Why So Much Worry About LSU?

[UPSCat4080]

Even though we are now a 5.5 favorite for the game tonight I am still reading on KSR, here and national pundits are speaking on how LSU should win the game tonight.

Am I missing something?

They played good against an over-hyped Vandy squad, but other than that:

Marquette
NC State
Charleston
Houston
Wake Forest

REALLY?

Even if Simmons gets his 30-40 the rest of those guys cant hang with our CATS.

GO BLUE!

 

[MakinMusic]

Everyone plays Kentucky as if it is their only game. As much as it's said, it still gets overlooked. That's the reason most teams we play have a shot.

 

[_ukcat]

I always like UK's chance 's against LSU as long as Jones is their coach.

 

[Cats192]

There will definitely be some "superbowl" effect. LSU will get up for it. I'm not sure we have a GREAT matchup for Simmons defensively. I'm picking us to win, but I'm not gonna go put $$ on the game either.

 

[jrpross]

I believe we'll win. But any worry comes from the fact that the whole LSU team will be psyched more for this game than any other this year. Simmons will be insane, like he is. If the rest of the team pulls an Ohio state we could be in trouble.

 

[Hoskins21]

We are a very young team playing our second true road game.

 

[FtWorthCat]

Remember last season? We were far superior to them last year, but had to sweat out a final shot at the buzzer to get out of there with a win. We are going to struggle to get a win in most every conference road game.

 

[wromanp7]

Our team isn't a world beater. We live and die by the outside shooting... we can get beat by about anyone this year.

 

[Nuke99m]

Because we all have seen this show before. Blakeney and Hornsby will hit 50-60% of their threes. Lee and Skal will be in foul trouble and Willis and Humphries will be trying to guard Simmons. LSU wins and then drops the next game to Florida.

 

[ZenCatFan73]

Because we all have seen this show before. Blakeney and Hornsby will hit 50-60% of their threes. Lee and Skal will be in foul trouble and Willis and Humphries will be trying to guard Simmons. LSU wins and then drops the next game to Florida.

Agree - LSU will play like world-beaters tonight.

 

[BlueBomb]

C'mon, we were beaten by two non-top-25 teams. Sometimes we don't look so good.

I wouldn't be surprised at all if we lost this game. Hope not.

 

[tmuck]

I think we lose. They're pretty good, playing at home, and they need this win badly to bolster their chances of making the tourney. We looked like sh!t our last true road game against UCLA. This teams gonna lose quite a few road games in league play, similar to the 10-11 team. Just part of being such a young team. Any team in this league can beat us with the exception of Missouri.

 

[SmoothRunner32]

C'mon, we were beaten by two non-top-25 teams. Sometimes we don't look so good.

I wouldn't be surprised at all if we lost this game. Hope not.

We also beaten two top 25 teams.

 

[UKWildcats#8]

Remember last season? We were far superior to them last year, but had to sweat out a final shot at the buzzer to get out of there with a win. We are going to struggle to get a win in most every conference road game.

I doubt UK has much trouble at AU, UT and Ark this year but otherwise they will have some tough road games. I do not think Alabama is that tough either but @FL, @SC, @A&M, @VU and @LSU? Brutal draw for UK on the road games this year as a whole IMO.

And last season has nothing to do with this season...completely different teams. Both UK and LSU are not as good as they were last year.

 

[UPSCat4080]

We also beaten two top 25 teams.

Not to mention that we looked like a completely different team against Ole Miss. We played inspired and started with our defense. I think that someone will take it to heart to shut down Simmons tonight. That may mean holding him to 20 and 10, but we cannot let the rest of his posse beat us.

 

[Bill - Shy Cat]

They'll drop that frick'n Tiger from the rafters and the home crowd will go nuts. It'll be an intense game.

 

[musrat59]

If we don't get into serious foul trouble, I like our chances but I feel it will be a close game.

 

[Estil]

Everyone plays Kentucky as if it is their only game. As much as it's said, it still gets overlooked. That's the reason most teams we play have a shot.

Especially for our SEC opponents you can't hardly blame them. We are the conference's "Evil Empire" after all.

 

[kybassfan]

The concern is the same as always. We are playing on the road in the SEC and we will face a team that will very likely play at the very peak of its potential. Part of the challenge of being Kentucky.

 

[UKCatsFan10]

I expect the game to be a tossup. Would not be shocked at all if we dropped this game. It was one that many picked as a loss in the preseason... Granted, LSU hasn't lived up to expectations but some would say we haven't either. The atmosphere will be intense, LSU has a good team, and they have the best player in the country. If that doesn't leave you with a thread of concern that this game could be a loss, you are being naïve.

 

[TheDonJiggy]

Whenever a team has talent, there's always potential for them to put it together for 40 minutes and beat you.

See the Ohio State game for more information.

 

[WindyCityWildcat]

Well we got housed in our only other true road game by a team who isn't as good (at least on paper) as LSU is.

Our better play of late has me a bit more optimistic, but it's going to be a tough game.

 

[The_Answer1313]

It's just the talent thing. LSU has talent. And eventually they will put it all together. That's why people are concerned.

 

[FiveStarCat]

The Ohio State and UCLA games are still fresh. Hard to feel 100% confident going into any game against a team with talent (like LSU) after those games. I like what I saw for most of the game against UofL and Ole Miss. The more games Kentucky plays like the first 30ish minutes of those two games, the more confident I'll be that this team is ready to take on all comers. Until then, I'm cautiously optimistic.

I love that we play KU not only in Lawrence this year, but late in the season. They are easily a final four contender and it will be a perfect test for Kentucky heading into the final month + of the regular season. I'm not counting on a win but I'm counting on a huge learning experience that will tell us how close we are to being a championship team.

 

[USNNFOCAT]

LSU plays tough...UK wins. That is what I truly believe which is just as accurate or inaccurate as any other prognosticator nationwide or I guess worldwide since we have so many foreign players involved. Who knows, should be a good game.

 

[BlueBomb]

We also beaten two top 25 teams.

Yes, but the question was why are national press folks predicting a tough game or loss. I was just trying to answer the question.

 

[The_Answer1313]

The Ohio State and UCLA games are still fresh. Hard to feel 100% confident going into any game against a team with talent (like LSU) after those games. I like what I saw for most of the game against UofL and Ole Miss. The more games Kentucky plays like the first 30ish minutes of those two games, the more confident I'll be that this team is ready to take on all comers. Until then, I'm cautiously optimistic.

I love that we play KU not only in Lawrence this year, but late in the season. They are easily a final four contender and it will be a perfect test for Kentucky heading into the final month + of the regular season. I'm not counting on a win but I'm counting on a huge learning experience that will tell us how close we are to being a championship team.

While there's no doubt LSU has more talent than those teams, up to this point they haven't played well. Most rankings have Ohio St and UCLA far ahead of LSU

 

[calamitybone]

I'd take the points. Don't see us winning by six. Hope to be pleasantly surprised.

 

[docholiday51]

A win gives us a leg up in the conference race, serves some notice that we are making progress and are a top 10 team. LSU has talent even though they have a 8-5 record. They would be dangerous if they had Simmons ,3 white guys and an Egyptian but they have quite a bit more than that. They aren't well coached but the' Kentucky effect' that comes into play for every SEC team when we show up more than makes up for that(hell it may even hold true for coaches as well, Jones will probably coach like Rupp and Wooden combined)

A loss sets us back some, if we lose their record is much more important than their talent. If you don't believe that the media will go into great detail to explain it to everyone

 

[screwduke]

Nobody is worried about LSU

 

[Smashcat]

Even though we are now a 5.5 favorite for the game tonight I am still reading on KSR, here and national pundits are speaking on how LSU should win the game tonight.

Am I missing something?

They played good against an over-hyped Vandy squad, but other than that:

Marquette
NC State
Charleston
Houston
Wake Forest

REALLY?

Even if Simmons gets his 30-40 the rest of those guys cant hang with our CATS.

GO BLUE!

I'm not as concerned about Simmons. Just Hornsby and Blakeney.
If they make 6-7 three point shots between them we're in trouble.

 

[FiveStarCat]

While there's no doubt LSU has more talent than those teams, up to this point they haven't played well. Most rankings have Ohio St and UCLA far ahead of LSU

While I have no doubt that's true, Ohio State and UCLA also have a UK win on their resume. Take that away I imagine the three teams would be within 10-15 spots of one another.

 

[UKWildcats#8]

Even though we are now a 5.5 favorite for the game tonight I am still reading on KSR, here and national pundits are speaking on how LSU should win the game tonight.

Am I missing something?

They played good against an over-hyped Vandy squad, but other than that:

Marquette
NC State
Charleston
Houston
Wake Forest

REALLY?

Even if Simmons gets his 30-40 the rest of those guys cant hang with our CATS.

GO BLUE!

Btw, did you see who OSU and UCLA have lost to? They have terrible losses yet beat UK. And spare me the "Ulis was hurt and Lee was out for most of UCLA" argument as LSU has not had their full team for any of their losses but 1, 2 tops I believe.

 

[ganner918]

2011: 2-6 on the road in conference.
2013: 3-5 on the road in conference.
2014: 5-4 on the road in conference.

This team feels like it has a lot more in common with those teams than the 2010, 2012, and 2015 teams that went 6-2, 8-0, and 9-0 on the road in conference (And that's a 66% win percentage overall in SEC road games under Cal). Meanwhile LSU has the best player in the country, while we have a frontcourt that routinely gets in foul trouble. I'm not predicting a loss, but I am certainly predicting a tough game. We need our guards to dominate the game.

 

[W2R]

I say take the Rupp pistol Pete approach guard the hell outta the other four. How many games did pistol Pete win against UK? Some of his highest scoring games in conference play were against us but his record sucked.

 

[kyeric]

Even though we are now a 5.5 favorite for the game tonight I am still reading on KSR, here and national pundits are speaking on how LSU should win the game tonight.

Am I missing something?

They played good against an over-hyped Vandy squad, but other than that:

Marquette
NC State
Charleston
Houston
Wake Forest

REALLY?

Even if Simmons gets his 30-40 the rest of those guys cant hang with our CATS.

GO BLUE!

UCLA and Ohio State. I've seen enough to make me a bit leary about tonight's road game. If we are at Rupp, not so much. On the road is a whole new deal.

 

[Bkocats]

Remember last season? We were far superior to them last year, but had to sweat out a final shot at the buzzer to get out of there with a win. We are going to struggle to get a win in most every conference road game.

for all that, our far superior team sweated it out at home against Ole Miss, too. Look what happened this year.

That being said though, I do agree - and that's what ticks me off about the SEC. Play every game like you're playing UK and your records would look oooo so much better.

 

[turkeywildturkey]

Even though we are now a 5.5 favorite for the game tonight I am still reading on KSR, here and national pundits are speaking on how LSU should win the game tonight.

Am I missing something?

They played good against an over-hyped Vandy squad, but other than that:

Marquette
NC State
Charleston
Houston
Wake Forest

REALLY?

Even if Simmons gets his 30-40 the rest of those guys cant hang with our CATS.

GO BLUE!

Yes you are. They have won 4 out of their last 5 since getting all of their players back, and are playing much better. We will be lucky to win this game. Go CATS!

 

[BlueWorldOrder74]

LSU has been preparing for this game for weeks. We are on the road. We are young. There's three reasons.

 

[CloverforkCat]

Nobody is worried about LSU

Ha ! Have you not read about 20 posts before your post. UK could very well lose tonight, Simmons will be the best player on the floor, and the #1 pick in the draft. Ulis will be hard for LSU to handle, and we must get good play from Murray, Poythress, Lee etc.