UK Wins at Auburn; No Trees Killed

OH MY GOSH.... did you know that until tonight, Kentucky has only played one other game on an opponent's home court this season? Oh, you did. Cool. But did you realize they lost that one? At Indiana? Knew that too? Oh yeah....well, that was the last time I posted about a UK game on this here blog thing. Surprised you're still checking back.

Scoreboard says Kentucky dropped the Tigers tonight, 68-53.

I'ma start with this: I really think the Cats should be pressing more. We have a lineup full of McDonald's All-Americans, future first-rounders, Mr. Basketballs, etc....and yet we allow a team like Auburn to to slow us down into a half-court game and play their pace..... because...why? Just doesn't make sense to me. It wouldn't have to be 40 minutes of hell type of pressure, or trapping every inbounds, but every now and then after made baskets or free throws, I'd like to see UK give some opponents a tougher time bringing the ball up the court. Seems that might pay some dividends late in games, or I don't know, cause a turnover fest that breaks one wide open. Kentucky should not be scoring less than 70, even on the road.

See, I haven't been out too long....I remember the UK fan's favorite pastime: complaining after wins!

Secondly, I can't say enough about how hard MKG plays, every time he hits the floor, no matter the opponent or the circumstances. I praise him despite the fact that he had a pretty awful game against the Barbees. Scoring-wise, he was obviously well off his normal pace, and yes I realize that he had 4 turnovers to match his 2-10 shooting. But I tell you what, the Kidd's a scrapper. And he came up with a couple of hustle plays tonight that were just uber-inspirational...like a Jay-Z song dedicated to his newborn daughter. Mr. Kidd-Gilchrist just flies to the loose ball with a linebacker's mentality, and with all the athletic ability in the world, the guy only has one speed: Ffast. I'll let you figure out what the additional f stands for.

When he gets beat off the dribble --which isn't often, but it happens--he doesn't quit on a play. Witness the blocked shot on a reverse layup attempt by [insert random Auburn chump here]. Reverse layups just aren't supposed to be blocked by trailers, you know, what with the rim being in the way and all. Plus, Mike's always first on the hardwood to tie up an opponent for a jump ball. Nice trait, that. Very useful. Dude just plays hard. He's not perfect or anything....he will take a bad shot and throw a ball away and look like a freshman like they all do. But I can forgive a lot when it comes to MKG.

Also, Fred and I had a chuckle about this at the Hound, but can we agree that Joe Dean Jr. should get a little more airtime? The picture never seems as sharp on the SEC Network, but I just love that voice. It takes me back. Stirs up memories. Or as George Bush might say: it gets me all nostalgified. Joe Jr. broke out the "string music" when Darius made that three at the 1st half buzzer, and I'll be darned if part of me didn't want to just giggle uncontrollably while some other part of me had to stifle a sob. Let's just say I'd rather hear Joe than quite a few other s0-called analysts *cough* Bobby Knight *cough*.

Looking ahead of course Kentucky has another roadie for this weekend (at Tennessee), and I will be watching for some continued growth from Marquis Teague and also improving health and play from Terrence Jones. Mr. Teague, I thought, played "well enough" at the new Auburn gym....3 turnovers in 35 minutes...but he's got to continue to attack smarter and finish better. I maintain that the youngster simply takes far too many field goal attempts for a point guard, but as the man from Ashland points out, the real concern is that he seems to miss a ton of 4-footers and layups. As for Mr. Jones, well, the farther he gets away from that grotesque digit misplacement, the better. Time heals. The mega-sophomore slump is about to fade for TJ as that finger returns to normal, methinks.

Lastly, I just want to give a congratulatory shout out to John Wall, placing 2nd on SportsCenter's top plays tonight, for his nasty left-handed high-flyer over a statuesque defender somewhere out in NBA-land. You should be able to find the video online Thursday morning.