John Clay's Sidelines

(H-L photo/Pablo Alcala)

Big Blue Links for Sunday:

• Jerry Tipton: Darius Miller leads the way as Kentucky beats South Carolina 67-58.
• John Clay: Team effort, as Cats step it up big time in Columbia.
• Matt May: Kentucky finds some road rage with win over Gamecocks.
• Mark Schlabach: Young Wildcats survive South Carolina’s late surge.
• Brett Dawson: Cats turn into road scholars with win at South Carolina.
• Travis Haney: Kentucky’s young guns stop South Carolina.
• Nick Craddock: Liggins the “main part” of Kentucky’s big Saturday win.
• Aaron Smith: Kentucky withstands the late USC surge to claim the victory.
• Jennifer Smith: Jennifer O’Neill’s season has taken positive turn.
• Mark Story: John Wall named Kentucky Sportsman of the Year.

Continue reading ‘BBL: Kentucky finds its road map to victory’

(AP photo)

SEC links for Sunday:

• Florida crushes John Pelphrey and Arkansas 75-43, reports Kevin Brockway of the Gainesville Sun.
• Georgia mashes visiting Mississippi State 86-64, reports Marc Weiszer of the Athens Banner-Herald.
• Alabama sitting pretty in SEC West after 68-58 win at Auburn, reports Michael Casagrande of the Anniston Star.
• Ole Miss blows out host LSU 78-51, reports Kyle Veazey of the Clarion-Ledger.
• LSU embarrasses itself, writes Glenn Guilbeau of the Shreveport Times.
• Bruce Pearl returns, but Tennessee loses at Connecticut 71-62, reports Mike Griffith of the Knoxville News-Sentinel.
• Vanderbilt’s defense comes to play in 89-70 win over Saint Mary’s, reports Jeff Lockridge of the Tennessean.
• Stingy defense and cool foul shooting lead Bama to victory, reports Evan Woodbery of the Mobile Press-Register.
• Alabama does its best to ruin Auburn’s celebration, writes Cecil Hurt of the Tuscaloosa News.
• Auburn football fans celebrate championship season, reports Josh Moon of the Montgomery Advertiser.

Continue reading ‘SEC: Florida, Georgia, Ole Miss, Bama ring up big wins’

(H-L photo/Pablo Alcala)

Twenty questions, asked and answered, about UK’s 67-58 win at South Carolina.

• 1. Big win? No, huge win. A loss would have put two games between the Cats and Gamecocks. Plus, it would have been a third straight road loss. And it would have been Calipari’s first two-game losing streak in six years. Instead, Kentucky and South Carolina are both now 3-2.
• 2. Key stretch? After South Carolina tied it 10-10 at the 15:17 mark of the first half, the Gamecocks scored one field goal until the 3:47 mark of the first half. Kentucky led 36-26 at the break.
• 3. Offensive star? Darius Miller has his best game of the year, hitting seven of 12 shots on the way to an 18-point night.
• 4. Miller’s secret? “He didn’t shoot fadeaways,” interjected John Calipari when Miller was asked about the difference in this game.
• 5. Miller’s trend? Darius is averaging 12.4 points per game in SEC play. This was his fourth straight double-digit game.
• 6. Defensive star? DeAndre Liggins shut down South Carolina freshman guard Bruce Ellington, who scored just eight points in 24 minutes.
• 7. Proof that Calipari will leave you on the floor if you are applying the D? Liggins was 0-for-7 from the floor, including four misses from three-point land. Yet, Liggins played 36 minutes because of his defense on Ellington.
• 8. Good Knight? Brandon Knight scored 23 points, including going nine-of-10 from the foul line. Knight entered the game having taken just three free throws in SEC play, making one.
• 9. Bad Knight? Knight committed five turnovers, against just two assists.
• 10. Tone-setter? Back-to-back driving jams by Terrence Jones in the game’s first five minutes.

Continue reading ‘Twenty questions about a huge Kentucky win’

Terrence Jones is asked about the controversy over what John Calipari said to him during the game on Tuesday at Alabama. The smile at the first part of the clip comes from Jones hearing a media member, ok, our Jerry Tipton, say, “So I hear you’re a selfish —-.” Jones gave a big grin.

Kentucky’s Darius Miller talks to the media after scoring 18 points in the UK win.

Kentucky freshman Terrence Jones talks to the media after UK’s triumph in Columbia. Be sure and stick it through to the end were Terrence breaks up the media.

John Calipari’s post-game press conference, broken into two clips, after UK’s 67-58 win at South Carolina.

Having survived my first night subbing for Larry Glover, I’ll be back for a second try tonight.

I’ll be on WVLK-590 in Lexington from 6-8 p.m.

We’ll have a couple of guests, then your calls, and predictions for the UK-South Carolina game.