KEYS TO VICTORY-
1) Slow the Pace- South Carolina is a fast pace, score-at-will team. The last time Kentucky played a team with that style they lost---VMI. Kentucky must focus on getting the ball down low to Patrick Patterson and Perry Stevenson. The slowing of pace, will get South Carolina’s three-point hungry team to slow down.

2) Play Smart- The Wildcats seem to lack basketball IQ. They turn the ball over 20 times a game and have been lucky enough to not be caught by the negative differential. If Kentucky is to take control of the SEC, they need to limit turnovers….

PREDICTION—
Kentucky is coming off a loss that is either a wake-up call or the truth. The Cats lead the overall series with the Gamecocks going 41-7 and 22-1 in Lexington. BUT history rarely plays a factor in the ‘here-and –now’ and so that is why I am less than optimistic for the Wildcat chances today.
The Gamecocks are playing very well right now and want to make a real statement. A win would create a three way tie in second place and a ½ game edge over the Wildcats and Gators….

KENTUCKY- 70

SOUTH CAROLINA- 74

Kentucky hosts Gamecocks

Gamecocks head to Lexington with something to prove

Fresh off the loss to the less athletic Ole Miss Rebels, the Wildcats begin a three game home stand with an upstart South Carolina Gamecocks squad that is riding a three game win streak.

Kentucky was ranked , for the first time in two years, Monday. The Wildcats were at #24 in the AP top-25 poll and 28th in the ESPN?USA Today poll. However, Tuesday’s loss will kick them out of the poll likely for the remainder of the season.

Kentucky’s stuggles Tuesday were an accumulation of the struggles and poor play in the week prior. Kentucky nearly lost to both Auburn and Alabama due to poor exectution on offense, lacking of a third scorer, and turnovers.

Tuesday, Ole Miss held junior guard Jodie Meeks in check and was able to force the Wildcats to just 38% shooting percentage from the field. With the poor shooting and lacking the presence of Jodie Meeks, the Cats were outplayed and overmatched.

Now, with the Wildcats in a three way tie in the SEC East with Florida and Tennessee, they have no more room for error. The Gamecocks should be a formidable opponent for the Cats. South Carolina is 2nd in the SEC in scorings per game.

The reason for the high scores for the Gamecocks is because of their ability to shoot the three-ball. South Carolina shoots nearly 40% from behind the arc leading the SEC in that category.

If South Carolina is to pull another SEC upset (they have already beaten Florida to begin their current win streak), they must stop one of Kentucky’s main scorers and continue their hot scoring.

The game will match the two leading scorers in the conference with Jodie Meeks for Kentucky and junior Devon Downey for South Carolina.

Game begins @ 3 pm EST.

Ole Miss Tackles a Win over the WIldcats

One day. Exactly one day the Wildcats were ranked. That will likely be all for the Cats as the unthinkable occurred Tuesday night.

After receiving national respect(a #24 AP Poll ranking) and being deemed the top team of the SEC, the unthinkable happened in Oxford—Kentucky fell to the Rebels 85-80, snapping a nine game win streak over Mississippi, and ending an unbeaten mark in conference play.

When asked Monday of how much longer the Wildcats would last as an unbeaten SEC school, Coach Billy Gillespie said, “It’s not going to last much longer if we continue to do that(make turnovers).”

And their win streak ended up not lasting. Kentucky struggled to get into a groove.

Mississippi stopped scoring standout Jodie Meeks by holding him to six points in the first half and forcing him to make bad decisions which forced Meeks to go 0 for 6 from the field.

With Meeks’ early struggles, the Wildcats were able to hold their own early. The Cats entered halftime with a narrow 39-37 lead.

The Cats were also limiting turnovers. After two straight nights of having more than 20 turnovers, Kentucky took care of the ball only turning the ball over 10 times.

However, the Wildcats struggled were not linked to an inability to hold onto the ball but the ability to keep up with an Ole Miss team effort.

Four of the starting five for the rebels scored in double digits. With such an output of scoring, the Cats were unable to contend with, basically, two players—Patrick Patterson and Jodie Meeks.

Meeks and Patterson ended the game combining 45 of the Wildcats 80 points. With a lack of production from the rest of the team, Kentucky could not make it and ended up losing their first in conference play.

With the loss, Kentucky, like every other team in the SEC has at least one loss. And now, there is a three way heaping tie in the East division with Florida, Tennessee, and Kentucky all with one loss.

Kentucky’s next opponent will not be an easy bounce back game. The Cats will return to Rupp to take on an upstart South Carolina Gamecock team that has their eyes set on shaking up the SEC East landscape. They have beaten the Gators and sit in second place with two conference losses.

Keys To 6-0...

KEYS TO VICTORY

1) Support Continues…- Against Alabama, Patrick Patterson was obviously not having a good day. He shot only twice in the first half and ended the game with a season low of 6 total points. With Patterson struggling, the Wildcats supporting players were able to pick up the slack, something Wildcat-fans have wanted all year. Perry Stevenson appeared to have regained his last season form by scoring 16 points and grabbing 12 boards. Also freshman DeAndre Liggins played exceptionally scoring 11 points of his own. For the Wildcats to continue their dominant play in the SEC, they need more contribution from the supporting cast. Look for more Perry, Liggins, and maybe some others to have a big one tonight.

2) Keep the scores coming- With Kentucky now in the top-25 and playing in a conference with no other ranked teams, it is important for the Wildcats to win in style. The Cats have beat teams, on average, by 15.2 points a game. Look for Big Blue to have little trouble scoring in Oxford.

3) Continue to build- College sports in general are about growth. This is Billy Gillespie’s second year as Kentucky’s head man and things appear to be going well for the program. Each win and milestone reached this season will continue the growing process for the Kentucky basketball program. For the Wildcats to return to the promise land and get that elusive #8, Kentucky needs to continue playing hard and taking steps for future years and recruits.

Kentucky #24 in AP Poll, 28th in USA/ESPN Poll

How Sweet it is…

Kentucky is 5-0 in a down SEC and has finally gotten a little bit of national respect. In the latest AP Poll for the top-25 teams, the Kentucky Wildcats are ranked as the 24th team in the nation.

The Wildcats have not been ranked since the 2007 preseason poll, which listed the Cats in the low twenties.

Kentucky is also third in vote getters for the USA/ESPN top-25 poll. The third vote getter means that USA Today and ESPN feel that Kentucky should be ranked at 28 nationally.

As the hype machine continues in the bluegrass, the Cats can only add to their resume this week as they prepare to take on a dismal Mississippi Rebels team in Oxford.

Ole Miss has lost three straight conference games and is last or near last in the conference in every statistical category. Add the Rebels dismal play to a historical disadvantage; the Cats hold a 95-11 overall record against Ole Miss, and chalk up another win for the Cats…

Game time Tuesday @ 7 p.m. EST