John Clay's Sidelines

(H-L photo/Charles Bertram)

Some quick notes on Kentucky’s 87-63 win over Loyola of Maryland:

• UK was 28-of-37 on free throws for 75.7 percent.
• That is UK’s most free throws since 31-of-44 against Indiana on Dec. 11, 2010.
• Kentucky shot 53.8 percent, third time in last four games shot above 50 percent.
• Kentucky averaged 1.269 points per possession.
• UK is 19-1 in its last 20 games when averaging at least a point a possession.
• The lone loss was on Dec. 10 at Indiana.
• Loyola (41.5 percent) is 45th straight UK opponent to be held under 50 percent.
• Loyola averaged 0.90 points per possession.
• That’s the third straight UK foe to be held under 1.00.
• Kentucky is 27-1 in last 28 games when it has held the opponent under 1.0 ppp.
• Connecticut in the Final Four was the lone team to beat UK in that stretch.
• Kyle Wiltjer scored a career-high 24 points.
• His previous best was 19 against Penn State.
• Wiltjer was seven-of-eight from the foul line.
• Michael Kidd-Gilchrist (15 points) had his fifth straight double-figure scoring game.

Loyola of Maryland coach Jimmy Patsos was complimentary and thankful after his team’s loss at UK.

Kentucky walk-on Sam Malone, who suffered a torn ACL last Saturday against Chattanooga, talked to the media before Wednesday’s practice:

Big Blue Links for Thursday:

• Phillips feels good about football in 2012, reports Jen Smith of Herald-Leader.
• G.G. Smith, son of Tubby, returns to Rupp, reports Jerry Tipton of the Herald-Leader.
• Sam Malone doing alright after latest knee injury, reports Tipton of H-L.
• Kentucky women dominate Samford, reports Smith of H-L.
• Basketball looking forward to break, reports Kyle Tucker of the Courier-Journal.
• UK makes right move not shaking up offensive staff, and more notes, from me.
• Jones may not play Thursday, reports Aaron Smith of the Kentucky Kernel.
• Drake anchoring UK”s new-found post game, reports Guy Ramsey of Cat Scratches.
• Joker Phillips looks back at 2012, writes Ben Jones of Cats Illustrated.
• Kentucky football coach sees reasons for optimism, writes Matt May of Cats Pause.
• Kidd-Gilchrist bringing intensity to Cats, writes Jon Hale of Ky Forward.
• The freshman is emerging as a leader, writes Eric Lindsey of CoachCal.com.
• Beckham bringing energy to the court, writes Keith Taylor of the Winchester Sun.
• Extra work paying off for Cats, reports WLEX’s Brent Carney.

SEC links for Thursday:

• Stokes announces his college decision today, reports Jason Smith of CA.
• Tennessee hopes to steal Stokes, reports Patrick Brown of Free Press.
• Alabama win more about March, writes Jon Solomon of the Birmingham News.
• Bama finishes off Oklahoma State, reports Joe Medley of the Anniston Star.
• Middle Tennessee whips visiting Ole Miss, reports Hugh Kellenberger of C-L.
• Vanderbilt routs Lafayette, reports Greg Sullivan of the Tennessean.
• South Carolina cruises past SE Louisiana, reports Darryl Slater of Post and Courier.
• Florida basketball readies FSU, reports Kevin Brockway of the Gainesville Sun.
• Gators and Noles a unique matchup, reports Coley Harvey of the Orlando Sentinel.
• Arkansas’ Davis closer to full speed, reports Robbie Neiswanger of News.
• Mississippi State has to get a helmet on Wake, reports Brad Locke of Daily Journal.
• Georgia football needs to improve special teams, reports Chip Towers of AJC.
• Don’t ever bet against Les Miles, writes Scott Rabalais of The Advocate.
• Tennessee picks up former Bama lineman, reports Chris Low of espn.com.

Kentucky’s Jon Hood, currently out after off-season knee surgery, talked to the media today about the road to recovery.

Kentucky football coach Joker Phillips held a teleconference today with the local media to talk about the 2011 season, recruiting, staff personnel and who will or won’t be ready for spring drills.

• Click here to listen to the Joker Phillips teleconference (19:50)

Kentucky coach John Calipari talked the media before today’s practice, saying he may hold Terrence Jones out of Thursday’s game against Loyola of Maryland. He talked about how the team still needs to talk more, and said that Thursday’s foe plays a funky zone that could give UK some problems. At the end, Cal remembered to trumpet the team’s 2.7 GPA for this semester, and mention that team got a 3.16 last semester.