John Clay’s Sidelines

(H-L photo/Mark Cornelison)

Big Blue Links for Tuesday:

Jerry Tipton of the Herald-Leader reports on UK’s rout of UNC-Asheville: “The Cats won 94-57 in a game as predictable as the sun rising first in the commonwealth in Pikeville and last in Paducah. Kentucky had eight second-half dunks, none more memorable than a flying left-handed jam by freshman John Wall, who distinguished himself with a career-high 14 assists.”

Tipton leads notes with lack of a sellout in Louisville: “The UK coach noted that the game would have drawn 24,000 if played in Rupp Arena. Administrators can cite the greater revenue possible by playing in Rupp, thus making it more difficult to sell the idea of playing “home” games anywhere else.”

Herald-Leader slide show from UK’s trouncing of UNC-Asheville.

In the Herald-Leader, Chip Cosby’s crystal bowl says Music City: “That’s where things get tricky. The Chick-fil-A Bowl gets the next pick and would have five teams with 7-5 records to choose from: Georgia, Kentucky, South Carolina, Auburn and Arkansas. Head-to-head records and where the teams finished in their respective divisions don’t carry as much weight as does which team the bowl feels is the best overall fit.”

Dave Hooker of the Knoxville News-Sentinel says UK and Tennessee are jockeying for position: “Just days after beating Kentucky, the Wildcats remain Tennessee’s competition for the SEC’s bid to the Outback Bowl, according to a source close to the selection process. Tickets sold - or the promise of - likely will be the determining factor despite the fact that UT (7-5, 4-4) has a better conference record than Kentucky (7-5, 3-5) and the Vols beat the Wildcats 30-24 on Saturday.”

Bruce Pasco of the Arizona Daily Star has a Doron Lamb note: “Doron Lamb has already visited Kentucky, Connecticut, Kansas and Oklahoma but may not make a decision until the spring signing period that begins in April.”

Brett Dawson of the Courier-Journal writes about the UK win: “There was no stomping of logos Monday night at Freedom Hall. Instead, the University of Kentucky basketball team stepped all over North Carolina-Asheville - with an assist from John Wall.”

Matt May of the Cats Pause on the blowout at Freedom Hall: “The game was marked by a series of perfectly executed alley-oops from Wall, who displayed a passing fancy and finished with 14 assists on the night, one shy of Travis Ford’s single-game record of 15, set against Eastern Kentucky on Dec. 8, 1993. Cousins was the main benefactor, taking three straight lobs from Wall during a 29-6 run that gave UK a 44-point lead.”

Larry Vaught of the Danville Advocate-Messenger says the real tests are coming: “‘This next 10 days we will find out exactly where we are. It is not bad if we lose all three (games) as long as we learn where we are and what we need to work on,’ Calipari said.”

Metz Camfield of the Kentucky Kernel on UK’s highlight show: “After taking nearly two minutes to find their first basket of the second half, UK exploded for 31 points in the next 6:18. Perhaps the brightest spot for the Cats during that stretch was a string of five consecutive free throws made by the 6-foot-11 forward from Mobile, Ala who was averaging just 50 percent prior to the game.”

James Pennington of the Kernel writes on the annual Louisville question: “Just schedule a tougher team and that solves it, right? Well, not so fast. If UK books a neutral game in Louisville against a big-name opponent, those paying a not-so-small fortune for tickets at Rupp will have a fit. And they have every right to do so: Why should those paying top dollar get a home game against Drexel but not Duke?”

Also in the H-L, Mark Story writes that UK football coaches should be glad they’re not at Bama: “Three times in the past four seasons against hated Tennessee, Kentucky’s final offensive possession of the fourth quarter has ended with the Wildcats inside the Volunteers’ 10-yard line and needing a touchdown to win.”

Jennifer Smith of the Herald-Leader writes on UK women’s perfect start: “Guru Maxwell Maltz once said that it takes 21 days of doing something to form a new habit.Coach Matthew Mitchell is hoping his squad will turn out to be one of the best defensive teams in the nation now that it is on day 22 of continuous defensive drills.”

(H-L photo/Mark Cornelison)

A Sea of Blue gives its thoughts on the Kentucky basketball win: “I got the impression from Calipari’s half-time interview that the DDM offense is only going to be run part-time this year because of the size of this team. Yes, UK is athletic enough in some ways, but the DDM is an offense that is not really run best by a team that goes 6′11″, 6′9″, and 6′8″ across its front line.”

Matt Jones of Kentucky Sports Radio was among those of us cramped inside the tiny UK interview room: “You could tell in the locker room that the players are ready to play UNC. John Wall talked about how big a game it would be for him, as he played the hometown team that did not recruit him or offer him a ride. Demarcus Cousins said the UNC and Alabama games (due to his home state) were the two games he most looked forward to on the schedule.”

Straitpinkie on Kentucky’s humbling of Asheville: “Wall had averaged about nine free throw attempts per game entering tonight, but notice he did not attempt a single one tonight. What good would it have done for Wall to blow by his defender and get hacked on his way to the hoop and take his two shots? Instead, Wall found his teammates and put them in positions to score, and took over the game just as much.”

Walter’s Wildcat World has a photo gallery from last night’s basketball game.

Kentucky Sports Network is still trying to get over the Tennessee loss: “Everyone got a glimpse of exactly why Joker has kept Newton from attacking down field and it wasn’t very pretty. The first half saw a hungry Kentucky team execute properly and make plays. The second saw a Kentucky team that was falling apart trying to keep a lead and playing not lose the game.”

Wildcat Blue Blog looks at the week in SEC basketball: “The big story in the SEC this week has been the re-emergence of Florida as a national threat and the main question being asked is “Is Florida back?”. As of now, that answer is a resounding YES.”

UK Football Fan makes its bowl projections: “Kentucky. By a nose. The boards are buzzing with talk of a “basketball” UK-UNC pairing. I question whether a North Carolina-South Carolina matchup wouldn’t be sexier.”