Wilmhoff's Picks

The highlights of my completed bracket include Murray State, Xavier, Richmond, and Baylor in the Sweet 16.

• I've got Murray State over Vandy
• Murray State also over Butler in Round 2
• Xavier in the Sweet 16
• Richmond over Villanova in Round 2
• Baylor over Richmond to advance to the Elite 8
• Kansas State over Syracuse to join top seeds Kansas, Kentucky, and Duke in the Final Four
• Kentucky vs. Kansas in the Championship Game with the Cats bringing home #8

My bracket generally reflects my opinion that the Big 12 is the best conference, the Big East is the most overrated conference, and the Atlantic 10 is the most underrated conference. I think the SEC is better than what my picks show, but the SEC has some bad match ups. Tennessee is capable of a big run, but will face Georgetown in the second round. Then, even if they would upset the Hoyas, they'd play Ohio State in the Sweet 16. The Vols might have the toughest drawl in the tournament and were deserving of much higher than a 6 seed. Vanderbilt is another capable team but is playing one of the scariest teams in the field- the Murray State Racers, who had the nation's longest winning streak until losing to defending OVC Champion, Morehead State, in a late regular season contest. I'm picking Florida to lose in the first round to BYU because another SEC team should have their spot (Mississippi State), and I would have likely picked that team to make a run.

Cats spank Vols, advance to SEC Championship

Thousands of Big Blue Nation's craziest and most passionate fans have packed the city of Nashville, some with tickets and many without them. All of them dreamed of one matchup in this tournament: a rematch with Tennessee. They got just that on Saturday. The 74-45 blowout win with a 90% Big Blue crowd owning the Volunteer State's streets of Nashville is bittersweet for Cats fans. They put together their most dominating performance of the season against a very good Tennessee team that is the only team in history to beat the #1 and #2 teams (Kansas and Kentucky) in the country in the same season.

Today, however, it wasn't meant to be for the Vols. There were no John Wall dance mockery's by Scotty Hopson, only player ejections, as the Pro's defeated the Con's in Round 3. The Cats' dominating performance silenced many analysts who viewed the Cats as "vulnerable" and a poor 3 point shooting team, as Eric Bledsoe stroked five of them in the 29 point victory. The Cats also sealed their deal for a #1 seed with the win. They'll face the winner of the Vandy/Mississippi State game (MSU currently leads by 11) tomorrow at 1 in the Championship Game. Either matchup will be a heated one. Either the hometown Commodores will be playing in Rupp Arena South just minutes from their campus, or DeMarcus Cousins will be receiving more phone calls from Mississippi State fans as they hope to revenge their overtime loss in Starkville. Whatever tomorrow's result will be, the Cats will be a #1 seed. With a Kansas loss to Kansas State today, the Cats will then be playing for the #1 OVERALL seed. What a great day of basketball!

News and Notes: 12-14-09

• Kentucky has now reached all-time win #1,998. They face Austin Peay on Saturday and then the December 21st matchup with Drexel will likely be win #2,000. Any ideas on finding tickets, anyone?
• John Calipari was contacted by Madison Square Garden officials about playing an annual home game there, after UK arguably had more fans than UConn and St. Johns combined, in their own backyard at the SEC/Big East Invitational last week against UConn. I would personally love to see a UK/Duke matchup at MSG, since Coach K won't come to Rupp.
• UK moved up to 3rd in both polls today and received one first place vote. #2 Texas faces UNC on Saturday, which could push the Cats into the #2 spot with a Tar Heel win.
• #1 ranked Kansas plays Michigan and California the next two games, then plays a solid Belmont team, then Temple (who just knocked off previous #3 Villanova), and then faces Tennessee on January 10th. Look for the Cats to be ranked #1 after these stretch of games for the Jayhawks.
• John Wall received SEC Freshman Player of the Week honors for the fourth consecutive week. This is a streak that might not last the entire season by John Wall, but I wouldn't be shocked if Cousins and Bledsoe contribute to this award being won by a UK freshman every single week of this season. Which is really, simply amazing.

Last but not least, I want to thank Kentucky Sports Radio for this Youtube video they posted. Really, really funny stuff!

Early Season Notes: On the court and on the recruiting trails.

#1 Kansas barely escaped Memphis in Josh Pastner's head coaching debut in an ugly shooting, offensive struggle for both teams.

#2 Michigan State almost lost as well, at home to Gonzaga.

#3 Texas won big, but only against Western Carolina.

And of course, #4 Kentucky squeaked past a smokin' hot-shooting Miami (Oh) team at the buzzer.

The only conclusion that I can come up with at this early stage of the season is that there aren't any dominant teams at this stage. There is no team that will dominate an entire season like North Carolina did a year ago as the pre-season #1 and eventual National Champion. Kansas and Kentucky obviously both have the talent to be very dominant towards the middle and end of the season, but they aren't there yet. I do not think the rankings should change that much, however, until these teams lose a game. They're all up there for a reason: their talent. No, Kentucky hasn't proven anything. But nobody has proven anything at this point of the season, so talent is all you can really go by.

Most impressive teams early on: Tennessee and Memphis

Why UT? Because anytime you win 124-49 in a regular season game, it raises eyebrows, even against UNC Asheville. The Vols could be a legit National Championship contender.

Why UM? Because not only did they almost knock off the #1 team in the nation in Pastner's first game, but on the very next day....Pastner signed the #1 recruiting class in the country so far in the early signing period for 2010. Memphis will remain a national power. A disciple of Coach Cal at Memphis, Pastner could be the game's best young coach and also a phenomenal recruiter. To put things into perspective of how young Pastner is, he was a walk-on player for the 1997 Arizona team for Lute Olson that defeated Kentucky to win the National Championship. Just think, Pastner being a head coach for a major D-1 program would be like Ron Mercer already being a big time head coach.

Speaking of recruiting, the Cats did not sign any additional players this week and are not expected to anytime soon. Rivals.com 4-Star Forward, Stacey Poole, remains the Cats' lone commitment at this point. However, the top 4 unsigned players in the nation are all strongly considering the Cats (Brandon Knight, Josh Selby, C.J. Leslie, and Terrence Jones). C.J. Leslie comes from the same high school as John Wall. Likely, all of these guys will wait to see which Wildcats end up staying or going to the NBA next season, before making their ultimate choice.

Wall's Shot, Dance Moves, Charlie's comment's, and Tonight's Picks

Here's a video of John Wall's heroics last night in the final seconds of action in his first college game.



Here's just a sweet video of Wall's dance moves.




Last night we gave you Coach Cal's comments on audio after the game, here is an entertaining video of Miami coach Charlie Coles.



Tonight's 24 hours of college basketball on ESPN concludes with two big games.

Louisville vs. Arkansas and Memphis vs. Kansas

My picks: Arkansas and Kansas.

Why: Because Arkansas returns everyone from a team that knocked off Texas and Oklahoma around this time last year (top 5 teams). Also, because former UK unforgettable and current Arkansas head coach, John Pelphrey, wants this game against his old coach and old rival, very badly. Louisville is a whole different team trying to find their identity, kind of like Kentucky last night. Memphis, is trying to find an identity even more without John Calipari and new coach Josh Pastner. They have the incredibly difficult challenge of facing the #1 team in the country, Kansas, in a rematch of the National Title game a few years ago. I think the Tigers will keep it closer than people think, but Kansas is just too much for them right now.