Gut check: Weigh in here

[MdWIldcat55]

Let's assign the number 100 to how sure you were that Kentucky would win the national championship the day after the Louisville game -- in other words, virtual certainty for a team that had met every test and dominated several top 5-10 teams.

What number are you today? 100? 90? 50? 25?

I have a number in mind, but I want to hear what others think.

 

[CatOfDaVille]

70
Posted from Rivals Mobile

 

[Kampus Korner]

I am no more "certain" UK would win the national championship than I was at the beginning of the year. UK was expected to seriously contend for the national championship. Nothing has changed even after close calls the last two games against inferior talent. We also surprisingly struggled for a time against Buffalo and Columbia and both of those games were played before the Louisville game. I think this young team gets up for ranked opponents but less so against teams all of us expect them to thrash. Finally, the "national championship" is a tournament where on any given day a team like Ole Miss or Texas A&M can, for one day only, beat any team in the tournament. The pressure on our young players to win it all is off the charts. They probably realize by now that given these incredibly high expectations that it will be "a season without celebration" unless UK wins it all. I remember this same scenario existing for the 1977-78 team that won it all. Similarly, if UK does not win it all John Calipari will be vilified by sports writers, talking heads on ESPN and fellow posters on this message board.

My opinion of UK's team has not changed since the Louisville game. There are ebbs and flows to a team's performance over a long season. I see no need for UK fans to panic but many have and will.

 

[Joneslab]

After the UofL game I was probably at about a 70.

Today I'm at 60.

Still think we're the best team. We've all watched a lot of college basketball and know teams go through funks. A handful of recent champions went through spurts during the season where it looked like they might not even make the Dance. The point is to be hot in March. That's basically all that matters in this sport.

Still have seen some worrying things the last two games. The fact that we could so easily be 0-2 in the league and in panic mode is a little disturbing.

 

[Samwise Ganjee]

Clutter!!!!
Clutter!!!!
Clutter!!!!
Clutter!!!!
Clutter!!!![/B]

 

[HipTer]

25 before the Louisville game
25 after the Louisville game
25 today
25 when the tournament begins

If your opinion is well reasoned (i.e., not fanboy) and based on good information (e.g., seeing a lot of the top teams play) then it shouldn't sway back and forth based on what happened in the last game or, for some, what happened in the last 5 minutes.

UK has a great team. Still, even if UK is the best team and is the team with the best relative chance, there are a number of other really good teams too. So, winning the national championship is really hard. And my "25" is probably me being a fanboy myself.

 

[Son_Of_Saul]

50 before and 50 now.


Anyone who thought it was going to be easy is delusional. Duke has three top 20 picks and three other NBA fringe players. Arizona has at least one lottery pick and three other NBA players. Wisconsin has two first round picks, and a few other fringe players.


How in the world did Kentucky separate itself from the pack without one single consistent offensive player on the roster?
This post was edited on 1/11 9:58 AM by Son_Of_Saul

 

[etowncatfan]

I think we have a GREAT chance at winning the National Championship. Will we?? Who Knows. I do not see a team out there that we can not beat. That being said after the Louisville game I felt like on Duke or Arizona could beat us,but if we play as we have recently there are probably 10 teams that in one game could beat us. We are still the BEST team in the Country!!

 

[Blueaz]

About 232...trying g to lose weight, thanks for asking

 

[runt#69]

sorry, I just can't play this game. trying to enjoy the ride here.

 

[WildMoon]

105

We have won 2 more games.

 

[mrj-uk]

I am and will remain at 100

 

[JerseyCat84]

60

 

[bigbluelou]

50 for me. Nothing has changed. I always expects some clunkers in conference play, even for a team with the talent of this team. It's still very early for this team, which also has only recently lost Poythress.

Once the half-court offense improves (and it will), this team is still a juggernaut, make no mistake.

 

[caneintally]

around 80 when the season begun , around 80 after the UL game and around 80 now .

 

[anon_013cn8yrfncx2]

Probably 50/50. Can't see us possibly losing before elite 8 and probably not then.

 

[wromanp7]

Originally posted by Samwise Ganjee:
Clutter!!!!
Clutter!!!!
Clutter!!!!
Clutter!!!!
Clutter!!!![/B]

clutter

 

[Big Blue 1977]

"This thread was in no way intended as clutter, nor should it be seen as clutter. Clutter is talk that can cause dissension or undermine the team -- like saying the Harrisons should be benched or that Ulis should be starting."

The children who keep posting "clutter" need a timeout. No one is doing anything but discussing this team's progression so far this season, relative to our expectations. If we can't discus this without fools continually interrupting, then there's not much of a point to posting.

 

[wromanp7]

Originally posted by Big Blue 1977:
"This thread was in no way intended as clutter, nor should it be seen as clutter. Clutter is talk that can cause dissension or undermine the team -- like saying the Harrisons should be benched or that Ulis should be starting."

The children who keep posting "clutter" need a timeout. No one is doing anything but discussing this team's progression so far this season, relative to our expectations. If we can't discus this without fools continually interrupting, then there's not much of a point to posting.

You said the word 'clutter' four times in an effort to diffuse the thread as clutter.

Clutter.

 

[*CatinIL*]

100%

Clutter, yep, that's what this thread is, but IMO, UK will win the NCAA Championship.

 

[Blueisbest]

I still think we are the best team. I say 95%

 

[warrior-cat]

75% sure.

 

[BourbonBalz]

I.m 100% sure we're the most talented team, but our execution leaves a lot to be desired. In order to win it all, we better greatly improve our post offense. It's painful to watch right now, even against much lesser talented teams. Do our guys ever work on basic post moves?

 

[AirRaidFan]

70 up until the last two games. 50 now. The difference? I believe this team can, and will, lose. So sooner is better than later.

 

[Cantwaitfor8]

80% to win the title best team no doubt. Undefeated in doubt 30% or less. Btw Jason "save the thumbs" let that sink in a minute... We've both heard it before.......

This post was edited on 1/11 10:32 PM by Cantwaitfor8

 

[wildcatdonf]

Got mine. 239

 

[.S&C.]

Are there really people here who believe this notion that one is a troll or is creating "clutter" if they do not believe a championship is guaranteed?

That's ridiculous. I say we have a 50/50 chance of winning the title, and that was my opinion when the season started. There are some that need a reality check. As Saul said, Duke has 2/3 guys who are minimum top 20 picks. They also have the best playr on the floor between us. Wisconsin is a veteran team that is going to be an extremely tough out. Virginia plays an extremely effective style, and they are a toufh group defensively. We are not guaranteed anything.

50/50 is tremendous odds though, and I still believe out depth In the end will be the difference. But losing poythrrss is proving to be a problem, and will be one of the reasons why we don't win it if we don't.

 

[Havek]

O realistically somewhere between after the Louisville game around 60% post 40-50%. Were legit contenders without having to be absolutely on fire in the tournament.

Its the tourney, the best team doesn't always win though, nor the highest seed or best ranked team. (cough -UCONN- cough)

Many times its about who is hot at the right time. Talent and consistency help compensate for a lot but its a best of one game and anything can happen. All it takes is one team to shoot 60-70% from the three or for another to have an off shooting night.

 

[UKBrassowTipIN]

I don't feel any different. Ppl put too much weight in the regular season.

 

[SilentsAreGolden]

Originally posted by MdWIldcat55:
Let's assign the number 100 to how sure you were that Kentucky would win the national championship the day after the Louisville game -- in other words, virtual certainty for a team that had met every test and dominated several top 5-10 teams.

What number are you today? 100? 90? 50? 25?

I have a number in mind, but I want to hear what others think.

After the UL game, about 90%. Now, about 70%.

 

[SilentsAreGolden]

Originally posted by Blueaz:
About 232...trying g to lose weight, thanks for asking

Cut carbs to no more than 50 a day, preferably 30 or less, and eat good fats (avocado, coconut oil, oily fish, etc) and you will drop the pounds like that. (snap).

 

[kyeric]

I'm still at 90 for winning it all. Probably not more than 50 at any on point about going undefeated.

These last two games did nothing to change my mind about winning it all. Ole miss was our first game in 9 days (only the 2nd in 17). Texas A&M was our first conference road game and it was against a team that was, on paper, completely outmatched. Young team came out flat, but still pulled out the win.

I think a big point we have to consider is we've now only played 5 games without the platoon game plan, which had been worked on since the summer. There is going to be some adjustment time. Granted we did beat unc, ucla, and uofl in the first 3, but those are games any one could get up for. Ole miss at home and Texas a&m, maybe not so much.

 

[Joneslab]

Originally posted by HipTer:
If your opinion is well reasoned (i.e., not fanboy) and based on good information (e.g., seeing a lot of the top teams play) then it shouldn't sway back and forth based on what happened in the last game...

The issue with this is that college basketball itself is not "well reasoned."

This is a weird game where bizarre things happen. It isn't college football, where you can look at five or six teams and project them out with pretty good certainty.

College basketball is so dependent on who's hot, who's playing well, the right match-ups. Just a really volatile sport. Every year you do see teams come into the conference season undefeated, and then by March they're flailing to even get into the NCAA Tournament.

That's obviously not going to happen with Kentucky, but it's just an illustration about how unusual--and maddening--this game really is.

 

[mebeblue2]

preseason i was at 99
today i am at 99

 

[barryn2000]

Not sure how anyone could have been at 100...winning a NC is a rare thing even for the best team (see last year).

If I had to give my odds post UL game and today...I'd say 50-25.

No way we even get to FF without being able to score against a zone. We'd be one bad 3pt shooting night from a trip home.

 

[Poetax]

Originally posted by Son_Of_Saul:

50 before and 50 now.


Anyone who thought it was going to be easy is delusional. Duke has three top 20 picks and three other NBA fringe players. Arizona has at least one lottery pick and three other NBA players. Wisconsin has two first round picks, and a few other fringe players.


How in the world did Kentucky separate itself from the pack without one single consistent offensive player on the roster?
This post was edited on 1/11 9:58 AM by Son_Of_Saul

Well all three of the teams that you mentioned got beat this weekend so that may be why.

 

[Joneslab]

Originally posted by barryn2000:
No way we even get to FF without being able to score against a zone.

We've seen a ton of zone this year. Some teams have played 40 minutes of it, a lot of them have mixed and matched. And while we haven't been a great offensive team, we've shown spurts of being high-powered, and we've maintained a pretty solid level of efficiency all year.

What we've seen in the two SEC games is different. These zones are much tighter and are designed to completely take away the inside game. They're cheating a little on Booker, but otherwise, they're backpedaling like crazy on Andrew, they're begging Aaron to shoot, and they're giving up the spot Lyles abused in the second OT. I even saw Ole Miss baiting Ulis into some open threes.

So there's scoring against a zone, and there's scoring against the kinds of zones we've seen the last two games. It's going to take another kind of adjustment from Cal, and honestly it's going to take simply some better individual play out of guys like Andrew and Dakari.

 

[BoulderCat]

Winning the NCAA is very tough even for the best team. In many years the team that wins is probably not the best team. Last year was a good example where we had a 7/8 seed playing for the title. So my number was like 50 all along. Now I'd say it's down to 33-40. I don't think we are as good without Alex. Not only are we missing the experience, rebounding, shot-blocking, and toughness he brought, his loss has also pretty much ended the platoon system. We're down to a 8 man team. And at crunch time in a close game a 6 man team due to Willie and Dakari's FT shooting. Dakari to his great credit did hit two clutch FT's against A&M, but Lyles and Towns are our best FT shooting big men. I think losing Alex brought us down a bit, and we are no longer head and shoulder's above everyone else. Heck, even winning the SEC regular season title might be in doubt when Florida comes to Lexington for the last game. That's what my gut says anyway.

 

[barryn2000]

Originally posted by Joneslab:

Originally posted by barryn2000:
No way we even get to FF without being able to score against a zone.

We've seen a ton of zone this year. Some teams have played 40 minutes of it, a lot of them have mixed and matched. And while we haven't been a great offensive team, we've shown spurts of being high-powered, and we've maintained a pretty solid level of efficiency all year.

What we've seen in the two SEC games is different. These zones are much tighter and are designed to completely take away the inside game. They're cheating a little on Booker, but otherwise, they're backpedaling like crazy on Andrew, they're begging Aaron to shoot, and they're giving up the spot Lyles abused in the second OT. I even saw Ole Miss baiting Ulis into some open threes.

So there's scoring against a zone, and there's scoring against the kinds of zones we've seen the last two games. It's going to take another kind of adjustment from Cal, and honestly it's going to take simply some better individual play out of guys like Andrew and Dakari.

So....I should have said "all types of zones"?

Call it whatever, the point remains......if we can't score inside, we'll be heading home the first night our parameter shooting is off.

 

[electricdreammachine]

The people who reply to threads with the word "clutter" are easily to most annoying posters. When Cal talked about keeping the out the clutter, I'm pretty sure he meant the players and not us on a message board.