Rivalry Re-Newed: Indiana Heads to Rupp Arena

Indiana Takes the youth movement into Rupp to take on a Cats Team in need of Momentum

Last year the landscape was different. Kentucky was a meager 4-2 having lost an unprecedented game to Gardner-Webb at home and were fresh off an embarrassment to the #1 North Carolina Tarheels. Hopes were bleak for the Cats in Bloomington and the Hoosiers capitalized on their rivals weakness and embarrassed the Wildcats by taking down Kentucky by 19 points.

Following the loss, Kentucky continued to struggle dropping games to UAB, Houston and rival Louisville. Indiana on the other hand thrived throughout their non conference sleight but was halted by NCAA sanctions which removed Head Coach Sampson and put a dagger into the Hoosier hopes for a special season.

With the sanctions and loss of so many players it is now the Hoosiers whom are in rebuilding mode as they come to Rupp Arena today. The Kentucky Wildcats still have a sickening taste in their mouth from the whooping they received last year in Bloomington.

With the immediate departure of Kelvin Sampson, nearly all their recruiting class, current players, and remainder of the Indiana staff jumped ship and left the cupboards bear. In the off season the Hoosiers hired former Marquette coach Tom Crean to pick up the pieces and attempt to rebuild the Hoosiers team.

The season for Indiana has been rough so far as they have are 5-4 and dead last in the Big Ten in nearly every statistical category. This make-shift and transition phased Hoosier squad has only two upper classman, which produce very little on the court.

As the Indiana team is rebuilding, Kentucky MUST return to dominating this rivalry. Before last year, Kentucky has won the past seven between the two schools. Historically, the Hoosiers have not won in Lexington since 1988.

Kentucky needs this game badly to add to their RPI and gain momentum heading into conference play, which is less than two weeks away!

Bowling!

Liberty Bowl Bound

It’s NOW official. Although the talk and news that the Kentucky Wildcats would bypass the opportunity to go to Nashville for the Music City Bowl for the third year in a row in favor of the Liberty Bowl ran rampant this week in the bluegrass it is now official.

The Kentucky Wildcats have accepted the bid to the Liberty Bowl and will take on Conference USA Champion East Carolina.

The announcement was made during the second half of the Kentucky basketball game as Jeremy Jarmon proudly announced “We are headed to my home town, the home of blues, Memphis Tennessee.”

As the crowd erupted to applause and excitement he placed an explanation point by pronouncing, “With all youn in Memorial Stadium on January 2^nd, we are going to bring Kentucky a third consecutive bowls win!”

This will mark Kentucky’s third straight bowl appearance. The past two years the Wildcats have dominated an ACC school in the Music City Bowl and now look to make it three bowl victories in a row against a tough Conference USA opponent.

The Pirates of East Carolina have quite a resume beating then #17 ranked Virginia Tech and #8 ranked West Virginia in September. Those big time wins pushed the Pirates into the national rankings reaching #15 in the nation.

After the big September wins however, the Pirates were decimated by injuries and dropped three consecutive games against North Carolina State, Houston, and Virginia. Following the losses, East Carolina was able to right their ship and win 5 of their last 6 to reach the Conference USA title and eventually take down favorite Tulsa in the championship game.

East Carolina is an unfamiliar foe for the Cats. They have only played one time in the history of both programs. That game was a real barn burner as Kentucky won narrowly 6-3 in 1993

Kentucky Vs Mississippi Valley State--Keys to the Game

Kentucky forced to regroup FAST as Mississippi Valley State heads to Rupp

After a devastating loss last night at Rupp Arena in which the Wildcats could not buy a shot, they now must face Mississippi Valley State on less than 24 hours rest. This will be Kentucky’s third game of the week, but after a loss like last night, being back on the court so soon could be just what the Cats need.

Last night freshman took center stage and one failed to live up to the hype, while another shined and might have emerged as a go to man down the stretch this season.

Replacing injured Ramon Harris, Darius Miller went 0 for 6 from the field and provided very little on the court.

But a bright spot was freshman DeAndre Liggins. Coming off the bench he scored 18 points, made 5 assists, and grabbed seven rebounds, six of which on the defensive glass. Liggins is making a strong push for playing time as he competes with junior Michael Porter for play time.

Heading into today’s game Kentucky is 5-3 while their coming opponent is winless being 0-9.

The Delta Devils have struggled in all facets of the game and have been outscored by a total of 27 points a game. With the struggles of the Delta Devils Kentucky should be able to regroup, get a victory and begin preparing for the traditional rival, Indiana next Saturday.

KEYS TO KENTUCKY VICTORY—

1) Darius Miller needs a BIG GAME- Freshman have it tough in Kentucky, especially when you are a highly touted recruit. He must regain his confidence and this might be the game to do it.

2) Continue Lessening the turnovers- The Cats began the season turning the ball over an immense amount. The past two games they have gradually decreased the turnover margin. Wednesday- 16, Saturday- 13…today they must continue the trend of lessening the mistakes.

3) GET BACK TO the GAMEPLAN- Last night the Cats were far too perimeter minded as they went 2-23 from three-point land. They must get the ball down low, and play their style of basketball.

Kentucky falls to Canes

A large deficit is too far to overcome for Ill Shooting Cats

Entering halftime prospects looked bleak for the Kentucky Wildcats and as they headed to the locker room down 46-26 to the Miami Hurricanes, fans booed the hometown Cats off the court.

Exiting half, the Cats began to surge and shift in the game’s momentum scoring the first 12 points in the half and narrowing the lead to just 8. The Cats continued to claw their way back into the game getting within 4 with 4:50 to play. But poor shot selection and the inability to get shots to fall lead to the Cats 73-67 loss.

“We have got to learn to come out better” said Coach Gillespie who was obviously bothered by the slow start which led to the team’s loss.

Seemingly it appears the Cats lack luster entrance in games: VMI, North Carolina, and now Miami have all made it nearly impossible to come back.

Kentucky also struggled to get shots to fall as they went just 2-23 in three point attempts and those two threes were made in the first half. The Cats inability to make shots also played a large role in the loss.

On a more positive note, Patrick Patterson continued his strong play by going 8-13 from the field and scoring a team high 19 points. Adding to his statistics, Patterson also dominated down low by grabbing 16 rebounds.

After yet another loss, Kentucky is 5-3 and lacks a big time win in their pre-conference schedule. They will take the court again Sunday night as they will take on a winless Mississippi Valley State team.