Great team effort for the Cats. Here are eight takeaways from Kentucky's win over South Florida.
1. Ulis: This is what will be talked about most coming out of this game, which is unfortunate since the Cats played so well. That being said it's understandable because of how important Ulis is to this Kentucky team. I posted in another thread (http://kentucky.forums.rivals.com/threads/tyler-ulis.135830/) what Ulis' dad told me.
So it's a hyperextended elbow and those can be painful. The bad news is it's on his shooting hand. If it was his off hand I'd be shocked if Ulis didn't play in Kentucky's next game. I can't speak for Ulis' pain level, but we know the type of kid Ulis is. He's going to play if UK will allow him to play. As long as he can be back for the UCLA game next week I think UK will be fine. Even without Ulis UCLA should be winnable but having a solid veteran point guard won't hurt.
2. Everyone else: For the first time this season, with maybe the exception of Duke, I thought everyone played pretty well. Obviously South Florida isn't going to be playing in the tournament, but this type of effort would beat just about anyone in the country.
Yeah, UK didn't extend a 30 point lead to a 40 point lead, but Cal's coaching against his friend and the Cats played fine.
3. Defense: Thought it was a really solid all around effort defensively. I'm officially putting Isaiah Briscoe in the DeAndre Liggins category. Obviously their size is different and who they can guard won't be the same, but Briscoe will be UK's lockdown defender. Only recorded two steals (it seemed like more) but just made life incredibly difficult for the Bull he was guarding, as he's done all season.
4. Murray: Wish this would have been a competitive game because Murray was locked in tonight. Think he could have gone for 30, maybe 40+ if he needed. Get used to this from Murray, if you haven't already.
There will be nights when his shot isn't falling, where he seems to be a step slow defensively , but those will be few and far between. But more likely there will be games like tonight where he's virtually unguardable. In my opinion he's the best guard in the country.
5. Matthews: Say hello to UK's 7th man. He may have been the front runner from the get go, but he has clearly moved ahead of Derek Willis on the rotation and Matthews is getting better game by game.
Defensively, we knew what UK would be getting from Matthews and we saw that tonight, but without a doubt tonight was his best offensive game. It wasn't just because he posted his season high for points, but he looked like a junior or senior offensively. Took smart shots, created by himself and also knocked down the open looks.
6. Skal: Probably unfair it took me until point six to get to Labissiere, but he was also great tonight. Again, we have to keep the opponent in mind, but Skal is becoming a better shot blocker. He finished with three this evening, but his timing is getting better and he looks more confident overall as a defender.
He's going to be able to score on everyone, but if he can continue to improve as a defender and rim protector, the Cats will clearly be the best team in the country.
7. More Positives: I'm not scared to be negative when the Cats do something wrong, but I need to be consistent. UK's free throws were fantastic tonight, only missed three (16-19) and UK was solid from deep (6-13). These will be two areas to watch all season. If/when UK loses this season, I would guess these two categories would be poor for UK.
Certainly something to keep an eye on but the Cats were great this evening.
8. Little Cousins: Did anyone else find it incredibly strange watching Jaleel Cousins? DeMarcus is more talented, although I was pleasantly surprised with Jaleel's game, but those two had the exact same mannerisms on the court. It was a real flashback to 2010 watching the way Jaleel moved with and without the ball, the way he defended and just carried himself.
Hope Jaleel and South Florida improve. Antigua is doing a good job down there, and I would expect him in the next year or two to get the Bulls to the tournament, but this will be a long season.
1. Ulis: This is what will be talked about most coming out of this game, which is unfortunate since the Cats played so well. That being said it's understandable because of how important Ulis is to this Kentucky team. I posted in another thread (http://kentucky.forums.rivals.com/threads/tyler-ulis.135830/) what Ulis' dad told me.
So it's a hyperextended elbow and those can be painful. The bad news is it's on his shooting hand. If it was his off hand I'd be shocked if Ulis didn't play in Kentucky's next game. I can't speak for Ulis' pain level, but we know the type of kid Ulis is. He's going to play if UK will allow him to play. As long as he can be back for the UCLA game next week I think UK will be fine. Even without Ulis UCLA should be winnable but having a solid veteran point guard won't hurt.
2. Everyone else: For the first time this season, with maybe the exception of Duke, I thought everyone played pretty well. Obviously South Florida isn't going to be playing in the tournament, but this type of effort would beat just about anyone in the country.
Yeah, UK didn't extend a 30 point lead to a 40 point lead, but Cal's coaching against his friend and the Cats played fine.
3. Defense: Thought it was a really solid all around effort defensively. I'm officially putting Isaiah Briscoe in the DeAndre Liggins category. Obviously their size is different and who they can guard won't be the same, but Briscoe will be UK's lockdown defender. Only recorded two steals (it seemed like more) but just made life incredibly difficult for the Bull he was guarding, as he's done all season.
4. Murray: Wish this would have been a competitive game because Murray was locked in tonight. Think he could have gone for 30, maybe 40+ if he needed. Get used to this from Murray, if you haven't already.
There will be nights when his shot isn't falling, where he seems to be a step slow defensively , but those will be few and far between. But more likely there will be games like tonight where he's virtually unguardable. In my opinion he's the best guard in the country.
5. Matthews: Say hello to UK's 7th man. He may have been the front runner from the get go, but he has clearly moved ahead of Derek Willis on the rotation and Matthews is getting better game by game.
Defensively, we knew what UK would be getting from Matthews and we saw that tonight, but without a doubt tonight was his best offensive game. It wasn't just because he posted his season high for points, but he looked like a junior or senior offensively. Took smart shots, created by himself and also knocked down the open looks.
6. Skal: Probably unfair it took me until point six to get to Labissiere, but he was also great tonight. Again, we have to keep the opponent in mind, but Skal is becoming a better shot blocker. He finished with three this evening, but his timing is getting better and he looks more confident overall as a defender.
He's going to be able to score on everyone, but if he can continue to improve as a defender and rim protector, the Cats will clearly be the best team in the country.
7. More Positives: I'm not scared to be negative when the Cats do something wrong, but I need to be consistent. UK's free throws were fantastic tonight, only missed three (16-19) and UK was solid from deep (6-13). These will be two areas to watch all season. If/when UK loses this season, I would guess these two categories would be poor for UK.
Certainly something to keep an eye on but the Cats were great this evening.
8. Little Cousins: Did anyone else find it incredibly strange watching Jaleel Cousins? DeMarcus is more talented, although I was pleasantly surprised with Jaleel's game, but those two had the exact same mannerisms on the court. It was a real flashback to 2010 watching the way Jaleel moved with and without the ball, the way he defended and just carried himself.
Hope Jaleel and South Florida improve. Antigua is doing a good job down there, and I would expect him in the next year or two to get the Bulls to the tournament, but this will be a long season.
