Wildcats Thunder Blog

Kentucky vs South Carolina.....A Preview(Round 2) 2012

2012-02-03T00:30:00.011-06:00

Lwcat
WT Administrator

Kentucky vs South Carolina 2/4/12 Saturday 6PM (ESPN)
Kentucky leads the series 45-10

South Carolina Gamecocks

Location: Columbia, SC
Enrollment: 29,957
Arena: 18,000

Head Coach: Darrin Horn
Career Record: 161-90 (64.1%) 8 seasons
At SC: 50-42 (54.3%) 3 seasons

2010-11 Record: 14-16
2010-11 SEC Record: 5-11
2010-11 Postseason: None

2011-12 Record: 9-11
2011-12 SEC Record: 1-5

SC 75 W. Carolina 50
Elon 58 SC 53
Tenn. St. 64 SC 63
SC 61 Miss. Valley St. 57
North Carolina 87 SC 62
Southern Cal 63 SC 60
Providence 76 SC 67
SC 58 Clemson 55
SC 66 Presbyterian 58
Ohio St. 74 SC 66
SC 62 Southern Louisiana 43
SC 57 Woffard 45
SC 72 USC Upstate 66
SC 79 SC St. 51
Kentucky 79 South Carolina 65
Vanderbilt 67 South Carolina 57
Florida 79 South Carolina 65
Auburn 63 South Carolina 52
South Carolina 54 Alabama 52
Ole Miss 66 South Carolina 62

SC Stats

PPG-62.8
FG%-41.7%
3 PT.%-32.8% (6.5)
FT%-70.6%
RPG-32.5 (+0.5)
APG-10.3
TO’s-13.1
SPG-7.4
BPG-4.9

Probable Starting Lineup

Malik Cooke-F 6’6” Sr……………………..12.7 PPG
Anthony Gill-F 6’8” Fr……………………..8.3 PPG
Damontre Harris-F 6’9” So.…………………6.7 PPG
Bruce Ellington-G 5’9” Soph………..……..10.8 PPG
Damien Leonard-G 6’5” Fr…………………6.4 PPG

South Carolina welcomes #1 ranked UK to Columbia hoping to repeat history where they upset a #1 ranked UK team 2 years ago. It is doubtful that even upsetting UK will save coach Darrin Horn’s job who is in his 4th year as coach of the Gamecocks…..as SC is currently 10-11 overall and 1-5 in the SEC.

The Gamecocks are led by senior Malik Cooke who leads the team in scoring, assists and steals….also, along with Damontre Harris leads in rebounds. Cooke is a very complete player. Harris is the leading shot blocker with 42. Certainly, sophomore Bruce Ellington, provides great quickness and ability at the PG position. SC likes shooting from the perimeter averaging 19 PG….unfortunately, they are only hitting a so so 32.8%

Coach Horn has gone deep in his bench this season with 10 players averaging 12 plus minutes a game. Obviously, Horn is looking for the best combination and is now starting 2 freshmen, 2 sophomores along with senior Cooke.

South Carolina lost at home in December by only 8 points to a highly ranked Ohio State team….and just defeated Alabama at home.

Kentucky arrives in Columbia fresh off two excellent games against LSU and Tennessee.

The Cats are playing their best basketball of the year…..Teague has responded positively to coach Cal’s coaching and is now effectively running the offense. Jones is returning to form and has significantly raised his game with solid play on the frontline. MKG continues to play at the highest level and plays with incredible intensity while Anthony Davis has simply become the best player in America. Miller and Lamb are playing solid basketball and their perimeter shooting remains very important. As coach Cal says…..there is still more improvement needed, but obviously Cal is very pleased with how the Cats are now playing.

There is always danger when playing on the road and especially to any team that tosses up a lot of 3’s, but UK’s defense has remained solid most of the year and their offense is now in high gear…..UK should defeat SC by 15 points. GO CATS!

Video: Coach Matthew Mitchell Post-Ole Miss Presser

2012-02-02T22:39:00.000-06:00

UK Hoops Head Coach Matthew Mitchell talks to the media after his team blasted Ole Miss to stay undefeated in the SEC. Video's courtesy of uksportsinfo.com.

Video: UK Hoops Players After Win versus Ole Miss

2012-02-02T22:35:00.000-06:00

UK Hoops stars Bria Goss, Samarie Walker, and Kastine Evans talked to the media after they beat Ole Miss to stay undefeated in the SEC. Video's courtesy of uksportsinfo.com.

Photos: UK Hoops vs. Ole Miss

2012-02-02T22:32:00.000-06:00

UK hoops defeat Lady Rebels 82-41. Kentucky improves to 21-2 overall and 10-0in SEC play.

Video's of UK Prospects Noel, Bennett, Muhammad, and Pollard

2012-02-02T16:50:00.000-06:00

Video: UK Football Coach Phillips comments on UK Signing Day

2012-02-01T16:52:00.001-06:00

UK Football Coach Joker Phillips discusses UK signing day. Video's courtesy of kykernel.com.

UK's 2012 Football Recruiting Class

2012-02-01T16:37:00.000-06:00

Daron Blaylock (***)… DB… 6-1… 215… Marietta, Ga. (Walton)
Shawn Blaylock (***)… DB… 5-10… 166… Lithonia, Ga. (Stephenson)
Zack Blaylock (***)… DB… 6-0… 188… Marietta, Ga. (Walton)
Kory Brown (***)… DB… 6-0… 208… Moncks Corner, S.C. (Berkeley/East Central CC) **
Thomas Chapman (***)… DL… 6-4… 285… Louisville, Ky. (duPont Manual)
Landon Foster (**)… K/P… 6-1… 198… Thompson Station, Tenn. (Independence)
Patrick Graffree (***)… DT… 6-4… 270… Elizabethtown, Ky. (Central Hardin)
Josh Harris (***)… DB… 6-0… 191… Maysville, Ky. (Mason County)
Khalid Henderson (***)… LB… 6-0… 213… Mableton, Ga. (Pebblebrook)
T.J. Jones (***)… OL… 6-6… 290… Myrtle Beach, S.C. (Myrtle Beach)
Dyshawn Mobley (***)… RB… 5-11… 205… Powell, Tenn. (Powell)
Zach Myers (***)… OL… 6-4… 287… Miamisburg, Oh. (Miamisburg)
A.J. Legree (***)…WR…6-1…178… Fort White, Fla. (Fort White)
Langston Newton (***)… DL… 6-4… 254… Carmel, Ind. (Carmel)
Cody Quinn (***)… DB… 5-10… 163… Middletown, Ohio (Middletown)
Jonathan Reed (***)… DB… 5-9… 185… Indianapolis, Ind. (Pike)
DeMarcus Sweat (***)… WR… 6-1… 192… Lithonia, Ga. (Stephenson)
Jordan Swindle (***)… OL… 6-7… 310… St. Johns, Fla. (Creekside)
Justin Taylor (***)… RB… 5-10… 205… Atlanta, Ga. (Washington)
Fred Tiller (***)… DB… 6-0… 180… Homerville, Ga. (Clinch County)
Kadeem Thomas (***)… LB… 6-0… 225… Tallahassee, Fla. (Godby)
Jon Toth (**)… OL… 6-5… 290… Indianapolis, Ind. (Brebeuf Jesuit)
Patrick Towles (****)… QB… 6-5… 242… Ft. Thomas, Ky. (Highlands)
Jordan Watson (***)… OL… 6-4… 315… Fayetteville, Ga. (Whitewater)
Jaylen Whitlow (***)… QB/ATH… 6-3… 200… Prattville, Al. (Prattville)
Sterling Wright (***)… DB… 5-11… 201… Miami, Fla. (Coral Reef/North Carolina Tech)
** Kory Brown is already enrolled at Kentucky

Pronunciation Guide

Daron Blaylock: same as "Darren"
Dyshawn Mobley: DAY-shawn MOBE-lee
Kadeem Thomas: kah-DEEM
Jon Toth: TOETH (long "o" sound)
Patrick Towles: TOLES (long "o" sound)
Khalid Henderson: kah-LEED

Daron Blaylock, DB, 6-1, 215, Fr-HS, Marietta, Ga. (Walton) - Played both safety and linebacker in high school ... Second-team all-state in Class AAAAA by the Georgia Sports Writers Association ... Played at Walton HS in Marietta, Ga. ... Helped Walton to a 14-1 record and state runnerup finish in Class AAAAA ... Ranked as the No. 31 inside linebacker in the nation by 24/7 Sports ... One of the nation's top-100 linebackers by Scout.com ... Posted 75 tackles and an interception during his junior season ... Has been timed in the 4.5-second range in the 40-yard dash, an excellent time for a linebacker ... Coached by Rocky Hidalgo ... Son of Mookie Blaylock, who played 13 years in the NBA with New Jersey, Atlanta and Golden State ... Twin brother of fellow UK signee Zack Blaylock ... Name pronounced same as "Darren."

Shawn Blaylock, DB, 5-10, 166, Fr-HS, Lithonia, Ga. (Stephenson) - Two-way player in high school, seeing action as a wide receiver and cornerback at Stephenson HS in Stone Mountain, Ga. ... Projects as a defensive back as a collegian ... Broke the school record with three interceptions in a game ... Team posted a 9-2 record and advanced to the state playoffs both his seasons at Stephenson ... Also played corner his sophomore season at Shiloh HS in Snellville, Ga. ... The nation's No. 77 corner by Scout.com ... Has been timed under 4.5 seconds in the 40-yard dash ... Coached at Stephenson by Ron Gartrell ... Teammate of current UK signee DeMarcus Sweat ... Will join former Stephenson products Jabari Johnson, Raymond Sanders and Ronnie Shields at UK.

Zack Blaylock, DB, 6-0, 188, Fr-HS, Marietta, Ga. (Walton) - Big-play performer from his safety position ... Intercepted 11 passes as a senior, returning five for touchdowns ... First-team all-state in Class AAAAA by the Atlanta Journal-Constitution and Georgia Sports Writers Association ... Played at Walton HS in Marietta, Ga. ... Helped Walton to a 14-1 record and state runnerup finish in Class AAAAA ... Cobb County Defensive Player of the Year ... Rated the No. 34 safety in the nation by Rivals.com ... Rated No. 52 nationally by Scout.com ... One of the top-40 prospects in Georgia by SuperPrep ... Coached by Rocky Hidalgo ... Son of Mookie Blaylock, who played 13 years in the NBA with New Jersey, Atlanta and Golden State ... Twin brother of fellow UK signee Daron Blaylock.

Kory Brown, DB, 6-0, 208, So-JC, Moncks Corner, S.C. (Berkeley/East Central Community College) - Enrolled at UK in January ... Has three years of eligibility at UK after redshirting 2011 while recovering from a knee injury ... Spent the last two years at East Central Community College in Decatur, Miss. ... Played four games at safety as a freshman until sustaining the injury ... During those four games he made 26 tackles, caused two fumbles and intercepted a pass ... The nation's No. 69 junior-college player as ranked by 247 Sports, also the No. 11 juco player in Mississippi and the nation's No. 3 juco safety ... Coached by Brian Anderson ... "Kory's physical nature stands out," Anderson said. "He gets off blocks well and is a big hitter. He's also a quality young man of the finest character." ... Played high school football at Berkeley HS in Moncks Corner, S.C. ... Three-year starter who played cornerback and safety ... An all-region pick as a senior ... Helped Berkeley to three strong runs in the state playoffs, including a state semifinal appearance his junior year and quarterfinal berths as a sophomore and senior ... Played for the winning South team in the South Carolina North-South All-Star Game following his senior season ... Coached at Berkeley by Jerry Brown ... Berkeley's defensive coordinator, Ed Moore, said, "Kory was the most instinctive player I've ever coached, always at the right place at the right time. He's a very physical player, very good in run support as well as pass coverage. He's also a great young man." ... In addition to football, participated in basketball, baseball, wrestling and track and field in high school ... Advanced to the state meet in the high jump his senior year and had a best leap of six feet, four inches ... Comes from an athletic family ... An older brother, Omar, played football at Marshall and was a senior in 2011 ... Another brother, Evan McKelvey, currently plays at Marshall ... A cousin J.J. McKelvey, played at Clemson and is now playing arena football ... Kory enjoys community service and has helped coach children in youth league sports.

Thomas Chapman, DL, 6-4, 285, Fr-HS, Louisville, Ky. (duPont Manual) - Highly regarded defensive tackle prospect ... The nation's No. 30 DT and the No. 2 prospect in Kentucky by Rivals.com ... The No. 31 tackle and No. 4 Kentucky prospect by 24/7 Sports ... The No. 32 tackle nationally by Scout.com ... No. 4 in Kentucky by ESPN and SuperPrep ... Selected for the Offense-Defense All-America Game at Cowboys Stadium ... Played at duPont Manual HS in Louisville ... Bounced back to play his senior year after missing most of his junior season because of injury ... Team went 9-3 his senior season and was in the second round of the Class AAAAAA playoffs ... Coached by Dr. Oliver Lucas.

Landon Foster, K/P, 6-1, 198, Fr-HS, Thompson Station, Tenn. (Independence) - Has the ability and versatility to be a punter and kicker on the collegiate level ... Named first-team all-state in Class AAAAAA as a kicker by the Tennessee Sports Writers' Association ... Picked as the punter for the all-state "Dream Team," covering all classifications, by the Nashville Tennesseean ... Made 11 of 16 field goals as a senior with a long of 49 ... Averaged 41.3 yards per punt ... 50 of his 56 kickoffs went for touchbacks and four of the others were on-side kicks ... Named his team's Most Valuable Player, a rare honor for a kicking specialist ... Independence HS went 8-3 his senior year and reached the state playoffs in Class AAAAAA ... Rated the No. 8 kicker in the nation by Scout.com and the No. 12 kicker by 24/7 Sports ... The No. 10 prospect in the state of Tennessee by SuperPrep, which wrote, "Technically strong with good hang times and directional ability. Also performs well under pressure." ... Played for the winning West team in the Tennessee East-West All-Star Game ... Coached by Kevin Dyson ... Has worked with former Tennessee Titans punter Craig Hentrich ... Also played soccer in high school.

Patrick Graffree, DL, 6-4, 270, Fr-HS, Elizabethtown, Ky. (Central Hardin) - Second-team all-state as a senior by The Associated Press and the Louisville Courier-Journal ... Played at Central Hardin HS in Cecilia, Ky. ... Team's best finish was 9-3 as a junior, advancing to the second round of the state playoffs ... Totaled 91 tackles as a junior, featuring 10 tackles for loss, six quarterback sacks and a pass interception ... Participated in a pair of postseason all-star games after his senior year ... Played for the winning Greater Louisville team in the Best of the Bluegrass All-Star Game, defeating a team from the remainder of the state ... Also played in the Kentucky vs. Tennessee Border Bowl ... One of the top-10 prospects in Kentucky by Rivals.com, 24/7 Sports and SuperPrep ... The nation's No. 72 defensive tackle by 24/7 ... Head coaches at Central Hardin were former UK quarterback Mark Perry and Mike Lawson.

Josh Harris, DB, 6-0, 191, Fr-HS, Maysville, Ky. (Mason County) - Versatile athlete ... His multiple skills were displayed at Mason County (Ky.) High School, where he played running back, receiver, linebacker and defensive back ... Rushed for 2,848 yards and 42 touchdowns in his career, despite missing most of his senior season because of injury ... Totaled 582 receiving yards and eight TDs ... Also threw a couple of touchdown passes ... Totaled 287 tackles and six fumble recoveries on defense ... Team went 9-2 his junior season and 10-1 as a sophomore ... One of the nation's top-60 running backs as chosen by Scout.com ... The No. 2 prospect in Kentucky by SuperPrep ... Coached by David Buchanan ... Also played basketball in high school.

Khalid Henderson, LB, 6-0, 213, Fr-HS, Mableton, Ga. (Pebblebrook) - Linebacker combines good size with outstanding athleticism ... Has been timed as fast as 4.57 seconds in the 40-yard dash ... Made 74 tackles with two interceptions as a senior at Pebblebrook HS in Mableton, Ga. ... The No. 19 outside linebacker in the nation by ESPN and the No. 17 prospect in Georgia ... Rated as the No. 51 outside linebacker in the nation by Scout.com ... One of the top-60 prospects in Georgia by 24/7 Sports ... Coached by Randall Smith ... Named is pronounced "kah-LEED."

T.J. Jones, OL, 6-6, 290, Fr-HS, Myrtle Beach, S.C. (Myrtle Beach) - Offensive line prospect who projects as a tackle on the collegiate level ... Played tackle at Myrtle Beach (S.C.) HS ... Helped his team win at least 11 games every season ... Myrtle Beach won the Class AAA state championship his junior year with a 14-1 record ... State quarterfinalist as a senior with an 11-2 mark ... 13-2 record and state runner-up his soph season ... Rated the No. 23 prospect in South Carolina by 24/7 Sports and No. 28 in the state by Rivals.com ... No. 34 in South Carolina by SuperPrep ... One of the nation's top-100 offensive tackles by 24/7 and Scout.com ... Coached by Mickey Wilson.

A.J. Legree, WR, 6-1, 178, Fr-HS, Fort White, Fla. (Fort White) - Gifted wide receiver combines pass-catching skills with the athletic ability of a state-champion high jumper ... Played wide receiver and cornerback at Fort White (Fla.) HS ... As a senior, caught 47 passes for 698 yards and 10 touchdowns ... Made six interceptions on defense, returning two for touchdowns ... First-team all-state in Class AAA by The Associated Press ... Named the Area Player of the Year by the Gainesville Sun ... Helped Fort White to an 8-4 record and second round of the state playoffs ... Turned in a breakout performance in the Florida Athletic Coaches Association North-South All-Star Game ... Was named the No. 2 prospect in the game by Rivals.com and the "Sleeper of the Night" by Scout.com ... Coached by Demetric Jackson ... Won the state high-jump championship as a junior with a leap of six feet, 10 inches.

Dyshawn Mobley, RB, 5-11, 205, Fr-HS, Powell, Tenn. (Powell) - Set Tennessee single-season rushing records with 3,068 yards and 44 touchdowns as a senior ... Averaged 12.2 yards per carry ... Led Powell (Tenn.) to a 14-1 record, reaching the state championship game in Class AAAAA ... Named to the all-state "Dream Team," covering all classifications, selected by the Nashville Tennesseean ... First-team all-state by The Associated Press ... Career totals feature 5,849 rushing yards, averaging more than 10 yards per carry, and 76 touchdowns ... Three-year all-district choice ... Helped Powell to an 11-1 mark and second round of the state playoffs as a junior ... Also excelled as a linebacker on defense ... Rushed for a record 118 yards in the Tennessee East-West All-Star Game and was named the East Offensive Most Valuable Player ... Coached by Matt Lowe ... Name is pronounced "DAY-shawn MOBE-lee."

Zach Myers, OL, 6-3, 285, Fr-HS, Miamisburg, Ohio (Miamisburg) - Combines good athletic ability with offensive line skills ... Played offensive guard at Miamisburg (Ohio) HS ... Could become a center as a collegian ... Rated as the No. 52 offensive guard in the nation by Rivals.com ... Also the No. 79 guard by 24/7 Sports and the No. 85 guard by Scout.com ... One of the top 60 prospects in the talent-rich state of Ohio by Rivals ... Named second-team All-Southwest Ohio ... Coached by Tim Lewis ... Son of Brad Myers, an offensive lineman at UK from 1984-87 ... Brad played one year with Joker Phillips (1984) and blocked for three of the top rushers in Kentucky history - George Adams, Mark Higgs and Marc Logan.

Langston Newton, DL, 6-4, 254, Fr-HS, Carmel, Ind. (Carmel) -First-team all-state as a senior at Carmel (Ind.) HS ... Helped lead Carmel to a 14-1 record and state championship in Class AAAAA ... A disruptive presence in the defensive line, combining good size, strength and athletic ability ... Projected as an end in the collegiate ranks ... The No. 6 prospect in Indiana and the No. 28 strongside defensive end in the nation by 24/7 Sports ... No. 8 in Indiana and the No. 40 strongside end nationally by Rivals.com ... Rated as the No. 69 overall prospect in the six-state Midwest area by SuperPrep ... Helped Carmel to the state finals his soph season ... Coached by Kevin Wright ... Also outstanding in track and field, as he had full scholarship offers in that sport from nationally prominent schools ... Competes in the shot put and discus throw, events that put a premium on quickness and explosion as well as strength ... Brother of current Kentucky quarterback Morgan Newton.

Cody Quinn, DB, 5-10, 163, Fr-HS, Middletown, Ohio (Middletown) - Brings outstanding speed to the cornerback position, having run the 40-yard dash under 4.5 seconds ... Helped Middletown (Ohio) HS to three-consecutive 10-win seasons and berths in the state playoffs ... Third-team All-Ohio by The Associated Press as a senior ... Intercepted two passes, returning one for a touchdown, and had 10 pass breakups ... His speed also indicated by the fact that he returned two kickoffs for touchdowns as a junior ... The No. 63 prospect in Ohio by ESPN and also the nation's No. 68 cornerback ... The No. 102 prospect in the six-state Midwest area by SuperPrep ... Coached by Troy Everhart.

Jonathan Reed, DB, 5-9, 185, Fr-HS, Indianapolis, Ind. (Pike) - Swift cornerback has been timed as low as 4.38 seconds in the 40-yard dash ... Played at Pike HS in Indianapolis, Ind. ... Helped Pike to a state playoff berth each season ... Runner-up in the state sectional as a junior with a 9-3 record ... One of the top-10 prospects in Indiana by ESPN ... Also the nation's No. 44 cornerback prospect by ESPN ... Named to the juniors-only all-state team in 2010 by the Indiana Football Coaches Association ... Coached by Derek Moyers.

DeMarcus Sweat, WR, 6-1, 192, Fr-HS, Lithonia, Ga. (Stephenson) - Combines good size with explosive ability ... Has good height for a receiver ... Big-play potential shown by his three punt return touchdowns and three kickoff return touchdowns during his senior season at Stephenson HS in Stone Mountain, Ga. ... Has been timed as fast as 4.43 seconds in the 40-yard dash ... One of the nation's top-100 wide receivers by ESPN ... One of top-80 prospects in Georgia by ESPN and 24/7 Sports ... Team posted a 9-2 record each of his last two seasons at Stephenson ... Coached at Stephenson by Ron Gartrell ... Teammate of current UK signee Shawn Blaylock ... Will join former Stephenson products Jabari Johnson, Raymond Sanders and Ronnie Shields at UK.

Jordan Swindle, OL, 6-7, 310, Fr-HS, St. Johns, Fla. (Creekside) - Second-team all-state as a senior in Florida Class AAAAA by The Associated Press ... Big offensive line prospect ... His height and long reach are ideal for pass protection ... Played at Creekside HS in St. Johns, Fla. ... Helped lead Creekside to an 8-4 record as a senior and the first state playoff win in school history ... Named All-First Coast (all-area) by the Florida Times-Union ... Also named to the Florida Times-Union "Super 24" list of top area prospects ... One of the nation's top-100 offensive tackles as evaluated by ESPN ... Coached by Greg Stanton.

Justin Taylor, RB, 5-10, 200, Fr-HS, Atlanta, Ga. (North Atlanta) - Projected as one of the South's top running backs heading into his senior season ... Committed to Alabama prior to his senior year at North Atlanta HS but incurred a knee injury in September ... Decided to re-open his recruitment after Alabama asked him to grayshirt ... Knee rehabilitation is going well and is expected to be ready to compete when practice begins in August ... Rushed for approximately 1,500 yards and 10 touchdowns as a junior at Washington HS in Atlanta ... Named All-Atlanta as a junior ... One of the nation's top-40 running backs by ESPN and 24/7 Sports ... Coached by Stanley Pritchett.

Kadeem "Pancho" Thomas, LB, 6-0, 225, Fr-HS, Tallahassee, Fla. (Godby) - A tackling machine at Godby HS in Tallahassee, Fla. ... Racked up 142 tackles as a senior ... Helped team to a 9-3 record and a spot in the second round of the state playoffs ... Totaled 143 stops as a junior, ranking sixth in the state in tackles, and was named the Area Defensive Player of the Year by the Tallahassee Quarterback Club ... One of the nation's top 40 inside linebackers by Rivals.com, 24/7 Sports and ESPN ... Played for the winning North team in the Florida North-South All-Star Game sponsored by the Florida Athletic Coaches Association ... Coached by Ronnie Cottrell ... Name is pronounced "kah-DEEM."

Fred Tiller, DB, 6-0, 180, Fr-HS, Homerville, Ga. (Clinch County) - Outstanding athlete could play either side of the ball in college ... Standout wide receiver and cornerback at Clinch County (Ga.) HS ... First-team all-state by the Atlanta Journal Constitution and Georgia Sports Writers Association as a senior ... Helped Clinch to a perfect 15-0 record and Class A state championship as a junior ... Caught 31 passes for 736 yards and nine touchdowns during that junior year, along with 65 tackles and five interceptions on defense ... Rated the No. 45 athlete in the nation by Rivals.com ... Coached by Jim Dickerson.

Jon Toth, OL, 6-5, 290, Fr-HS, Indianapolis, Ind. (Brebeuf Jesuit) - Big offensive lineman who also is noted for his athleticism ... Could be slotted as a guard or tackle on the collegiate level ... Played at Brebeuf Jesuit in Indianapolis, Ind. ... Helped Brebeuf advance to the state playoffs each year he was on the varsity ... Ranked as the No. 11 player in Indiana and the No. 33 offensive guard in the nation by 24/7 Sports ... Rated the nation's No. 60 offensive tackle by Scout.com ... Coached by Ryan Gallogly ... Name is pronounced "TOETH" with a long "o" sound.

Patrick Towles, QB, 6-5, 242, Fr-HS, Ft. Thomas, Ky. (Highlands) - Named to the Parade magazine All-America team ... "Mr. Football" for the Commonwealth of Kentucky ... Gatorade Player of the Year in Kentucky ... Won the Paul Hornung Award as the Kentucky Player of the Year ... Big, strong-armed quarterback who also has notable running ability ... Led Highlands HS to three consecutive state championships as the starting quarterback, Class AAAA as a senior and Class AAAAA as a sophomore and junior ... Team compiled a three-year record of 44-1, including 38-1 with Towles as the starter ... As a senior completed 171 of 279 passes (61.3 percent) for 3,820 yards with 42 touchdowns and only one interception ... Also rushed for 589 yards and 15 TDs ... Career totals feature 7,429 passing yards and 73 touchdown passes while rushing for 1,718 yards and 38 TDs ... The No. 1 prospect in Kentucky and one of the top-10 pro-style quarterbacks in the country by Rivals.com and 24/7 Sports ... Athleticism is such that ESPN rates his college position as "athlete" instead of quarterback ... Coached by Dale Mueller ... Highlands' quarterbacks coach was former UK QB Jared Lorenzen ... Strong arms are in Towles' heritage as he is the grandson of Baseball Hall of Fame pitcher Jim Bunning ... Last name is pronounced "TOLES."

Jordan Watson, OL, 6-4, 315, Fr-HS, Fayetteville, Ga. (Whitewater) - Well-regarded offensive lineman ... The No. 39 offensive guard in the nation by Scout.com ... No. 37 nationally by 24/7 Sports ... Rated as the No. 31 prospect in Georgia by SuperPrep ... Earned first-team all-state honors by the Atlanta Journal-Constitution ... Played at Whitewater HS in Fayetteville, Ga., and blocked for current Wildcat Josh Clemons ... Earned a spot in the Georgia Athletic Coaches Association North-South All-Star Classic ... Coached by Amos McCreary.

Jalen Whitlow, QB/ATH, 6-2, 210, Fr-HS, Prattville, Ala. (Prattville) - Exciting athlete with multiple skills ... Helped Prattville (Ala.) HS to the Class AAAAAA state championship and a top-25 national ranking ... Split time at quarterback and wide receiver ... Earned honorable-mention all-state honors even though he wasn't the team's full-time quarterback ... Listed as the nation's No. 12 dual-threat QB and the No. 20 prospect in Alabama by 24/7 Sports ... The No. 32 prospect in Alabama by Rivals.com ... Coached by Jamey Dubose.

Sterling Wright, DB, 5-11, 201, Fr-HS, Miami, Fla. (Coral Reef/North Carolina Tech) - Played prep school football at North Carolina Tech in Charlotte, the same school that produced current Wildcat Farrington Huguenin ... Known as a hard hitter with good range ... Coached at N.C. Tech by Tim Newman ... Played his high school football at Coral Reef HS in Miami, Fla. ... Helped team to a 6-4 record senior year ... Totaled 55 tackles and caused eight fumbles ... Coached at Coral Reef by Chevas Clements.

Video: John Calipari Post-Tennessee Press Conference 1/31/12

2012-01-31T21:59:00.001-06:00

Video courtesy of uknationofblue

Post-Game Quotes -- vs. Tennessee
UK Head Coach John Calipari

Q. On a scale of 1-to-10, 10 being the highest, how good was the defense?

COACH CALIPARI: We were really good defensively. We were really good. You know, the way we scored the ball in the first half, we were able to create a gap. But (Renaldo) Woolridge came out and makes five 3s, and I'm looking at guys, after he made two, and then he made the third, you're like, ‘Are you not watching the game?’ But they were tough shots, and he made them.

Again, I thought we were good, and we played good in a rough game. It was a rough game. I mean, we played good in it. But again, you go back to Terrence Jones playing like he played physically, it makes us better.

Q. Coach (Cuonzo) Martin talked about Anthony Davis for a second, called him one of the best, if not the best players in the country and said a player like him comes along once in a lifetime. Your thoughts about the way he played tonight and putting that in perspective?

COACH CALIPARI: Well, I had one already. I had Marcus Camby, so that's twice in a lifetime now, and I'm hoping for three and four in a lifetime. But he doesn't command the ball. I mean, he's just playing. If you pass him up, he doesn't get mad about it. He rebounds, he blocks shots. Today (he had) three assists, one turn(over). He's a special player.

And mainly because he's about his teammates. It's not just what he does. Look, there are players out there (who are) really good players and all that, but their teammates don't want to play with them, don't like them. This kid let me just say this: He whistles and skips going to class he's so happy. I heard him the other day. I said, ‘Who's that whistling?’ and it was him going to class, just skipping like he's having fun, he's enjoying himself, he's not putting any pressure on himself, he's just playing.

Q. When you look at Terrence (Jones’) numbers tonight, not like they were Saturday. What things did you see that you liked just as much as you did Saturday?

COACH CALIPARI: The biggest thing is he's being physical. See, you can't negate how we're being played. Hopefully people watched tonight and know that kind of game plan even if it's not coach wise, it's player wise watching us, looking at this and saying, ‘You know, it's hard to play them that way.’ But Terrence gives us a physical presence. He can score the ball. He's a skilled player. He's got to compete and battle, and that's what he's doing now.

Q. I'm wondering with (Anthony) Davis hitting a couple of face the basket shots, blocking (Jarnell) Stokes early on, how much credit should he get for setting the tone early?

COACH CALIPARI: Well, he should get a lot, but again, we're a team, and I thought a lot of guys did a lot of stuff. We're not even talking about Michael (Kidd-)Gilchrist; he goes 16 (points), 8 (rebounds), and again, two steals, and he defends and gets a steal late. I mean, he's just he's playing. You know, you can go right down the line. Darius (Miller) and Doron (Lamb) didn't play great, but they played good defense. And it's not like they played bad.

We're not going to be pitching shutouts now, so I'm happy with the team. We've got to get better. We've got to keep improving. You know, we're not turning it over that much.

We play and you saw us at the end of the game, we love to play fast. We want to play fast. But if we have to grind it out, we can, and we did at the end. The last seven (to) eight minutes, we just grind it out. We want to grind it, we're going to grind it, so we can play both ways if we have to.

Q. It looks like this team is really starting to come together and create some continuity among each other. Talk about that. These guys have only known each other six months.

COACH CALIPARI: Well, and really it's less than that. But they have they want to win above how they're playing. So a guy like Marquis Teague, who scored 28 a game in high school, is running our team, not scoring as many points. A Michael (Kidd-)Gilchrist who scored 25 a game. We're not running one play for Michael Gilchrist, not one play. Well, we ran a slice cut twice, so I ran two plays for him. Whether it's Doron Lamb, Terrence Jones or Darius Miller, veterans, quote, two sophomores and a senior, and they're accepting that these freshmen are really good, yet they're still stepping up and playing. So there's a good thing going because they want to win. They like each other. They really do like each other.

The one thing I like that happens during that we call it Camp Cal where we're together, they just get together and they get with one another, and I love road trips. I love going on the road because it's just us. You know, you've got 11 players and our staff and that's it, and we're together for two, three days. So that kind of stuff helps this team because we are four freshmen, two sophomores and a senior playing most of the minutes.

Q. You may have answered my question with that right there, but do you feel like just in the last couple of weeks this team has made a lot of strides, and if so, what's been the key to that?

COACH CALIPARI: Marquis Teague. The guy that has the ball, if he's playing well, you've got a chance. If he's not playing well, you have no chance. Now, he can play well and you still lose because everybody else is playing bad, but they can all play well and if he's playing poorly and you can't win. He is really listening. He's playing the way we need him to play. Again, we go 1-for-10 from the 3 point line, and he found guys, they just didn't make shots. So his four assists could have been eight. They were wide open, they just missed them.

So he's playing (and) that's helping us. Michael (Kidd-Gilchrist) is getting better, Anthony (Davis) is getting better, Terrence (Jones) is finally more physical, Doron (Lamb) and Darius (Miller) are doing things to help us. Kyle Wiltjer is way better than he was. Today Kyle Wiltjer got five rebounds. Come on now, we're use to him shooting 3s. So they're all getting better. But it's kind of like having a quarterback and that guy has to get us all in tune, and he is. He's doing really well.

Q. Off the beaten path a little bit, you guys both have your teams to worry about, but do you have a chance to chat and compare notes with Matthew Mitchell, both being highly ranked teams?

COACH CALIPARI: Well, he and I talk twice a week. I'll stop in the office, he'll stop in my office. I'll stop in his practice, he'll stop in my practice. You know, he has done such a fabulous (job). He's selling out Memorial. We played Alabama, sellout; Valerie Still was back. And they're really good, like they're really good. They're fun to watch. My players love watching them play. Coach, why don't we play a little like them, let us go a little bit. So it's been a unique experience in that there are other programs that have had teams like this, but I just don't know if they've gotten along like our two teams have.

Q. You said a few times throughout the early part of the season, different times you said if this or that happens, when this or that happens, this will be scary. These last two games when you watch this team, is that in your mind's eye when you would say if this or that happens this will be scary, are these last two games sort of what you saw?

COACH CALIPARI: I would. I would tell you, they're different games. Now, LSU was rougher than this game, and it was allowed to be rougher. This game was not allowed to be rougher, but we didn't make any 3s. Last game we were 7-of-14 or 15 from the 3 point line. This game we missed them all. Lucky we made one. What was the streak? We have knocked down the streak there. How many games have we made a three? It almost went down the drain today. Who's the one guy that made it? Doron Lamb. I know it wasn't Darius (Miller).

Q. Is it overstating it to say that your guys are starting to relish that physical play you've talked about, or are they getting much closer to where you were

COACH CALIPARI: We had our guards at times. Doron (Lamb) went in there, Darius (Miller), there's still plays you've got one where Terrence (Jones) went baseline and (Skylar) McBee kind of pushed him and he never got to the rim. Come on now, that's got to be a dunk. Just go dunk the ball. So we're still not there.

What they did to Anthony Davis is absolutely when he caught the ball at the top of the key, mushed it, and again, that means toughness, and he just got rid of the ball a couple times. He wasn't ready to really be physical. So we've got a long way to go with that. But we've made strides.

Q. Earlier today the task force recommended a renovation rather than a new (Rupp) Arena. What was your thoughts on that and the tentative plans for the renovation?

COACH CALIPARI: I just heard about it on the way to the game. DeWayne (Peevy) called me and told me. I'm fine. Look, whatever is good for our city is good for our university, and whatever is good for the university is good for the city. That being said, we need to rebuild our campus, too, so I would encourage all the state legislators. This is the flagship campus. We have 500 new beds out of 6,000, 50 year old dorms, 60 year old dorms. We need new classrooms. They need to rebuild the campus, and they need to do it over a four or five year period ASAP. And now they build a place down there? If that's what they choose to do, rebuild Rupp, I'm fine, because it's good for our city. But whatever is good for our university is also good for our city.

Again, I'm not in the middle of it. What do they say, ‘My name is Bennett, and I ain't in it’, so I'm good.

Video: UK Players Davis, Jones, Kidd-Gilchrist, Teague Post-Tennessee Interview 1/31/12

2012-01-31T21:52:00.007-06:00

UK Players Anthony Davis, Terrence Jones, Michael Kidd-Gilchrist and Marquis Teague talk about UK's 69-44 win over Tennessee at Rupp Arena on 1/31/12. Video's courtesy of uknationofblue

Photos: UK Basketball vs Tennessee 1/31/12

2012-01-31T21:00:00.000-06:00

Video: One2one: John Calipari

2012-01-31T12:54:00.002-06:00

Kentucky head coach John Calipari sits down with CBS Sports Network's Jon Rothstein to discuss the Wildcats program.

NCAA Women's AP/USA Today Top 25 Basketball Poll 1/31/12

2012-01-31T11:45:00.004-06:00

AP Top 25

1. Baylor (40)
2. Notre Dame
3. Connecticut
4. Stanford
5. Duke
6. Kentucky
7. Miami (FL)
8. Tennessee
9. Maryland
10. Green Bay
11. Ohio St.
12. Delaware
13. Rutgers
14. Louisville
15. Purdue
16. Nebraska
17. Georgetown
18. Texas A&M
19. Penn St.
20. Gonzaga
21. Georgia
22. BYU
23. North Carolina
24. Georgia Tech
25. Texas Tech

Dropped Out:No. 23 DePaul

Others Receiving Votes:St. Bonaventure 61, DePaul 53, South Carolina 48, California 18, Kansas St. 13, Arkansas 12, Princeton 11, St. John's 9, Fla Gulf Coast 8, Oklahoma 6, San Diego St. 5, Kansas 5, Fresno St. 4, UTEP 4, Vanderbilt 2, Michigan St. 1

USA Today/ESPN

1. Baylor (31)
2. Notre Dame
3. Connecticut
4. Stanford
5. Kentucky
6. Duke
7. Miami (FL)
8. Tennessee
9. Green Bay
10. Maryland
11. Ohio St.
12. Louisville
13. Delaware
14. Rutgers
15. Georgetown
16. Texas A&M
17. Purdue
18. Nebraska
19. Gonzaga
20. Georgia
21. Penn St.
22. Georgia Tech
23. DePaul
24. North Carolina
25. Kansas

Dropped Out:No. 23 Texas Tech

Others Receiving Votes:Texas Tech 30, Vanderbilt 23, St. Bonaventure 19, Middle Tenn. St. 15, Fla Gulf Coast 14, South Carolina 13, California 12, BYU 8, Michigan St. 6, UNLV 3, UTEP 3, Princeton 3, St. John's 2, Kansas St. 2, Fresno St. 2, South Florida 1

Video: UK Coach Calipari on Tuesday's Tennessee game at Rupp

2012-01-30T17:30:00.000-06:00

UK Coach Calipari talks about Tuesday’s game against Tennessee on ESPNU at Rupp Arena. Video couryest of uksportsinfo

Pre-Tennessee Media Opportunity - Jan. 30, 2012

Head Coach John Calipari

On (LSU head coach) Trent Johnson apologizing for the fouls …
“We talked. I know Trent well enough. My whole point is that if you don’t call rough play, that’s what it goes to. Have to call rough play. On a post-up, if you move a guy three feet, that’s a foul offensively. If you move him two steps, that’s a foul. If that’s all let go, it leads to grabbing. Well I’m allowed to smash this guy in the face because that’s how the game’s going. That’s all I say is call the game the way it should be officiated. Then there are no issues. You don’t get to that. Just call the fouls.”

On how much Tennessee has improved since UK faced them earlier in the season…
“They’re better. All of them, they’re all better. (Jarnell) Stokes is getting more comfortable, but they’re all better. (Jeronne) Maymon is physical. He’s good. He scores. (Their) guard play is good. (Skylar) McBee is really playing as well as he’s played since I’ve seen him. Their other guards are playing good. They’re a good team. The only team that really got them was Vanderbilt. Every other game they could have won. Vanderbilt made shots. If they make shots against us they’ll beat us the same way they beat them. So Vanderbilt is really good.”

On the challenges of the rematches as they face a team for the second time in a season …
“I’m glad it’s at home, I can tell you. I don’t know if it’ll matter but you know, we’re playing them again. We’ve got a bunch of other games. We’ll have to play a team twice and in all likelihood, you go into a tournament and you have a chance of playing someone three times.”

On how even keeled (Michael) Kidd-Gilchrist is …
“I think it’s all he knows. He’s just doing what he does naturally. He’s just playing. I was a little worried when he ran down to protect Anthony because I didn’t want to see anything. Again, I’m preaching that we’re not fouling. We’re playing not to foul. We want six fouls at half. We don’t want it to be a rough house, win in the weight room kind of game. That’s not how we play. If I’m preaching that, then you have to stay in control. When that other stuff happens and they make the call, there’s no reason for anything else to happen. They made the call. Back up and go. The reality is that’s just what he knows. He doesn’t know anything different.”

On whether his early statements that his team needed to be physical have prepared him for what he sees now …
“It’s prepared you all to watch it a little different too see what’s going on and now you can visually see it. The second thing I’ll tell you is that Terrence (Jones) played different down at Louisiana and that’s why we had some toughness. Michael is not going to change how he plays. He does what he does. Terrence has to give us that physical presence. If he gives us the physical presence, the other guys can do what they do. You can’t ask Kyle (Wiltjer) to do it and you can’t ask Eloy (Vargas) to do it. Unless you’re asking Anthony (Davis) to do everything, get rebounds, block shots, dunk, score and be tough, which you can’t ask him to do it. So, if Terrence battles, I’m going to tell you, this (Tennessee game) will be, to (play tough) will wear you out. This is going to be like the hand-to-hand kind of deal where running around, like I jog on the treadmill, that’s one thing. You go outside and play basketball and get bumped and grinded and all of the sudden you hurt in muscles you didn’t even know you had. This is going to be a body-to-body kind of play that’s going to wear people out.”

On Trent’s comment that if Terrence (Jones) continues to play well then UK should win the national championship …
“I don’t know if it’s that much but let me just say this. We were all happy in that locker room. The team was ecstatic. It wasn’t scoring. He was tough. He came up with balls. He posted physically strong even though the guy battled him. He battled back. The four jumps for a ball, we haven’t seen that all year. Well that’s now what we’re all looking for. Everybody will be saying that if he’s capable of doing that then let’s do it every game. Now, it’s hard because they’re not machines. They’re not computers. But, it’s what you strive for. It’s what you prepare for.”

On Doron Lamb’s play …
“He’s OK. I still think he’s better than he’s playing and again the rough house game. (Skylar) McBee is going to get up in him, now are you going to fade from that or are you going to create the contact, go to the line and make two free-throws? Are you going to get to the rim and draw fouls or are you going to run and avoid the contact and throw it and hope it goes in? The way we are being played it is very important. What has happened, Darius Miller is playing really aggressive offensively. He’s getting in the middle, he’s making that little floater, he’s making his shots, he’s going strong to the rim, and he’s dunking balls when he can. He, offensively, is playing like he did at the end of the year, last year.”

On Anthony Davis remaining calm after hard fouls …
“Well when you get knocked to the floor like that and he got hit in the face really hard one time about four plays later. He kind of went back and down and was like, ‘are you kidding me? I thought we were playing basketball?’ And then he runs back, or he smiles. He’s on his back, he gets up and he smiles and shakes his head. Again, in the rule book, if I leave my feet and you slide under me it is a block 100 percent of the time. If I have my position and you move me two feet out of my position that is a foul, offensively or defensively. I have a right to that spot, if you move me out of that spot it is a foul. When Naismith invented the game it was a foul and it’s a foul today. With him, as he gets pushed around that is just what you are saying, they can’t do that. He has a right to the spot. I know they want to be physical, they just can’t move him. They can lean on him, but the minute they start moving him two feet those are fouls. He has been great, he hasn’t said one word and let me just tell you, the best thing for our team is all this happening. It’s going to be just as physical Tuesday and it’s good for us because it’s the one way, I told you two years ago, everybody said you have to hope they miss shots and we did, we went 0-20 (in NCAA tournament against West Virginia). This team they are saying you better get into their bodies and be physical, one coach said, ‘hit them and be real physical,’ that was according to one of their players, anyway. If you can negate that like I’ve been saying for three weeks then you have a chance of doing something.”

On Marquis Teague finally hitting his stride …
“He is running the team better. Right now, he is doing a better job running the team. That is all I am asking him to do. Defend, stay on that court, and if you’re tired come off and run our team. It is hard for our guys. These guys want to score, including Eloy (Vargas). If Eloy grabs the ball at half court, he may try to shoot a hook (shot) out there. They are used to scoring 25 a game. It kills them. Seven rebounds, seven assists, three steals, what a game he had. No, I could have scored 15 more points. What? You don’t have to. Michael (Kidd-Gilchrist) had one point (against LSU); played great. It doesn’t matter. That is not how you are being judged on this team. This team is about how you are doing your job, how you are playing, and like I said, we are hopefully getting better. These will be some tough challenges. (Tennessee head coach Cuonzo) Martin has created a team every year that has a chance to win a championship because they defend in the half court, they play tough, hard-nosed, aggressive basketball, they will post the ball, to make you do stuff to create 3s, they are running good stuff. I am just telling you he is doing a fabulous job with this team.”

On if this team is playing its best basketball of the year …
“We are just trying to get better day-to-day. We missed all of those free throws. We missed about six layups in that game. But, we played good. We played as well as we have all year. But, now let’s see how we do in practice, let’s see how we do tomorrow. Let’s see how we build on that tomorrow.”

On what Michael Kidd-Gilchrist has to do to become a better player …
“He has to start defending. We can’t just start the game and let them do what they want. I can put him on anybody I want to put him on. I can put him on a one, a two, a three or a four if that guy is hurting us, and that’s why he is so vital. I said this after the (LSU) game. Terrence (Jones) really played well. Michael (Kidd-Gilchrist) still might have been the best player and he got one point. There is not many. You can’t say ‘I am going to have my best player come off the bench.’ The guy that is doing the things that he is doing, he has to be on that court. Now, what makes me mad about him is that he fouls, like 30 feet from the basket, and he gets a body foul. Then he gets two fouls, and I am trying to tell him he doesn’t need to block any shots, just body guys up and let them block it. He is doing fine, and the other guys are doing fine. We’ve got six starters, and even when Kyle (Wiltjer) is playing the way he is, and I think he is playing really well also, we have seven starters. That’s why we are where we are right now. The other thing is that when people watch us, they say ‘Man, they are unselfish. All of these All-Americans pass it to one another, and they make the extra pass, they have seven guys.’ That’s why we are where we are, or we wouldn’t be here. I mean, trying to get that challenge across to them is the most important thing. Everybody has to sacrifice and ‘do less’ so you are ‘doing more’ for us.”

Video: UK players Darius Miller and Terrence Jones Pre-Tennessee Interview

2012-01-30T17:16:00.000-06:00

UK players Darius Miller and Terrence Jones Pre-Tennessee Interview as the Cats take on Tennessee Tuesday at Rupp Arena on ESPNU at 7pm. Video's courtesy of uknationofblue

AP/Coaches Poll 1/30/12

2012-01-30T13:34:00.007-06:00

AP Top 25

1. Kentucky (63)
2. Syracuse (2)
3. Ohio St.
4. Missouri
5. North Carolina
6. Baylor
7. Duke
8. Kansas
9. Michigan St.
10. Murray St.
11. UNLV
12. Florida
13. Creighton
14. Georgetown
15. Marquette
16. Virginia
17. San Diego St.
18. St. Mary's
19. Wisconsin
20. Indiana
21. Florida St.
22. Mississippi St.
23. Michigan
24. Gonzaga
25. Vanderbilt

Dropped Out:No. 22 Kansas St., No. 24 Connecticut

Others Receiving Votes:Harvard 69, Louisville 65, Kansas St. 40, West Virginia 12, Wichita St. 9, Notre Dame 6, Nevada 6, Southern Miss 5, Long Beach St. 3, Iowa St. 3, Iona 2, Connecticut 2, Illinois 1

USA Today/ESPN

1. Kentucky (31)
2. Syracuse
3. Ohio St.
4. Missouri
5. Duke
6. Baylor
7. North Carolina
8. Kansas
9. Murray St.
10. Michigan St.
11. Florida
12. Creighton
13. UNLV
14. Georgetown
15. Marquette
16. St. Mary's
17. San Diego St.
18. Virginia
19. Mississippi St.
20. Wisconsin
21. Indiana
22. Michigan
23. Harvard
24. Florida St.
25. Louisville

Dropped Out:No. 19 Connecticut, No. 24 Kansas St.

Others Receiving Votes:Gonzaga 65, Vanderbilt 36, Connecticut 21, Nevada 18, Kansas St. 15, Middle Tenn. St. 9, Iowa St. 9, Wichita St. 7, West Virginia 6, New Mexico 6, Southern Miss 4, Long Beach St. 3, Temple 2, California 2, Notre Dame 1

Photo: UK senior Vargas in new uniform

2012-01-30T13:00:00.001-06:00

Special uniforms for game: Photo Gallery

Photos: UK Hoops vs. Alabama

2012-01-30T10:55:00.000-06:00

SEC Women's BB Games for 2/2/12-2/5/12

2012-01-30T09:48:00.003-06:00

THURSDAY, FEBRUARY 2ND

Florida at LSU 7:00 PM CST
Ole Miss at Kentucky 7:00 PM
Mississippi St. at Georgia 7:00 PM
South Carolina at Tennessee 7:00 PM CSS
Vanderbilt at Auburn 7:00 PM
Alabama at Arkansas 8:00 PM

SUNDAY, FEBRUARY 5TH

Auburn at Tennessee 2:00 PM SEC Network
Ole Miss at Florida 2:00 PM
Georgia at Alabama 3:00 PM FSN
Kentucky at LSU 3:00 PM CST
Vanderbilt at Mississippi St. 3:00 PM

SEC Men's Basketball Games for 1/31/12-2/4/12

2012-01-30T09:41:00.004-06:00

TUESDAY, JANUARY 31ST

Tennessee at Kentucky 7:00 PM ESPNU
Vanderbilt at Arkansas 9:00 PM ESPN

WEDNESDAY, FEBRUARY 1ST

Georgia at Auburn 8:00 PM SEC Network

THURSDAY, FEBRUARY 2ND

South Carolina at Florida 9:00 PM ESPN/2

SATURDAY, FEBRUARY 4TH

Vanderbilt at Florida 1:00 PM CBS Sports
Arkansas at LSU 1:30 PM SEC Network
Auburn at Mississippi St. 4:00 PM SEC Network
Kentucky at South Carolina 6:00 PM ESPN/2
Georgia at Tennessee 8:00 PM FSN
Ole Miss at Alabama 8:00 PM ESPN2

SEC Men's Basketball Standings 1/30/12

2012-01-30T08:17:00.006-06:00

Southeastern	Conf	All
Kentucky (1)	7-0	21-1

Florida (14)	5-1	17-4

Vanderbilt	5-1	16-5

Mississippi St. (18)	4-3	17-5

Mississippi	4-3	14-7

Arkansas	3-3	15-6

Alabama	3-4	14-7

Tennessee	2-4	10-11

LSU	2-5	12-9

Auburn	2-5	12-9

Georgia	1-5	10-10

South Carolina	1-5	9-11

SEC Women's Basketball Standings 1/30/12

2012-01-30T08:14:00.000-06:00

Southeastern	Conf	All
Kentucky (6)	9-0	20-2

Tennessee (7)	7-1	16-5

South Carolina	6-3	17-5

Arkansas	5-4	16-5

Georgia (17)	5-4	16-6

Vanderbilt	4-4	16-5

LSU	4-4	14-7

Florida	3-5	13-8

Mississippi St.	3-5	13-8

Auburn	3-6	11-11

Mississippi	2-7	12-10

Alabama	0-8	10-12

Kentucky vs Tennessee....A Preview Rd 2 - 2012

2012-01-30T00:09:00.002-06:00

Lwcat
WT Administrator

Kentucky vs Tennessee 1/31/12 Tuesday 7PM-EST/6PPM-CST(ESPNU)
Kentucky leads the series 147-66

Tennessee Vols

Location: Knoxville, Tenn
Enrollment: 27,523
Arena: 21,678

Head Coach: Cuonzo Martin
Career Record: 61-41 (59.8%) 3 seasons
At Tennessee-First season

2010-11 Record: 19-15
2010-11 SEC Record: 8-8
Postseason: 0-1 NCAA

2011-12 Record: 10-11
2011-12 SEC Record: 2-4

Tennessee 92 UNC Greensboro 63
Tennessee 85 Louisiana Monroe 62
Duke 77 Tennessee 67
Memphis 99 Tennessee 97
Tennessee 86 Chaminade 60
Oakland 89 Tennessee 81
Pittsburgh 61 Tennessee 56
Austin Peay 74 Tennessee 70
College of Charleston 71 Tennessee 65
Tennessee 72 UNC Ashville 68
Tennessee 66 ESTU 63
Tennessee 86 Citadel 55
Tennessee 76 Chattanooga 63
Memphis 69 Tennessee 51
Tennessee 67 Florida 56
Mississippi St. 62 Tennessee 58
Kentucky 65 Tennessee 62
Georgia 57 Tennessee 53 (OT)
Tennessee 60 U Conn 57
Vanderbilt 65 Tennessee 47
Tennessee 64 Auburn 49

Tennessee Stats

PPG-69.6
FG%-44.5%
3 PT%-35.3% (7.1PG)
FT%-68.5%
RPG-37.2 (+3.7)
APG-13.1
TO’s-14.1
SPG-5.9
BPG-4.8

Probable Starting Lineup

Trae Golden-G 6’1” Soph………………………….13.1 PPG
Jeronne Maymon-F 6’7” Jr……………………..….11.7 PPG
Josh Richardson-G 6’6” Fr..…………………….…..3.0 PPG
Cameron Tatum-G 6’7” Sr……………………….…8.7 PPG
Jarnell Stokes-F 6’8” Fr…………………………….10.6 PPG

Other Key Players

Sylar McBee-G 6’3” Jr………………………………6.5 PPG
Jordan McRae-F 6’5” Soph………………………….8.7 PPG
Kenny Hall-F 6’9” Jr…………………………………6.6 PPG

Tennessee now has a new coach in Cuonzo Martin after Bruce Pearl was fired. Martin played at Purdue from 91-95 under Gene Keady….Martin was then an assistant under both Keady and Matt Painter from 2000-2008 so he garnered great experience from two very good coaches. For the past 3 years, Martin has been a successful coach at Missouri St where he greatly improved their program.

Coach Martin inherited a Tennessee team that lost 4 solid starters in Scotty Hopson, Tobias Harris, Melvin Goins and John Fields plus 4 other players including Brian Williams. Despite those losses, Martin has the Vols playing much better than anyone expected. While Pearl’s Vols were more upbeat offensively, Martin has focused on playing tough hardnose defense….which was evident in the Vols win over Florida and U Conn.

Unquestionably, the addition of freshman Jarnell Stokes has been a huge plus for the Vols frontline. Stokes is averaging 10.6 PPG shooting 57.9% plus garnering 8 rebounds PG. Stokes is already becoming a force in the SEC despite joining the Vols at mid-season.

McBee, Tatum and Golden are shooting well from the perimeter with Golden leading the team in assists with 101. Maymon and Stokes are both averaging 8 rebounds PG giving the Vols a solid inside game on the boards. Golden remains the leading scorer.

UK welcomes Tennessee to Rupp arena after a great win at LSU where the Cats arguably played their best game of the year. Coach Cal was pleased with all the players and their performance. It was especially great to see Terrence Jones have a tremendous game with 27 points. Anthony Davis, who was mauled during much of the game….including an ugly and totally uncalled for mugging which took Davis to the floor on a breakaway….still maintained his cool and delivered another superb game.

Certainly, UK will remember a tough 65-62 win at Knoxville just a little over 2 weeks ago and should be better prepared to handle the Vols at Rupp arena.

I see a 14 point win over Tennessee! GO CATS!

Video: UK Hoops Coach Mitchell & UK players post-Alabama Interviews

2012-01-29T17:07:00.000-06:00

UK Hoops head coach Mitchell and UK players Snowden, Goss & Mathies after the Cats 82-68 win over the Tide. Video's courtesy of uksportsinfo

Video: UK Coach John Calipari says UK played "best game" vs. LSU

2012-01-28T18:43:00.000-06:00

Video courtesy of Courier-Journal.com

Video: UK player Terrence Jones on his huge day vs. LSU

2012-01-28T18:40:00.000-06:00

Video courtesy of Courier-Journal.com

Video: UK Players Darius Miller, Marquis Teague on win over LSU

2012-01-28T18:38:00.000-06:00

Video courtesy of Courier-Journal.com

Video: UK Coach John Calipari previews UK-LSU

2012-01-27T17:34:00.000-06:00

Video courtesy of Courier-Journal.com

Kentucky Men’s Basketball
January 27, 2012
Pre-LSU Media Opportunity

UK Head Coach John Calipari

On LSU holding teams under 60…
“They’re big and their guards are good. (Anthony) Hickey is outstanding, tough, hard-nosed, they have two of him. They have their leading scorer, who is 6-5, back. Johnny O’Bryant who is a McDonald’s All-American, they have the kid from Iowa State that is 7-foot, he’s good. They have two other big kids; they are a very good team. The good news is, for preparation, they play a lot like Georgia, Mark (Fox) worked for coach (LSU head coach Trent Johnson). A lot of the stuff when we go over it we will have seen it. That’s why yesterday I didn’t use any time in our practice, usually I would say let’s hit their stuff a little bit, we did a few of the drills that match it but none of the walk-through stuff.”

On recruiting in-state product Anthony Hickey …
“It’s not about that, he’s good enough, there is no question but we took Marquis Teague. When you do that, unless you just want to load up on kids, here’s what happens, what if he comes here, maybe he is better than Marquis, maybe he’s not, and if he’s not and he’s not playing, is that fair to him? Maybe he would be good enough to beat out Marquis Teague, is that fair to Marquis Teague? I just think that when you go through this process of recruiting, I’ve made mistakes before. I remember when we played Connecticut and when I saw my man out of high school, I said he was too small, I’m not sure he is good enough. Guess what, he was good enough. Hickey is really good. I’ll same the thing, the other side of it is you take a guy that should be going to Western (Kentucky University) or Murray (State) and you just take him to take him when he could go there and be a starter and do x-y-z and you take him because you want to have a Kentucky kid on your team. I’m not doing that, I just refuse to do that. I’ll take walk-ons that way but I’m not taking a player that way, I don’t feel comfortable with that. Hickey is good enough, he is an SEC player and a starting point guard, I just saw him against Mississippi State make four 3s in a row to end the game. He’s not afraid, he could play here, there isn’t any question, he’s not afraid, he’s a battler, he is good.”

On Marquis Teague making the balance of the team work …
“Important but the one thing, this is a hard one for you all to understand, we have to keep working on making the extra pass. You say, ‘well Cal you have seven guys that have over 100 shots. There is no team in the country that has seven guys with over 100 shots.’ There isn’t one and here is what I would say, what happens is, because guys are only taking 10-9-8-11 shots, the extra pass becomes a little bit harder than it would if four or three guys are taking all your shots. We just have to continue to work on that, make that extra pass. The balance we have does make it difficult. Darius (Miller), offensively, he could go for 30, Kyle Wiltjer could go for 30, Doron Lamb could go for (30), you have a bunch of guys that could bust out for 30. Terrence Jones could go for 30, we just have to keep playing the game and whoever has it going, go to him, last game it was Darius and the guys found him and got him shot.”

On Marquis Teague carrying himself better than he was earlier in the year…
“What happens to these young people, if they don’t let you define them, let us kind of present you, define how you are going to play, when they are arguing the point they think they can play like they did in high school and when it doesn’t work it rattles them. Then they don’t know if they are if they are good enough, then they start questioning if they can play, well you can play but just not the way you are playing. That’s the hard thing, most guys have to get hit in the mouth and they say, ‘alright it ain’t working the way I want to do this, let me do this.’ Let me say this, every once in a while they will go back and check it to make sure they are right or wrong. They’ll go and have their kind of game and they’ll look bad again and you’ll say, ‘why did they do that?’ Because they just have to check and see if they can do it their way. Most of these players, they are letting us present them and define their games for them. All we try to do is play to our strengths, play to your strengths; we’ll work on your weaknesses in here but right now let’s do what we do. The biggest thing with Marquis Teague that he is doing better is he is defending and rebound, you all want to look at his offense, he is defending and rebounding. He’s not stopping, he is going in and getting balls, he had seven rebounds. He has seven rebounds we’ll outrebound the other team by double digits. But there are games he gets no rebounds and doesn’t even attempt, that is the old high school, I’m not going in there because if I go in there and they miss then I can’t get a lay-up so I’m going to just take off. It’s not just him; there are a lot of high school guys doing that.”

On being 3-0 in SEC road games …
“They have all been good games. Georgia came out and made six out of eight whatever they did. Tennessee came out and we were down in that game, Auburn came out and we were down in that game. They all come at us, they are all big games and the teams are going to play well. It’s good for us, it makes us better. I expect LSU to play a great game, I expect them to come out and play better than they have all year. (They will) be physical, run their stuff, execute, they’ll play fast but they want it to be, a lot of times you say they are holding people under 60, it’s because they are scoring a little bit over 60. A team that holds it can keep the other team from scoring more. If you are playing faster the other team is going to score more because they are going to get more opportunities. But they do a good job of controlling the games, similar to Georgia.”

On Kentucky being on its own level …
“You always want to be on your own playing field. One of the reasons we don’t have to talk about another program or I don’t even have to worry about who is recruiting a guy is because I don’t care. I tell the family when we come in, ‘you will not hear me or my staff talk about another program and if we do talk about another program it will be positive about that coach or that program.’ We don’t worry about anybody else, if the kid wants something like this then we will get him and if they look at this and say it is too much then they aren’t coming here. What you try to do in all that you are doing is separate so that you are on a playing field where you present yourself and ask the kid if it is something he’d like or not. In everything you do, whether it’s facilities, academics, in the community, social media, connecting your fans. I’ve said that since I’ve been here, you’re at Kentucky, let’s get this separated. Why are we on all these TV games? Because we rate so high, we rate highest in the country. Everybody wants to watch us.

Kentucky vs LSU.....A Preview

2012-01-26T17:00:00.000-06:00

Lwcat
WT Administrator

Kentucky vs LSU 1/28/12 Saturday 4PM (SEC Network)
Kentucky leads the series 80-24

LSU

Location: Baton Rouge, La.
Enrollment: 27,992
Arena: 13,215

Head Coach: Trent Johnson
Career Record: 208-170 (55.0%) 12 seasons
At LSU: 49-49 (50%) 3 seasons

2010-11 Record: 11-21
2010-11 SEC Record: 3-13
Postseason: None

2011-12 Record: 12-8
2011-12 SEC Record: 2-4

LSU 96 Nicholls 74
Coastal Carolina 71 LSU 63
Northeastern 88 LSU 82
LSU 76 Western Kentucky 57
LSU 59 Georgia Tech 50
South Alabama 79 LSU 75 (OT)
LSU 59 Houston 58
LSU 55 Rutgers 50
LSU 64 Boise St. 45
LSU 66 UC Irvine 59
LSU 67 Marquette 59
LSU 67 N.Texas 58
LSU 69 Grambling 37
Virginia 57 LSU 52
LSU 81 Ole Miss 55
Alabama 69 LSU 53
Arkansas 69 LSU 60
LSU 65 Auburn 58 (OT)
Florida 76 LSU 64
Mississippi St. 76 LSU 71

LSU Stats

PPG-67.0
FG%-40.6%
3 PT.%-33.4% (5.5)
FT%-70.7%
RPG-38.6 (+2.1)
APG-12.6
TO’s-13.2
SPG-7.7
BPG-3.7

Probable Starting Lineup

Justin Hamilton-C 7’0” Jr……………………………..14.1 PPG
Andre Stringer-G 5’9” Soph…………………………...10.4 PPG
Anthony Hickey-G 5’11” Fr……………………………9.6 PPG
Ralston Turner-F 6’6” Soph……………………………8.8 PPG
Storm Warren-F 6’7” Sr………………………………..8.2 PPG

Coach Trent Johnson first year at LSU was highly successful…..as he won 27 games….won the SEC championship….and made the NCAA. However, the past two seasons have been a disaster….LSU is 22-41 and 5-27 in the SEC. As expected, LSU fans are not happy and this season is important to coach Johnson.

LSU added transfer 7’0” Justin Hamilton from Iowa St. along with Anthony Hickey, Kentucky’s Mr. Basketball and they both have been a huge plus for the Tigers. Hamilton is the team’s leading scorer, rebounder and shot blocker. In a recent game against Florida, Hamilton scored 27 points against the Gators. Hickey is off to a solid start as a freshman starter leading the team in assists and steals while scoring at nearly 10 points PG. Andre Stringer leads LSU in perimeter shooting hitting 36.6%.

Although LSU stumbled early this season with a bad loss to Coastal Carolina, the Tigers have played much better with wins over Georgia Tech, Rutgers and Marquette. Already, in SEC conference play, LSU has shown to be a much more competitive team than the past two years and have won both home SEC games.

Importantly, LSU has recently opened a new beautiful basketball practice facility revealing the schools determination to be a top level SEC team. This season, LSU will not be the pushover that UK found last season, but still lack the talent to defeat the Cats even in home friendly Pete Maravich arena.

Kentucky arrives in Baton Rouge fresh off a win over Georgia in Athens. The Cats played very well in the 1st half hitting 56% from the field and 60% from the perimeter.
Unfortunately, UK’s offense stumbled in the 2nd half scoring only 19 points….while shooting a pitiful 30% from the field.

Still, there were a number of positives in the Georgia game. It was great to see Miller, Lamb and Wiltjer shooting very well from the perimeter. In fact, kudos to Darius Miller who had a terrific offensive game scoring 19 points. Davis and MKG were both solid on the boards snaring 11 rebounds apiece….as UK dominated the boards. Teague did a nice job running the offense with zero TO’s.

Hopefully, the Cats can get Anthony Davis more involved in the offense…..as Davis played 39 minutes and had only two shots. Also, UK needs Teague to improve his shooting as he continues to struggle from the perimeter. Importantly,Terrence Jones is giving good effort on the defensive end and rebounding well, however, he still has work to do on improving his offense.

All in all, any road win is a positive, but UK still needs improvement on both offense and defense. The Cats should defeat LSU by 12 points.
GO CATS!

Photo of New UK Uniforms

2012-01-25T12:38:00.000-06:00

Here's a better picture from the Nike web site, I still don't like it with the gray. Nike should have stuck with the traditional BLUE and WHITE..

New UK basketball uniforms

2012-01-25T11:51:00.003-06:00

Mr.Nezzer
WT Executive Moderator

OK, from the picture I sure as heck hope they are not gray with just blue trim......I know the color is probably called platinum but no matter how shiny it is, it will still look gray. Sorry, UK's uniforms should be Blue and White.....period. They can make the uniforms out of recycled puppies for all I care just as long as the colors are Blue and White, the trademark of UK sports.

Another thing, why do they come out with new uniforms, mid-season, why not the start of the season??? I understand all of the elite PR crap but UK is already an elite team, they don't need super duper uper hyper charged fuel injected uniforms that are gray with just a hint of blue. Below is the release info on the new uniforms. Below is the release info on the new uniforms.

UK is one of nine schools who will get New Nike Hyper Elite Platinum jerseys, according to a release. UK will debut the jerseys at home against Tennessee on Jan. 31.

From the release:

The fabric of the Nike Hyper Elite Platinum shorts are made from 100 percent recycled polyester while the jersey fabric is made from at least 96% recycled polyester. Both short and jersey are tailored for the optimal efficiency of movement and are five percent lighter than the previous Nike Hyper Elite uniform. Featuring laser-cut bonded logos, a sharp platinum design as well as prominent accent colors, the Nike Hyper Elite Platinum uniforms are sure to shine on the court.

Video: UK Coach John Calipari on UK's win at UGA

2012-01-25T09:34:00.001-06:00

Video courtesy of Courier-Journal.com

Video: UK Darius Miller on his big night at UGA

2012-01-25T09:33:00.000-06:00

Video courtesy of Courier-Journal.com

Video: Anthony Davis on UK's win at UGA

2012-01-25T09:29:00.000-06:00

Video courtesy of Courier-Journal.com

Video: Michael Kidd-Gilchrist on UK's win at UGA

2012-01-25T09:26:00.000-06:00

Video courtesy of Courier-Journal.com

Photos: UK Hoops vs Florida

2012-01-24T07:26:00.002-06:00

Video: John Calipari on UK's No. 1 ranking, trip to Georgia

2012-01-23T14:45:00.000-06:00

Kentucky basketball coach John Calipari talked about the Wildcats being ranked No. 1 in both the Associated Press and ESPN/USAToday college basketball polls as well as previewing the team's trip to Georgia. Video courtesy of Courier-Journal.com

Video: UK Players Jones, Kidd-Gilchrist, Wiltjer pre-Georgia game Interviews

2012-01-23T14:08:00.001-06:00

UK players Terrence Jones, Michael Kidd-Gilchrist and Kyle Wiltjer talks about upcoming game at Georgia. Video's courtesy of uknationofblue

UK Hoops Bria Goss named SEC Freshman of the Week

2012-01-23T12:53:00.000-06:00

SEC Freshman of the Week
Bria Goss • Kentucky
Guard • Indianapolis, Ind.

• Scored a career-high 22 points, including a career-high tying three 3-pointers, in UK’s 69-64 road win at No. 15/14 Georgia. It marked UK’s first win in Stegeman Coliseum since 2008.
• Scored 17 of her team- and career-high 22 points at Georgia in the second half, rallying the Wildcats from a 10-point second half deficit.
• While her shot wasn’t falling vs. Florida, Goss relied on her defense to help push UK to victory, taking a team-high three charges and grabbing a team- and career-high nine rebounds.
• Hit both of her free throws with 22.8 seconds left to help preserve UK’s victory over Florida.
• Averaged a team-high 14.0 points per game in UK’s two wins which helped the Cats tie the best start in program history through the first 20 games.

SEC Men's Basketball Standings 1/23/12

2012-01-23T12:48:00.001-06:00

Southeastern	Conf	All
Kentucky (1)	5-0	19-1

Vanderbilt	4-1	14-5

Florida (14)	3-1	15-4

Mississippi St. (18)	3-2	16-4

Mississippi	3-2	13-6

Arkansas	2-2	14-5

Alabama	2-3	13-6

LSU	2-3	12-7

Auburn	2-3	12-7

Tennessee	1-3	9-10

Georgia	1-4	10-9

South Carolina	0-4	8-10

SEC Women's Basketball Standings 1/23/12

2012-01-23T12:46:00.007-06:00

Southeastern	Conf	All
Kentucky (6)	7-0	18-2

Tennessee (7)	5-1	14-4

Georgia (17)	5-2	16-4

South Carolina	4-3	15-5

LSU	4-3	13-6

Mississippi St.	3-3	13-6

Arkansas	3-4	14-5

Florida	3-4	13-7

Vanderbilt	2-4	14-5

Mississippi	2-5	12-8

Auburn	2-5	10-10

Alabama	0-6	10-10

AP/Coaches Poll 1/23/12

2012-01-23T11:27:00.002-06:00

AP Top 25

1. Kentucky (61)
2. Missouri (2)
3. Syracuse (2)
4. Ohio St.
5. Kansas
6. Baylor
7. North Carolina
8. Duke
9. Georgetown
10. Michigan St.
11. Murray St.
12. UNLV
13. San Diego St.
14. Florida
15. Creighton
16. Indiana
17. Marquette
18. Mississippi St.
19. Virginia
20. Michigan
21. St. Mary's
22. Kansas St.
23. Florida St.
24. Connecticut
25. Wisconsin

Dropped Out:No. 22 Illinois, No. 23 Louisville

Others Receiving Votes:West Virginia 96, Gonzaga 82, Vanderbilt 40, Louisville 35, Harvard 32, Wichita St. 28, Cincinnati 20, Illinois 11, Middle Tenn. St. 9, Dayton 3, Iona 2, Long Beach St. 1

USA Today/ESPN

1. Kentucky (31)
2. Missouri
3. Ohio St.
4. Syracuse
5. Kansas
6. Duke
7. Baylor
8. North Carolina
9. Murray St.
10. Georgetown
11. Michigan St.
12. San Diego St.
13. Florida
14. Creighton
15. UNLV
16. Mississippi St.
17. Indiana
18. Marquette
19. Connecticut
20. St. Mary's
21. Virginia
22. Michigan
23. Harvard
24. Kansas St.
25. Wisconsin

Dropped Out:No. 21 Louisville, No. 25 Illinois

Others Receiving Votes:Louisville 49, Florida St. 41, Gonzaga 34, West Virginia 33, Wichita St. 29, Middle Tenn. St. 28, Vanderbilt 20, Nevada 12, Illinois 6, Cincinnati 4, Southern Miss 3, UCF 3, Iowa St. 2, New Mexico 1, Dayton 1

SEC Basketball Games for 1/24/1-1/28/12

2012-01-23T08:09:00.007-06:00

TUESDAY, JANUARY 24TH

Tennessee at Vanderbilt 7:00 PM ESPNU
Kentucky at Georgia 9:00 PM ESPN

WEDNESDAY, JANUARY 25TH

Alabama at South Carolina 8:00 PM SEC Network
LSU at Mississippi St. 8:00 PM SEC Network
Auburn at Arkansas 9:00 PM CSS

THURSDAY, JANUARY 26TH

Florida at Ole Miss 7:00 PM ESPN/2

SATURDAY, JANUARY 28TH

Arkansas at Alabama 1:30 PM SEC Network
Mississippi St. at Florida 1:30 PM SEC Network
Middle Tennessee at Vanderbilt 2:00 PM
Kentucky at LSU 4:00 PM SEC Network
Auburn at Tennessee 6:00 PM ESPN2
South Carolina at Ole Miss 7:00 PM FSN

SEC Women's BB Games for 1/23/12-1/29/12

2012-01-23T08:00:00.000-06:00

MONDAY, JANUARY 23RD

Tennessee at Notre Dame 7:00 PM ESPN2

THURSDAY, JANUARY 26TH

Kentucky at Auburn 7:00 PM
Ole Miss at South Carolina 7:00 PM FSN
Arkansas at Mississippi St. 8:00 PM
Georgia at Vanderbilt 9:00 PM CSS
Tennessee at Alabama 9:00 PM FSN

SUNDAY, JANUARY 29TH

Alabama at Kentucky 2:00 PM CSS
Auburn at Ole Miss 2:00 PM FSN
Mississippi St. at South Carolina 2:00 PM SEC Network
Florida at Arkansas 3:00 PM
LSU at Vanderbilt 3:00 PM
Tennessee at Georgia 5:00 PM ESPN2

Kentucky vs Georgia....A Preview

2012-01-23T00:18:00.001-06:00

Lwcat
WT Administrator

Kentucky vs Georgia 1/24/12 Tuesday 9PM (ESPN)
UK leads the series 113-25

Georgia

Location: Athens, Ga
Enrollment: 34,677
Arena: 10,523

Head Coach: Mark Fox
Career Record: 158-72 (68.7%) 7 seasons
At Georgia: 35-29 (54.7%) 2 seasons

2010-11 Record: 21-12
2010-11 SEC Record: 9-7
Postseason: NCAA 0-1

2011-12 Record: 10-9
2011-12 SEC Record: 1-4

Georgia 62 Wofford 49
Georgia 63 Bowling Green 54
Georgia 72 South Dakota St. 61
California 70 Georgia 46
Georgia 61 Notre Dame 57
Xavier 70 Georgia 56
Colorado 70 Georgia 68
Cincinnati 57 Georgia 51
Georgia Tech 68 Georgia 56
Georgia 63 Southern Cal 59
Georgia 72 Mercer 58
Georgia 64 Furman 50
Georgia 92 Winthrop 86 (OT)
Georgia 58 Delaware St. 51
Alabama 74 Georgia 59
Florida 70 Georgia 48
Vandy 77 Georgia 66
Georgia 57 Tennessee 53 (OT)
Ole Miss 66 Georgia 63

Georgia Stats

PPG-61.9
FG%-39.9%
3 PT%-31.9% (6.6 PG)
FT%-69.1%
RPG-33.0 (-2.4)
APG-11.3
TO's-11.1
SPG-6.3
BPG-3.8

Probable Starting Lineup

Ken Caldwell-Pope-G 6'4" Fr................14.7 PPG
Dustin Ware-G 5'11" Sr........................7.7 PPG
Donte' Williams-F 6'9" Soph..................7.7 PPG
Gerald Robinson-G 6'1" Sr....................13.8 PPG
Nemania Djurisic-F 6'8" Fr.....................6.5 PPG

Georgia suffered a huge loss when Trey Thompkins and Travis Leslie left early for the NBA. Thompkins and Leslie were 1st and 2nd in both team scoring and rebounds. Coach Mark Fox who has done a good job in rebuilding the Georgia program over the past two years has had to adjust to losing the high flying athletic ability of Thompkins and Leslie...and focus on establishing a solid defense while finding scoring from other players. This season, it's the guards who are doing most of the scoring with highly rated freshman Ken Calwell-Pope leading the Bulldogs in scoring. Also, guard Gerald Robinson has stepped up in his scoring and leads in assists. Dustin Ware leads in perimeter scoring hitting 37.0%

Georgia does have a win over Notre Dame and a recent win over Tennessee, but are struggling in the SEC with a 1-4 record. Certainly, Georgia can be dangerous at home, but this season they simply don't have the athletes in the paint and depend on outside shooting for most of their points.

UK arrives in Athens off a very difficult win over a very tough Alabama team that played very well. The Cats struggled from the charity line, especially in the 1st half and missed 13 FT's for the game. Fortunately, UK made some vital FT's at the end of the game.

The Cats, quite frankly, were lucky to escape an upset as they missed far too many close in basket attempts.....were outmuscled in the paint and out rebounded....and played spotty defense at times. Obviously, UK still has a lot of improving on both offense and defense. Bottom line....as coach Cal has said.....teams are going to challenge UK in the paint with physical play and these young Cats need to meet that challenge with tougher play in the paint. One positive was that UK only had 8 TO's. I see a UK win over a less talented and less physical Georgia team by 14 points. GO CATS!

Video: UK Hoops Coach Mitchell pre-Florida interview

2012-01-22T00:02:00.002-06:00

UK Hoops Coach Matthew Mitchell talks about the upcoming home game with the Gators, big wins on the road, Bria Goss' honesty, among other things. Video's courtesy of uksportsinfo.com

Video: UK Coach Calipari Post-Alabama Presser

2012-01-21T15:36:00.000-06:00

John Calipari talks after defeating Alabama 77-71: In a much shorter than usual post-game press conference, Kentucky basketball coach John Calipari talks about defeating Alabama 77-71 Jan. 21, 2012 in Rupp Arena. Video courtesy of Courier-Journal.com

Video: UK players on UK's 77-71 win over Alabama

2012-01-21T15:27:00.001-06:00

UK players Terrence Jones, Doron Lamb, Anthony Davis, Michael Kidd-Gilchrist on UK's 77-71 win over Alabama. Video's courtesy of Courier-Journal.com

Video: Alabama coach, players on losing to Kentucky

2012-01-21T15:15:00.001-06:00

Alabama basketball coach Anthony Grant and players Trevor Releford, left, and JaMychal Green talk about the team's 77-71 road loss to Kentucky, Jan. 21, 2012.Video courtesy of Courier-Journal.com

Photos: UK Basketball vs Alabama 1/20/12

2012-01-21T14:59:00.000-06:00

Video: Derek Willis commits to Kentucky

2012-01-20T20:06:00.000-06:00

Derek Willis of the 2013 class commits to Kentucky. Video courtesy of Rivals.Yahoo.com

2013 UK recruit Derek Willis Commits to Kentucky

2012-01-20T16:30:00.002-06:00

Derek Willis a 6-8 power forward of the 2013 class from Bullitt East High School, has just announced his commitment to the University of Kentucky. Willis said, "Kentucky is just the best fit for me and that's why I chose them," Willis chose UK over Purdue. Willis is UK's first commit for the 2013 class. Scout.com analyst Evan Daniels: “He runs the floor so well, is a solid athlete and has a legit jump shot that extends to 22 feet. For a guy his size he handles the ball well, can push the break and is capable of scoring with both hands around the basket.”
Here's a Derek Willis Highlight clip below:

Video: UK Coach Calipari, Players preview Alabama

2012-01-20T15:20:00.000-06:00

UK Coach John Calipari and Anthony Davis, Doron Lamb and Darius Miller previews Saturday's 12PM UK-Alabama game on CBS. Video's courtesy of Courier-Journal.com

Video: Archie Goodwin Highlights From The Bass Pro TOC

2012-01-20T14:07:00.000-06:00

Archie Goodwin Highlights From The Bass Pro TOC. Video courtesy of prepforce.com

Kentucky vs Alabama....A Preview

2012-01-19T12:42:00.001-06:00

Kentucky vs Alabama…1/21/12
Saturday 12PMEST/11:00AMCST (CBS)
Kentucky leads the series 101-36

Alabama

Location: Tucaloosa,Ala.
Enrollment: 30,232
Arena: 15,316

Head Coach: Anthony Grant
Career Record: 118-52 (69.4%) 5 Seasons
At Alabama: 42-27 (60.9%) 2 Seasons

2010-11 Record: 25-12
2010-11 SEC Record: 12-4
Postseason: 4-1 NIT (Lost in final)

2011-12 Record: 13-4
2011-12 SEC Record: 2-1

Alabama 64 N. Florida 44
Alabama 74 Oakland 57
Alabama 62 Maryland 42
Alabama 70 Wichita St. 60
Alabama 65 Purdue 56
Alabama 82 Alabama A&M 45
Alabama 72 VCU 64
Georgetown 57 Alabama 55
Dayton 74 Alabama 62
Alabama 62 Detroit 54
Kansas St. 71 Alabama 58
Alabama 69 Oklahoma St. 52
Alabama 72 Jacksonville 55
Alabama 73 Georgia Tech 48
Alabama 74 Georgia 59
Alabama 69 LSU 53
Mississippi St. 56 Alabama 52

Alabama Stats

PPG-66.8
FG%-47.0%
3 PT%-27.1% (3.8PG)
FT%-71.3%
RPG-35.8 (+3.1)
APG-13.6
TO’s-12.5
SPG-7.1
BPG-4.6

Probable Starting Lineup

JaMychal Green-F 6’8” Sr…………………………14.2 PPG
Tony Mitchell-F 6’6” Jr……………………………14.5 PPG
Trevor Lacey-G 6’3” Fr…………………………….7.5 PPG
Trevor Releford-G 6’1” Soph………………………12.5 PPG
Levi Randolph-G 6’5” Fr……………………………6.1 PPG

Other Key Players

Nick Jacobs-F 6’8” Fr……………………………….5.3 PPG
Andrew Steele-G 6’4” Jr…………………………….6.5 PPG

Coach Anthony Grant was very disappointed that Bama didn’t receive an NCAA invitation last season despite finishing with a 12-4 SEC record. The problem was that the Tide had a very weak non-conference schedule. Grant made certain he corrected that this season by scheduling much tougher non conference opponents such as Georgetown, Oklahoma St, Georgia Tech, Dayton, VCU and Kansas St.. In addition, Grant brought in three top 50 rated freshmen.

Alabama returns two of the best players in the SEC in JaMychal Green and Tony Mitchell and both are the leading scorers averaging 14 PPG. Mitchell leads the team in blocks and rebounds. Two highly recruited freshmen, Levi Randolph and Trevor Lacey, have cracked the starting lineup. UK fans will remember Lacey who was recruited by the Cats for his long range accuracy. However, thus far Lacey has struggled from the perimeter hitting only 15-54 for 27.8%. In fact, the entire team is only hitting 27.1% from the 3 point line.

A signature of Anthony Grant teams is hard nose defense and he is rebuilding the Alabama basketball program. This is a good Bama team with improving talent and some key experience on the frontline with Green and Mitchell. The Crimson Tide have some solid wins this season…..defeating Maryland, Purdue, Oklahoma St. and Georgia Tech.

UK is coming off one of their best performances of the season in defeating Arkansas. The Cats saw Anthony Davis break the season record in blocks with much of the season still left. Davis was simply outstanding offensively and defensively. Terrence Jones continues to improve his game with a solid performance against the Razorbacks. Importantly, Teague had perhaps his best overall game as PG at UK by handing out 9 assists while effectively running the offense. Overall, it was a very good team performance and kept UK’s 46 home winning streak alive. Perhaps the only negative is that the Cats need to do a better job of hitting shots from the perimeter.

Alabama will present a tougher challenge than Arkansas as they are bigger and more talented. Coach Cal will be especially looking for Teague and Jones to continue to improve their game. I see a 12 point UK win over Alabama. GO CATS!

Video: UK Coach Calipari, Players Post-Arkansas Press Conference

2012-01-18T13:04:00.001-06:00

University of Kentucky Coach John Calipari, UK Senior Darius Miller, Sophomore Terrence Jones, Freshman Anthony Davis and Freshman Marquis Teague talks to the media after UK's 86-63 win over Arkansas on January 17, 2012. Video's courtesy of uksportsinfo.com

Photos: UK Basketball vs Arkansas 1/17/12

2012-01-18T07:43:00.000-06:00

Photos: UK Freshman Anthony Davis breaks blocks record

2012-01-18T01:31:00.003-06:00

UK freshman Anthony Davis breaks UK single season blocks record against Arkansas passing Andre Riddick(1993-94) & Melvin Turpin(1983-84) each tied with 83 blocks. Davis ties Riddick, Turpin and breaks record in the same game finishing with a overall total of 89 blocks for the season with half the season to go.

Video: 2013 UK Prospect Kuran Iverson on favorites

2012-01-17T15:52:00.000-06:00

Kuran Iverson, the Rivals No. 3 small forward in the Class of 2013, says Kentucky and UConn are his favorites. Video courtesy of FiveStarBasketball.com.
video platform video management video solutions video player

NCAA Women's AP/USA Today Top 25 Basketball Poll 1/17/12

2012-01-17T13:01:00.000-06:00

AP Top 25

1. Baylor (39)
2. Notre Dame
3. Connecticut
4. Stanford
5. Duke
6. Kentucky
7. Rutgers
8. Maryland
9. Tennessee
10. Ohio St.
11. Miami (FL)
12. Green Bay
13. Purdue
14. Texas A&M
15. Georgia
16. Delaware
17. Texas Tech
18. Louisville
19. Georgetown
20. Nebraska
21. DePaul
22. Penn St.
23. Kansas St.
24. North Carolina
25. Vanderbilt

Dropped Out:No. 23 Gonzaga, No. 24 South Carolina

Others Receiving Votes:Gonzaga 41, LSU 20, Georgia Tech 10, South Carolina 7, Kansas 4, Oklahoma 2, St. Bonaventure 2, Michigan St. 2, Hofstra 2, USC 1, St. Mary's 1, BYU 1, Princeton 1

USA Today/ESPN

1. Baylor (31)
2. Notre Dame
3. Connecticut
4. Stanford
5. Duke
6. Kentucky
7. Maryland
8. Rutgers
9. Tennessee
10. Miami (FL)
11. Green Bay
12. Ohio St.
13. Texas A&M
14. Georgia
15. Louisville
16. Delaware
17. Georgetown
18. Purdue
19. DePaul
20. Texas Tech
21. Penn St.
22. Vanderbilt
22. Kansas St.
24. Nebraska
25. Gonzaga

Dropped Out:No. 21 North Carolina

Others Receiving Votes:Georgia Tech 27, Kansas 21, North Carolina 13, Middle Tenn. St. 10, South Carolina 6, Fla Gulf Coast 6, Michigan 4, Florida 3, Texas 2, USC 1

SEC Men's Basketball Games for 1/17/12-1/21/12

2012-01-17T00:23:00.005-06:00

TUESDAY, JANUARY 17TH

Auburn at LSU 7:00 PM ESPNU
Arkansas at Kentucky 9:00 PM ESPN

WEDNESDAY, JANUARY 18TH

Tennessee at Georgia 8:00 PM SEC Network
Mississippi St. at Ole Miss 9:00 PM CSS

THURSDAY, JANUARY 19TH

Vanderbilt at Alabama 7:00 PM ESPN/2

SATURDAY, JANUARY 21ST

Alabama at Kentucky 12:00 PM CBS Sports
South Carolina at Auburn 1:30 PM SEC Network
Michigan at Arkansas 2:00 PM CBS Sports
Connecticut at Tennessee 4:00 PM
Ole Miss at Georgia 4:00 PM SEC Network
LSU at Florida 6:00 PM FSN
Mississippi St. at Vanderbilt 7:00 PM ESPN2

Video: UK Coach Calipari Calipari previews UK-Arkansas

2012-01-16T22:41:00.000-06:00

UK Coach John Calipari previews Tuesday UK-Arkansas game on ESPN at 9PMEST. Video courtesy of Courier-Journal.com

Video: Terrence Jones previews UK-Arkansas

2012-01-16T22:37:00.000-06:00

Terrence Jones previews Tuesday UK-Arkansas game on ESPN at 9PMEST. Video courtesy of Courier-Journal.com

Video: Marquis Teague previews UK-Arkansas

2012-01-16T22:34:00.000-06:00

Marquis Teague previews Tuesday UK-Arkansas game on ESPN at 9PMEST. Video courtesy of Courier-Journal.com

Video: 2012 UK Prospect Shabazz Muhammad Hoophall Classic Highlights/Interview

2012-01-16T18:22:00.000-06:00

2012 UK Prospect Shabazz Muhammad Hoophall Classic Highlights & Interview. Video courtesy of masslive.com

AP/Coaches Men's BB Poll 1/16/12

2012-01-16T12:34:00.000-06:00

AP Top 25

1. Syracuse (60)
2. Kentucky (4)
3. Baylor (1)
4. Duke
5. Missouri
6. Ohio St.
7. Kansas
8. North Carolina
9. Michigan St.
10. Georgetown
11. Indiana
12. Murray St.
13. Connecticut
14. UNLV
15. Virginia
16. San Diego St.
17. Florida
18. Mississippi St.
19. Creighton
20. Michigan
21. Marquette
22. Illinois
23. Louisville
24. St. Mary's
25. Kansas St.

Dropped Out:No. 21 Gonzaga, No. 24 Seton Hall

Others Receiving Votes:Vanderbilt 101, Wisconsin 90, Seton Hall 79, Gonzaga 64, New Mexico 61, Harvard 22, Cincinnati 17, West Virginia 16, Stanford 16, Alabama 10, Wichita St. 3, Iona 2, Wagner 1, Florida St. 1, Northwestern 1

USA Today/ESPN

1. Syracuse (31)
2. Kentucky
3. Baylor
4. Duke
5. Missouri
6. Ohio St.
7. Kansas
8. North Carolina
9. Michigan St.
10. Murray St.
11. Connecticut
12. Georgetown
13. Indiana
14. Florida
15. Mississippi St.
16. San Diego St.
17. Virginia
18. Creighton
19. Michigan
20. UNLV
21. Louisville
22. Marquette
23. St. Mary's
24. Harvard
25. Illinois

Dropped Out:No. 18 Kansas St., No. 23 Gonzaga

Others Receiving Votes:Vanderbilt 47, Kansas St. 46, New Mexico 41, Wisconsin 27, Gonzaga 21, Middle Tenn. St. 21, Seton Hall 16, Wichita St. 13, West Virginia 13, Alabama 7, Nevada 3, California 2, BYU 1

SEC Men's Basketball Standings 1/16/12

2012-01-16T12:30:00.000-06:00

Southeastern	Conf	All
Kentucky (2)	3-0	17-1

Vanderbilt	3-0	13-4

Mississippi St. (18)	2-1	15-3

Florida (17)	2-1	14-4

Arkansas	2-1	13-4

Alabama	2-1	13-4

LSU	1-2	11-6

Mississippi	1-2	11-6

Auburn	1-2	11-6

Tennessee	1-2	8-9

Georgia	0-3	9-8

South Carolina	0-3	8-9

SEC Women's Basketball Standings 1/16/12

2012-01-16T12:26:00.000-06:00

Southeastern	Conf	All
Kentucky (9)	5-0	16-2

Georgia (19)	4-1	15-3

Tennessee (6)	4-1	13-4

LSU	4-1	13-4

South Carolina (24)	3-2	14-4

Vanderbilt (25)	2-2	14-3

Mississippi	2-3	12-6

Florida	2-3	12-6

Mississippi St.	1-3	11-6

Arkansas	1-4	12-5

Auburn	1-4	9-9

Alabama	0-5	10-9

Anthony Davis named SEC Freshman of the Week 1/16/12

2012-01-16T12:09:00.000-06:00

Anthony Davis named SEC Freshman of the Week 1/16/12

Kentucky’s Anthony Davis, a 6-foot-10, 222-pound freshman forward from Chicago, Ill., was named SEC Freshman of the Week after averaging 16 points, seven rebounds, four blocks, 2.5 steals and two assists in wins at Auburn and at Tennessee. Davis tallied eight blocks on the week moving him to within one block of the UK single-season record after only 18 games. He helped lead the Cats in a come-from-behind wins on the road, scoring game-high 14 points at Auburn and a game-high 18 points at Tennessee. He has scored in double-figures in seven-straight games and eight of the last nine.

A’dia Mathies named SEC Women's Player of the Week 1/16/12

2012-01-16T12:04:00.000-06:00

SEC Women's Player of the Week 1/16/12
A’dia Mathies • Kentucky
Junior • Guard • Louisville, Ky.

• Averaged 21.0 points, 5.5 rebounds, 2.5 assists, 2.5 blocks and 2.5 steals per game.
• Scored a career-high 34 points in UK’s win of No. 6/7 Tennessee.
• Also grabbed nine rebounds, one shy of tying a career high, to go along with two assists, two blocks and two steals.
• Hit the game-winning shot vs. Tennessee with 4.2 seconds left to give UK its first 4-0 start in conference play in program history and its third win over a top-10 ranked opponent this season, the first time the program has done that since 1982-83.
• Tied a career high with three blocks at No. 24/RV South Carolina, while also getting three steals.

Photos: UK Cheerleaders win 19th national championship

2012-01-16T12:00:00.000-06:00

The UK Cheerleading team won the UCA National Championship for the 19th time.

Kentucky vs Arkansas.....A Preview

2012-01-15T18:32:00.000-06:00

Lwcat
WT Administrator

Kentucky vs Arkansas 1/17/12 Tuesday 9PM (ESPN)
UK leads the series 24-8

Arkansas Razorbacks

Location: Fayetteville, Ark
Enrollment: 21,406
Arena: 19,200

Head Coach: Mike Anderson
Career Record: 200-97 (67.3%) 9 seasons
1st year at Arkansas

2010-11 Record: 18-13
2010-11 SEC Record: 7-9
Postseason: None

2011-12 Record: 13-4
2011-12 SEC Record: 2-1

Arkansas 83 USC Upstate 63
Arkansas 91 Oakland 68
Houston 87 Arkansas 78
Arkansas 67 Utah Valley 59
Arkansas 86 Grambling St. 44
Arkansas 97 Miss. Valley St. 64
U Conn 75 Arkansas 62
Oklahoma 78 Arkansas 63
Arkansas 62 SE Louisiana 55
Arkansas 71 Eastern Ky. 57
Arkansas 77 Louisiana Tech 63
Arkansas 80 Charlotte 67
Arkansas 77 Texas Southern 49
Arkansas 83 Savannah St. 66
Ole Miss 71 Arkansas 63
Arkansas 98 Miss. St. 88
Arkansas 69 LSU 60

Arkansas Stats

PPG-76.9
FG%-44.0%
3 PT%-34.8%
FT%-69.0%
RPG-37.9 (-0.9)
APG-15.2
TO’s-13.5
SPG-9.3
BPG-6.4

Probable Starting Lineup

Mardracus Wade-G 6’2” Soph………………………..11.0 PPG
Rickey Scott-G 6’3” Soph…………………………….9.8 PPG
Julysses Nobles-G 6’1” Jr……………………………..9.4 PPG
Devonta Aaron-F 6’8” Fr…………………………...…5.9 PPG
Michael Sanchez-F 6’8” Sr……………………………4.6 PPG

Other Key Players

BJ Young-G 6’3” Fr……………………………………15.0 PPG
Hunter Mickelson-F 6’10” Fr…………………………..4.6 PPG
Rashad Madden-G 6’5” Fr………………………...……7.3 PPG
Marvell Waithe-F 6’9” Sr………………………………6.4 PPG

Arkansas fired John Pelphrey after 3 years and a lackluster 25-39 SEC record and zero NCAA appearances. In fairness to Pelphrey, he inherited a bad situation at Arkansas and had a stellar recruiting class coming in…..but, too many empty seats at games along with growing impatience from Razorback fans sealed Pelphrey’s fate.

Not surprisingly, Arkansas turned to one of their own……Mike Anderson who was an assistant under Nolan Richardson from 1985-2002. Anderson then left to coach UAB and did a superb job in coaching UAB to a 89-41 record in 6 years….then has coached Missouri over the past 3 years to a very solid 111-57 record. In 9 years as a head coach
Anderson has taken UAB and Missouri to 6 NCAA’s ….and made it to an Elite 8 once.
Arkansas fans like the uptempo offense and often pressing defense….and the Razorbacks are off to very good start under Anderson.

Arkansas, unfortunately, lost, 6’7 Jr. Marshawn Powell, their best player after just 2 games to a torn ACL. The Razorbacks are led in scoring by freshman BJ Young who often comes off the bench. Young has hit 28-64 perimeter shots for a very solid 43.8%. However, Mardracus Wade has shot even better from the 3 point line hitting 36-73 for a fantastic 49.3%. Julysses Nobles leads the team in assists while rebounding has been done by committee by several players. Hunter Mickelson, 6’10” freshman, comes off the bench and leads the Razorbacks in blocks with 47.

Coach Anderson often goes deep in his bench playing 8-9 players to keep defensive pressure on opponents. The Razorbacks are averaging 9.3 steals PG. There is young talent on Arkansas and coach Anderson has his team playing in a similar manner as his mentor, Nolan Richardson. As Anderson brings in more talented recruits that are very athletic and can press….look for future Razorback teams to be more talented and much better.

UK escaped Knoxville with a hard earned 65-62 win. It was the Cat’s solid defense that kept UK in the game as their offense sputtered. Make no mistake, this was a big win against a solid Tennessee team that played very physical basketball. Once again, MKG and Davis made key plays offensively and defensively. UK’s two best perimeter shooters, Miller and Lamb, were missing in action….in fact, overall team shooting has been disappointing. While UK’s defense is playing well overall, it is exceedingly important for the Cat’s to develop a much more efficient offense and start making more shots….if they want to continue winning on the road. In addition, as coach Cal has pointed out, this UK team must match the physical play of it’s opponents.

Arkansas will be a tough opponent in Rupp arena…..and will force UK to handle the ball against the press. UK should win by 10 points! GO CATS!

Video: UK Signee Archie Goodwin Highlights From The Bass Pro TOC

2012-01-15T18:26:00.001-06:00

Video: UK Coach Calipari, Kidd-Gilchrist on UK's win at Tennessee

2012-01-14T16:26:00.000-06:00

UK Coach Calipari and freshman Kidd-Gilchrist on UK's 65-62 win at Tennessee. Video courtesy of Courier-Journal.com.

Video: Anthony Davis on UK's win at Tennessee

2012-01-14T16:20:00.000-06:00

UK freshman Anthony Davis on UK's 65-62 win at Tennessee. Video courtesy of Courier-Journal.com.

Photos: UK Basketball vs Tennessee 1/14/12

2012-01-14T16:08:00.000-06:00

Video: UK Coach Calipari, players Pre-Tennessee Press Conference

2012-01-13T17:03:00.000-06:00

UK Coach John Calipari and UK players Doron Lamb, Anthony Davis, and Michael Kidd-Gilchrist talk about the upcoming SEC game in Knoxville against the Tennessee Volunteers on Saturday Jan. 14,2012 on ESPN at 12:00PM-EST/11:00AM-CST. Video's courtesy of uknationofblue.

Kentucky vs Tennessee......A Preview

2012-01-13T16:04:00.007-06:00

Lwcat
WT Administrator

Kentucky vs Tennessee 1/14/12 Saturday-12pm-EST/11am-CST (ESPN)
Kentucky leads the series 146-66.

Tennessee Vols

Location: Knoxville, Tenn
Enrollment: 27,523
Arena: 21,678

Head Coach: Cuonzo Martin
Career Record: 61-41 (59.8%) 3 seasons
At Tennessee-First season

2010-11 Record: 19-15
2010-11 SEC Record: 8-8
Postseason: 0-1 NCAA

2011-12 Record: 8-8
2011-12 SEC Record: 1-1

Tennessee 92 UNC Greensboro 63
Tennessee 85 Louisiana Monroe 62
Duke 77 Tennessee 67
Memphis 99 Tennessee 97
Tennessee 86 Chaminade 60
Oakland 89 Tennessee 81
Pittsburgh 61 Tennessee 56
Austin Peay 74 Tennessee 70
College of Charleston 71 Tennessee 65
Tennessee 72 UNC Ashville 68
Tennessee 66 ESTU 63
Tennessee 86 Citadel 55
Tennessee 76 Chattanooga 63
Memphis 69 Tennessee 51
Tennessee 67 Florida 56
Mississippi St. 62 Tennessee 58

Tennessee Stats

PPG-73.4
FG%-46.2%
3 PT%-38.0% (8.1PG)
FT%-69.8%
RPG-36.2 (+3.2)
APG-14.3
TO’s-13.1
SPG-5.9
BPG-4.9

Probable Starting Lineup

Trae Golden-G 6’1” Soph………………………….14.9 PPG
Jeronne Maymon-F 6’7” Jr……………………..….11.3 PPG
Jordan McRae-F 6’5” Soph…………………….….10.4 PPG
Cameron Tatum-GG 6’7” Sr…………………….….8.9 PPG
Kenny Hall-F 6’9” Jr…………………………….....….7.3 PPG

Other Key Players

Sylar McBee-G 6’3” Jr……………………………….....6.3 PPG
Renaldo Woodridge-F 6’9” Sr…………………..….6.1 PPG
Josh Richardson-G 6’6” Fr…………………………...3.0 PPG

Tennessee now has a new coach in Cuonzo Martin after Bruce Pearl was fired. Martin played at Purdue from 91-95 under Gene Keady….Martin was then an assistant under both Keady and Matt Painter from 2000-2008 so he garnered great experience from two very good coaches. For the past 3 years, Martin has been a successful coach at Missouri St where he greatly improved their program.

Coach Martin inherited a Tennessee team that lost 4 solid starters in Scotty Hopson, Tobias Harris, Melvin Goins and John Fields plus 4 other players including Brian Williams. Despite those losses, Martin has the Vols playing much better than anyone expected. While Pearl’s Vols were more upbeat offensively, Martin has focused on playing tough hardnose defense….which was evident in the Vols recent win over Florida.
Frankly, despite losing much of their scoring, this year’s Vols team is playing pretty solid offensively and shooting very well from the perimeter hitting 37.5% and averaging 8 perimeter shots PG.

Cameron Tatum leads the team from the perimeter hitting 41%. Trae Golden runs the point and leads in assists with 81…… Jeronne Maymon leads the team in rebounds while Kenny Hall leads in blocks.

The Vols just had a tough loss at Mississippi St. 62-58. UT had an opportunity to tie or win in the final seconds, but turned the ball over. This Tennessee team will be a very competitive team in the SEC this season.

Kentucky arrives in Knoxville off a hard fought game against Auburn on the road. The Cats found out that coach Cal was right on target when he warned them that opposing SEC teams will fill their arenas and often play their very best against UK….Auburn did just that. Auburn utilized an effective zone defense which many UK opponents will also likely use this SEC season. The Cats pulled away toward the end of the game, but missed shots and poor rebounding kept the Tigers in the game.

Last season, UK lost 6 road SEC games and this season could be as bad if the young Cats don’t come to play for 40 minutes on the road. UK will find a tough Tennessee opponent Saturday in Knoxville and they must play tough defense, rebound better, and make shots.

It’s not rocket science, but winning on the road demands that the Cats bring a high level of energy and match the passion of their opponents. I see a tough game in Knoxville with UK pulling out a 7 point win. GO CATS!

Photos: UK Hoops vs. Tennessee 1/12/12

2012-01-13T16:00:00.000-06:00

Video: UK Coach Matthew Mitchell & UK Hoops Players Post-Tennessee Presser

2012-01-12T21:53:00.000-06:00

UK Women's basketball Coach Matthew Mitchell and UK Hoops players Adia Mathies and Keyla Snowden talk to the media after Kentucky's 61-60 win against #6 Tennessee in Memorial Coliseum. Videos courtesy of uksportsinfo.com