If you look at parts of the stat sheet it really doesn't make much sense that the game went to overtime or that it was as close as it was.
Kansas won the boards easily. Kansas had a huge advantage from the three-point line. Kansas shot a heck of a lot more free throws and several Kentucky players fouled out.
Beyond that, Kentucky went ice cold for an extended portion of the second half, they got away from the offensive game plan that was working for most of the game, and Kansas shot a solid percentage from the field overall. Never mind the fact that Wayne Seldon had a career high in points and it was probably the biggest game of the year for the fans in Allen Fieldhouse.
On the other hand, Tyler Ulis made some enormous plays, Kansas really couldn't guard Kentucky's perimeter players when they set their minds to penetrating, and the Cats shot an even higher percentage than Kansas.
Alex Poythress finished strong at the rim for much of the game. Skal Labissiere did enough good things for everyone to believe he can be an increasingly valuable contributor and in spite of Derek Willis fouling out, as Skal did, he made some timely plays.
We saw tonight that Kentucky has a chance to make a deep run in March. This looked more like the team of the last three games than the stretch of the season before that, and that's encouraging. If they can play like that in Allen Fieldhouse then they can play like that anywhere.
I thought the officiating was spotty in the second half. If that game was played on a neutral site I'm fairly confident Kentucky wins and maybe not by a very small margin. I was not overly impressed with Kansas. In fact, I'm reasonably confident that they will not make a deep run this year because they struggle to defend and they don't have great talent, they have good talent.
I actually believe Kentucky comes out of this game looking better the rest of the way than Kansas. The players won't feel like that tonight and the fans will be upset about the loss, but I do believe that. Nobody has ever doubted Kansas' ability to win games in Phog. Kansas' problem under Self and his predecessors has been winning the biggest games on the biggest stages elsewhere. I suspect by season's end we'll say the same.
Kansas won the boards easily. Kansas had a huge advantage from the three-point line. Kansas shot a heck of a lot more free throws and several Kentucky players fouled out.
Beyond that, Kentucky went ice cold for an extended portion of the second half, they got away from the offensive game plan that was working for most of the game, and Kansas shot a solid percentage from the field overall. Never mind the fact that Wayne Seldon had a career high in points and it was probably the biggest game of the year for the fans in Allen Fieldhouse.
On the other hand, Tyler Ulis made some enormous plays, Kansas really couldn't guard Kentucky's perimeter players when they set their minds to penetrating, and the Cats shot an even higher percentage than Kansas.
Alex Poythress finished strong at the rim for much of the game. Skal Labissiere did enough good things for everyone to believe he can be an increasingly valuable contributor and in spite of Derek Willis fouling out, as Skal did, he made some timely plays.
We saw tonight that Kentucky has a chance to make a deep run in March. This looked more like the team of the last three games than the stretch of the season before that, and that's encouraging. If they can play like that in Allen Fieldhouse then they can play like that anywhere.
I thought the officiating was spotty in the second half. If that game was played on a neutral site I'm fairly confident Kentucky wins and maybe not by a very small margin. I was not overly impressed with Kansas. In fact, I'm reasonably confident that they will not make a deep run this year because they struggle to defend and they don't have great talent, they have good talent.
I actually believe Kentucky comes out of this game looking better the rest of the way than Kansas. The players won't feel like that tonight and the fans will be upset about the loss, but I do believe that. Nobody has ever doubted Kansas' ability to win games in Phog. Kansas' problem under Self and his predecessors has been winning the biggest games on the biggest stages elsewhere. I suspect by season's end we'll say the same.
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