Wow. An awful loss from the Cats. Let's jump into it. Stats. http://stats.statbroadcast.com/statmonitr/?id=102630&a=1
1. The Loss: Just a terrible performance from Kentucky. I don't care so much about the lead but it does go to show how UK can play like one team and then minutes later look like another. I don't quite understand it. I'll get into a few reasons but Kentucky just needs to be better than that this point of the season. The Cats go on the road and fight like heck against Kansas, come out with that effort against Tennessee and then completely loses that fight. This was bad. Really, really bad.
2. Calipari: Some of the blame has to go on Calipari here. He should have been more involved and engaged when Kentucky was up 21 and that lead quickly went down to 13, then 10, then down to six before half. He called a timeout but he needed to try and settle everyone down. Hell, even throw Poythress in there to show he wasn't too worried. Needless to say the Cats continued to do the same thing and gave Tennessee the life it needed to comeback.
3. Tennessee: The Vols are going to be beaten by 20 or 25 in Rupp Arena when they return in nearly two weeks, but credit Rick Barnes and the Vols. They knew what kind of whistle they were going to get when they were down, took advantage but contested defensively and hit some big shots. A lot of teams would just fade away in that position but Tennessee didn't give up. I think eventually Rick Barnes is going to be successful there, but this is a really bad team he has this season. Still can't believe Kentucky lost.
4. Officiating: Same song different verse tonight. College officiating continues to be a major problem. Really at times it's comically bad. Strangely enough Kentucky plays Florida at home on Saturday and I will bet my employment that the officiating isn't bad on Saturday. How strange is that? Oh, and the game is at Rupp. Wonder if that has anything to do with it.
5. But..: That being said, who cares if UK is going to get hosed by officiating? Sure, it's unfortunate and outlines a major issue in college basketball, but Tennessee should be able to shoot 50 free throws (16 off) against UK and the Cats should still win.
I said after the Kansas I thought this was a Final Four team. I still think they can make a Final Four, but I've come to grips with this being a pretty bad defensive team. They will have to get A LOT better before March. Much better. Can that happen? I think so. This team is in such a funk defending because they have no idea what will be called a foul and what is clean.
6. Ulis: Solid game from Ulis but if you take away the free throws it was a mediocre offensive night. As you all know from reading my opinion after each game I'm very high on Ulis, but he can't carry this team every single night. Someone else needed to step up. Poythress played well, Murray hit some shots and Briscoe was able to score in the paint, but Ulis can't be the No. 1 offensive option every game. As much as we love him, a 5-foot-9 guard isn't completely unstoppable.
7. Murray: His three was big at the end and he hit some other clutch shots but he may be the worst Calipari defender in sometime. And this is coming from the guy that thought Murray may be Calipari's best guard since John Wall. He's just completely lost. You saw Kansas do this, and Tennessee, where they run the UK dribble-drive. Whenever it's Murray's turn to switch over and guard the ball the corner is turned on him and either a foul is committed or the opposing team scores. If he can figure it out defensively it would go A LONG way for Kentucky but it's understandable to be skeptical this late in the year.
8. Moving Forward: Well this is a major bummer for Kentucky. Now the Cats have a couple losses to teams that will likely finish with a losing record. UK has several other losses to teams that are bubble teams. Getting a three or four seed is realistically out of the question. Kentucky has screwed itself for a favorable road in March. Best bet is a five but more likely a six or seven seed. Can UK win out of that spot? Sure, we saw it in 2014, but it won't be easy.
UK will be fine at home. Why? Kentucky is a good team. But also, we know how college officiating calls games for the home team. The Cats aren't losing at home. So that leaves Texas A&M, USC, Florida and Vandy (not in that order) on the road. If UK can go 2-2 I think that would be huge for the Cats, but do we think that's realistic?
Tough game. What do you all think?
1. The Loss: Just a terrible performance from Kentucky. I don't care so much about the lead but it does go to show how UK can play like one team and then minutes later look like another. I don't quite understand it. I'll get into a few reasons but Kentucky just needs to be better than that this point of the season. The Cats go on the road and fight like heck against Kansas, come out with that effort against Tennessee and then completely loses that fight. This was bad. Really, really bad.
2. Calipari: Some of the blame has to go on Calipari here. He should have been more involved and engaged when Kentucky was up 21 and that lead quickly went down to 13, then 10, then down to six before half. He called a timeout but he needed to try and settle everyone down. Hell, even throw Poythress in there to show he wasn't too worried. Needless to say the Cats continued to do the same thing and gave Tennessee the life it needed to comeback.
3. Tennessee: The Vols are going to be beaten by 20 or 25 in Rupp Arena when they return in nearly two weeks, but credit Rick Barnes and the Vols. They knew what kind of whistle they were going to get when they were down, took advantage but contested defensively and hit some big shots. A lot of teams would just fade away in that position but Tennessee didn't give up. I think eventually Rick Barnes is going to be successful there, but this is a really bad team he has this season. Still can't believe Kentucky lost.
4. Officiating: Same song different verse tonight. College officiating continues to be a major problem. Really at times it's comically bad. Strangely enough Kentucky plays Florida at home on Saturday and I will bet my employment that the officiating isn't bad on Saturday. How strange is that? Oh, and the game is at Rupp. Wonder if that has anything to do with it.
5. But..: That being said, who cares if UK is going to get hosed by officiating? Sure, it's unfortunate and outlines a major issue in college basketball, but Tennessee should be able to shoot 50 free throws (16 off) against UK and the Cats should still win.
I said after the Kansas I thought this was a Final Four team. I still think they can make a Final Four, but I've come to grips with this being a pretty bad defensive team. They will have to get A LOT better before March. Much better. Can that happen? I think so. This team is in such a funk defending because they have no idea what will be called a foul and what is clean.
6. Ulis: Solid game from Ulis but if you take away the free throws it was a mediocre offensive night. As you all know from reading my opinion after each game I'm very high on Ulis, but he can't carry this team every single night. Someone else needed to step up. Poythress played well, Murray hit some shots and Briscoe was able to score in the paint, but Ulis can't be the No. 1 offensive option every game. As much as we love him, a 5-foot-9 guard isn't completely unstoppable.
7. Murray: His three was big at the end and he hit some other clutch shots but he may be the worst Calipari defender in sometime. And this is coming from the guy that thought Murray may be Calipari's best guard since John Wall. He's just completely lost. You saw Kansas do this, and Tennessee, where they run the UK dribble-drive. Whenever it's Murray's turn to switch over and guard the ball the corner is turned on him and either a foul is committed or the opposing team scores. If he can figure it out defensively it would go A LONG way for Kentucky but it's understandable to be skeptical this late in the year.
8. Moving Forward: Well this is a major bummer for Kentucky. Now the Cats have a couple losses to teams that will likely finish with a losing record. UK has several other losses to teams that are bubble teams. Getting a three or four seed is realistically out of the question. Kentucky has screwed itself for a favorable road in March. Best bet is a five but more likely a six or seven seed. Can UK win out of that spot? Sure, we saw it in 2014, but it won't be easy.
UK will be fine at home. Why? Kentucky is a good team. But also, we know how college officiating calls games for the home team. The Cats aren't losing at home. So that leaves Texas A&M, USC, Florida and Vandy (not in that order) on the road. If UK can go 2-2 I think that would be huge for the Cats, but do we think that's realistic?
Tough game. What do you all think?
