Well it was an ugly game.

[JerseyCat84]

Gave up 56 points too many to Hampton. Hopefully it was due to the late start, Cal being under the weather, or quality of opponent. Hope the hype is not getting in our kids' heads. Hope to see a much better performance on Saturday.

This post was edited on 3/20 12:30 AM by JerseyCat84

 

[wldktz8]

Originally posted by JerseyCat84:
Gave up 56 points too many to Hampton. Hopefully it was due to the late start, Cal being under the weather, or quality of opponent. Hope the hype is not getting in our kids' heads. Hope to see a much better performance on Saturday.

This post was edited on 3/20 12:30 AM by JerseyCat84

I honestly think that Cal didn't want to embarrass them and let them enjoy this moment. We could have run them out of the gym.

 

[CatPhight]

An even uglier game to come Saturday - look for uc to thug it up as usual.

 

[ala_kat2]

We sure didn't look all that good, but maybe we can improve each game.

 

[UKWildcats#8]

Originally posted by CatPhight:
An even uglier game to come Saturday - look for uc to thug it up as usual.

I predict UC will not score as much as Hampton did.

 

[BostonCat2001]

Originally posted by JerseyCat84:
Gave up 56 points too many to Hampton. Hopefully it was due to the late start, Cal being under the weather, or quality of opponent. Hope the hype is not getting in our kids' heads. Hope to see a much better performance on Saturday.

This post was edited on 3/20 12:30 AM by JerseyCat84

is this serious....

 

[Bkocats]

Originally posted by JerseyCat84:
Gave up 56 points too many to Hampton. Hopefully it was due to the late start, Cal being under the weather, or quality of opponent. Hope the hype is getting in our kids' heads. Hope to see a much better performance on Saturday.

They did start playing rather sloppy - but I've noticed about Cal; he doesn't like to run up scores, especially against teams like Hampton. He had the guys let the air out of the ball pretty early and they did get a bit lazy.

I hate it, but understand it.

 

[fatguy87]

We packed it in for the last 8 minutes or so of the game.

 

[WeWant9]

After we got up by 35 we went into cruise control. That's when these teams make runs and bring their score up, I wouldn't worry about what happens during the garbage minutes. The final 10, and first 10 of the halves was what I expect to see as the stage gets bigger.

 

[mj2k10]

It was 67-32 with 10 minutes left. Exactly how ugly can a 35 point lead be?

As to the last 10 minutes, yeah, that can be frustrating, but it's par for the course. UK did the exact same thing in 2012 against WKU. Cal has no interest in seeing how much he can win by against a 16 seed, or really, any over-matched opponent.

 

[jarms24]

I wouldn't put too much stock into this performance. Remember in '12 we only beat our 16 seed WKU by 15 and looked fairly lackadaisical doing so. We then got up to play against everyone else. This team really only shines if they respect their opponent. Nobody respects Hampton. Not even Hampton.

 

[3rex]

I think we all would agree it was ugly...but how would Cal being under the weather affect the performance on the floor in this game?

 

[katman55]

We play like that we lose. Hard game to watch.

 

[JerseyCat84]

nm

This post was edited on 3/20 12:38 AM by JerseyCat84

 

[BBNin PA]

Survive, and advance. Harrison twins got off to a rough start, willie played soft, Booker NEEDS to find his stroke. Towns was the best player on the floor, Ulis did his thing. Bottom line, I think the mentality of the team coming in to this game, was that it's a gimme. Definitely need better performances moving forward, and I think it happens. This team shines when the lights get brighter.

 

[LmdCat]

We have a great team, but if this team had attitude to go along with their talent, we would destroy opponents. Unfortunately, we get a big lead and we simply start half stepping on both offense and defense. At times, I think Cal's lack of desire to play the game to score from start to finish contributes to this team's loss of focus.

 

[Desperado_1955]

Originally posted by jarms24:
I wouldn't put too much stock into this performance. Remember in '12 we only beat our 16 seed WKU by 15 and looked fairly lackadaisical doing so. We then got up to play against everyone else. This team really only shines if they respect their opponent. Nobody respects Hampton. Not even Hampton.

Chicken dinner

 

[mj2k10]

Originally posted by LmdCat:
We have a great team, but if this team had attitude to go along with their talent, we would destroy opponents. Unfortunately, we get a big lead and we simply start half stepping on both offense and defense. At times, I think Cal's lack of desire to play the game to score from start to finish contributes to this team's loss of focus.

Yeah, they completely lost focus in those losses to...

 

[Jkwo]

Originally posted by mj2k10:
It was 67-32 with 10 minutes left. Exactly how ugly can a 35 point lead be?

As to the last 10 minutes, yeah, that can be frustrating, but it's par for the course. UK did the exact same thing in 2012 against WKU. Cal has no interest in seeing how much he can win by against a 16 seed, or really, any over-matched opponent.

I agree with that last part, but that doesn't mean the guys have to stand up on defense and give up 20 points in 10 minutes after only giving up 30 in the 30 minutes before.

 

[BostonCat2001]

Originally posted by Jkwo:

Originally posted by mj2k10:
It was 67-32 with 10 minutes left. Exactly how ugly can a 35 point lead be?

As to the last 10 minutes, yeah, that can be frustrating, but it's par for the course. UK did the exact same thing in 2012 against WKU. Cal has no interest in seeing how much he can win by against a 16 seed, or really, any over-matched opponent.

I agree with that last part, but that doesn't mean the guys have to stand up on defense and give up 20 points in 10 minutes after only giving up 30 in the 30 minutes before.

why not? why does it matter other than to make your ego feel better?

 

[Samwise Ganjee]

Willie is so frustrating sometimes, tonight an example of how. If he had slammed home a couple of those early gimme's instead of trying to bunny-hop them in it would have ignited the crowd and the whole evening would have been different.

SMH

Thank goodness K-Town was ready to play. He took up the slack and looked like the No. 1 pick.

I can't think we put any fear into the other top teams tonight. They probably watched this and started seeing a glimmer of hope.

 

[JerseyCat84]

Originally posted by mj2k10:

Originally posted by LmdCat:
We have a great team, but if this team had attitude to go along with their talent, we would destroy opponents. Unfortunately, we get a big lead and we simply start half stepping on both offense and defense. At times, I think Cal's lack of desire to play the game to score from start to finish contributes to this team's loss of focus.

Yeah, they completely lost focus in those losses to...

 

[Blind Karl Hess]

1. Make layups.
2. Get Devin Booker back into believing in himself.

Take care of these things and we're good.

If you lead by 30 in a game and don't lose, you won that game by 30, even if the scoreboard says it was 23. We won by 35 tonight, just like we beat WKU by 30 in '12 when the scoreboard said 15.

But we have to convert on 90% of our shots at the rim instead of presumably 40% that we shot tonight, and Cal has to get Booker playing like he wants to be out there.

 

[JerseyCat84]

Originally posted by BostonCat2001:

Originally posted by Jkwo:

Originally posted by mj2k10:
It was 67-32 with 10 minutes left. Exactly how ugly can a 35 point lead be?

As to the last 10 minutes, yeah, that can be frustrating, but it's par for the course. UK did the exact same thing in 2012 against WKU. Cal has no interest in seeing how much he can win by against a 16 seed, or really, any over-matched opponent.

I agree with that last part, but that doesn't mean the guys have to stand up on defense and give up 20 points in 10 minutes after only giving up 30 in the 30 minutes before.

why not? why does it matter other than to make your ego feel better?

OR maybe he wants the team to perform at the level we know it can for 40 minutes? Silly I know.

 

[mj2k10]

Originally posted by JerseyCat84:

Originally posted by mj2k10:

Originally posted by LmdCat:
We have a great team, but if this team had attitude to go along with their talent, we would destroy opponents. Unfortunately, we get a big lead and we simply start half stepping on both offense and defense. At times, I think Cal's lack of desire to play the game to score from start to finish contributes to this team's loss of focus.

Yeah, they completely lost focus in those losses to...

 

[Jkwo]

Originally posted by BostonCat2001:

Originally posted by Jkwo:

Originally posted by mj2k10:
It was 67-32 with 10 minutes left. Exactly how ugly can a 35 point lead be?

As to the last 10 minutes, yeah, that can be frustrating, but it's par for the course. UK did the exact same thing in 2012 against WKU. Cal has no interest in seeing how much he can win by against a 16 seed, or really, any over-matched opponent.

I agree with that last part, but that doesn't mean the guys have to stand up on defense and give up 20 points in 10 minutes after only giving up 30 in the 30 minutes before.

why not? why does it matter other than to make your ego feel better?

Not sure why you think my ego has anything to do with it.

My ego is wrapped up in me as a person, not the accomplishments of someone else that I cheer for. If you want to talk about what makes me great, I'll start writing a list that I can have to you by Tuesday.

But the shorter answer is that I, like you, enjoy arguing over trivial things on message boards.

Unlike you, I enjoy doing it with rival fans.

The more this team demolishes people, the more ammo I have to blast Louisville idiots into oblivion.

As you can see, my motivations here are very dignified and nuanced.

 

[WeWant9]

I think some people are really over analyzing this game. I understand as a fan it's frustrating to watch the stall ball and stand around defense(believe me I was getting frustrated watching it), but we already had the game in the bag. It was already past midnight and we got another game w/ one day of rest. No reason to go balls to the wall to beat a 16 seed by 50 pts, even though we'd all love to see it. At the end of the day how we played against, or how many points we scored against, Hampton will have no impact on what we do come next game. This is game by game season now, and all that matters is moving on.

 

[JerseyCat84]

Originally posted by mj2k10:

Originally posted by JerseyCat84:

Originally posted by mj2k10:

Originally posted by LmdCat:
We have a great team, but if this team had attitude to go along with their talent, we would destroy opponents. Unfortunately, we get a big lead and we simply start half stepping on both offense and defense. At times, I think Cal's lack of desire to play the game to score from start to finish contributes to this team's loss of focus.

Yeah, they completely lost focus in those losses to...

So your reasoning is since UK is 35-0 no one is allowed to "nitpick" about effort/focus?

This post was edited on 3/20 12:58 AM by JerseyCat84

 

[wldktz8]

Originally posted by WeWant9:
I think some people are really over analyzing this game. I understand as a fan it's frustrating to watch the stall ball and stand around defense(believe me I was getting frustrated watching it), but we already had the game in the bag. It was already past midnight and we got another game w/ one day of rest. No reason to go balls to the wall to beat a 16 seed by 50 pts, even though we'd all love to see it. At the end of the day how we played against, or how many points we scored against, Hampton will have no impact on what we do come next game. This is game by game season now, and all that matters is moving on.

No reason to play all your cards while your next opponent is watching knowing you can easily beat this team.

 

[dave5164]

Come on Fans it is the first game of the Tourney and for some of our players it was their first game in a NCAA Tourney game. When we went up by 35 we could have beaten them by 50. Arizona was the same today and yes they scored 93 they won by 21. After Arizona jumped to a 20 point lead with 6 minutes to go in first half then Texas Southern played even with Arizona for the remainder of the game. It was 39-39 second half scoring so after they jumped out to 20 point lead it really didn't go any higher. If you have been watching the last 2 or 3 weeks Kentucky has played so much better when they have better competition! I still thought after a slow start around the 8 or 10 minute mark of the 1st half Kentucky then put it in 1st gear. Someone said The Twins didn't have a good 1st night but Andrew had 14 points and Tyler Ullis played a great game with 11 and Lyles had 10! WCS would had double digit scoring if would have made those easy shots but still had 11 rebounds along with KAT at 21 and 11. They outrebouded Hamp by 53 to 27 and held them 28% shooting and 25% from 3. Yes, it wasn't "A" but still it was a nice game to get started for this year's Tourney!

 

[mj2k10]

Originally posted by JerseyCat84:

Originally posted by mj2k10:

Originally posted by JerseyCat84:

Originally posted by mj2k10:

Originally posted by LmdCat:
We have a great team, but if this team had attitude to go along with their talent, we would destroy opponents. Unfortunately, we get a big lead and we simply start half stepping on both offense and defense. At times, I think Cal's lack of desire to play the game to score from start to finish contributes to this team's loss of focus.

Yeah, they completely lost focus in those losses to...

So your reasoning is since UK is 35-0 no one is allowed to nitpick about effort/focus?

At this point? Not really. You would have been the same guy on here in January after the A&M game saying a loss was coming. The same guy on here in February after the Georgia game saying a loss was coming. It never came.

Win advance, don't sweat a mediocre performance (and mainly mediocre because of a complete loss of focus with a 35 point lead- the type of mediocrity I'll take any day of the week). People pulled this same act in 2012 after the 1st round (and remember, that WKU game was UK's first after losing to Vandy, giving people even more ammo to make mountains out of molehills). It meant nothing then, it means nothing now.

 

[Jkwo]

Originally posted by mj2k10:
At this point? Not really. You would have been the same guy on here in January after the A&M game saying a loss was coming. The same guy on here in February after the Georgia game saying a loss was coming. It never came.

Win advance, don't sweat a mediocre performance (and mainly mediocre because of a complete loss of focus with a 35 point lead- the type of mediocrity I'll take any day of the week). People pulled this same act in 2012 after the 1st round (and remember, that WKU game was UK's first after losing to Vandy, giving people even more ammo to make mountains out of molehills). It meant nothing then, it means nothing now.

I gotta object here.


I can't speak for anyone else, but I'm always arguing with the eeyores on this forum. Haven't started a negative thread about UK since Gillispie's second year (which includes Cal's NIT season).


I never thought this team would lose a game during the rough patch. I looked at the margins, the margins vs ranked teams, the points allowed in the last few minutes of close games, and realized that this team was probably going 40-0 by the time we got to the Vanderbilt game.

These guys know how to clamp down in crunch time better than any team I've ever seen, so I'm never worried that they're going to lose.


It's just when these huge leads get chopped in half at the end, it's always because they stop trying on D. There's no worry that they're going to lose. It's just frustration, because they'd have a better margin than '91 UNLV if they didn't do this stuff, and that would be glorious.

This post was edited on 3/20 1:19 AM by Jkwo

 

[Jkwo]

Originally posted by JerseyCat84:

Originally posted by BostonCat2001:

Originally posted by Jkwo:

Originally posted by mj2k10:
It was 67-32 with 10 minutes left. Exactly how ugly can a 35 point lead be?

As to the last 10 minutes, yeah, that can be frustrating, but it's par for the course. UK did the exact same thing in 2012 against WKU. Cal has no interest in seeing how much he can win by against a 16 seed, or really, any over-matched opponent.

I agree with that last part, but that doesn't mean the guys have to stand up on defense and give up 20 points in 10 minutes after only giving up 30 in the 30 minutes before.

why not? why does it matter other than to make your ego feel better?

OR maybe he wants the team to perform at the level we know it can for 40 minutes? Silly I know.

Against a 16 seed, I'll take 30, because there's no use overexerting for the turnaround against the 8 seed. But 20? C'mon, man.

Though yes, I agree with everyone that the W is by far the most important thing.

 

[wild mandu]

Oh stop being babies who can't take any criticism. If you think that was a good performance, you haven't seen much of this team and you're selling them short.

That was the worst team they've played all season, in a live of die atmosphere, and they played a C+ game. Deal with it or don't try the internetz.

 

[BostonCat2001]

Originally posted by JerseyCat84:

Originally posted by mj2k10:

Originally posted by JerseyCat84:

Originally posted by mj2k10:

Originally posted by LmdCat:
We have a great team, but if this team had attitude to go along with their talent, we would destroy opponents. Unfortunately, we get a big lead and we simply start half stepping on both offense and defense. At times, I think Cal's lack of desire to play the game to score from start to finish contributes to this team's loss of focus.

Yeah, they completely lost focus in those losses to...

So your reasoning is since UK is 35-0 no one is allowed to "nitpick" about effort/focus?

This post was edited on 3/20 12:58 AM by JerseyCat84

nitpick all you want...folks seem to enjoy that more than the 35-0....it appears to be the reason why they come here and post.
karl had 21 and 11. andrew was unbelievable.

but it appears since we didnt win by 40...we need to talk about that.

 

[BBBLazing]

Originally posted by Jkwo:

Originally posted by BostonCat2001:

Originally posted by Jkwo:

Originally posted by mj2k10:
It was 67-32 with 10 minutes left. Exactly how ugly can a 35 point lead be?

As to the last 10 minutes, yeah, that can be frustrating, but it's par for the course. UK did the exact same thing in 2012 against WKU. Cal has no interest in seeing how much he can win by against a 16 seed, or really, any over-matched opponent.

I agree with that last part, but that doesn't mean the guys have to stand up on defense and give up 20 points in 10 minutes after only giving up 30 in the 30 minutes before.

why not? why does it matter other than to make your ego feel better?

Not sure why you think my ego has anything to do with it.

My ego is wrapped up in me as a person, not the accomplishments of someone else that I cheer for. If you want to talk about what makes me great, I'll start writing a list that I can have to you by Tuesday.

But the shorter answer is that I, like you, enjoy arguing over trivial things on message boards.

Unlike you, I enjoy doing it with rival fans.

The more this team demolishes people, the more ammo I have to blast Louisville idiots into oblivion.

As you can see, my motivations here are very dignified and nuanced.

 

[mj2k10]

Originally posted by Jkwo:

Originally posted by mj2k10:
At this point? Not really. You would have been the same guy on here in January after the A&M game saying a loss was coming. The same guy on here in February after the Georgia game saying a loss was coming. It never came.

Win advance, don't sweat a mediocre performance (and mainly mediocre because of a complete loss of focus with a 35 point lead- the type of mediocrity I'll take any day of the week). People pulled this same act in 2012 after the 1st round (and remember, that WKU game was UK's first after losing to Vandy, giving people even more ammo to make mountains out of molehills). It meant nothing then, it means nothing now.

I gotta object here.


I can't speak for anyone else, but I'm always arguing with the eeyores on this forum. Haven't started a negative thread about UK since Gillispie's second year (which includes Cal's NIT season).


I never thought this team would lose a game. I looked at the margins, the margins vs ranked teams, the points allowed in the last few minutes of close games, and realized that this team was probably going 40-0 by the time we got to the Vanderbilt game.

These guys know how to clamp down in crunch time better than any team I've ever seen, so I'm never worried that they're going to lose.


It's just when these huge leads get chopped in half at the end, it's always because they stop trying on D. There's no worry that they're going to lose. It's just frustration, because they'd have a better margin than '91 UNLV if they didn't do this stuff, and that would be glorious.

I understand the frustration, and share it to a certain extent, but I think one of the reasons Cal is so great with young talent is that he gives them room to breathe, and doesn't aim for perfection at all times (even if this year ends with a 0 in the L column). That attitude might result in something like tonight, or the last 5 minutes of the game at Rupp vs Arkansas, but I think it also leads to things like last year (and 2011), when UK could go out and compete with anyone, despite any problems that existed in the regular season.

I also think his teams generally play better when pushed, when they know that they could lose if they don't play well. Tonight was not one of those games. Cincy probably isn't, either, but hopefully it gets their attention enough so that they don't make it more difficult than it has to be.

This post was edited on 3/20 1:27 AM by mj2k10

 

[BBBLazing]

Originally posted by Jkwo:

Originally posted by BostonCat2001:

Originally posted by Jkwo:

Originally posted by mj2k10:
It was 67-32 with 10 minutes left. Exactly how ugly can a 35 point lead be?

As to the last 10 minutes, yeah, that can be frustrating, but it's par for the course. UK did the exact same thing in 2012 against WKU. Cal has no interest in seeing how much he can win by against a 16 seed, or really, any over-matched opponent.

I agree with that last part, but that doesn't mean the guys have to stand up on defense and give up 20 points in 10 minutes after only giving up 30 in the 30 minutes before.

why not? why does it matter other than to make your ego feel better?

Not sure why you think my ego has anything to do with it.

My ego is wrapped up in me as a person, not the accomplishments of someone else that I cheer for. If you want to talk about what makes me great, I'll start writing a list that I can have to you by Tuesday.

But the shorter answer is that I, like you, enjoy arguing over trivial things on message boards.

Unlike you, I enjoy doing it with rival fans.

The more this team demolishes people, the more ammo I have to blast Louisville idiots into oblivion.

As you can see, my motivations here are very dignified and nuanced.

You and I are similar it seems. The problem as I see it is these trivial arguments on our boards bleed into the arguments with our rivals. Therefore, we have to keep our fans honest. Too many people on our boards get offended when disagreed with. Too many people criticize a 35-0 team. I promise you if we lose, this board will turn on these kids and Cal. At least a lot will. It is fair to keep each other honest. I'm not agreeing with you or the previous poster, I'm just acknowledging that we both agree on the triviality of this board. Everyone gets mad at me because I disagree with fellow Kentucky fans, but I think it is fair.

 

[Jkwo]

Originally posted by mj2k10:

Originally posted by Jkwo:

Originally posted by mj2k10:
At this point? Not really. You would have been the same guy on here in January after the A&M game saying a loss was coming. The same guy on here in February after the Georgia game saying a loss was coming. It never came.

Win advance, don't sweat a mediocre performance (and mainly mediocre because of a complete loss of focus with a 35 point lead- the type of mediocrity I'll take any day of the week). People pulled this same act in 2012 after the 1st round (and remember, that WKU game was UK's first after losing to Vandy, giving people even more ammo to make mountains out of molehills). It meant nothing then, it means nothing now.

I gotta object here.


I can't speak for anyone else, but I'm always arguing with the eeyores on this forum. Haven't started a negative thread about UK since Gillispie's second year (which includes Cal's NIT season).


I never thought this team would lose a game. I looked at the margins, the margins vs ranked teams, the points allowed in the last few minutes of close games, and realized that this team was probably going 40-0 by the time we got to the Vanderbilt game.

These guys know how to clamp down in crunch time better than any team I've ever seen, so I'm never worried that they're going to lose.


It's just when these huge leads get chopped in half at the end, it's always because they stop trying on D. There's no worry that they're going to lose. It's just frustration, because they'd have a better margin than '91 UNLV if they didn't do this stuff, and that would be glorious.

I understand the frustration, and share it to a certain extent, but I think one of the reasons Cal is so great with young talent is that he gives them room to breathe, and doesn't aim for perfection at all times (even if this year ends with a 0 in the L column). That attitude might result in something like tonight, or the last 5 minutes of the game at Rupp vs Arkansas, but I think it also leads to things like last year (and 2011), when UK could go out and compete with anyone, despite any problems that existed in the regular season.

I also think his teams generally play better when pushed, when they know that they could lose if they don't play well. Tonight was not one of those games. Cincy probbaly isn't, either, but hopefully it gets their attention enough so that they don't make it more difficult than it has to be.

Yeah, you could be right.

I hope they take Cincy seriously, though - because I know they can beat Cincy with a C game, but man the A game is fun to watch

 

[Jazzycat]

Originally posted by Blind Karl Hess:
1. Make layups.
2. Get Devin Booker back into believing in himself.

Take care of these things and we're good.

If you lead by 30 in a game and don't lose, you won that game by 30, even if the scoreboard says it was 23. We won by 35 tonight, just like we beat WKU by 30 in '12 when the scoreboard said 15.

But we have to convert on 90% of our shots at the rim instead of presumably 40% that we shot tonight, and Cal has to get Booker playing like he wants to be out there.

Totally agree with this! Booker isn't fighting to get open like he did earlier in the year. Teams are keying on him, yes, but that is where screens become important. Didn't think they played with energy and blew way too many lay ups....