John Clay's Sidelines

Click here for Herald-Leader photo gallery from Kentucky-Florida.

Big Blue Links for Sunday:

• Jerry Tipton: Kentucky too gritty for the Gators in 76-68 win
• Jerry Tipton: Cats zone out on out-of-bounds plays
• John Clay: Darius Miller blossoming down the stretch
• Will Graves: Florida falls to hungry Cats
• Kevin Brockway: Florida’s talk of breaking UK’s streak comes up empty
• Rachel George: Role players lead Kentucky to win over Donovan’s Gators
• Brett Dawson: Miller puts UK over the top in win over Gators
• Keith Taylor: Miller had plenty of reasons to smile in this big game
• Aaron Smith: Miller gets a career-high as Cats bring down the Gators
• Larry Vaught: It was a huge win for the Wildcats
• Aaron Craddock: Calipar’s milestone overshadowed by in-game milestones
• Eric Lindsey: Did UK play its best game in its biggest game?
• Jonathan Hines: Miller takes charge, finally
• Alan Cutler: Beating Florida was bigger win than beating Louisville
• Jennifer Smith: A’dia Mathies stays cool in the clutch
• Mark Story: Arrogant Bruce Pearl headed for a fall
• Chip Cosby: Central star among those at Junior Day
• Tipton notebook: Barnhart rewarded for clean program and profitability

(AP photo)

SEC links for Sunday:

• Vanderbilt’s second-half blitz buries LSU 90-69, reports Jim Kleinpeter of the Times-Picayune.
• Mississippi State pulls off 70-69 upset over Tennessee in Knoxville, reports Brandon Marcello of the Clarion-Ledger.
• Home loss sets back Tennessee’s post-season hopes, writes Mike Griffith of the Knoxville News-Sentinel.
• Vols stubborn about three-point agenda, writes John Adams of the News-Sentinel.
• Georgia takes care of business in 64-48 rout of South Carolina, reports Marc Weiszer of the Athens Banner-Herald.
• Alabama blows double-digit lead in 68-63 loss to Ole Miss, reports Cecil Hurt of the Tuscaloosa News.
• Chris Warren buries Bama, writes Parrish Alford of the NE Mississippi Daily Journal.
• Delvon Johnson’s dunk with five seconds left lifts Arkansas to 57-55 win over Auburn, reports Charles Bennett of the Anniston Star.
• Cameron Newton sets record straight on “icon” comments, reports Jay G. Tate of the Montgomery Advertister.
• Georgia lifts Ealey’s suspension, reports Tim Tucker of the AJC.

(H-L photo/Pablo Alcala)

One Kentucky season ticket-holder was not happy that three Florida fans, wearing wigs and face paint, were sitting in the courtside seats at Rupp Arena for today’s game at Rupp Arena. The fan fired off a letter to Mitch Barnhart, and sent a copy to me.

Writes Dave,

I am a season ticketholder for the basketball and football teams, I hold three degrees from UK, and I’m a lifelong resident and fan. I just wanted to comment on what an embarrassment it is that the University permitted the courtside seats directly across from the team benches to be used by Florida fans decked out in orange wigs. Long time fans like myself buy tickets year after year and can’t move anywhere within 20 rows of a lower level seat, while opposing fans sit courtside because the University is willing to sell out their fans for corporate/high dollar donations.

I’m sure the excuse is that the tickets are given to large donors/companies, but given the high profile nature of those seats, I would hope the University could better govern the use of those VIP tickets. It’s an embarrassment to me as a fan and alumni, but unfortunately I’m not wealthy enough to have an impact on the University.

(H-L photo/Pablo Alcala)

Twenty questions from Kentucky’s big, oops, huge win over Florida.

1. Star of the game? Darius Miller scored a career-high 24 points. Over his last four games, Miller is averaging 18 points and 5.5 rebounds. He’ss hit 25 of 47 shots, including 12 of 24 three-pointers. He’s also blocked 10 shots. Good-bye Disappearious.
2. Team difference? Kentucky’s offense. Florida averaged 1.094 points per possession, good enough to get a win. But Kentucky averaged 1.243 points per possession, the seventh straight game in which the Cats have topped the 1.0 mark.
3. The reason for that? Kentucky shot the ball well. The Cats shot 51.7 percent for the game, including 55.2 percent in the second half. Kentucky has won its last 29 games in which it has shot 50 percent or better.
4. Why did the Cats shoot it well? Playing at home had to be one reason. The Cats have now won 33 straight home games, including the last 32 at Rupp. UK has won all 32 home games with John Calipari as coach.
5. What about rebounding? It was a big deal at Florida, where the Gators got key offensive rebounds, and Kentucky did not. The Cats got just 19.4 of the available offensive rebounds at the O-Dome. Here at Rupp, the Cats improved that number to 34.4.
6. What does that mean? At Florida, the Gators scored 10 second-chance points to six for Kentucky. In Lexington, UK had 11 second-chance points. Florida had one.
7. UK’s rebounding star? Josh Harrellson snatched 12 off the glass. It was the fifth SEC game this year in which the senior has posted double-digit rebounds.
8. Wasn’t Chandler Parsons the star at Florida? He was, scoring 17 points and grabbing 12 rebounds. In this game, Parsons played well, but not as well as Miller. The Gator scored 15 points and grabbed eight boards.
9. Did Florida have a shot? The Gators never led in the second half. The game was tied at 41-41, but Florida’s last lead was with 1:44 left in the first half.
10. Did Florid have an excuse? The Gators did play Georgia at home on Thursday night before traveling to Lexington on Friday.

Continue reading ‘Kentucky answers questions in win — 20 of them’

Kentucky coach John Calipari tells the media this was a “HUGE” win for the Cats.

Kentucky junior Darius Miller talks to the media after he scored a career-high 24 points to lead the Cats to a 76-68 win over Florida.

Big Blue Links for Saturday:

• Cal says Cats need to want it more, reports Jerry Tipton of the H-L.
• Liggins has to cut out technical fouls, reports Tipton in his notes.
• Derby Festival announces rosters, says H-L staff report.
• Florida has close-game edge over Cats, writes Brett Dawson of the C-J.
• Kentucky reeling as Gators visit Rupp, reports Will Graves of the AP.
• Will “Unclutchables” break Florida’s roll? asks Richard Cheek on Vaught’s Views.
• Knight not scared to miss shots, reports Larry Vaught of the A-M.
• Calipari talks Kentucky’s road losses, reports Aaron Smith of the Kernel.
• Florida men and UK women are clutch, writes Eric Lindsey of Cat Scratches.
• Calipari watches Archie Goodwin play, reports Jeff Reed of the Sherwood Voice.

Kentucky coach John Calipari talks about his team’s confidence heading into today’s game.