John Clay's Sidelines

SEC links for Monday:

• In the Tennessean, columnist David Climer writes that Tenneessee’s downward spiral could cost the Vols an NCAA Tournament slot.
• Mike Griffith of the News-Sentinel writes that Bruce Pearl wants his struggling Vols to play more as a team.
• In the News-Sentinel, Dan Fleser reports on the Lady Vols’ win over Mississippi State.
• In the News-Sentinel, John Adams writes on Lady Vol Kelley Cain, who is playing through pain.
• Michael Carvell of the AJC reports that South Carolina coach Steve Spurrier told a top Georiga prep quarterback he is nowhere close to retiring.
• Ray Melick of the Birmingham News writes that ex-Alabama offensive lineman Andre Smith, who skipped out on the NFL Combine, has now been introduced to the real world.
• Kevin Scarbinsky of the Birmingham News writes that Alabama and Tennessee are waging an uncivil war in Memphis.
• In The Advocate, Randy Rosetta reports on LSU baseball’s sweep of Villanova.
• In the Gainesville Sun, Edward Aschoff reports on Florida’s sweep of No. 8 Louisville in baseball.
• Also in the Sun, John Oesher reports that Percy Harvin expects to play wide receiver in the NFL.
• Jim Wyatt of the Tennessean writes that D.J. Moore could be Vandy’s next first-round draft pick.
• In the NW Arkansas Times, Derek Oxford writes that the Arkansas women have set a school record for consecutive league wins in basketball.
• Chris Dearing of The State writes on South Carolina baseball’s opening weekend.
• Also in the Times, Nate Allen writes that effort does not equal victories for Arkansas men.
• David Brandt of the Clarion-Ledger writes on Ole Miss’ big man in the middle.

College basketball on the tube for Sunday, Feb. 22:

Big Blue Links for Sunday:

• My column in the Herald-Leader on the return of Patrick Patterson.
• Mark Story’s column in the Herald-Leader on Jodie Meeks being the ultimate diversion.
• Jerry Tipton’s game story in the Herald-Leader on UK’s 77-58 drubbing of Tennessee.
• Tipton’s notes includes Bruce Pearl accusing his team of quitting.
• Brett Dawson’s game story in the Courier-Journal says UK showed a balance of power.
• Eric Crawford of the Courier-Journal wrote that Darius Miller played like the star UK needs.
• Brian Rickerd of the State-Journal looks at where the Cats go after the victory.
• In the Knoxville News-Sentinel, Mike Griffith writes that Pearl Era hits rock bottom at Tennessee.
• John Adams of the News-Sentinel writes that Tennessee is in a basketball recession.
• Mike Strange of the News-Sentinel writes that UT held Meeks but let the other Cats loose.
• The News-Sentinel’s Griffith caught up with Chris Lofton at the game.
• Bobby Reagan of the Kernel writes about Miller’s breakout game.
• Also in the Kernel, J.D. Williams columnizes on the Kentucky victory.
• A Sea of Blue gives its thoughts on the Kentucky win.
• Kentucky Sports Radio gives its post-game summary.
• Straitpinkie weighs in on the UK win.
• Cat Scratches reports that UK men’s tennis upsets No. 4 team in the nation.
• UK baseball splits a doubleheader.
• UK women head to LSU.

Ten quick notes from Kentucky’s 77-58 thumping of Tennessee:

• Darius Miller posted career highs in field goals (6-of-6), three-pointers (3-of-3), points (17) and assists (6).

• Kentucky averaged 1.25 points per possession, best since the Cats averaged 1.35 at Tennessee on Jan. 13.

• Tennessee grabbed 23 offensive rebounds, to just 20 defensive rebounds for Kentucky. That means the Vols got over 50 percent of the available rebounds on its offensive end.

• In his first game back after missing two games with that sprained ankle, Patrick Patterson was 9-of-12 from the floor and finished with 19 points.

• Ramon Harris made his first three-pointer since the Vanderbilt game at Rupp on Jan. 10.

• Tennessee managed just four assists on 20 field goals. Kentucky had 23 assists on 28 field goals.

• Jodie Meeks was held to 14 points, his lowest point-total in conference and his lowest overall since he scored 13 against Indiana on Dec. 13.

• A.J. Stewart has made five of seven shots and scored 16 points in his last two games.

• Michael Porter has made eight of 16 three-point shots in his last four games.

• Kentucky shot 59.6 percent, its highest field goal percentage since it shot 64.4 against Lamar on Dec. 3.

Updates from UK-Tennessee at Rupp Arena:

• Check blog later for more info.

• Kentucky wins 77-58. Patterson has 19, but star is Darius Miller with 17 points, on 6-of-6 shooting, 3-of-3 on threes. He also had six assists and three rebounds. UK shoots 59.6. Tennessee shoots 31.7.

• It’s 71-53 UK at 3:51 mark. Here’s Miller’s line: 5-5 FG, 3-3 on 3s, 2-2 FT, 6 assists, 3 rebounds. Patterson leads Cats with 17 points. Meeks has 14. Miller 15. Tennessee shooting 31.6 for game.

• Tennessee has 31 second-chance points.

• Tennessee is on an 8-0 run but Kentucky up 61-47 with 7:20 left. Miller, Meeks and Patterson each have 12 points for Cats. Hopson leads Vols with 12.

• Kentucky up 57-38 at 11:07 mark. That’s the Cats’ biggest lead. Miller has 12 points, five assists and two rebounds. UK is shooting 57.1 percent for game. Vols are shooting 28.6. UT has made three of 18 threes.

• Patterson picked up third foul at 15:43.

• UK up 43-33 with 15:43 left. Tennessee leads on boards 21-18. Vols have 23 second-chance points. But Kentucky has a 10-point lead. Kentucky’s defense has been very good. Cats have held Vols to 30 percent shooting, but can’t get defensive rebounds.

• Tennessee had 10 offensive rebounds in first half. UK had 11 defensive. So Vols got nearly 50 percent of rebounds at offensive end. UK has five offensive boards, to seven defensive for Vols. So Cats have gotten over 40 percent at its offensive end.

• Tennessee has 18 second-chance points.

• Halftime: Kentucky leads 31-24. Cats shot 48.1 percent the first half. Tennessee shot 27.6. The Vols were just 2-of-12. Kentucky has 8 turnovers to 6 for Tennessee. UK up 17-15 on boards. Brian Williams has given UT a big lift with seven points off the bench.

• Kentucky up 28-22 at 2:09 mark. Long time until the TV time there. Cats are shooting 54.5 percent. UT is shooting 26.9 percent. But after not turning the ball over early, Kentucky has seven now.

• Kentucky leads 21-10 at 7:46 mark. Vols are now 3-of-15 from the floor for a woeful 20 percent. UT is 1-of-7 from three. Think they wish Lofton could come down out of the stands?

• Kentucky leads 13-2 at the 11:12 TV time. Cats are 6-of-13 from floor, but Vols are an awful 1-of-9. Tennessee has clanged all five of its 3s. Get this: Kentucky has yet to make a turnover. Tennessee has five. Kentucky’s defense to this point has been outstanding.

• Kentucky leads 5-0 at 15:57 TV time. Vols are 0-of-4 from the field. Chism has missed two threes for the visitors. Kentucky’s defense has been good so far. Also forced a couple of turnovers. Meeks off to an 0-for-2 start. Ramon Harris hit a three, and Patterson has other basket for Cats.

• UK’s starters are Porter, Meeks, Harris, Stevenson and Patterson. UT starting Smith, Chism, Tabb, Prince and Hopson.

• To answer Mr. Seaver’s comment, I don’t think Tony will T-up Gillispie unless it can’t be avoided.

• Daniel Orton is in the house.

• This is the third game in UK’s last four worked by Tony Greene. It’s the fourth in the last six. Greene T-d up Billy Gillispie at Vanderbilt on Tuesday night. He was also on the crew at Louisville where Gillispie also got a technical.

• SEC Commissioner Mike Slive is also in attendance at Rupp.

• Former Mason County star and former UT star Chris Lofton is in attendance.

• Looks like Patrick Patterson will return from his ankle injury. He is out on the floor warming up.

• Officials are Tony Green, Rick Crawford and Mark Eades.

All the talk about Vandy got 13 offensive rebounds against Kentucky on Tuesday and Tennessee got 19 offensive rebounds against Kentucky the last time the two teams played means little without the context of how many rebounds were available.

For example, Vandy did grab 13 offensive rebounds on Tuesday in Nashville. Kentucky was credited iwth 15 defensive rebounds. That means there were 28 available rebounds on the Commodores’ offensive end of the floor. Kevin Stallings’ team got 46.4 percent of those rebounds. That’s a high perecentage. The highest percentage against UK in SEC play this year.

By comparison, Tennessee got more offensive rebounds but a lower percentage when the Vols played UK in Knoxville. Tennessee grabbed 19 offensive boards. Kentucky grabbed 28 defensive boards. That means the Vols got 40.4 percent of the available rebounds on its offensive end.

Patrick Patterson played in Knoxville. He did not play at Vanderbilt. He should play today.

Opponents offensive rebound percentages:

Stat comparisons for UK-Tennessee heading into today’s game at Rupp:

(Note: Projected score is what the outcome would be, using points per possession averages, on a neutral floor.)

Bracket Buster Saturday hightlights college basketball on the tube for Saturday, Feb. 21:

Big Blue Links for Saturday:

• Jerry Tipton’s advance in the Herald-Leader focuses on return of Patrick Patterson.
• Tipton’s notes includes Tennessee’s Scotty Hopson happy to be back in the Bluegrass.
• Tipton also writes that an ex-Virginia star has cautionary tale for Jodie Meeks.
• My column on UK’s bubble trouble.
• Audio from Billy Gillispie’s press conference on Friday.
• Gary Henderson wins debut as UK baseball coach.
• Chip Cosby of Herald-Leader reports UK may open football season in Cincinnati.
• Jennifer Smith of H-L writes that UK women’s uphill battle continues after win over Lady Vols.
• Brett Dawson’s advance in the Courier-Journal says Kentucky hopes to improve.
• Mike Griffith of the Knoxville News-Sentinel writes that Tennessee hopes to avoid a meltdown.
• Bryan Mullen of the Tennessean writes that Hopson expects hostility from UK fans.
• Dan Fleser of the News-Sentinel reports that Pat Summitt has kicked her Lady Vols out of their lockerroom after loss to Kentucky.

Continue reading ‘BBL: UK-Tennessee preview’