One for the history books -- UK wins, but....
It's the morning after the Battle for the Bluegrass. The University of Kentucky has defeated the University of Louisville 71-62 in their annual rivalry game, but as usual, the score doesn't begin to tell the story.
Big Blue Nation gets the bragging rights, but Planet Red comes away with more than lovely parting gifts. More on that later.
This game differed from the rest of the series from the very outset; it was filled with snarling, nasty attitudes on both sides, reminiscent of '80s-vintage U of L-Memphis or UK-Louisiana State tilts. Consider: eight seconds past tipoff, UK's Eric Bledsoe draws a foul call, and woofs so vehemently that Wildcat head coach John Calipari pulls him out of the game to calm him down. As Calipari tries to pour soothing words into his ear, Bledsoe continues to rant over Calipari's shoulder, at either the official or U of L's Reginald Delk.
Some 37 seconds later, a scrum over a loose ball ends with UK's DeMarcus Cousins delivering an apparent forearm shiver to the face of the Cards' Jared Swopshire, bouncing Swopshire's head off the floor. Swopshire's objection to this kind of treatment earns him a technical foul. Delk also gets T'd up in the aftermath, and after a long session of all three officials scrutinizing the video replay, Cousins also draws a T -- and in the virtually unanimous opinion of the analysts, is very fortunate not to be ejected from this game and suspended for UK's next contest (against Georgia).
And the game still is less than a minute old!
The rattled Cardinals proceed to miss 18 of their first 19 field goal attempts and rack up 12 first-half turnovers. At the under-eight-minute TV timeout, the Wildcats lead 17-5. Game over, right?
Wrong.
U of L keeps battling on the defensive end, and helped out by a couple of silly UK fouls near the end of the half, the Cards claw back to within eight points at the break. They've shot a dismal 17 percent from the floor, but they've held the No. 3-ranked team in the country to 27 points in the half on its home floor -- something to build on, if U of L coach Rick Pitino can push the right buttons at halftime to get his players' heads back into the game.
Whatever Pitino said worked. The Cards played like demons beginning the second half, and midway through the period, U of L took a 42-41 lead.
Could the unthinkable happen? Could the outsized, outmanned, upstart Cardinals upend mighty UK on its own floor?
No. Because John Wall wouldn't allow it.
The Cats' freshman point guard scored seven points in a 9-0 run that put UK in front by eight, and the Cards got no closer than within four the rest of the way. Still, the issue remained in doubt until the final minute, and the major beatdown Cat fans had envisioned never materialized.
What do the teams take away from this contest?
UK gets further confirmation it can take a talented opponent's best shot and remain on its feet. Many lesser teams would have folded in the face of U of L's fierce rally, but at least in front of its faithful, UK did not. Cat fans know their fabulous freshman point guard is the real deal; they also know the guy they call "Big Cuz" is capable of removing himself from the arsenal if he cannot keep his temper in check. Calipari will find plenty of teaching points in this game video.
So will Pitino. U of L's execution in the first half was, to be kind, dismal; the Cards completely lost their poise after the first-minute hostilities. On the other hand, Pitino's charges displayed a toughness some feared they lacked. It will serve them well during their remaining 17 Big East Conference games, beginning Wednesday night in Providence, R.I.
All in all, though I hate to see the Cards lose to Kentucky, Saturday's performance left me encouraged. Bring on the Big East.
It's the morning after the Battle for the Bluegrass. The University of Kentucky has defeated the University of Louisville 71-62 in their annual rivalry game, but as usual, the score doesn't begin to tell the story.
Big Blue Nation gets the bragging rights, but Planet Red comes away with more than lovely parting gifts. More on that later.
This game differed from the rest of the series from the very outset; it was filled with snarling, nasty attitudes on both sides, reminiscent of '80s-vintage U of L-Memphis or UK-Louisiana State tilts. Consider: eight seconds past tipoff, UK's Eric Bledsoe draws a foul call, and woofs so vehemently that Wildcat head coach John Calipari pulls him out of the game to calm him down. As Calipari tries to pour soothing words into his ear, Bledsoe continues to rant over Calipari's shoulder, at either the official or U of L's Reginald Delk.
Some 37 seconds later, a scrum over a loose ball ends with UK's DeMarcus Cousins delivering an apparent forearm shiver to the face of the Cards' Jared Swopshire, bouncing Swopshire's head off the floor. Swopshire's objection to this kind of treatment earns him a technical foul. Delk also gets T'd up in the aftermath, and after a long session of all three officials scrutinizing the video replay, Cousins also draws a T -- and in the virtually unanimous opinion of the analysts, is very fortunate not to be ejected from this game and suspended for UK's next contest (against Georgia).
And the game still is less than a minute old!
The rattled Cardinals proceed to miss 18 of their first 19 field goal attempts and rack up 12 first-half turnovers. At the under-eight-minute TV timeout, the Wildcats lead 17-5. Game over, right?
Wrong.
U of L keeps battling on the defensive end, and helped out by a couple of silly UK fouls near the end of the half, the Cards claw back to within eight points at the break. They've shot a dismal 17 percent from the floor, but they've held the No. 3-ranked team in the country to 27 points in the half on its home floor -- something to build on, if U of L coach Rick Pitino can push the right buttons at halftime to get his players' heads back into the game.
Whatever Pitino said worked. The Cards played like demons beginning the second half, and midway through the period, U of L took a 42-41 lead.
Could the unthinkable happen? Could the outsized, outmanned, upstart Cardinals upend mighty UK on its own floor?
No. Because John Wall wouldn't allow it.
The Cats' freshman point guard scored seven points in a 9-0 run that put UK in front by eight, and the Cards got no closer than within four the rest of the way. Still, the issue remained in doubt until the final minute, and the major beatdown Cat fans had envisioned never materialized.
What do the teams take away from this contest?
UK gets further confirmation it can take a talented opponent's best shot and remain on its feet. Many lesser teams would have folded in the face of U of L's fierce rally, but at least in front of its faithful, UK did not. Cat fans know their fabulous freshman point guard is the real deal; they also know the guy they call "Big Cuz" is capable of removing himself from the arsenal if he cannot keep his temper in check. Calipari will find plenty of teaching points in this game video.
So will Pitino. U of L's execution in the first half was, to be kind, dismal; the Cards completely lost their poise after the first-minute hostilities. On the other hand, Pitino's charges displayed a toughness some feared they lacked. It will serve them well during their remaining 17 Big East Conference games, beginning Wednesday night in Providence, R.I.
All in all, though I hate to see the Cards lose to Kentucky, Saturday's performance left me encouraged. Bring on the Big East.
posted by Alan at 10:54 AM
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