A very positive win for Kentucky today. Coming into the game there was some talk of the Cats being on upset watch, even in Rupp Arena. That was obviously a testament to Florida but also the result of the expectations pendulum swinging violently in the direction of pessimism following the inexplicable loss and step back in Knoxville.
Jamal Murray was the story of the night without question. When a freshman scores 35 points (13-21 FG, 8-10 3pt) it's a rare thing indeed. I've recently felt, even in the stretch of strong play before the Tennessee loss, that getting Murray really clicking and back into the mode where he could go off for 25 at any time would be crucial to Kentucky's chances at a championship.
It's ridiculous that it's easy to take Tyler Ulis' 18 points (7-12) and 11 assists (2 turnovers) for granted. That's just how high he's raised the bar. You really only notice when he does something wrong, which is a little sad but a credit to him.
When Poythress, Willis, Briscoe and Lee (not much lately) play well Kentucky can be a very tough team. Because you know Tyler Ulis is bringing it every night. That's who he is. Every night Ulis. If you put a pretty good Jamal Murray on that team, UK can play with most anybody in the country.
But UK's only chance for a championship, in my opinion, is for Jamal Murray to peak in March and be more today's player than not. He doesn't have to average 35 points a game in the tournament. Of course not. But he would probably need to have a couple of games that fans talk about as great individual tourney performances. Because he can be that guy and he's got to be that scorer that shoots a team out of the team. Other teams have guys that can shoot you out of a game or they have more players with fewer weaknesses than this UK team (whose players with only one or two exceptions are one- or two-dimensional in some respects). Murray has to be transcendent and he shows occasionally that he can be that player that tournament watchers remember.
Whatever worry there might have been of a longer-term regression was quickly put to rest. It was an extremely impressive start for Kentucky. Thought the Cats did a lot of things very well and simply enough they shot the eyes out of the ball and they shot Florida out of the game. They had nearly a 25-percent advantage in field goal shooting in the first half and the Cats were 18-29 from the floor overall in the first frame. By halftime Tyler Ulis had 15 points and five assists on a perfect 6-6 from the floor, and Jamal Murray had drained all five of his three point attempts. What a half.
Kentucky's at its best when Ulis and Murray are playing loose and feeding off each other. The offense had a really nice flow in the first half. Ulis was very aggressive and confident in the way he drove the ball.
Charles Matthews is struggling in some respects. He got eight minutes in the first half and just three in the second. He was hesitant with the ball on one mid-range jumper that would have been a slashing layup or dunk early in the season, and his impressive double-clutch take off the glass was a miss, and probably a sign that he needs to get stronger to finish among the trees down the road. I'm sure that'll happen and this is a typical freshman wall, but Matthews' regression has been part of a very poor stretch of play for Kentucky's bench.
Too much more of the same from Marcus Lee (yep, fouled out) and Skal Labissiere (only four fouls, two points, three shots, three turnovers). Cats started to let Florida inch back into the game a little late in the first half but again shot the Gators out of it. Game narrowed slightly in the second half but this was not a case of UK losing a lead in troubling fashion.
This was a good game for UK because the backcourt of Ulis and Murray played great. Everyone else -- eh. If Murray and Ulis hadn't played one of their best combined games of the year it could have been a little interesting but a 19 point win over Florida is fantastic any way you slice it.
Jamal Murray was the story of the night without question. When a freshman scores 35 points (13-21 FG, 8-10 3pt) it's a rare thing indeed. I've recently felt, even in the stretch of strong play before the Tennessee loss, that getting Murray really clicking and back into the mode where he could go off for 25 at any time would be crucial to Kentucky's chances at a championship.
It's ridiculous that it's easy to take Tyler Ulis' 18 points (7-12) and 11 assists (2 turnovers) for granted. That's just how high he's raised the bar. You really only notice when he does something wrong, which is a little sad but a credit to him.
When Poythress, Willis, Briscoe and Lee (not much lately) play well Kentucky can be a very tough team. Because you know Tyler Ulis is bringing it every night. That's who he is. Every night Ulis. If you put a pretty good Jamal Murray on that team, UK can play with most anybody in the country.
But UK's only chance for a championship, in my opinion, is for Jamal Murray to peak in March and be more today's player than not. He doesn't have to average 35 points a game in the tournament. Of course not. But he would probably need to have a couple of games that fans talk about as great individual tourney performances. Because he can be that guy and he's got to be that scorer that shoots a team out of the team. Other teams have guys that can shoot you out of a game or they have more players with fewer weaknesses than this UK team (whose players with only one or two exceptions are one- or two-dimensional in some respects). Murray has to be transcendent and he shows occasionally that he can be that player that tournament watchers remember.
Whatever worry there might have been of a longer-term regression was quickly put to rest. It was an extremely impressive start for Kentucky. Thought the Cats did a lot of things very well and simply enough they shot the eyes out of the ball and they shot Florida out of the game. They had nearly a 25-percent advantage in field goal shooting in the first half and the Cats were 18-29 from the floor overall in the first frame. By halftime Tyler Ulis had 15 points and five assists on a perfect 6-6 from the floor, and Jamal Murray had drained all five of his three point attempts. What a half.
Kentucky's at its best when Ulis and Murray are playing loose and feeding off each other. The offense had a really nice flow in the first half. Ulis was very aggressive and confident in the way he drove the ball.
Charles Matthews is struggling in some respects. He got eight minutes in the first half and just three in the second. He was hesitant with the ball on one mid-range jumper that would have been a slashing layup or dunk early in the season, and his impressive double-clutch take off the glass was a miss, and probably a sign that he needs to get stronger to finish among the trees down the road. I'm sure that'll happen and this is a typical freshman wall, but Matthews' regression has been part of a very poor stretch of play for Kentucky's bench.
Too much more of the same from Marcus Lee (yep, fouled out) and Skal Labissiere (only four fouls, two points, three shots, three turnovers). Cats started to let Florida inch back into the game a little late in the first half but again shot the Gators out of it. Game narrowed slightly in the second half but this was not a case of UK losing a lead in troubling fashion.
This was a good game for UK because the backcourt of Ulis and Murray played great. Everyone else -- eh. If Murray and Ulis hadn't played one of their best combined games of the year it could have been a little interesting but a 19 point win over Florida is fantastic any way you slice it.
