Cats Leave Blue Jays Feeling.....Blue

Advancing to the NIT quarterfinals with a 65-63 win over Creighton, UK managed to overcome a rowdy Qwest Center crowd in Omaha, Nebraska, and an all-too-brief first half performance from Patrick Patterson. Aided by some missed Blue Jays' free throws down the stretch, Jodie Meeks got 3 the old-fashioned way for the final margin, and UK survived a potential game-winning trey from Booker Woodfox (you just can't make these names up, people) as the clock expired.

Patterson figured to put up some monster (Warren Buffett?) numbers in the contest, with Creighton lacking comparable inside muscle-- but Big Pat picked up two early fouls that sent him to the bench with under 5 minutes gone in the first half. UK managed to keep the game well within reach for the opening frame, trailing by 2 at the break, and Pat did finish with 12 points. This one was practically a barn-burner from the tip, with multiple lead changes and neither team able to put together a big run to serve as a knockout punch.

Ramon Harris played a terrific defensive game in hounding Creighton's outside shooters. Also lost in the box score, Harris made an absolutely outstanding hustle play in diving for a ball near the endline, thereby securing possession for the Cats. Say what you want about Ramon's offensive skills, but the guy will give you that kind of effort almost every night, and Coach Gillispie has made no secret of his admiration for the dirty work that Ramon is willing to do.

The game winner was no work of art, either. Meeks effectively improvised off of a soft pick-and-roll with Patterson that didn't result in a clear scoring option. Basically, Creighton played it pretty well, and Jodie was fortunate to be able to slide past a defender and get "the hoop and the harm". Of course, that's what you expect of Jodie when the game is on the line... you tell him to put on his cape and go win it.

Creighton's crowd was fairly frothing at the mouth the entire game, and could easily have left happy had a few more breaks gone their way. The Jays carried the "mid-major" banner very well and were obviously a talented and well-coached team. I must admit to loving all the blue atmosphere everywhere-- the uniforms, cheerleaders, signs, fans with painted faces-- I would even go so far as to say that the feeling was....mutual in Omaha. (Sorry. Couldn't resist.) But honestly, Kentucky was just able to make a bucket and then get a stop at the end to survive tonight.

This game didn't have the sex appeal of Memorial Coliseum going for it, but from a UK fan's perspective it was still March basketball at its nail-biting best. Again: nobody wants to get too excited about NIT wins, yet it is admittedly nice to see this group of players get rewarded with some post-season success.

Coach G has made it a point to let the media know that the team has shown a lot of maturity since missing out on a bid to the Big Dance. He has cited inexperience as being a huge contributing factor to some of the losses UK suffered in conference play. Therefore, in the bigger picture, this would suggest some good foundation work is being laid for the '09-10 season, questions regarding Gillispie's return aside.

Kentucky continues its NIT run on Wednesday night vs. Notre Dame, with a trip to Madison Square Garden on the line. I understand that the team will not be returning to Lexington but rather will travel directly from Omaha to South Bend, IN. It should be interesting to see how the Cats will respond given the circumstances. Color me eager (like everyone else) to see the Patterson-Harangody showdown. First to eat 3 Big Macs wins!