John Clay's Sidelines

Cornell's most famous fictious alum, Andy Benard of The Office

Big Blue Links for Monday:

Jennifer Smith of the H-L writes that tonight’s UK-Michigan State women’s matchup is size vs. speed:

Post-season tournaments always spark debate: Would you rather be the more talented team or the more experienced team?

Would you rather be the faster team or the bigger team?

Kentucky and Michigan State will do their best to answer that second question in the second round of the women’s NCAA Tournament on Monday night at Freedom Hall, playing for a chance to advance to the regional in Kansas City.

Stacey Shackford of the Ithaca Journal on Cornell’s win over Wisconsin:

Lauren McPhillips was seeing red on Sunday, but not in anger — she was flush with the thrill of victory and pride as she watched her alma mater advance to the next round of the NCAA semifinals in a historic 87-69 win over the University of Wisconsin.

“I can’t fathom it. I’m so excited to be a Cornell alum right now. Our cheerleaders finally have something to cheer for,” she said.

The Big Red’s historic win was the cherry on the top of a sweet treat of victories that piled up over the weekend.

Jerry Tipton of the H-L reports that DeMarcus Cousins thinks UK can still improve:

Despite last week’s two overwhelming victories, big man DeMarcus Cousins envisioned even better play in a future that begins in Syracuse with an East Regional semifinal game against Cornell on Thursday.

“We can still get better,” he said after the humiliation of Wake Forest. “I wish it was the middle of the season. I’d want to see how good we can actually get. I don’t know how good we can be.”

My column saying it was a pretty good 24 hours for a Kentucky basketball fan:

OK, OK, of course there are such things as hanging another national title banner at Rupp Arena, or pulling in another consensus No. 1 recruit, or beating another storied program to make another college basketball milestone.

Besides those blissful occasions, if you are a Kentucky basketball fan, it could not have been much better than the 24 hours of enjoyable hoops that stretched from late Friday night right through the Saturday night specials.

Matt Hayes of the Sporting News on how Cornell is primed for Kentucky:

They were kicking around a hacky sack an hour before it all unfolded, laughing and joking and treating the biggest game of their lives like another ‘got next’ at the YMCA.

This is what Cornell has done to the NCAA tournament: create an historic moment for the Ivy League, and treat it like it was no big deal.

That’s what happens when you haven’t been tested in two games as an underdog.

“The more these teams sleep on us, the more we’ll take advantage of it,” said Cornell center Jeff Foote. “Anything is possible. Our goal is the Final Four.”

Andy Staples of SI.com says driven Cornell is no Cinderella:

There was no sense of wonder Sunday as the Big Red walked off the court following its 87-69 demolition of Wisconsin. No dog pile. No jersey pops for the cameras. None of that glass slipper mumbo-jumbo. Cornell had just dispatched No. 5 seed Temple and No. 4 seed Wisconsin by an average of 16.5 points, and Big Red players walked off the court like a team that accomplished the task it came to perform.

We will try to hand Cornell a sling before it faces top-seeded Kentucky in the Sweet 16 in Syracuse on Thursday. The Big Red don’t need one. They’ve proven this season they can stand toe-to-toe with Goliath and trade punches. They pushed Kansas in Lawrence. They made nine three-pointers in the first half against Syracuse in the Carrier Dome.

Zagsblog says Billy Donovan is focusing on a late pitch for Brandon Knight:

Florida coach Billy Donovan seems more focused on trying to land stud recruit Brandon Knight than he is on becoming the next coach at St. John’s.

Despite a published report to the contrary, St. John’s AD Chris Monasch has not contacted Jeremy Foley, his counterpart at Florida, for permission to speak with Donovan, a St. John’s spokesman said.

“I am very happy here, and we have a very good team coming back next season,” Donovan told Lenn Robbins of the Post in a text message. “St. John’s has a great tradition, and I have great respect for that program.”

Thayer Evans of the New York Times on Drake being a UK fan:

After Kentucky’s 90-60 victory over Wake Forest on Saturday night sent the Wildcats to the N.C.A.A. tournament’s Round of 16, the Grammy-nominated rapper Drake raised two of his fingers in celebration from his second-row seat behind the Wildcats bench.

Drake, who was at the game with the basketball power broker known as Worldwide Wes, wore a blue Kentucky jacket and hugged Wildcats super fan and actress Ashley Judd after the victory. He also exchanged high-fives with some of the Wildcats coaches.

“I’m just a natural fan,” said Drake, a 23-year-old Toronto native. “I love the team.”

(Hat tip to Walter’s Wildcat World.)

Ray Glier writes for the New York Times on the Big Red:

There was respect for Cornell, sure, but there was never the awe that surrounds elite teams. The Big Red challenged No. 1 Kansas in January and lost by just 5 points, yet it was an Ivy League team, a squad of nonscholarship players, so it was not always clear how much should be invested in it.
Doug Benc/Getty Images

On Sunday, in the second round of the N.C.A.A. tournament, awe replaced respect.

Pete Prisco of CBS Sports writes that Cornell schooled Wisconsin:

The way Cornell played Sunday, they should have charged all in attendance an extra fee for what they watched.

They should sell that tape to high school teams and kids growing up. That’s how good it was. Title: Playing the Perfect Basketball Game While Carving Up an Opponent.

There’s no other way to describe what I watched here Sunday. Cornell, the 12th seed in the East Regional, ran and passed and shot, especially shot, the fourth-seeded Wisconsin Badgers out of the Jacksonville Veterans Coliseum. Cornell beat Wisconsin 87-69 to advance to the Sweet 16, where they will face top-seeded Kentucky.

Brett Dawson of the C-J says UK relishes the underdog role:

After an opening weekend in which No.1 overall seed Kansas was upset in the second round and UK – the No.1 seed in the East Regional – dominated its first- and second-round opponents, you’d have a strong case.

“All the sports analysts thought Kansas was going to win and we were going to be the first No.1 seed out,” UK forward Patrick Patterson said. “I doubt they think we’re going to win it now. If they want to put the mark on our backs, we’ll take it.”

Aaron Smith of the Kentucky Kernel reports that UK baseball avoids a sweep:

UK used a barrage of long balls and a dominant start from Alex Meyer to bury Mississippi as the No. 20 Cats (15-5, 1-2 Southeastern Conference) earned their first conference victory of the year.

The Cats hit a trio of three-run home runs en route to a 12-3 rout of the No. 19 Rebels (15-5, 2-1 SEC) Sunday.

Larry Vaught of the Danville Advocate-Messenger says Cornell will have no fear:

Now that Kentucky has inherited the role of tourney favorite following Kansas’ stunning upset loss to Northern Iowa, the Cats have to play the biggest Cinderella left in the big dance.

Tom Leach’s take on John Calipari:

John Calipari can coach the X’s and O’s as well as anyone but in watching him up close for one season, I think the part of the job of a coach that may set him apart from most of his peers is managing people–pecifically, his own players. He can tear them down when needed but he also builds them up and he tries to connect with them as people. After last night’s rout of Wake Forest, I asked what accounted for the tremendous play we saw in New Orleans, particularly from Darius Miller in the win over Wake.

Ken Davis of NBC Sports thinks it’s Kentucky’s tournament to lose:

There’s no reason for concern in Kentucky. Not yet. The Wildcats appeared to have plenty of focus in their 90-60 destruction of Wake Forest. Now Big Blue Nation can pack its bags and invade Syracuse for a weekend of fun in the Carrier Dome. Won’t that be strange, seeing Ashley Judd and the rest of the Kentucky fans painting a canvas of blue in a building built around the basic hue of Orange? (Syracuse fans will either be in Salt Lake City or home watching their No. 1 seed on TV.)

Coach Cal cannot order the unplugging of all TV sets in Upstate New York. But he doesn’t need to. His focus will be on his own team – and the Wildcats can’t possibly clash with the Orange until the national championship game April 5 in Indianapolis.

Eric Lindsey of Cat Scratches previews Kentucky-Michigan State women:

Now all that stands in the way of Mathies, Kentucky and the program’s first visit to the Sweet 16 since 1982 is 6-foot-9 Allyssa DeHaan and Michigan State (Monday at 7 p.m. on ESPN2 in Freedom Hall in Louisville). The Spartans will have a decisive height advantage as nine players stand 6-1 or taller. UK, plagued with injuries, will be fortunate if nine players even take the floor.

“The good thing for us is that we’ve been undersized all year, so it’s a place we’ve been before,” UK Hoops head coach Matthew Mitchell said. “There is a comfort level there. It doesn’t make it any easier because Michigan State is an extremely impressive team to watch on film. I have a lot of respect for their players and what they are doing out there on the court. It is going to be tough.”

Ryan Clark of the Kentucky Enquirer on the Kentucky doubters:

So Cornell is pretty good, huh?

Andy Bernard probably has his Big Red getting past UK in the tournament. But I don’t. On the contrary, I think UK is right where it needs to be right now. Know why? Here’s the deal: UK is at its best when people are doubting them, when people think they can’t do something.

Ken Howlett of A Sea of Blue on a devastating deja vu:

Watching the University of Kentucky basketball team thoroughly dismantle, dismember, and just generally “dis” the Wake Forest Demon Deacons 90-60 Saturday night, I was taken back. Transported, via my memory bank, to March of 1996. Seeing this inexperienced (Kansas was experienced, right?), yet bewilderingly talented group of Wildcats pilfer the spirit and will of an opponent, an NCAA Tournament opponent no less, flooded my mind with thoughts of Tony Delk, Antoine Walker, Ron Mercer, Derek Anderson, Walter McCarty and the rest of the ’96 national title ‘Cats. And although the 1996 championship team was longer in the tooth than the 2010 ‘Cats, the domination remains the same.

Kentucky Sports Radio’s Matt Jones on Cornell’s Mark Coury:

It was meant to be. From the day he left the beautiful city of Lexington to head to the mean streets of Ithaca, the dye had been cast. Mark Coury vs Kentucky was most certainly destiny. For those of you that dont remember Mark “Every day is Senior Day” Coury, he was unofficially the most awesome player in the history of Kentucky basketball. Coming from the hard neighborhoods of Country Day High School in Detroit, Coury came to UK as a walk-on under Tubby Smith, an added player to help the team in practice and with the GPA.

Bluegrass State Baskeball on Cornell’s tough motion offense:

I have spent the evening researching the Cornell offense, which has destroyed both Temple and Wisconsin in the NCAA Tournament.

What I discovered is a very efficient motion offense that is difficult to defend and highly efficient.

Defenders will be faced with continual screens, cuts and high basketball I.Q. (HT to Basketball Coaching Website for help with the primary set).

Big Blue Lowdown says UK-Cornell is no mismatch:

Cornell just overwhelmed and discombobulated two teams who spent the entire season in or around the Top 25. The games weren’t close. They dictated their style and their amoeba defensive zone prevented both Temple and Wisconsin from entering the ball in the post.

Cornell plays 12 to 15 guys and subs players in waves. It’s difficult to know who is on the floor at any given time when trying to guard them. It also hurts that they all shoot the ball equally well from behind the arc. Ryan Wittman has an NBA pedigree and can shoot from anywhere inside 30 feet. He must be face guarded and pressured all over the floor.

Paul Jordan of Wildcat Blue Blog on the Brandon Knight derby:

Recent speculation has pushed Knight into a “lean UK” status even amoung the newspapers in Florida. This has been a recent turn even by the Florida media as they had been predicting a Kenny Boynton/Brandon Knight duo but lately all speculation seems to be coming up blue.

Inner Circle thinks Cornell is the perfect fix:

Just think deeply for a moment and consider how far we’ve come over the last year. Actually, think back to a couple of years ago when Mark Coury really did start for the Wildcats. Yes, Coury was a starter at the greatest program in the history of college basketball. Yet he is unable to start at Cornell. Wow. Don’t take this as a slight to Coury, I like the guy. However, there is something incredibly weird about this. It is something I’m having a hard time fathoming. It makes my mind numb. Now I’m scared. What if Cornell were to beat…….STOP!

Straitpinkie on John Calipari’s new task:

If Coach Cal is reading this right now (which would be awesome), I can guarantee you he’s cringing. Getting his young team to play with the hunger necessary to win ball games in March has been a constant challenge. Cal has been using the fact that many pundits have called UK too inexperienced to get in done in March as motivation, which proved to be pretty effective this Thursday and Saturday. If those same pundits begin to turn around and christen the ‘Cats as premature national champs, Cal loses that edge.