John Clay's Sidelines

(AP photo/Mark Humphrey)

Big Blue Links for Saturday:

• Tennessean: Commodores want to go around UK’s block
• Nashville City Paper: Vanderbilt has beaten No. 1 teams before
• Anchor of Gold: Breaking down the Cats and the Commodores
• ESPN Stats: Vanderbilt has long shot to upset Kentucky
• Jerry Tipton: Vandy represents unique challenges
• Jerry Tipton: Calipari asks UK fans not to ruin Vandy’s GameDay
• Kyle Tucker: UK girding its loins for Vandy’s crazy gym
• Brett Dawson: Kentucky ready for Vanderbilt’s Memorial Magic
• Aaron Smith: Marquis Teague in charge of managing team in unique set-up

SEC links for Saturday:

• At Florida, Tennessee seeks remedy for road problems, reports Mike Griffith of Knoxville News-Sentinel.
• Florida seeks revenge for loss at UT, reports Kevin Brockway of Gainesville Sun.
• Tide needs another big win over LSU, says Cecil Hurt of Tuscaloosa News.
• For LSU basketball, there’s no place like home, writes Scott Hotard of The Advocate.
• Auburn wants toughness in its rematch today with Ole Miss, writes Joe Medley of Anniston Star.
• Mississippi’s Jalen Kendrick gets back to basics, reports Hugh Kellenberger of Clarion-Ledger.
• Is Mississippi State hitting its stride? asks Brandon Marcello of Clarion-Ledger.

(AP photo)

Some late night notes:

- According to Evan Daniels, John Calipari and Orlando Antigua are watching Class of 2014 star Jalen Lindsay tonight.

- Count Paul Jordan of Wildcat Blue Nation as a dissenter in this “Occupy Memorial” movement. Jordan tweeted “Sorry. It not a fan of the #OccupyMemorial crap. Didn’t we get all over Indiana fans for acting like this. Stay classy bbn”

Cameron Mills, the ex-Cat, must agree. He re-tweeted Jordan’s tweet.

So do I. How would Kentucky have reacted if Florida football fans decided to try and overtake UK’s appearance on College Football GameDay a few years back? UK fans will get a kick out of taking over GameDay, but somehow I don’t think it’s going to play so well with the rest of the country. Take Calipari’s advice today.

If you want to wreck Vanderbilt’s GameDay, win the game. And I think UK will do just that, by 77-70.

Continue reading ‘Some late night notes on the eve of UK-Vanderbilt’

Some early afternoon notes:

UK basketball has a media opportunity starting at 1:30. Check the blog for video, notes, etc. later this afternoon.

The NCAA football rules committee has proposed moving kickoffs from the 30-yard line to the 35 and to limit the running start by players on the kicking team to 5 yards as a way of keeping players safer. NCAA says its injury data indicates injuries during kickoffs occur more often than in other phases of the game. The NFL moved up kickoffs 5 yards this past season and touchbacks increased dramatically.

If you haven’t heard, Murray State lost its first game last night, falling to visiting Tennessee State. Robert Covington scored 17 points and grabbed eight rebounds for TSU. Murray State was last unbeaten D-1 team. The Racers had won 23 straight games. Isaiah Canaan had 31 points for Murray in the loss.

Hail Mark Gottfried. In the announcement of the McDonald’s All-American team yesterday, North Carolina State has the most signees, with three. State has signed point guard Tyler Lewis of Oak Hill Academy (Mouth of Wilson, Va.), shooting guard Rodney Purvis of Upper Room Christian (Raleigh, N.C.) and small forward T.J. Warren of Brewster Academy (Wolfeboro, N.H.).

North Carolina State improved to 7-3 in the ACC with a win over Georgia Tech last night.

We should have mentioned this morning that Kentucky signee Janee Thompson was also named to women’s McDonald’s All-American team.

Continue reading ‘Football rule changes, Mark Gottfried and other notes’

(AP photo)

SEC links for Friday:

Mississippi State’s Dee Bost scored 15 points and dished a career-high 13 assist as No. 20 Mississippi State beat visiting Ole Miss 70-60 last night.

State hit nine of 25 three-pointers, compared to three-of-nine for the Rebels, and outrebounded Ole Miss by five. Arnett Moultrie led all scorers with 18 points. Ole Miss’ Reginald Buckner did have 15 points and nine rebounds.

Rick Stansbury’s Bulldogs are now tied with Vanderbilt for third place at 6-3  in the SEC. Of course, Kentucky leads the league at 10-0. Florida is second at 7-2. UK travels to Vanderbilt on Saturday for a 9 p.m. ESPN College GameDay event, and the Cats travel to Mississippi State on Feb. 21 for a 9 p.m. ESPN Super Tuesday affair.

• Dee Bost lets his game do his talking, reports Brandon Marcello of the Clarion-Ledger.
• These Dogs have a world of potential, writes Rick Cleveland of the Clarion-Ledger.
• Kevin Scarbinsky of the Birmingham argues that college basketball should start and end its season later to escape college football’s shadow.
• Austin Rivers’ shot to beat North Carolina is the reason he picked Duke over Florida, writes Mike Bianchi of the Orlando Sentinel.

SEC links for Thursday:

• Vandy puts away LSU 76-61, reports Jeff Lockridge of Tennessean.
• Ezeli leads Commodore win, writes Jerome Boettcher of The Advocate.
• Georgia whips Arkansas 81-59, reports Chip Towers of AJC.
• Bulldogs end slump, reports Roger Clarkson of ABH.
• Tennessee fends off USC 69-57, reports Mike Griffith of KNS.
• Hall makes sure all screws are tight, writes KNS’ Mike Strange.
• Ole Miss confident facing State, reports Hugh Kellenberger of C-L.
• Road wins may help SEC basketball’s case, writes Doug Segrest of News.

Florida coach Billy Donovan was asked last night to size up Kentucky against Syracuse and Ohio State, two teams the Gators played earlier in the year. Florida lost at Ohio State 81-74 on Nov. 15. The Gators lost at Syracuse 72-68 on Dec. 2.

Click here for Excel spreadsheet of SEC basketball results for season.

Related links:

• Follow John Clay on twitter
• Check out the new-look Kentuckysports.com
• Get UK recruiting links on Next Cats

Florida freshman Bradley Beal talks to media outside the Gators lockerroom last night.