John Clay's Sidelines

(H-L photo/Mark Cornelison)

Big Blue Links for Sunday:

Jerry Tipton of the Herald-Leader writes that Kentucky put away Tennessee late: ” Eric Bledsoe found the soft spot in Tennessee’s surprising zone defense and had his best scoring game in a month as Kentucky beat the Volunteers 73-62 Saturday night. Bledsoe, who had missed his previous 11 three-point attempts by midway through the first half, led Kentucky to victory with his second-half sharpshooting. Bledsoe’s three-pointers from the right and left corners fueled a 20-4 breakout that finally put away 12th-ranked Tennessee.”

My column says UK went from GameDay to the Bled-show: “‘Show’ being the operative term of the day, starting with ESPN’s College GameDay, featuring Rece Davis, Hubert Davis, Jay Bilas and Digger Phelps, and a record crowd of crazies filling Rupp just to set another record. Of course, if Digger is in the house, you know Kentucky is going to win.”

Herald-Leader photo slide show of UK-UT game.

Herald-Leader photo slide show of College GameDay.

Jason King of Yahoo Sports writes that UK’s talent is growing up fast: “When Kentucky’s Eric Bledsoe burst into John Wall’s bedroom around 10:30 Saturday morning, the nation’s best college basketball player was still asleep, his pillow draped over his head. Bledsoe yelled at Wall to wake up. Then he nudged his leg and poked his arm. Nothing worked. ‘So I turned on the TV,’ Bledsoe said.

Mike Griffith of the Knoxville News-Sentinel writes that the Vols hit a Wall: “Tennessee battled Kentucky even through the first 30 minutes before hitting a wall. Wildcats freshman sensation John Wall heated up late, scoring 12 of his game-high 24 points during the final 10 1/2 minutes to lead No. 3-ranked Kentucky to a 73-62 victory over No. 12 Tennessee on Saturday night in Rupp Arena.”

Mark Wiedmer of the Chattanooga Times Free Press on the Randy Sanders-Tee Martin reunion: “‘I’ll always be a Volunteer,’ former Tennessee quarterback Tee Martin insists. But when the Tennessee basketball team visited Kentucky on Saturday night, Martin was ‘pulling for the Cats. Go, Blue. I’m at UK now.’”

Video of John Calipari’s opening remarks last night:

Mike Strange of the News-Sentinel says Pearl’s blazer doesn’t finish the job: “It’s been a rough season, and a tough week in particular, for the orange blazer. Bruce Pearl’s special-occasion rivalry jacket is 0-for-3. A 73-62 loss to No. 3 Kentucky on Saturday night at Rupp Arena capped Tennessee’s most daunting week of the season.”

Brett Dawson of the C-J on UK’s win over the Vols: “With ESPN’s “College GameDay” in town for the renewal of one of the Southeastern Conference’s most heated rivalries, tempers flared, players glared and Wall shared the spotlight down the stretch. Bledsoe’s back-to-back three-pointers late in the second half gave the Wildcats (24-1, 9-1) a double-digit lead, and a key steal by Liggins helped the Cats keep it and put away the Volunteers (18-6, 6-4).”

Matt May of the Cats Pause on how UK’s freshmen finished off the Vols: “The critics of Kentucky’s talented, but inexperienced, basketball squad have long held the contention its youth would ultimately sabotage them when it matters most. For 30 minutes the contrarians appeared to be prophetic. Then John Wall and Eric Bledsoe answered the questions.”

James Pennington of the Kentucky Kernel writes that zone not a problem for Cats: “Not in the days of practice leading up to the Tennessee game. Not even all season. This team of occasionally insurmountable youth had never seen this particular defense, and it was playing like it. First-half shooting under 36 percent indicated the Cats were confused, frustrated and looking for answers. They made it to halftime relatively unscathed. Heck, they were 30-29 heading to the locker room. Something had to happen, or UK would have lost its (gasp) second game of the year.”

Wes Rucker of the Times Free Press on the Tennessee loss: “Senior forward Wayne Chism added a sore hip to his bum ankle and knee after a nasty spill late in the first half. Sophomore guard Scotty Hopson clearly wasn’t himself, because of an illness. Yet the 12th-ranked Tennessee men’s basketball team led third-ranked Kentucky with less than 10 minutes left Saturday night in an uneasy Rupp Arena.”

UK women look to snap a long streak today: “The Cats (21-3, 9-2) will be looking for a little more love from the Commodores (17-7, 6-5) in this Valentine’s Day game than they’ve received on their last 12 trips to Nashville. They haven’t won there in 24 years. UK’s last win in Memorial Gym was Feb, 5, 1986 (79-70).”

Mark Story on Michael Porter’s book: “Former Kentucky point guard Michael Porter – who bypassed his senior year this season to take a job to support his wife and young daughter – is writing a book. ‘It will mainly focus on my years at Kentucky,’ Porter said Friday. ‘Some of the things I went through, the trials and how my (Christian) Faith helped me get through it.’”

Metz Camfield of the Kernel on UK’s second-half surge: “With 10:12 remaining in the second half, Tennessee (18-6, 6-4 SEC) led UK 52-50. Over the next 7:28, Wall and Bledsoe guided the Cats to a decisive 20-4 run, combining to score all but two of the points. The run was highlighted by back-to-back Bledsoe 3-pointers from the each corner that ignited a Rupp Arena crowd of 24,402 waiting to explode.”

B.W. Jones of the Kernel on DeAndre Liggins: “It’s not a role he was expecting when he signed on at UK in 2008 as a high-profile point guard prospect, but it’s something he’s come to relish. Liggins finished with seven points, four rebounds, four assists and two steals in UK’s 73-62 win over Tennessee on Saturday at Rupp Arena. He also held the Volunteers’ leading scorer, Scotty Hopson, to 10 points on the night.”

Jeff McMurray of the AP on the UK win over UT: “Down 52-50 midway through the second half after a three-point play by J.P. Prince, Kentucky (24-1, 9-1) scored the next 10 points – six of them by Wall – to give John Calipari his first win over Bruce Pearl in a Southeastern Conference matchup. The two met annually when Calipari coached at Memphis.”

Tipton’s Sunday notebook recalls the Pitino Era: “Reporters could hear an echo from the Rick Pitino days when speculation about other jobs became an annual rite of spring. On May 2, 1997, Pitino addressed rumors of his leaving for the Boston Celtics by saying, ‘If I am back next year, and I intend to be, it’s going to be with a long-term contract. … I know (Celtics owner) Paul Gaston has not said that, and I haven’t said that. I’ve never really looked at an offer. I don’t know what all this is about.’”