John Clay's Sidelines

The day after Kentucky’s Tuesday night win over Georgia, the debate continues about whether the Cats get preferential treatment in avoiding those quick Thursday-Saturday turnarounds.

The SEC-leading Kentucky women are in action tonight at Auburn for a  7 p.m. start.

But the bigger news may come out of the college football ranks, where the lousy bowl TV ratings have caused an examination of eligibility criteria. There is apparently now a push to raise the minimum number of wins needed for bowl eligibility from six to seven. That could have a big effect on a school like Kentucky, which in recent years has made the needed six-wins a major priority.

Big Blue Links for Thursday:

• SEC takes care of Kentucky, writes Kevin Scrabinsky of the Birmingham News.
• Teams may need seven wins for bowl eligibility, writes CBS Sports’ Brett McMurphy.
• Calipari pushing Cats to be special, reports Jerry Tipton of H-L.
• New uniforms bring love/hate reaction, writes Mike Miller of NBC Sports.
• Snowden making most of minutes, writes Jen Smith of Herald-Leader.

Here is UK women’s basketball coach Matthew Mitchell on Friday, previewing today’s game against visiting Florida. Jen Smith of the Herald-Leader has the advance on the game and you can follow her updates on twitter. The 2 p.m. game is being televised by CWKYT-TV, 27.2.

(H-L photo/Pablo Alcala)

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A’dia Mathies was the Big Blue story on Thursday, scoring 34 points and hitting the game-winner as No. 9 Kentucky beat the No. 6 Tennessee women 61-60 before a sold-out crowd at Memorial Coliseum.

The Kentucky men travel to Knoxville on Saturday to play the Tennessee men. It’s a noon start on ESPN. John Calipari and selected players will have a media opportunity this afternoon, so look for notes, video, etc. on this blog later today.

Big Blue Links for Friday:

• Mathies’ 34 saves Kentucky, reports Jen Smith of Herald-Leader.
• More lore for Memorial Coliseum, writes Mark Story of H-L.
• Photo gallery from UK-UT women, by Herald-Leader.
• UT’s comeback stalls at Memorial, reports Dan Fleser of KNS.
• Kidd-Gilchrist could be No. 1 pick, writes NBA.com’s Scott Howard-Cooper.
• Judd’s kindness lifts Malone’s spirits, reports Larry Vaught of A-M.

(H-L photo/Mark Cornelison)

In the end, Kentucky had no problem with Samford last night at Rupp Arena. It was much more difficult finding out the details behind the Breakfast Club. Meanwhile, the football Cats got a commitment from a wide receiver. And the women say they can learn from Sunday’s loss at Notre Dame.

Big Blue Links for Wednesday:

• Kentucky football picks up commitment from Florida wide receiver
• Doron Lamb scores 26 to lead Kentucky past Samford 82-50
• Lamb living up to Calipari’s pre-season proclomation
• Sam Malone tries to take fourth major knee surgery in stride

If you happen to notice that UK women’s basketball players are not tweeting this season, there is a reason for that. Here, head coach Matthew Mitchell talks about his reasoning, and senior guard Keyla Snowden talks about dealing with twitter withdrawal. Said Mitchell, “We’re just gathering more than sharing right now.”

With 10th-ranked Kentucky meeting sixth-ranked Duke on Thursday night at 6 p.m. in Rupp Arena — the first time two top 10 women’s teams have met in Lexington since 1983 — UK women’s coach Matthew Mitchell met the media on Thursday in Memorial Coliseum.

He said the team was excited to play in Rupp Arena and was hoping for a big crowd. As for the game itself, he knows that Duke’s height will be tough to deal with unless the Cats can turn the tempo into an up-and-down game.

Continue reading ‘Video: Mitchell talks about facing 6th-ranked Duke’

Update: Jennifer Smith’s story from today’s presser with Mitchell.

Two videos of UK women’s basketball coach Matthew Mitchell talking to the media at the Nutter Training Center. The top video deals with his good friend and mentor Pat Summitt. In bottom video, Mitchell discusses his newest recruit and the return of point guard Amber Smith.

Big Blue Links for Saturday:

• Nerlens Noel, MVP of the Peach Jam, thinks about his future
• Kentucky basketball target is pulled out of AAU game by his mother
• Shabazz Muhammad scores 42 points in Under Armour championship game
• Arkansas prospect Archie Goodwin likes Kentucky and Memphis
• UK hoops coach Matthew Mitchell was recruiting in Tennessee on Thursday
• Ex-UK safety Matt Lentz signs contract with baseball’s Cincinnati Reds
• North Carolina’s Leslie McDonald tears ACL
• Louisville basketball without Ware and Blackshear for summer practice
• A CoachCal.com profile of Michael Kidd-Gilchrist
• Does Kentucky have any incentive to invest more in its football program?

Big Blue Links for Thursday:

• Enes Kanter worked out for the Utah Jazz, reports Kent Spencer of WTVQ.
• Kentucky basketball keeping its eye on the bye, writes Jerry Tipton of the H-L.
• UK women want another shot at Tennessee, reports Jennifer Smith of the H-L.
• Download your SEC women’s tournament bracket.
• UK women hope to pull a fast one, writes Brett Dawson of the Courier-Journal.
• SEC women disagree on tournament format, writes Jeff Lockridge of Tennessean.
• Matthew Mitchell shifts focus inward, writes Eric Lindsey of Cat Scratches.
• Joker Phillips altering spring practice format, reports Larry Vaught of the A-M.
• Anthony Davis’ high school career comes to an end, reports Scott Powers of espn.
• UK target Trevor Lacey talks Alabama and Anthony Grant to Rivals. (subscription)
• Trevor Lacey can “get through” with his current grades, reports Nation of Blue.
• Calipari will visit Sam Simpson today, reports Wildcat Blue Nation.

Continue reading ‘BBL: Kanter works out for Jazz; More recruiting news’

Matthew Mitchell talks about UK’s 49-47 win over LSU. After the jump, UK players Brittany Henderson, Victoria Dunlap and A’dia Mathies talk to the media. Finally. LSU coach Van Chancellor says the loss hurts.

Continue reading ‘Post-game videos from UK women’s win over LSU’