Cats Hammer Vols Again

So Bruce Pearl decided his Tennessee team would pick its poison carefully in Rupp Arena yesterday, and what he selected was basically this: anybody but Jodie Meeks.

UK responded perfectly, though. With Mr. Meeks being limited to 14 points, the Big Blue still managed to jump out to a quick 13-0 lead and cruised to a surprisingly easy 19-point win over its SEC East rival. Maybe Coach Pearl ought to re-think that bright orange jacket he likes to wear when his team is playing Kentucky (or Vandy). Aw, who are we kidding... he needs to re-think it, period.

I'm having a difficult time this morning figuring out which development I was more giddy about from yesterday's win: Big Pat being back on the court with hardly a lingering effect from his ankle injury, or Darius Miller playing lights-out and not even missing a single shot.

Both were huge yesterday considering Jodie's 40-point dropoff in scoring from the Knoxville game. Patrick looked fairly nimble to me (confession: I had to keep one eye on the "billiards" that I was playing with the little guy throughout much of this one). His monster dunk to cap off the victory was a great illustration that Pat's athletic explosiveness is quickly returning as the ankle mends.

Darius Miller, meanwhile, looked like a true former Kentucky Mr. Basketball should, dropping in a trio of 3-pointers, dishing out 6 assists, and even pulling down a few boards in a very efficient 26 minutes of play. You can literally see this freshman's confidence growing throughout conference play.

Mr. Miller looks to be embracing that number "1" beneath the "Kentucky" on his jersey. One can only hope Coach G doesn't decide to give him only 4 minutes in Columbia on Tuesday due to an early blown defensive assignment, or some other such travesty.

The dream start that staked Kentucky to a 13-point lead was mainly attributable to some stingy "D" early, and the Vols looking quite skittish, IMHO. Again, Rupp proves that its aura and energy can still rattle opponents when the Cats are facing a must-win conference game. It was not just happenstance that Tyler Smith and Wayne Chism combined to go 5 for 23 from the field.

A certain Kentucky "lead guard" hit half of his 3-point attempts against UT as well, but he shall go unnamed-- not as a snub, but rather for fear of jinxing him. You know who he is, so let's just pretend he's always been that proficient from long distance. I repeat: Fire Away.

All in all, quite a glimmer the Wildcats displayed yesterday, staying atop the crazy, nutty, wacky East division. Take this show on the road now, and return the favor to D. Horn's Gamecocks.

photo credit: Flickr Creative Commons by canfielddave