First off, thanks for everyone’s thoughts and prayers concerning an on-going health issue my family has been dealing with for the past week or so. My hope is to return to at least limited posting this week. Thanks again.
(H-L photo/Mark Cornelison)
Big Blue Links for Monday:
Herald-Leader report on Kentucky women dropping their second straight, this time at Auburn: “The Kentucky women’s basketball is heading into the post-season on a sour note. Alli Smalley scored 26 points, and Auburn beat No. 16 Kentucky 65-53 on Sunday, the Wildcats’ second consecutive loss and the third in their last five games.”
Jerry Tipton of the Herald-Leader reports that Calipari questions his team’s urgency: ” Before Tennessee took the court to play Kentucky on Saturday, Coach Bruce Pearl asked his players how they wanted to be remembered. ‘I told them if they didn’t beat Kentucky, this won’t be a great season,’ he said. After Tennessee played with urgency and won 74-65, UK Coach John Calipari wondered aloud if all his players knew what it takes for Kentucky to have a special season.”
Eric Crawford of the Courier-Journal says shooting woes caught up with the Cats: “There was a time when the Kentucky Long Rifle was the most accurate shooting implement in the world. Daniel Boone forged his way through the Cumberland Gap with one of them. But Boone is long gone and Kentucky’s long-range shooting isn’t looking so hot, either.”
Fabian Lyon of the Miami Herald on Brandon Knight’s team win: ” University School trailed two-time defending Class 3A state champion Pine Crest 59-47 in the FHSAA Region 4-3A finals with 2:39 left Saturday when a chant rose from the visiting Suns’ rooting section. ‘Brandon is leaving, Brandon is leaving.’” (Hat tip to Walter’s Wildcat World.)
Aaron Smith of the Kentucky Kernel reports on UK baseball sweeping Bowling Green: “Junior second baseman Chris Bisson, a stalwart in the lineup, and catchers Michael Williams and Luke Maile, making their first appearances behind the plate, powered the offense as UK finished off a sweep of Bowling Green with a 10-4 victory on Sunday. With UK down by one in the sixth inning, Bisson bombed a three-run home run to give UK the lead. He finished with four RBI on the day.”
James Pennington of the Kernel writes that Tennessee’s win was bigger than UK’s loss: “The Cats are used to the magnifying glass. For them, Saturday’s loss wasn’t much more than any other loss. Even though they, the nation’s No. 2 team (and No. 1 among the ranks of overachievers), faltered for just the second time this season they left Thompson-Boling Arena with a seemingly glass-half-full attitude.”
Tom Leach’s take on the UK loss: “Disappointing? Yes. Cause for concern? Only because of the persistent inability to hit open shots on the perimeter but otherwise, this was not a bad loss at all for Kentucky. John Calipari wouldn’t use fatigue as an excuse but the Wildcats clearly did not start this game with a full tank and they were running on fumes at the end.”
Eric Lindsey of Cat Scratches on life after James Paxton: “Now, despite a 6-0 record to start the season, a cloud of uncertainty looms over Gary Henderson’s ballclub. With Paxton and sophomore stud Alex Meyer, UK possessed the potential to have not only one of the Southeastern Conference’s best pitching rotations but one of the nation’s best one-two pitching punches. Without Paxton, Henderson has had to patch together a makeshift weekend rotation.”
Bluegrass State Basketball gives updates on some former Cats now playing overseas.
Inner Circle takes the loss hard: “No matter how UK’s season turns out, the Vols can claim one of our losses. That irritates me. Hopefully, this young Wildcat team can run the table from here on out. I’d love to see John Wall do the ‘John Wall dance’ after we cut down the nets in Indianapolis. That would help ease that low blow UT delivered.”
Aaron’s UK Football Blog catches up with Nermin Delic.
Big Blue Lowdown calls UK’s a valiant comeback: “Kentucky played excellent halfcourt defense in the game’s final 15 minutes, rebounded well and showed a combination of determination and heart that is frankly rare for a team led by underclassmen. Couple this with the fact that UK was playing an early Saturday game on the road after a late game Thursday night, and it really is remarkable how it all went down.”
Straitpinkie breaks down UK by the numbers: “The readers digest version is that UK avenged a January loss at the hands of Devan Downey and South Carolina by controlling things most of the way and exploding with a late game run to race a 21 point victory. After a short turnaround from a late night Thursday game, UK travelled to Knoxville for a 12 pm game against the Vols. The ‘Cats dug themselves a 19 point second half hole, but rallied all the way back to tie the game with just over two minutes left. UK ran out of gas and the Vols won 74-65.”
UK has only two for the L column and both on the road. The SEC can be the most competitive conference. Cal will bounce back after taking a nap during the Tenn. game. Look for Cal in his first final four that will actually count on the books.