Taken To The Woodshed

I really wish I could break down this Kentucky loss better, in terms of pure X's & O's.

Perhaps it's a bit of a football mentality on my part, but after a beatdown of this magnitude, it just feels more comforting to be able to go over the game film and see where the schemes had little cracks in them, or where a specific player didn't execute a specific task. A poor tackle, a missed block.

You review it enough times, make enough observations, and things start to become a little more clear. Eventually, you can wrap your head around the loss.

I'm having no such epiphany right now.

That was a beating, pure and simple. Hats off to SC, yes. Great game by them. Big vocal crowd, fast start, high-energy throughout.

What's bothersome is how Kentucky responded to that challenge. Or should I say, did not respond. Another 20 turnover game offensively, along with getting 16 shots blocked. Poor defensive rotations all game long. Allowing too much penetration by South Carolina guards, and then not closing out on shooters.

Back to the 16 blocks, though. I'm not going to bother looking up exactly how long the Gamecocks have been playing hoops, but I'd venture that it has to be the better part of a century. Never in school history had they blocked 16 shots in a game....and UK now has the distinction of being on the wrong side of that record.

That's being taken to the woodshed.

The point guard comparison has grown tiresome at this stage, both internally and also comparing UK's PGs with those of other teams. Porter had 5 turnovers, Liggins had 3. Devan Downey used and abused both of them. It was like BJ McKie all over again, only Kentucky didn't have (insert legitimate late 90's point guard here....Epps? Turner? Anyone?)

Furthermore, I considered Coach Gillispie's benching of Jodie Meeks for much of the second half to be a white flag. It could be argued otherwise, I suppose, as an effort to light a fire under Jodie's supporting cast, or remind everyone just how important defensive intensity is to Coach G. I don't know.... to me, it seemed like a roll-over move. Jodie's the only guy on the squad with the abililty to score points in bunches and get UK back into shouting distance on the road. A late February must-win conference game seems like a strange time to take advantage of a teachable moment.

I really don't have much else to contribute this morning. In closing, I do want to send out thoughts and prayers to Kevin Galloway, who reportedly missed last night's game due to a death in the family.

Photo credit: Flickr Creative Commons by anon nona