Battle(s) of the Bluegrass!

At my time as an undergrad at Eastern Kentucky University, the Eastern/Western game was known as the "Battle of the Bluegrass". It was nearly always a competitive game and a great small college rivalry. However, there was really nothing "small" about this game. It didn't feel anything like a 1-AA football game. The atmosphere was great, students were into the games, and it was always the best tailgate of the year. I experienced the game twice at EKU and once in Bowling Green as a freshman, when I was the Colonel mascot!

As an EKU Alum, it saddens me that this game still doesn't exist and I think WKU fans should feel the same. From Western's perspective, they were making the move up to 1-A football and they thought they were better than EKU despite all the close games and the fact that Eastern beat them in one of the final meetings between the schools in Richmond. Perhaps, the real reason was that they felt they had more to lose from this game than to gain. Just maybe, they were scared as an FBS school to loose to an FCS school? After an 0-12 season a year ago, maybe the Hilltoppers regret dropping Eastern. Maybe they don't feel so superior anymore.


EKU VS. WKU, my sophomore year.

But in a way, the Eastern/Western rivalry lives on tomorrow. The Colonels travel to Louisville to face the Cards and the Hilltoppers come to Lexington to face the Cats. Instead of one "Battle of the Bluegrass", there's now two. Western is still searching for their first FBS victory and it's not going to happen tomorrow against UK. Eastern nearly shocked Indiana a year ago playing on the road in a Big 10 stadium and another OVC team has already made some noise this year when Jacksonville State knocked off Ole Miss. Ole Miss is much better than Louisville, and the Indiana team that the Colonels nearly knocked off a year ago may be better than Louisville as well, so I see no reason why EKU couldn't legitimately pull off the upset tomorrow.

On the other hand, Western is very unlikely to play competitively with the Cats. The Battle(s) of the Bluegrass tomorrow could serve as "bragging rights" between the Colonels and Hilltoppers. I like Eastern's chances to give a much better showing than the 'Tops. It's too bad they just can't play each other on the field. They think they're better than Eastern, but tomorrow might just show otherwise. Eastern could very well beat an FBS team before Western does, and the Hilltoppers get 12 chances a year to do it.

GO CATS, and GO COLONELS!

Ok, I'm going to admit now that I just saw that EKU lost 31-9 to Missouri State last week. Sleep well Cards fans, but not too well.

Four in a Row

Admittedly, while in St. Louis I was watching two different games on two different screens Saturday afternoon. I watched the Reds beat the Cardinals on one screen and Kentucky roll to a 4th straight win over Louisville on the other. I was extremely impressed with the Cats first half performance in nearly every facet of the game. Cobb was unstoppable in whatever he did, Locke ran through holes pretty easily, Hartline was surprisingly very solid with his feet and his arm, and the depth of the wide receivers looks to be the best group we've seen since the 2007 group led by Keenan Burton and Stevie Johnson.

After week 1, here's what Cat fans can feel good and bad about looking forward a few weeks ahead and into SEC play.

The Good

• First half aggressive play calling that fully utilized the abilities of Randall Cobb and Derrick Locke.
• Depth at the WR position. We knew Chris Matthews was pretty good, but La'rod King and Matt Roark stepped up big. Two years ago, Randall Cobb was the only capable receiver on the field. Now, the Cats have 4 capable receivers as well as a couple of RB's that catch and run well with Locke and newcomer Donald Russell.
• The play of Mike Hartline. He was 17-26 for over 200 yards and 0 interceptions. He started the game red-hot, completeing 9 of his first 10 passes.
• Florida, Ole Miss, and other SEC teams on the Cats' schedule played very poor in Week 1, and you HAVE to feel much better about the Cats' chances of competing in the East. No team that Kentucky plays this season looked unbeatable in week 1.

The Bad

• The 2nd half conservative play calling kept UofL in the game. UK had the chance to blow the Cards out, but instead they went back to a "managing the game" type of offense for Mike Hartline. Randall Cobb was not involved in the offense until later in the game when the Cats needed a first down to clinch the win. Until teams find a way to stop Cobb, keep calling his number.

The Ugly

• Kicker Ryan Tydlacka cost the Cats' 4 points on a missed chip shot FG and a missed extra point. Against a good SEC team, that could cost us the game. The kicking game must be more effective for the Cats to make that next step up to a run at an SEC Eastern Division Title.

But all around, Joker's debut as head coach was a great day and the Cats showed a lot of potential in the 1st half. They certainly look a lot better than they did a year ago when they faced the Cards. With the rest of the conference appearing to be a bit down, this could be the year for the Cats to win 9 or 10 games.

Cardinal Killin' Weekend

On Friday morning, I'll be heading to St. Louis to watch the Reds face the Cardinals. When I purchased the tickets about a month ago, I had hoped that the Reds would simply still be in the race for the N.L Central Division crown and that these would be meaningful games. It turns out the Reds have an 8 game lead. I had faith that the Reds could have the lead at this point, but I never in my wildest dreams thought that they'd be in control as they are now to be cruising into the playoffs like this.

This series isn't as important as I thought it would be when I planned the trip, but it feels even better with a large lead and the chance to bury the Cardinals even further. Especially after the big brawl that happened at Great American Ballpark a few weeks ago, it's going to be bittersweet walking into Busch Stadium with an 8 game lead over the Cardinals, whether they win or not....at this point it doesn't look like it really matters, and will be a fun trip regardless.

I will NOT be attending the Saturday afternoon Reds/Cards game because I'll be in my hotel room watching the Cats beat up on those other Cardinals in Louisville. I will not; however, have a computer with me. I'm hoping to have someone else break down the game for you and the rest of this weekend's college football action, either a previous contributor of Wildcat Wrap (like Mike Brown), or perhaps a newcomer, maybe even a little female perspective will be provided on this Saturday's game? Either way, I'll be back by Labor Day to give you my insight on the Governor's Cup as well as my baseball trip to St. Louis.

When I get back, I'll also explain to you why the Reds have a better chance at winning the World Series (not just the NL Pennant), than Ohio State does of beating Alabama or any SEC school in the BCS National Championship game. It's not rocket science, but many Ohioans don't understand. I'll also make the case for October (playoff baseball, college football, start of Big Blue Madness) to be the greatest month in sports, perhaps even better than March. October is just one month away, folks.

Have a great Labor Day Weekend, everybody!

Clutch Cats win again, improve to 26-1.

I apologize on the late post, but I watched the game in Richmond last night at my Fraternity's Alumni Event that evening at EKU. If you ever go to Madison Gardens in Richmond, try their wings. They've got a unique blend of dry spices they put on them. It's a unique taste, but good and affordable on a college student budget. However, I do not suggest you watch a UK game there. The TV's are small and not situated too well. I generally like the place (despite the not so flattering reviews), I just don't recommend watching a UK game there. Other than the defensive heroics of John Wall in the final minute, the dominating performance of Cousins in limited play due to foul trouble, and the double-double performance by Patterson, it was kind of difficult to keep track of what was going on in the game with the TV set up. This time, instead of writing about the actual game, I'm going to write about the people I watched it with, the guy's that I call my Fraternity brothers.

It's always great to catch up with friends from school and it's even better when some of them can't stand the Cats. There's nothing more amusing and entertaining than watching someone get their hopes up that the Cats are going to go down, then- John Wall makes one of the most spectacular defensive plays I've ever seen at the end of the game to seal the win and also the hopes of haters everywhere. At EKU, you definitely have a lot of die-hard Cat fans that grew up watching the Cats their entire life. However, you also have a fraction of the student body from the Louisville area- many of which are UK fans and many of which are of course Little Brother fans. There's also a large chuck of students that come down from Ohio for a more affordable education.

The Buckeye's that attend EKU are even more delusional and obnoxious than even the Louisville fans, especially in football season. I don't understand how a fan base of such a great traditional football program finds so much joy in picking on and downplaying the success of a program like Kentucky that is making great strides and improvement each year in the nation's toughest conference. You don't see UK fans obsessive over OSU basketball because you know when you're unquestionably the best program in your sport, you don't spend too much time worrying about second rate programs. The Buckeye fans, deep down, aren't as confident about their place atop the mountain of college football as they would like you to think. If they were more confident in their program being the best in their sport, they wouldn't find it necessary to ridicule a football program like Kentucky's, that has struggled historically to finish in the top half of their conference on a yearly basis. When you ARE a second rate program (and I admit- Kentucky is one of those traditionally in football but that is changing), you are constantly rooting against and hating on the traditional powers even though they don't really care about your team at all.

These are the typical characteristics of the UK haters that I went to school with, and if you mention a certain Big Ten team's record against SEC schools in Bowl Games, they'll bring up some silly, obscure stat they looked up in one individual season and claim that the SEC is not dominant or even significantly tougher than the Big Ten on a consistant yearly basis (Matt Nunn). Their confidence and pride, or lack thereof, in their own programs (Louisville, Cincy, OSU) never fails to make me laugh and definitely also makes me thankful that I was born and raised on the right side of the Ohio River and grew up to Bleed Blue. However, I also want to thank these guys, because without the constant facebook arguments over Kentucky sports that even caused a group of Cardinal fans to protest my facebook membership is what encouraged me to create this site, a place where I can share my "biased and ridiculous" comments and opinions without rubbing people (opposing fans) the wrong way on facebook. Without them, Wildcat Wrap- which is nearing its 5,000th hit, would probably not exist.


Last night was one of those nights that I got to experience watching a UK game with a few of those haters, but also with some great Cat fans as well including Eli Roberts and Josh Ford- whom I thank for hooking me up with some great tickets a few weeks ago, 3 rows behind Alabama's bench in Rupp! Eli wanted his "shout out" on the wrap, and there it is (I had to find a way to work it in). And for the 26th time this year, myself, Eli, Ford, Cox, Jake, Burton and the rest of my Big Blue Fraternity Brethren enjoyed the last laugh Saturday night in Richmond as the Cats escaped with a hard fought victory in Memorial Gym for the first time since 2005 and almost certainly secured an SEC Regular Season Championship.

National Signing Day Recap

With the Cats playing against an LSU team tomorrow that is winless in the SEC, I think it's fair to say that the Cats should handle LSU tomorrow rather easily granted that Tasmin Mitchell doesn't go "Devan Downey" on us.

With that being said, it's time to talk some football. All off-season long, Mike Brown has kept us updated on Wildcat Wrap of the coaching carousal in college football. The biggest names taking over programs include Brian Kelly at Notre Dame, Lane Kiffin at USC, and Jimbo Fisher taking over for Bobby Bowden at Florida State. All of these coaches did very well on signing day, living up to their hype and huge contracts. The state of Kentucky has three new head coaches of their own in all three major college football programs and all are African American. Charlie Strong game to Louisville with the most hype, but could he deliver? Could Willie Taggard give the Hilltoppers any chance at all to finally win a game or two in D-1A (FBS) football? And could Joker Phillips continue the move upward for Kentucky football on National Signing Day?

Joker's first recruiting class as Head Coach of Kentucky was highlighted by a few surprising last second commitments. A few weeks ago, it wasn't looking very promising for the new coach- but he promised surprises, and he delivered. One of the biggest surprises was stealing Miami, FL Running Back, Brandon Gainer, away from Florida State and the Seminoles' new Head Coach, Jimbo Fisher. Gainer was also recruited unsuccessfully by new Louisville head coach, Charlie Strong. The Cats added another solid RB in Miles Simpson from Simon Kenton H.S. in Northern Kentucky. Simpson was also being recruited by Louisville and turned down a total of 11 schools including Cincinnati, Michigan, Nebraska, and Purdue.

The additions of both Gainer and Simpson at RB gives Kentucky's incoming backfield a ranking of 15th in the nation by Rivals.com. Both are SEC-caliber Running Backs that will more than adequately replace Derrick Locke as he graduates after the 2010 season. Look for one of these guys to also step up to be a 3rd down, short yardage option in their freshman seasons for the Cats. The Cats incoming linebackers are also ranked 3rd in the SEC only, behind only Auburn and Florida, and could see a lot of playing time as freshman. Other holes on defense should be filled by Junior College recruits such as DB Mychael Bailey from the Cats' recruiting pipeline from LaGrange, GA and South Carolina DL, Donte Rumph.

The highest ranked individual player for the Cats is TE Alex Smith from Cincinnati's Lakota West H.S. Smith is the 11th ranked TE in the country and will give the Cats an instant threat at the position that has been absent since the graduation of Jacob Tamme in 2007. He picked the Cats over the hometown Bearcats, Ohio State, Purdue, Michigan, West Virginia, and Wisconsin. With two strong commitments from Greater Cincinnati, maybe last season's opener at Paul Brown Stadium paid off in Recruiting in the area the way that the Cats hoped that it would.

Perhaps the biggest surprise was taking away the #1 recruit in the state that appeared to be a "lock" for new Louisville coach, Charlie Strong. Louisville Central LB Tim Patterson was a self-proclaimed "life-long Louisville Cardinals fan" and the Cards were so confident that he would sign with them that it was reported in Louisville as a done deal less than 24 hours before Signing Day. Although Strong's first recruiting class at Louisville is better than it has been the last few years under Steve Kragthorpe, the hype over Strong's hiring didn't deliver the results that Card fans were hoping for in his first recruiting class as he was clearly out done by new Wildcats' coach, Joker Phillips. The basketball and football supremacy in the state is secure and unthreatened for the Big Blue Nation, at least in the near future..



This seems to be an example that supports the idea of naming a "Head Coach In-Waiting" as opposed to hiring out of the program and starting from scratch in recruiting. This class isn't by any means one of the best in the nation, nor in the conference, but Kentucky is taking more and more "baby steps" each year on the football field and also on the recruiting tails. The class as a whole is ranked around 10th out of 12 teams in the conference, which isn't bad considering that the Cats return A LOT of young talent from last year's team as it is- and 10th in the SEC is honestly sometimes good enough to be Top 15 or 20 in the entire country. Even with a new head coach, Kentucky continues to close the gap on the majority of the conference as this year's class looks to be about even with Bobby Petrino's class at Arkansas.

If the 2010 Cats can turn a few more notorious annual close losses into victories (Tennessee and South Carolina) and continue to make progress on the field in Phillips' first year as head coach, then recruiting will continue to improve. This staff has proven that they can compete with Top 40 recruiting classes that rank high in speed, length and athleticism (which is what this class is made of). If the Cats can close out on the close games this year and they bring the program to the next level that it is capable of this season, Top 20 recruiting classes will come to Lexington under Joker Phillips. If this staff is competitive with Top 40 classes, they can win (and win big) with Top 20 (middle of the pack SEC) Recruiting Classes. The Cats are slowly, but steadily, rising.

And in case you were wondering, WKU new head coach, Willie Taggart, has recruited the #1 ranked recruiting class in the Sun Belt Conference, a very impressive feat for a first year coach taking over a team that was winless in their first two seasons of D-1A (FBS) football. The Cats have a 4 year series scheduled with the Hilltoppers, playing two games in Nashville and two in Lexington.

Just how big were the last 2 wins?

Since falling to South Carolina and losing the #1 ranking in the country, the Cats have bounced back with solid wins over #20 Vanderbilt and Ole Miss, who just barely dropped out of the rankings this week by just a matter of a few votes. Vandy and Ole Miss might just be the best 2 teams the Cats have played all year.

Before the season started and even through the month of December, the best teams and biggest wins on UK's schedule appeared to be UNC, UConn, and Louisville. All three of these teams have been major disappointments and all three of them will have to step it up just to make the NCAA Tournament. The Cats had counted on those three victories to be major factors in earning a #1 seed in the NCAA Tournament. Now that those aforementioned wins aren't considered as big as they once were, the last 2 wins have been crucial.

In fact, if the season ended today, Vanderbilt and their 17-4 overall and 6-1 conference record would be the highest seed on UK's schedule to this point. If the Cats had lost to Vandy, they would've been 2 games behind the Commodores for 1st place in the SEC. Especially considering how hard it is to win on the road at Vandy and already down a game in the SEC Standings, beating Vandy at Rupp was a must win, and the Cats responded well to the loss in Columbia with a much needed win, and with Lebron James in attendance (just days after receiving a phone call from President Obama- and losing that night)!


Ole Miss would likely be seeded the 2nd highest on UK's schedule so far, with a 12 point win over Kansas State and "good" losses against Villanova, West Virginia, and in overtime at Tennessee. The Rebels feature one of the best players and NBA prospects in the league in Terrico White. White, from Memphis, TN, was recruited by Calipari to be a Memphis Tiger before he chose to attend Ole Miss, so you know the guy is for real. He attracted more NBA scouts to Rupp than any game this season but the Cats were up for the challenge. Much like Vanderbilt, the game was never really in doubt even though they never really pulled away and kept a large lead. In the end, however, it was another nice double digit win for the Cats which could end up being a factor in earning their #1 seed, if it ever is in doubt.

As they stand right now, the Cats are a lock as a #1 seed, but you never know what could happen the rest of the way with 2 games left against Tennessee, a rematch with South Carolina, and road games against Mississippi State, Vandy, and Florida. Even f they lose a few of those games, the last 2 wins have put the Cats on solid foundation to still get a #1 seed.

The Day After

The day after perhaps the most physical battle of the UK-Louisville dream game, ever, I've had some time to digest everything that happened and here's what I think:

1. The Cousins play was way overblown and over exaggerated. How often do we see players get tangled up for a loose ball and a few kicks and shoves happen, both ways? It happens all the time, and is especially not uncommon in a rivalry game like this. And yes, Cousins took a knee to the head as well (as shown in the photo below). It was a good, physical game. If two other teams were playing and it wasn't involving Kentucky and a Calipari coached team, this would have been no big deal as far as the media is concerned. Period.


2. I believe that Louisville's players tried to instigate UK's young freshman and try to get them to lose their temper and control. From what I have heard and read from people at the game, Louisville's players were yelling obscenities, taunting UK's players and fans, and even crossing midcourt and purposely running through UK's layup lines before the game (which of course went unnoticed on CBS and the rest of the nation). For the most part, I think UK handled themselves very well.


3. I don't condone everything that UK did in the way that they handled themselves, but I do appreciate the fact that the incident with Cousins resulted because he was on the floor and fighting for a loose ball. I appreciate the physical game that he played, diving onto the floor for multiple loose balls, and grabbing 18 rebounds. Without that kind of physical play, UK losses this game. I also appreciate the fact that Cousins is physical on the court, and not off it, but I won't call out any other team in the state that has been involved in fights off the court recently.


4. Louisville fans need to move on. Instead of worrying about Kentucky and what we are doing 65 miles down the road, they should have some pride about their own team and realize there's still a lot to play for in the Big East and they have a team that can accomplish a lot. I attended the game last year at Freedom Hall and watched Edgar Sosa drain that shot to beat the Cats in the final seconds. I was surrounded by a sea of red Cardinal fans. But I walked out of Freedom Hall thinking that I might have seen one of the best UK/UofL games ever played. I took the loss with class and congratulated my UofL friends on the win. Why can't they act the same? .


5. It was a very sloppy game, by both teams. But in a game like this, all you can ask for is the "W" and Kentucky controlled their emotions enough to settle down and win this game. The Cats are now 15-0, their best start since the 1969-70 season.

The media will go out of their way to display UK's program in a negative image after even the smallest of incidents, like today's little scuffle between Cousins and Swopshire, but will let the actions of other coaches, players, and fans go unnoticed. The UK fans, by the way, couldn't have been classier, as there didn't seem to be a single reference to Karen Sypher the entire game. If a UK head coach was involved in a sex scandal, you better believe there would be chants in Freedom Hall as well as probably every student section in the SEC.

That's just the way it is though, and UK fans should probably just get accustomed from unfair treatment from the media and annoying, bitter rival fans. It also means one thing: the Cats are back! It has become "us against the world". And that's okay, says Coach Calipari, "We don't need anyone else. We have the Greatest Program in the World!"

UK Women's Hoops Improves to 10-0, beats Louisville by 34

(Photo Courtesy of ukathletics.com)

If you didn't already know, Matthew Mitchell's UK's Women's Hoops team is also undefeated, with a 10-0 record. Today, they beat defending National Runner-Up, Louisville, by 34 points! Hopefully, today's game was a preview of what we can expect on January 2nd when the men play. These girls are for real, however, and deserve some attention. This Louisville team has had a few early losses and hasn't been performing at the level they did last March, but nonetheless, a 34 point win over a Final Four team from a year ago is very, very impressive. It will be interesting to see how high they can go up in the polls and how they do in the SEC. It's a shame that the Lady Vols don't come to Lexington this year, a game that would bring a lot of excitement and attention to the UK Women's team. They deserve it.

Be sure to check back with me later in the week for coverage of the 2,000th win that I hope to be attending tomorrow night vs. Drexel at Rupp Arena. Also, someone else who deserves some recognition is John Wall. In summer school, John earned a 4.0 GPA and just finished up this semester with a 3.4 GPA. He has so far been the example of what every major D-1 player should be, on and off the court at UK. If he wanted to, he could do the bare minimum to just stay eligible, drop out of classes when the season is over, and go straight to the NBA and make millions. Instead, Wall has plans of coming back to Lexington for summer classes each summer during the NBA off-season until he graduates. Something tells me Bob Knight won't have anything to say about this.

Next up: Tar Heels

Let's be honest, as entertaining as tonight's game was against UNC Ashville...it was basically an exhibition for our great fans in Louisville.

And speaking of playing in Louisville, isn't it great? I love the inferior feeling it brings to all the Card fans, and it's very entertaining how much it irritates them. Most importantly, however, it's an opportunity for a lot of our fans in Louisville to be able to see the Cats play who normally could not. Growing up in Northern Kentucky, I attended the annual game in Cincinnati each year and loved it. As a kid, it was about the only chance I ever got to see the Cats. I wish they would bring back that game.

I don't know what is more immature, a few college freshman stomping on UofL's midcourt logo during a shootaround, or all the UofL fans whining about it? If you ask me, the Cardinal fans whining about it is much more immature. It's not their building. They do not own Freedom Hall. UK does not own Rupp either and the Cardinals could play at Rupp if they wanted to, but we all know that nobody would show up. Below is a video of Calipari speaking to the fans at practice last night of the possibility of playing multiple games there, including an SEC game. Now that UofL is moving into their new arena next year, Pitino will not be able to try to stop us anymore like he did by scheduling a game the same day as our Indiana game way after it was already scheduled several years ago, putting an end to what was a great neutral site location for that game.



Next up: the Cats host North Carolina in a battle between the nation's two winningest programs of all time. UK is six wins away from becoming the first program to 2,000 wins. The Tar Heels are ten wins away and looking to pick up a game on the Wildcats. This game marks the first real, high-intensity game in the Calipari era- and Rupp will be rockin!

On a side note, the Tar Heels could also be the Cats' next opponent on the gridiron. The bowl representatives would love for the two basketball heavyweights to settle things in football as well, and it could happen in the Music City Bowl.

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.

Audio: John Calipari in post-game

Audio: John Calipari in post-game

And for the haters out there (I'm sure there's a lot of them tonight), Kentucky is not overrated. They actually proved a lot tonight in a great learning experience, and still came out with a win. Good teams get better and learn while still finding ways to win. And it's even more promising for such a young team to win a game like this in November against a team that shot 15 of 26 from behind the three point line and could likely win their conference and go to the NCAA Tournament (like all of the team's Calipari schedules early on). Everyone's predictions are right on. Yeah, they'll probably struggle a few times along the way early on...but should be as good as anyone when it's all said and done. Coach Calipari agrees, and I think he knows more than you do.

Mississippi State is not overrated either after LOSING to Rider (another solid future UK opponent)

Neither is 12th ranked Cal after beating Murray State only by five. It's November.

North Carolina also was not overrated when they LOST to Santa Clara in November in Roy Williams' first National Championship season with a young Tyler Hansborough. They did okay, UK will too.

And Louisville was not overrated last November after three or four early losses and almost losing to Georgetown College in exhibition play...they ended up a #1 seed.

You know things are going good when a freshman scores 19 and makes the game winning shot, another freshman has a double-double in basically one half of play, another key freshman gets 7 stitches and comes back in the game to contribute, you have only one upperclassman that plays significant minutes, it's November, you have a new coach and offense, and you come back to win from 18 points and people are STILL disappointed in your performance.

And you know the funny thing is, it's not the so called "delusional" Kentucky fans that are screaming about this game. It's the "rational" fans of that other team in the state...

The same people that would turn around and call us impatient if we said the same things about our team that they're saying.

I'm thinking about dedicating a post tomorrow to my text messages during and after the game...their obsession with us is absolutely hilarious. The only problem with doing that is that I received so many that I lost space in my phone and had to delete a bunch of them. I know, amazing isn't it? I don't think I've EVER sent a text to a UofL fan during one of their games, because I don't really care, unless it's against us. I bet half the people texting me don't even know who UofL is playing their opening game against. Anyway...

Enjoy the postgame audio!

Breaking down the Preseason Basketball AP Top 25

My overrated teams are highlighted in Red and I've made some comments on some teams that I expect to have good seasons that are ranked right where they should be. I don't really have an opinion either way with any of the teams with no comments made about them. The underrated teams are highlighted in green.

1. Kansas: with the most experienced and accomplished talent in the country and top recruit Xavier Henry aboard, the Jayhawks deserve to be #1, for now.

2. Michigan State: The Spartans overachieved last season and it showed against UNC. I don't think they're as talented as Kentucky. Two is a bit high, but I can't consider them "overrated" because they return everyone from a team that finished #2 a year ago. They're where they deserve to be, but I'm not sure if they'll stay quite this high all season, however, Tom Izzo will have them in the Top 10 in March, when it matters.

3. Texas: The Longhorns have a lot of freshman talent coming in as well as transfer Jai Lucas from Florida, but it seems like they are overrated every year in basketball. What does Rick Barnes ever do with his talent in March? Even with Kevin Durant, they did nothing. Texas was 23-12 last year. Kentucky was 22-14. The two teams' had similar teams a year ago....do you mean to tell me that Texas has improved more than Kentucky has in the off season? Really? Can anybody tell me with a straight face that Texas improved themselves more than Kentucky did and should be ranked higher? Please, give me a break.

4. Kentucky: It seems crazy to think that the 4th ranked team in the country could be underrated, but the voters of this poll have a sub-500 team from last year ranked because of one great freshman (Derrick Favors of Georgia Tech). With this logic, FOUR great freshman, returning All-American Patrick Patterson, and new head coach John Calipari should make enough impact on a 22-14 team from a year ago to be ranked in the top 2 or 3, at least above a 23-12 Texas team from last season. I feel like most experts think Kentucky is probably the #1 team in terms of talent, but stubbornly pick them lower because they want to believe that this young team is going to be a bust under Calipari. If you want this team to prove something first, I can respect that opinion, but don't also vote for a 12-19 Georgia Tech team in the polls because of one recruit (some are even picking GT as a Final Four team). Be consistent.

5. Villanova: Should win the Big East, and therefore, should be ranked in the Top 5.

6. North Carolina: The defending champs lose 4 out of 5 starters. A team has not won back to back titles after losing 4 starters since UCLA in the 1970's and that shouldn't happen this year either. UNC will always be a factor under Roy Williams and will be a top 10 team when it's all said and done. This team is no where close to the level of talent that there has been in the last several years in Chapel Hill, however, they're still ranked about where they should be.

7. Purdue
8. West Virginia

9. Duke: Duke could trade their entire roster with Central Connecticuit State and would somehow still be ranked in the Top 10. When was their last Final Four appearance anyway? Overrated. Waaay overrated.

10. Tennessee: The Vols have all the talent in the world, but they couldn't even beat last year's NIT version of Kentucky. It will be a major disappointment if Tennessee doesn't earn at least a 2 or 3 seed in the NCAA Tournament.

11. Butler
12. Connecticut

13. California: Don't know much about Cal, but they only beat Murray State by 5 in thier opener. I'll give them the benefit of the doubt for now.

14. Washington

15. Michigan: The Wolverines were 9-9 in Big 10 play last season. Their recruiting class is good, but not good enough to all of a sudden make them a Top 15 team. They're overrated.

16. Ohio State

17. Oklahoma: hard to really say how the Sooners will be without Blake Griffin. Who do they have to replace him to justify being ranked at all? I'm going to say overrated.

18. Mississippi State: Their ranking all depends on the eligibility of Renaldo Sydney. Either way the Bulldogs are a Top 25 team. With him, they could be closer to a Top 10 team. I expect him to eventually be eligible, so I believe that in the end the Bulldogs will be better than this ranking. They're underrated.

19. Louisville: The Cardinals lose their top 2 scorers and rebounders in Terrance Williams and Earl Clark. They also lose veteran point guard, Andre McGee. Freshman Peyton Siva is talented, but won't be able to make up the difference of all the talent that the Cardinals have lost from a year ago. Could this season on the court be any uglier than the off season was for Rick Pitino and the Cards? Maybe not, but the Cardinals have lost a lot more than what they've gained in Siva and it looks like they're a little overrated.

20. Georgetown: The talent is there to be a Top 5 team, however, the talent was there last year too. The Hoyas need to put it together, but they're so loaded that I'm going to have to label them as underrated.

21. Dayton

22. Georgia Tech: I've already rambled enough on the Yellow Jackets. They were 12-19 last year. Not even John Wall all by himself would turn them into a serious contender, and Derrick Favors won't either. They're waaay overrated.

23. Illinois
24. Clemson

25. Minnesota: Tubby Smith has had his share of off-court problems this off season, but he always seems to get things under control as the season goes on and finds ways for his teams to make the NCAA Tournament. This year should be no different.

Not ranked and should be: Cincinnati and South Carolina

The Bearcats return top scorer Yancey Gates and add one of the best recruits in the nation, Lance Stephenson. Not a single vote? This team is definitely better than Georgia Tech and a handful of other ranked teams. The Bearcats are the most underrated team in the country. If the football team doesn't make it to the BCS Title game, their fans can jump off that bandwagon and jump right back onto the basketball bandwagon that they rode on during the Bob Huggins era. Mick Cronin appears to have the Bearcats back. As for the Gamecocks, they return two studs that turned down the NBA last season. One of them, Devan Downey, could be the best Point Guard in the nation behind John Wall.

News and Notes

• Be sure to check out tomorrow's edition of "Brown's Pick's" for this week's college football games (and maybe even a few basketball picks).
• A UofL basketball preview will also be appearing soon on the site.
• You can also expect NFL picks sometime soon, maybe this week.
• And at some point (maybe tomorrow evening), I will break down the College Hoops Top 25 and give you my most overrated and underrated teams.
• Then of course, Friday is GAMEDAY! A busy weekend may prevent me from the necessary coverage that should be given to the first regular season game of the Calipari era, but hopefully someone else can step up.
• Also, a BIG game for Bengals fans on Sunday! The Wildcat Wrap of the Vandy football game will also include a wrap up of the Bengals-Steelers game and will be posted either Sunday night or Monday morning.
• Next week we'll also start to cover the KHSAA State Football Playoffs.

A few other points of interest:

1. Every college basketball game I've watched so far, they have EXTENSIVELY talked about the Cats. It's great to be back!
2. UNC has now come within 2 games of UK in All-Time wins, however, the race to 2,000 still appears to be the Cats' race to lose.
3. The Cats were picked on the insanely premature edition of ESPN's Bracketology as a #1 seed facing an in-state team in the first round, the Murray State Racers.
4. Murray State only lost at 12th ranked California by just 5 points the other night. Way to go Racers, representing the state very well!
5. Last but not least, the Morehead game isn't going to be that easy...they're very good. I feel bad for Eastern as they appear to be well behind their other 2 in-state conference rivals this season.

Picking the Western Division and All-SEC team

As promised yesterday, here are my picks for the the SEC West:

1. Mississippi State (AP ranked 18th): The Bulldogs are the only team from the SEC that return all 5 starters from an NCAA tournament team a year ago. They return Jarvis Vanardo, one of the best shot blockers in the nation. They also landed one of the nation's top recruits in Freshman Forward Renaldo Sydney, who is facing similar eligibility problems as John Wall but has yet to be cleared by the NCAA. As long as Sydney becomes eligible before their February 16th matchup at home against Kentucky, the tandem of Vanardo and Sydney will give Patrick Patterson, Demarcus Cousins, Daniel Orton, and Perry Stevenson their toughest fight of the season. No team in the SEC, nor the country, has the depth down low that the Cats do but Mississippi State has enough talent down low to make Kentucky depend on the guard play of John Wall and Eric Bledsoe to win this one. (3 Seed, NCAA)

2. LSU: The Tigers lose Marcus Thornton but return Tasmin Mitchell from last year's SEC regular season champion. A lot of people are picking LSU to finish as low as 5th in the division, but the Tigers were the class of the SEC a year ago, winning 27 games and giving North Carolina their toughest game and biggest scare in the NCAA Tournament. They lose a lot, but they return enough talent to finish 2nd in the weaker side of the SEC and squeak into the NCAA Tournament as one of the last teams in. (13 Seed, NCAA)

3. Arkansas: In John Pelphrey's second season at Arkansas, they entered SEC play undefeated with wins over two top 5 teams, Texas and Oklahoma, but the Razorbacks were the best example of why the conference wasn't as bad as people thought it was a year ago. After going through a tough non-conference schedule undefeated, the young Hogs team fell apart and went 2-14 in SEC play. A year older and more experienced and in their third year under Pelphrey, expect the Hogs to play a lot better in SEC play this season and finish in the top 3 of the West. The talent is there to make the NCAA Tournament, but I'm not ready to put them there after only winning 2 conference games a year ago. They'll make strides this season and earn a trip to the NIT. (NIT)

4. Alabama: The rest of the SEC West is a crap shoot and really the only team that stands out is Mississippi State. The rest of the Western Division could finish in any order but I pick Alabama fourth because they return their leading scorer and also because of the impact that new head coach Anthony Grant will have. Grant is a disciple of Billy Donovan, comes from VCU, and is one of the highest rising young coaches in the game. He will at least take the Crimson Tide to some form of postseason play. (NIT or CBI)

5. Ole Miss: A 16-15 record a year ago was a huge step back for Andy Kennedy's program, but the Rebels did have a lot of injuries and could finish anywhere from 2nd to 5th in the West. Their season depends on how they are able to recover from those season ending injuries from last season and if super sophomore, Terrico White, can continue to develop into a future NBA shooting guard. (CBI)

6. Auburn: The Tigers were a pleasant surprise last year and barely missed the NCAA Tournament, but they lose nearly all key players from that team and it should be a rebuilding year for Auburn. (SEC Tourney, 1st round loss)

And now, here is the Wildcat Wrap All-SEC Team:

PG: John Wall (UK)
SG: Tyler Smith (UT)
SF: Tasmin Mitchell (LSU)
PF: Jarvis Vanardo (MSU)
C: Demarcus Cousins (UK)

Honorable Mention: PG Devan Downey (USC), PF Patrick Patterson (UK), PF Renaldo Sydney (MSU), C A.J. Ogilvy (Vandy), C Wayne Chism (UT)

Yeah, I gave the nod to Vanardo on the 1st team simply because he will put up better numbers with Miss. State than Patterson will on a team loaded full of NBA lottery picks. No disrespect meant at all towards Patrick, he will still have a great year and improve in the Dribble Drive Offense. Patterson and Devan Downey would be 1st team picks in any other conference and could both definately prove me wrong with not only SEC honors, but even All-American honors when it's all said and done.

Also, be sure to check out our preview of our lil brother 65 miles to the West. That's right, we will have a UofL preview coming up in the next couple of days by an actual UofL fan, Neal Thompson (the same guy who created a facebook group trying to ban me and my "biased and ridiculous opinions" from facebook. Let's see what he has to say about his Cards...