Cats fumble away opportunity, again.

It was another impressive night from a numbers perspective for Mike Hartline and the Kentucky passing offense. The running game looks to have a solid future but certainly missed not having Derrick Locke. The defense also was not great, but at the end of the day- all Kentucky had to do was hold on to the football and they would have likely escaped with another victory and stay in the SEC East race. For the second time this year, they simply gave away a victory. You simply can't expect to turn the ball over and give up a short field in the SEC. Good teams take advantage of that and even mediocre SEC teams will usually not let you get away with it. First at Ole Miss, and now at home against Georgia...if the Cats had not fumbled themselves out of these two games, they'd be atop the SEC East standings with a 6-2 overall record and a 3-2 conference record.

Once again, an opportunity to make that next step forward in the SEC ended in disappointment. Things don't get any easier next week in Starkville, either. Dan Mullen's 6-2 Bulldogs are for real. They've already knocked off Georgia and Florida and they have a major New Year's Day Bowl within their grasp. The Cats can still position themselves for bowl season nicely with winning these last three games(and honestly, who would be disappointed with ending the season with a win in Knoxville?). But hopefully the Cats bounce back resiliently again this week and play spoiler to the great season MSU is having in a similar way that the Bulldogs did to the Cats in 2007.

And good news...Tuesday night is the Blue/White basketball scrimmage! Cheer up, Kentucky! Thanks to allkyhoops.com for this photo of Wall and Bledsoe going at it in last year's scrimmage.

Celebrate, take it in, enjoy...and let's win 6 more.

(Photo courtesy of ESPN.com)

• That was one of the greatest Kentucky games ever played
• It's definitely a time to celebrate for Big Blue Nation, but I LOVE the fact that the nets were not cut down.
• We want to win 6 more, than we'll cut down some nets.
• Don't tell me that one and done players don't care.
• I don't need to write a story- we all saw what happened.

1. John Wall's steal in the corner and quick basket cut the lead down to 1 with 40 seconds to go.
2. MSU makes 2 free throws to make it a three point game.
3. MSU purposely fouls before Bledsoe can throw up a three to tie it.
4. Bledsoe makes the first shot, misses 2nd on purpose.
5. Rebound Kentucky, three no good by Wall, rebound Cousins, he puts it up....OVERTIME!
6. Wall scores 7 points in OT, including a circus shot behind the 3 point line.
7. Cats win 26th SEC Tournament Title and 1st since 2004.

ENJOY it, Big Blue Nation. Don't worry about what happens next until about an hour from now when the pairings are announced. THEN, we'll dissect the brackets and talk about the road to Kentucky's 8th National Championship.

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!

Cousins says, "CALL ME!"

All week long, DeMarcus Cousins received thousands of racist text messages and phone calls from Mississippi State students and fans. Cousins, who had a reputation as a player that could easily lose his temper, stayed cool and composed throughout the heat of a battle in a rowdy crowd in the deep south. Once again, the trend continues of every team's fans absolutely bringing their loudest and largest crowds for when the Cats come to town but unfortunately this time, it got out of hand.

Cousins stayed composed, while MSU fans threw bottles on the court and an MSU player even refused to shake his hand. Cousins just kept walking and showed a lot of class and maturity tonight. I'm not wanting to teach a history lesson here, but I've got to throw this out there- you witnessed tonight why Adolph Rupp was not able to bring African American players to Kentucky for so many years. If it's like this in Starkville in 2010, imagine what it would have been like in the 1950's and 60's.

Moving on- THREE players scored in double figures tonight for the Cats (Wall, Cousins, and Patterson).

Wall, our point guard, out-rebounded Jarvis Vernardo AND was only two assists away from a triple double. Wall's line tonight was 18 points, 10 rebounds, 8 assists, 3 steals, and 2 blocks and was perhaps his best all-around game as a Wildcat. Patterson also stepped up and had the huge game that we had been waiting for and had been accustomed to seeing in his first two seasons in Lexington. Patrick had 19 points, 10 rebounds, and 3 blocks; however, tonight- the center of attention was DeMarcus "Boogie" Cousins. Everyone wanted to see how "Big Cuz" would respond to the fans. Boogie was calm, cool, and collective tonight with 19 points and 14 rebounds. The only response, besides his play, that Cousins showed was a simple gesture with two words to the fans: "CALL ME!". A simple hand motion known as "the John Wall dance" has become a sensation in the Commonwealth, and Cousins' small gesture to the record setting crowd at MSU will also make its own mark on what has become a DREAM SEASON in Lexington thus far.

Other Notes and Observations:

• DeAndre Liggins continues to earn the trust of John Calipari. He played 25 minutes tonight and was on the floor at the end of regulation and throughout the entire overtime period. His three point shot with 2:44 left in the game with the Cats down 7 points was EPIC! DeAndre now has a major role on this team as not only one of the best hustlers, but one of the best shooters.
• Cousins continues to lead the nation in points and rebounds per minute, and it's not even close. The Cats got some calls down the stretch, but it went both ways the entire game. Cousins continues NOT to get the fouls called against him, but found himself in foul trouble most of the game. He scored his 19 points and 14 rebounds in 30 minutes of play and only 25 minutes in regulation.
• Patterson was able to step up in Cousins' absence. Unfortunately during that same stretch, Daniel Orton was offensively ineffective tonight as he went 1-4 from the field and 0-1 from the free throw line.
• Darius Miller's 9 points off the bench deserves mention and cannot be forgot in a close battle like tonight.

But without a doubt, this night belonged to DeMarcus Cousins, who purposely did not change his phone number this week because he wanted to hear what MSU fans had to say to him AFTER the game. Cousins is starting to be a fan favorite in the Commonwealth in what truly has become a dream season in Lexington!

Reece Davis Reflects on Gameday

To highlight the interview, Reece says that he admits that most of the fans did not show up to see their show, but to exhibit their passion to the rest of the country, "which quite frankly, is simply unmatched," he says. He also goes on to say that he usually doesn't like to rank Gameday appearances because he doesn't want it to get on the Internet and be a shot against other schools, but in this case, he has not experienced anything like he did in Lexington on Saturday. When he looks back on his entire career, Reece ranks Saturday's Gameday Show as possibly the most incredible thing he's ever been a part of. Reece is one of the few employees of the Worldwide Leader of Sports that truly understands and appreciates college basketball's greatest program and fan base.



Be sure to check back with us here at Wildcat Wrap as we "Wrap up" tomorrow night's battle with Mississippi State in Starkville. Just like the Wall/Downey matchup a few weeks ago, the Jarvis Vernardo matchup with Cousins and Patterson in the post will be another one to take a close look at. One of the few dark spots in the Tennessee win was a single digit performance by Cousins, ending his seven game streak of putting up a "Double-Double". It was Cousins' worst game of the season and he'll need to rebound from it against the nations best shot blocker on Tuesday. If it's another quiet game for Cousins, than Bledsoe and Wall might have to take over again.

Brown's Picks

Last week was a little better for me. I went 3-2 which brings my season record to 10-11. Cincinnati is off this week so I added in my pick for the EKU game. Some good picks for this weekend should put me over .500 for the short time I've been picking games. Let's get to it:


Ohio St. ( -12) @ Michigan
No matter how poorly either of these teams has performed, the Buckeyes and Wolverines bring their A game for this one. Considered one of the best rivalries in all of sports, Ohio St. and Michigan will go at it this Saturday. Ohio St. has been rolling of late, beating Penn St. and Iowa in the last two weeks and clinching yet another trip to the Rose Bowl. After jumping out to a 4-0 record, the Wolverines have left 4 in a row and 6 of their last 7 (with the only win being against Delaware St.) I think this one will be close in the first half, but Ohio St. will eventually pull away and win by 17.

PICK: OHIO ST.

Virginia @ Clemson (-21.5)
-With a win on Senior Day in Death Valley, the Tigers will be heading to Tampa and to their first ACC Championship game. I think the key to this game is going to be the Virginia defense. Clemson has a number of weapons on the offensive side of the ball. By now everyone knows about CJ Spiller, but I think the big game is goign to come from Wide Receiver and return-man Jacoby Ford. It will be interesting to see how the Tigers handle the pressure of trying to wrap up a division title. I think Clemson wins pretty easily but I'm not sure if they cover the spread. I'm actually going to pick Clemson by 20, with a score of 30-10.

PICK: VIRGINIA

Kentucky @ Georgia (-9)
-Both of these teams come into this game with identical 6-4 records overall. One problem UK is going to face this Saturday is the potential lose of Sophomore Randall Cobb. In my opinion, Cobb has been the best offensive threat the Cats have had all year, leading the conference in touchdowns per game. Cobb didn't practice much this week and Coach Rich Brooks said he will be a game-time decision. With starting QB Mike Hartline already out, UK may need to rely on Cobb more than usual. Georgia has their big rivalry game next week against Georgia Tech and I think UK has a great chance to catch the Bulldogs looking ahead on their schedule. I think this one stays close for most of the game, but being between the hedges will prove too much for UK and their injuries. I like UGA by 10.

PICK: GEORGIA


LSU @ Mississippi (-4.5)
-LSU comes into this game at #8 and with hopes of sneaking into a BCS game. Mississippi is favored in this game, but I think they are going to need a big game from their defense to pull this one out. LSU has not been overly impressive on the offensive side of the ball this year, averaging only 25 points a game. On the other hand, Ole Miss is putting up 31 and 400+ yards of offense a game. This is going to be a tough game for the Tigers; Mississippi wins it by 7.

PICK: MISSISSIPPI

Eastern Kentucky @ Jacksonville St.
-On Thursday night Jacksonville St. demolished Tennessee Tech. That plays an important role in this game, because all the Colonels will have to do in order to win the OVC for a third straight year is beat the Gamecocks in Jacksonville on Saturday. Eastern is also trying to extend their streak of consecutive non-losing seasons. EKU is going to have a hard time handling a Jacksonville St. Offense that is scoring 35 a game. This one is going to be close but I like to Colonels to win the game and another conference championship.

PICK: EASTERN KENTUCKY




That's all for my football picks this week. Enjoy the football everyone!


GO TIGERS!
GO COLONELS!

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.

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...