Trio of Double-Doubles Needed for UK Win in Starkville

(Admit it, this picture makes you a little hungry.) Jarvis Varnado finally met his match, with three Wildcat amigos notching at least 18 points and 10 rebounds Tuesday night. John Wall, DeMarcus Cousins, and Patrick Patterson combined to ensure that all was right in the SEC basketball world as Kentucky snapped a recent Mississippi State bugaboo with its 81-76 overtime win.

Varnado, who fouled out, was unable to re-create his famous Gillispie-era block party and was close to a non-factor in only 23 minutes of play. Perhaps predictably, it was Big Cuz who was the main beneficiary of Varnado's absence, leading the Cats with 19 points and 14 boards. Maybe someone should scatter Cousins' cell phone number around Vanderbilt's campus for the rest of the week.

State came in with the greenest of all lights from three-point land, attempting 35 treys in all, and fortunately for Kentucky, making only 10 (28.6%). Kentucky also enjoyed a very wide overall rebounding margin of 52-35, which led to a lot of put-backs for the Big Blue and limited the Bulldog's own second-chance opportunities. Even Liggins, Dodson, and Orton pulled down 4 rebounds each-- and the Cats were certainly in need of every possession as the game required an extra period to decide a victor.

Rick Stansbury sounded so dejected on his post-game radio show that I almost, almost, felt a bit sorry for him. The Bulldogs were playing their third game in only six days and fell to 6-5 in the SEC. Stansbury lamented the fact that his home fans had to leave disappointed after creating such a great environment and cheering their hearts out for the nationally-televised game. He was heartbroken that State had several empty possessions at the end of regulation that could have closed it out.

To which I say: Silly rabbit, wins are for Cats.

If you've been watching Cal's team all season, you had to feel this was the type of contest that UK has learned to pull out. Yeah, they mess around too much, and I for one, (although I'm most assuredly not alone) hate it. These Cats play down to their competition at times, and I've criticized it (you know, like last week). They do act like a young team, no argument about it. But you know, twenty-five in the "W" column doesn't come by accident. That's TWENTY-FIVE and counting.

Did UK hit every single free throw down the stretch and in OT? No. Did they get themselves a really great shot at the end of regulation? Nah. Silly turnovers? More than a few.

But they did get enough from the charity stripe (attempting 15 more than the Dogs.) And DeAndre Liggins surely could have made that baseline "J" and saved us 5 more minutes of nail-biting. (Not that I'm against free basketball and pushing back SportsCenter to get some additional coverage).

Put it this way: if you told me that Kentucky could get another 6-point road win at Vandy this weekend, I'd take it all day long. Nice win.

And if you'll allow me a brief personal note in closing: my good friend and fellow UK alum Paul experienced a horrible family loss earlier this week and I just want to send him my condolences. He is somebody who encourages me all the time, has read this little blog from the start, and I really just want him to know that he has my fullest support and sympathy. Hang in there, PA.