have to bring it every night if they want to improve their NCAAT seeding.

Kentucky, on the other hand, more or less dismantled South Carolina, although not in the "kill you dead" fashion that I had hoped.  People (John Calipari) have sort of complained all year about this team's lack of a killer instinct, and it almost reared its head in the second half.  Kentucky was up about 16 at halftime and managed to lose ten of those points for a good stretch before really putting it away at the end.  Downed, as I predicted, got his, making some absolutely ridiculous shit.  I don't care how closely you guard that guy, he could make 15 footers with a mosquito net hanging over him.

/Shot still goes in.

Still, all was not lost.  Patrick Patterson has finally found his offense again, which is awesome.  Cousins had another double-double.  Darius Miller had what I think was his best game of the season.  There was a Krebs sighting.  All of those things were good.  Yay Cats.

A little bit later today I'll do some short and almost unnecessary previews for Tennessee and the Devil Pigs, so keep an eye out for that.  Go Cats and Go Dores.

DAWGS AND COCKS: NOT A GOOD COMBINATION

So intimidating.

Cats and Dores both have home games tonight.  Georgia's playing in Memorial at 7 on ESPNU and South Carolina visits Rupp at 9 on regular old ESPN.  Neither of these games should be close.  Yes, Vandy lost to Georgia at Georgia, but that'll happen.  The Dores do not lose at Memorial (except to Kentucky, which is okay) and they're definitely not going to lose two in a row.  Do expect Trey Thompkins to try to get into A.J.'s medusa-like head a little bit, and Travis Leslie will require the backcourt's full attention, but I think the Commies win this one going away.

Meanwhile, South Carolina plays round 2 against UK in a game where the Cocks will totally get their comeuppance.  Sure, Downey will probably get his, but there's no way the Cats play that bad twice against the only team to beat them this season.  Cousins is pissed.  Wall is pissed.  Krebs is ready to turn green and SMASH.  I'm putting the over/under on technical fouls at 3, and I hope we hit the under.  Darrin Horn's teams play hard, but the Cocks are not good.  Expect a massacre.

THIS IS TOO GOOD TO PASS UP

Two more like this (and by "like this" I mean "A.J.'s underrated Medusa impression") here.  Check it out.

HEYOO

 

I'm pretty busy today and, oddly enough, Kentucky and Vanderbilt don't play until Thursday this week.  Therefore, I made a sort of funny LOL that was relevant 20 years ago.  You're welcome!  Also, this:

You can find it here. HT: ASOB.

BIZZARRO WILDCATS

NCAA Basketball

Look at that chart. JUST LOOK AT IT! Anything seem out of place there, other than, well, everything? Kentucky shot the ball better, turned it over less, got outrebounded on the offensive glass, and won the battle at the free throw line. Three of those four things were totally unexpected if you read anyone's game preview. Weird, huh?

WALK OF SHAME: VICTORIOUS

Somebody's inlaws have courtside seats.

There's only one topic suitable for discussion in this week's Walk of Shame, and that's the UK-Vandy game last Saturday.  It was crazy.  The student section was rowdy.  DeMarcus Cousins was an anti-cheerleader, and I loved it.  A.J. pretty much choked (and Matt Freije agreed with me).  It was a really fun game to see live and in person, and I'm glad my team won. Really credit the Memorial crowd for trying to will their team to a win.  There were a lot of Kentucky fans in the building, and they were pretty vocal.  I got a lot of F-you's when I went out into the concourse, which were sort of unexpected from a group that considers themselves the class of the SEC, but I won't let a few bad apples spoil the bunch.  The only kind of crappy part of the game experience was during timeouts: Vandy has got to do more to keep the crowd energized or at least keep their attention.  It's like a funeral home in there when there's no action.

This was a game that was a lot like other road games (and some home games) the Cats have played in this year, meaning tight and with the margin of victory being determined in the final minutes (or in this case, seconds).  Kentucky played the best perimeter defense I've seen all year, which explains holding the Dores to (I think) four three pointers, two coming from noted hacker and smacker Steve Tchiengang.  Jeff Taylor had a great game for the Dores, but it wasn't enough to match a re-emergent Patrick Patterson and the somewhat spotty game of DeMarcus.  Wall was Wall when it mattered, except for a few bricked free throws.

Vanderbilt was sort of in a win-win situation here.  They really weren't supposed to win the game, but it would have been huge if they did.  If the 'Dores win out the rest of their regular season schedule and take at least two in the SEC Tournament (and they get a bye for sure), there's no way they're worse than a 4 seed in the NCAA.  Kentucky, with that win, I think probably locked up a 1, assuming no more losses or even a loss at UTK. 

DORES WON LAST NIGHT, WILL LOSE TOMORROW NIGHT

Solid win from the Commies last night against Ole Miss.  The Rebs definitely came to play, but thanks to a shit ton of fouls and forgetting that they had a game plan, Andy Kennedy's squad gave the game away to Vandy despite shooting pretty well.  Beal was blank-o in the first half but put up some points toward the end of the game, and A.J. played pretty well considering he's bigger than everyone on Ole Miss's roster.

Okay, enough with the backhanded comments.  Kentucky plays Vandy at Memorial tomorrow at 6 ET, 5 CT.  Who plays basketball at 5:00 on a Saturday?  Vanderbilt, that's who.  This really is a game that Kentucky could lose.  Yes, the Cats are a better, more talented team, but this will be an environment unlike any other the Cats have been in this season, and that includes ballroom floor basketball courts lit by brass chandeliers.  I'm going to the game, and I have a feeling TV does not do Memorial justice.  As we all know, there are four goalposts instead of two.  No idea why.  The benches are on opposing baselines.  No idea why.  The sidelines are forty feet deep.  No idea why.  The building is actually built like an opera hall.  Some idea why.

Ken Pomeroy says that Cats win, but only by the slimmest of margins (51%). The four factors say both teams will shoot the ball well (probably), Kentucky will turn it over a little more than Vandy (probably), Kentucky will get way more offensive rebounds (definitely), and Vandy will shoot more free throws (probably). Vandy gets to the line at a ridiculous rate. Kentucky wins if they keep on the offensive glass and open up the floor with perimeter shooting. Vandy wins if Kentucky is just too confused by the weird setup in Memorial, and they keep getting to the line. I'm sure it's going to be a tight game, but both teams are used to that by now. I will not be surprised if Kentucky drops one here. I'll be pissed, but not surprised. Should be a good one. Go Cats!

BECAUSE I CAN

Brighten up the mood around here?  Why, I'd be glad to.

There's more of those here.

Tell me that's not funny.

WOAH - VANDY SIGNEE RAJAAN BENNETT MURDERED

 

RIP, man.

See, there you go.  I was just getting ready to get all hate-y on Vanderbilt as they prepare to look past Ole Miss to UK this weekend (tonight on ESPNU at 7 ET - you should still watch) and then BOOM.  Vanderbilt's best 2010 football signee, RB Rajaan Bennett, was murdered around 2:30 this morning in his home near Atlanta.  Woah.

Please don't take this as me taking Bennett's plight lightly, because I'm not.  The kid probably wasn't even 18 years old yet and he's gunned down in an apparent murder-suicide by a family member.  I can't imagine anything more awful.  My thoughts and prayers go out to his family and friends.  Go Dores.

CALL ME NOW, MSU

 

HTC, DOGS! HT: KSR.

Geez that was a squeaker.  The Cats pulled out a really tough overtime win in Starkville last night, as if you didn't already know.  State played really, really hard.  The Cats had a tough time getting the ball in the post in the second half, and they were pretty damn cold from outside.  Typically, that's a recipe for disaster (see: South Carolina) but the Cats overcame all that and put the game away.  I thought once Jarvis Varnado fouled out, it was game over, but Dee Bost and the forgotten Kodi Augustus respectfully disagreed.  They were making ridiculous stuff over some pretty good defense.  After the loss, the always klassie State fans threw water bottles on the court, presumably because DeMarcus, Patrick, and J. Wall were all very thirsty from putting up double doubles.  This was Patrick's best game in SEC play so far, in my opinion, and I'm glad he got after it as well as he did.

Not pretty, but that wasn't expected against a strong Bulldog team.  Take the road W and move on, Cats.  Next up: INTERNAL CONFLICT AT VANDERBILT!  Maybe.

MARDI GRAS MISSISSIPPI STATE

 

I googled Mississippi State and Mardi Gras.  Which would you rather look at?  I thought so.  Anyway, the Cats are heading down to the shittiest town in the SEC, Starkville, Mississippi to play Jarvis Varnado and four other guys in basketball tonight at 9 PM on ESPN.  Kentucky hasn't beaten MSU in two years, which oddly coincides with Billy Gillispie's tenure as head coach.  I don't know how the Cats lost those two times, but I think it might have something to do with trying to shoot the ball over Jarvis Varnado, which is impossible.  That guy could reach the scoreboard hanging over midcourt if he wanted to.  That's not the game plan for beating the Dogs.  I'm hoping that DeMarcus has a lot fewer hate voicemails on his cell phone tomorrow morning, or at least a few more booty calls after he abuses JV into submission.  Go Cats, beat the Dogs.

WALK OF SHAME: UGLY

 

I never want to google "ugly" ever again.

Two wins for the Cats and 'Dores, and both were ugly.  I didn't get to see the Vandy win over LSU, but from what I heard, it wasn't quite the blowout I expected.  Vanderbilt got the W from the free throw line despite a missing John Jenkins and glueman Andre Walker and a really strong game from Storm Warren.  Wipe your brow, Commies fans, that's a worker's win right there.  

The game I did watch, of course, was the superduper hypefest that was UK-UTK.  I watched Game Day, which I usually don't do, and it was pretty incredible.  Hubert Davis doing the Shizz/John Wall dance, Digger dancing, and Jay Bilas being a normal human being, it was pretty great.  Then I did a bunch of other stuff (Valentine's Day dinner, natch) and got the chance to watch the actual game live at Saints in St. Matthews with some college buddies of mine.  It's the first game where I've been allowed to yell at the TV in a long time, and yell I did.  

While it was a very close game, I never really thought victory was in doubt.  Tennessee played really well.  The 3-2 zone was really, really effective in the first half, and if Dodson and Bledsoe don't find their range in the second half, it might have been a loss.  Cousins had 12 boards but thanks to being a little too amped, he couldn't throw it in the ocean from the stripe.  Patterson hustled.  Liggins REALLY hustled.  And when the game was really on the line, Mr. Everything John Wall stepped up and absolutely took over.  The Vols are really athletic and long, but they don't have anyone who could stay in front of Wall, and it was good to see him play like we saw earlier in the year.  

It's not tournament time yet, but we all know how tough the schedule is for both teams down the stretch, so "survive and advance" is a palpable strategy for me at this point.  Ugly doesn't show up in the box score (well, sometimes it does), so as long as the Dores and Cats keep grinding it out (except for Saturday, Commies), things will keep going well.

IT'S A WINTER WEEKEND

 

So gangsta.

Kentucky has Game Day in Rupp tomorrow but the game is not until 9 pm.  That's late.  I have a bunch of friends who are going to the Game Day thing and the actual game, which means they will not remember any of it because you have to be in Rupp by like 9 am for the ESPN bonanza, which is over by noon.  Then what do you do?  You definitely don't go anywhere on Nicholasville Road, so my guess is those screwballs will go up to the Keys and drink John Wall shots, LITs and Miller Lite all afternoon and night before stumbling back down Limestone to the real showdown against Tennessee.  Man, I miss college.

Speaking of the actual game, UT's in a bit of a quandary.  Lose tomorrow (they will) and there's no chance they get back to the 2 slot in the East.  They'll take a big dive in the rankings.  Their fans will wonder when football practice starts.  These are all good things, except for the fans thinking part, which will probably be very painful and difficult for them.  You won't get that kind of in-depth pre-game analysis anywhere else, folks.

LSU is visiting Vanderbilt in Memorial tomorrow at 1:30 pm EST on SEC Network.  Not sure what that means for Kentuckians, but we'll see.  LSU is absolutely terrible.  Storm Warren's pretty good, and Tasmin Mitchell is old.  Vanderbilt will cruise and tighten their grip on an NCAA tournament bid and a bye in the first round of the SEC Tournament.  "Good show, indeed," Vanderbilt fans will say as they count their money and sip cognac from Waterford crystal snifters.

Have a good weekend! Go Cats, Go Dores, and go watch the Olympics.  TV coverage starts today at like 1 pm, I think. USA! USA!

WHAT'S LEFT ON THE SCHEDULE?

A few things prompted this post.  One, I didn't want to talk about how UConn sort of got screwed last night, and I DEFINITELY didn't want to talk about the great hyperbole-fest that took place in Chapel Hill, NC last night.  Two, I saw a link to an article by Michigan State blog The Only Colors, which I've linked to before, that talks about what they see as the most important statistic in college basketball.  Three, the SEC regular season is starting to sort of draw to a close, and I sort of freaked out when I saw who UK and VU have left to play.

The Only Colors says

"...defensive effective field goal percentage is the most important basketball statistic in determining team-level success.  It has the greatest statistical weighting relative to overall defensive efficiency, and it's more easily interpretable than offensive effective field goal percentage.  Simply put, it tells you, 'Does this team consistently force it's opponents to take difficult shots?'  Teams for which the answer to that question is 'Yes' are going to have a pretty decided advantage whenever they take the court."

Accepting that as true, let's take a quick look at Kentucky and Vandy's numbers for defensive effective field goal percentage and rankings.  First, Kentucky's defensive efficiency rank nationally, according to KenPom, is 20 at 43.7%.  Ahead of the Cats are Kansas and Duke, but also a bunch of schools that have no chance of making it to the second weekend of the NCAA Tournament like St. Louis and Coastal Carolina.  Here's how the Cats have done since conference play started:

College Basketball

On average, the Cats are holding teams under 50% eFG, which is pretty good. What's really funny is that the teams who have shot efficiently against the Cats did not actually appear to be in those games, with the possible exceptions of Georgia and the pesky Auburn Tigers. South Carolina's eFG was terrible, and the Cats lost that game. I'd say the difference there was actually that South Carolina did more with its scoring opportunities than Kentucky did. That, and probably rebounding.

Moving on to Vanderbilt, the Dores are 103rd in the country in defensive effective field goal percentage at 47.2%. That's still better than most teams, but it might be the one thing that indicates a ceiling on the Dores' potential this year.

NCAA Basketball

I think this one's a little weird. It definitely tells us why Vandy beat Tennessee and lost to UGA, but the fact that they defended MSU as well as they did and almost lost is interesting. The Florida game is really interesting, too, as you'd think a team shooting the ball that well can't possibly lose. It helped that the Dores shot two percentage points higher in that game, I suppose.

Looking at the data we have, I'm not sold on D eFG% as being the single most important statistic, but I'll keep an eye on it to see how the rest of the season shakes out. Speaking of which, here's what's left on the schedule for UK and Vandy:

VANDERBILT

Sat, Feb 13 1:30 PM SEC Network, CSN-DC+, CA			vs		LSU	216	-	Memorial Gymnasium	Yes		Pregame
Thu, Feb 18 7:00 PM ESPN U			@		Mississippi	37	25	Smith Coliseum	Yes		Pregame
Sat, Feb 20 6:00 PM ESPN			vs		Kentucky	5	3	Memorial Gymnasium	Yes		Pregame
Thu, Feb 25 7:00 PM ESPN U			vs		Georgia	95	-	Memorial Gymnasium	Yes		Pregame
Sat, Feb 27 12:30 PM SEC Network			@		Arkansas	113	-	Bud Walton Arena	Yes		Pregame
Tue, Mar 02 7:00 PM ESPN			@		Florida	56	18	O'Connell Center	Yes		Pregame
Sat, Mar 06 2:00 PM ESPN 2 or ESPN360.com			vs		South Carolina	64	-	Memorial Gymnasium	Yes		Pregame

Just looking at it, Vandy should easily beat LSU, but Ole Miss is not an easy out.  They luckily have Kentucky at home, but that's not a gimmie as KenPom says the Dores' chance of victory is 62%.  Georgia at home should be easier than Georgia away.  Arkansas is not good, but they do play better at home and are somehow leading the SEC West right now.  At Florida, also hard.  South Carolina doesn't have Vandy's number like they have Kentucky's, so I think the Dores will finish the regular season on a high note.  Overall, I think the Dores get through the last seven games with maybe two losses, which should keep them in the driver's seat for a bye in the SEC Tournament.  Do better, and it's a lock.

KENTUCKY

Sat, Feb 13 9:00 PM ESPN			vs		Tennessee	20	12	Rupp Arena	Yes		Pregame
Tue, Feb 16 9:00 PM ESPN			@		MSST	71	23	Humphrey Coliseum	Yes		Pregame
Sat, Feb 20 6:00 PM ESPN			@		Vanderbilt	11	22	Memorial Gymnasium	Yes		Pregame
Thu, Feb 25 9:00 PM ESPN or ESPN 2			vs		South Carolina	64	-	Rupp Arena	Yes		Pregame
Sat, Feb 27 12:00 PM CBS			@		Tennessee	20	12	Thompson-Boling Arena	Yes		Pregame
Wed, Mar 03 8:00 PM SEC Network			@		Georgia	95	-	Stegeman Coliseum	Yes		Pregame
Sun, Mar 07 12:00 PM CBS			vs		Florida	56	18	Rupp Arena	Yes		Pregame

I think UT is a paper tiger these days.  However, Kentucky still has to play them twice, and at TBA might not be an assured W.  At MSU won't be easy either, but then again, I think we might actually try a game plan that doesn't include going right at Jarvis Varnado the whole time, so a win is possible.  At Vandy, tough game for sure.  South Carolina should expect to get destroyed because there's no way the Cats play that bad against the same team twice.  At Georgia is not going to be easy, but I think the Cats will have a good closing against Florida.  Ideally, I see the Cats making it through these games unscathed, but this is clearly the hardest part of Kentucky's conference schedule.  There might be two losses in there (KenPom agrees) and I think the most likely one is Vandy.  I do not see the Cats losing in Knoxville, but Starkville and Athens (gasp) are some possibilities.

Let's keep our fingers crossed, basketball fans.

ONLY IN KENTUCKY. AND MAYBE ALABAMA.

 

HT: Walter's Wildcat World.  Despite the name, he's usually got the scoop.

I...I just can't even talk about this.  There's one for basketball, and one for football.  It comes in flavors like Tailgate Red.  It's endorsed by Joe B. Hall AND Denny Crum.  It's UK themed BOXED WINE.  Holy. Shit.

REALLY, REALLY SAD

 

HT: People.com

This is not Kentucky, Vanderbilt, or Cincinnati related.  However, some of you might know that I'm a huge "Deadliest Catch" fan.  It's the best show on TV.  My favorite ship and crew on the show is the Cornelia Marie.  They're a bunch of screwups on an ancient boat that happens to kick ass anyway, and their captain is Phil Harris, a chain-smoking (they all are), ass-kicking, gruff yet funny badass.  But his health has been in decline for most seasons he was on the show, and earlier this month he suffered a stroke.  It looked like he was going to pull through, but yesterday, he died.  Obviously, I don't know the guy personally, never met him, and I've only been to Alaska once in my life.  But I really, really liked him on the show and I'm pretty sad that he died.  That's all.

WINNARS

 

On the rare occasion that Kentucky and Vanderbilt play on the same night without playing each other, both emerged victorious, albeit in totally different fashions.  Vandy absolutely dominated Tennessee in pretty much all phases of the game.  UT had no inside game to speak of except on a few nice passes from Goins to Chism, and Vandy's field goal defense (and offense, at least in the first half) was spectacular.  Jeff Taylor had an amazing game with a career high in points, Beal hit some big threes to go with 20+ in his own right, and the loss of John Jenkins to the flu bug proved to be a non-factor thanks to Lance Goulbourne stepping up his game.  A.J. wasn't much of a factor scoring-wise, but he did prove that he's not a complete pansy, mixing it up with the Vols and drawing a tech.  BTW, I figured it out: A.J.'s real last name is Cullen.  Very good win for the Dores, and they should be proud of it.

Meanwhile, Kentucky played like absolute crap.  I assume that the part of the first half that we missed thanks to the FUCAA game was just as crapulent as the rest of the game.  Sure, the Cats managed to build up a lead and didn't relinquish it, but they really looked bad out there.  Alabama's no pushover, that's true, but this is a home game that the Cats should have won by 20 or so.  I'm happy to take the win, but there was a lot not to like about it.  John Wall is at the point where he constantly looks pissed.  Patterson didn't hardly score 10 points.  We were really lazy on rebounds, even if we did win the total battle.  It just wasn't a sharp game.  Oh well, I have a feeling that the dogs might be let loose on them before this weekend's Tennessee GameDay matchup.