Kentucky Stays Unbeaten

Kentucky finds a Way

In the second of the Alabama schools, Kentucky took down the Crimson Tide 61-51 to become 5-0 in conference play.

The first half of play, Kentucky looked abysmal. Shooting 30.8% from the field and leaving the court off an Alabama last second jump shot, the Cats entered the half down 25-19.

In the first half, sophomore stand out Patrick Patterson was virtually invisible shooting just two shots and only scoring 2 total points. His lack of scores and Kentucky’s ineptitude on offense (they had 9 turnovers) looked to be too much to overcome in the 2nd half.

But, somehow and someway, Kentucky came out of the break on a tear. Scoring sensation Jodie Meeks again went on the offensive and put the Wildcats on his back by scoring 27 points.
Kentucky also played stellar defense against the Tide, holding Alabama to just 29.3% from the field all game long. And forcing 18 turnovers

With Patterson obviously ailing from a hand injury, the Big Blue supporting cast emerged.
None was more evident than Perry Stevenson, whom seemed to regain his last season form-- by being a force down low. Stevenson scored 16 points, added 12 rebounds, and blocked 1 shot.

Also emerging and coming into his own was true freshman Darius Miller. Miller scored 11
points and added 3 assists, a steal, and a block.

The emergence of the Cats supporting cast, with Patterson down, was very encouraging for the Big Blue faithful. If the Wildcats can get consistency from these players the Wildcats could be a very formidable opponent as we near the NCAA tournament.

Kentucky is 5-0 in conference play and the past 5 times that has happened, Kentucky has went onto to at least a share of the SEC title. There is a lot of season left, but the Cats are the on the top of the East division and conference as a whole.

Next up for the Cats is yet another West division road game against the Ole Miss Rebels.

KEYS TO VICTORY-

1) Limit Turnovers- The story of the season has yet to bite the Wildcats, however, if this team wants to get where they want to go; an SEC Championship and a run in the NCAA tournament, Kentucky must take better care of the ball. Big Blue averages a -2.7 turnover differential and is ranked at the bottom of the conference in this category.
2) Keep Riding Jodie Meeks- The junior guard out of Georgia has really been something special this season. Meeks is third in the nation averaging 26 points per game. Kentucky needs to continue letting Meeks shoot and shoot often.
3) Block those shots!- Kentucky is ranked in the top-10 nationally in this category. Both Patrick Patterson have frustrated opponents by blocking shots.

**Kentucky has been dominant over the SEC thus far this season. The Wildcats are beating opponents by an average of 15 points a game. Alabama is clearly on the rebound in losing senior leader Ronald Steele for the rest of the season. If the Cats can go up early, the Tide should falter and give the Cats their 5th straight win.**

PROJECTION
Kentucky- 75

Alabama- 60

Kentucky Heads to Alabama

The Wildcats roll into Coleman Arena in Tuscaloosa the hottest team in the SEC with a show down with the Alabama Crimson Tide.

Entering the season, it was the Tide were chosen to win the West division behind the sure shooting and leadership of Ronald Steele. However, Steele recently left the team and the program in search of an identity.

With Steele’s departure the Tide have lost 2 of 3 games. In those losses, the Tide appeared outmatched and undermanned. But Wednesday night, Alabama was able to revamp and win against Ole Miss.

Head Coach for Alabama, Mike Gottfried needs this win and wants to build some momentum which was lost due to the Steele departure.

“We had a good win against Ole Miss and we need to make sure we continue to improve” said Gottfried on Thursday.

Alabama does have some playmakers on offense including senior guard Alonzo Gee. Gee is the team’s leading scorer averaging 14.3 points and grabbing nearly 8 rebounds a game.

Complementing Gee and finding his niche as Steele’s replacement is junior Mikhail Torrance who scored 24 games against the Rebels Wednesday and has averaged 22.7 points a game in the past three games.

Alabama should prove to be strong competition for the unbeaten Cats. Although Kentucky is on a roll, they appeared drained against Auburn and everyone knows that how hard it is to go unbeaten in conference play.

GAME BEGINS @ 3 pm EST.

Kentucky Wins Again, and Covets 1st place in SEC

The game was ugly. Kentucky played sloppy and kept a lesser-qualitied Auburn Tigers in the game from start to finish, but when it counted the Wildcats pulled out another conference win 73-64 to become the only unbeaten team in conference play.

The first half went back and forth between the two teams and Auburn would have entered the half with a one point lead, but off a rebound and the seconds weaning, Patrick Patterson drove the ball half way down the court tossed the ball to Ramon Harris in stride to make a layup as the buzzer went off to take a 34-33 lead into the half.

Out of the half, Kentucky jumped out early with two 3-point shots made by Jodie Meeks with in the first minute. The Cats pulled ahead even more with a jump shot by Patrick Patterson. But, again sloppy play, mishandling of the ball in transition, and poor passing allowed the Tigers back into the game.

The Cats turned the ball over an atrocious 22 times and even allowed the Tigers to take lead 48-46 half way through the second half.

Again, however, with Kentucky trailing, the two stars for the Wildcats shined brightly, creating their own shots, playing stellar defense, and taking over the game.

Jodie Meeks ended the game with 31 points and went 5 for 8 from the 3-point line. Meeks’ 31 was the smaller part of the story today, as sophomore forward Patrick Patterson stole the show.
Patrick Patterson dominated the game for the Cats and put his team on his back to carry the Wildcats to a victory.

Patterson had a double-double in the first half and finished the game with 21 points and 18 rebounds.

“Pat was a beast. This was probably the best game we have seen of him all year,” said Coach Billy Gillespie after the game.

And the word ‘beast’ was repeated in the opposing locker room with Auburn’s Jeff Lebo echoing the sentiment, “Patrick Patterson is a heck of an athlete. He dominated the game…he is just a beast.”

Patterson willed his Wildcats to the narrow victory and now sees hois team atop the SEC as the only unbeaten team in conference.

With a 4-0 start Billy Gillespie knows there is still a lot of work to do, however said of the game, “It was a good win for us.”

Kentucky Keys to Win over Auburn

--KEYS TO VICTORY—

1) Play Hard- One thing the Cats have done in the past few weeks is play hard. Diving on the floor, hustling on the defensive end, and battling for rebounds, Kentucky has played tenatious. Their opponent, the Auburn Tigers are weak inside and TOUGHNESS is key to continue on the winning path.

2) Limit Turnovers- The Auburn Tigers are not great at much, BUT they do lead the SEC averaging 10.5 steals per game. Kentucky plays carelessly with the ball and needs to tighten up against a less talented team.

3) Find that 3rd Guy- It’s late in the season and pretty much, you are what you are. But in a hopeful since, someone other than Jodie Meeks and Patrick Patterson need to make a presence on the offensive end.

---Kentucky has the edge in every statistical category and is playing hotter than anyone else in the nation. With the Wildcats now eyeing a possible SEC title and national ranking, Kentucky must come out and dominate again.

-FINAL PREDICTION-

KENTUCKY- 78
AUBURN- 57

Kentucky Preps For Tigers

Kentucky Prepares to Take on Auburn

Not since the SEC opener on January 10, have the Wildcats played at Rupp Arena. Wednesday night, the Big Blue Nation will welcome back one of the hottest teams in the nation with hopes that seemingly appear to rise with every day.

After the opening losses to both VMI and North Carolina, Wildcat fans were less than optimistic for the coming season; however the Wildcats clicked into gear following those two losses to rip off 14 of 16 games and appear to be the favorite in a down SEC.

On the stretch of wins, Kentucky has outscored opponents by 15.2 points a game and in the 3 conference games, the Wildcats have taken down opponents by an average of 17 points a game.
The clicking of the Wildcat team appears to be the shooting and play of junior guard Jodie Meeks. Meeks is near the top in scoring across the nation with 25.7 points a game.
Meeks’ hot shooting, he attributes to his mentality.

“I always think they are going in and you can’t really have a caution because if you do you will probably not ever score because you think too much or make bad decisions. “

Bad decisions shooting-wise are not in Meeks forte, however bad decisions in turnovers are another story.

When asked what he could improve in his game he commented; “Sometimes I don’t make the smartest decisions with shots or passes.”

If Meeks can limit the turnovers, his stock will continue to rise as will Kentucky’s heading down the stretch to the NCAA tournament.

Kentucky Wins Over Georgia 68-45

Favorite Role Doesn’t Phase Cats as Kentucky Claws the Dawgs

In the third straight Eastern division showdown, the Kentucky Wildcats flexed their muscle again and dominated the Georgia Bulldogs 68-45.

The Wildcats began the game going on a quick 7-0 run before the Bulldogs could even catch their breath.

Then, with 8 minutes remaining in the first half, the hottest player in the nation Jodie Meeks was once again at the right place at the right time. Following a Perry Stevenson missed jumper, Meeks was able to take the rebound in mid-air and jam it home to put the Cats up 20-9.
The rest of the half was more of the same type of luck for the Wildcats; they entered the half with a dominating 38-19 lead.

Out of the half, Kentucky again picked up where they had left off. Both Patrick Patterson and Jodie Meeks continued their stellar play by each scoring in double digits. Meeks scored 22 points and went 3 of 8 from the three-point line, while Patrick Patterson put up a solid 15 points of his own. Patterson also added 4 blocked shots and 5 rebounds.

With all the high-fly-scoring put up by the Wildcats, Kentucky continued to be sloppy with the ball. Kentucky turned the ball over 18 times. With the massive amount of mistakes and chances the Cats gave Georgia, they were unable to capitalize which led to another Kentucky victory.

With the victory, Kentucky is now 3-0 in SEC play and has outscored SEC opponents by an average of 17 points.

Next up for the Wildcats is a match up with the Auburn Tigers at Rupp Arena Wednesday…and with the top-25 rankings coming out tomorrow, the Wildcats might be welcomed to Rupp with a national ranking for the first time in over two years.

Kentucky v Georiga Keys to Victory

KEYS TO A WILDCAT VICTORY—
Here we go. The Wildcats are in Athens to take on the Georgia Bulldogs. Kentucky is 2-0 in conference play, while the Bulldogs have lost their first two conference games and have dropped four straight. To make matters worse for the Dogs, Kentucky has won three straight regular season meeting.

The Wildcats enter the game as a favorite and have gained a lot of public recognition for the defeating of the Tennessee Volunteers in Knoxville on Tuesday. For the Cats to stay on the winning track, this is what Kentucky must do…
KEYS TO VICTORY-

1) SCORE- Kentucky is second in the SEC in scoring and 12th in the nation in points per game. Kentucky needs to keep their scoring high. The Georgia Bulldogs have struggled in making baskets as they rank dead last in the SEC and near the bottom of the country in points per game averaging only 67 points a game.

2) Don’t Get Over Confident- It has been a while since the Wildcats have gotten such recognition in the national media. With the win Tuesday, Kentucky has emerged as an SEC favorite and can possibly reach the top-25 for the first time in over two years with another victory. With a team that has yet to experience EXPECTATIONS, it will be a necessity for the Wildcats to stay the course, play hard, and play one game at a time.

3) Continue to improve with the ball- Kentucky has struggled all season with turnovers and at this point in the season, you are what you are. However, Tuesday the Wildcats were again careless with the ball turning the ball over 15 times, yet won. The turnover problem will be more detrimental as the season progresses. Mid-season should be the time where the freshmen learn to be more careful with the ball and should be more adjusted to the college game. Turnovers must be CUTDOWN.

The Wildcats have not started an SEC sleight 3-0 since 2004-2005 season. That 2004-2005 season, the Wildcats went onto win the SEC, got ranked as high as 7th in the country, and made a deep run into the NCAA tournament.

A 3-0 start is beneficial to the Wildcats and might get them into the national rankings. If the Cats can score (like they have all season), stay level headed, and limit turnovers, Kentucky should be on their way to a 3-0 marking heading back to Rupp Arena.

PREDICTION—
**Kentucky has beaten opponents by 15.2 points a game and look for nothing different today. Kentucky should be able to handle the Dogs soundly and win by double digits.**

Kentucky- 82
Georgia- 60