2/16/2025
UK started the week with another win versus the Volunteers, this time at Rupp by the count of 75-64. Some great signs shared by the home crowd including “Rocky Top – A Song Never Heard at any Men’s Final Four”.
The ‘Cats improved their record vs the AP Top-25 to 7-2, only to follow up one win over a UT squad with a loss to a UT (although some from Sooner land prefer TU) team from Austin, Texas by the score of 82-78, in a game the ‘Cats led at the half. The loss drops UK to 6-6 in the SEC, with 6 remaining regular season games, including road games at Alabama, Oklahoma and Missouri, and home to Vandy, Auburn and LSU. Hard to foresee not needing a solid 4-2 finish to secure a top 8 seed in the SEC given Mississippi State’s surprising win in Oxford yesterday, although the SEC Tie Breaker policy, based on 2 Team and 3 Team scenarios favors UK at the moment with a Two Way Tie. Vandy and a Three Way tie, might require DOGE assistance.
SEC basketball has had a metamorphosis in talent in recent years and I can’t ever recall a season standings with Auburn, Alabama, Florida and Texas A&M as the top 4 teams. Don’t these schools know it’s nearly spring football season??
2/9/2025
Kentucky started the week with a Tuesday night bikini wax in Oxford, as Ole Miss treated the ‘Cats defense as if the court was the Autobahn. Very little obstructions, speed bumps or corners to navigate en route to the tin. The defense remarkably forced 1 turnover…..ONE TURNOVER.
Saturday the squad rebounded with a 80-57 bludgeoning of South Carolina at Rupp…keeping the Gamecocks perfect 0-10 record in SEC play intact. UK was led by Otega Oweh and his 17 points, and marked the return of Lamont Butler to the lineup, no small differentiator. It’s now all about positioning for the SEC tournament beginning March 12th at Bridgestone in Nashville. Like most other SEC clubs, avoiding having to play 5 games in 5 days is a worthy endeavor, which is only applicable to the Top 8 teams. Kentucky currently sits at a middling .500 at 5-5 in conference play and in a three way tie for 8th with Mississippi State and Vanderbilt. With 8 games left on the regular season slate including this coming Tuesday as they host Tennessee, it stands to reason that a 5-3 record, at a minimum, will be required to secure a top 8 SEC Tournament Seed.
2/2/2025
Despite the upbeat, positive vibe piece in The Athletic, the ‘Cats hopped on a roller coaster this week with the high of a win in Knoxville vs the Vols on Tuesday when Tennessee clanked 34 of 45 three point attempts, only to drop the Cal Game at Rupp on Saturday Night to visiting Pig Sooie, surrendering 89 in a double digit loss!
The ‘Cat program and Commonwealth will continue the re-birth through the 2025 season, but it may require a healthy imbibe of some tasty single batch bourbon as the defense looks as formidable as gauze pad trying to slow a Peterbilt semi!
1/25/2025
After sleeping walking through the first half at Vandy on Saturday, eerily reminiscent of a not unfamiliar late Friday night bourbon induced haze roaming the various haunts of Broadway in NashVegas, the ‘Cats came out hotter than Hatty B’s Hot Chicken, quickly erasing the 14 point half time deficit to seize a seven point lead with 8:40 remaining. Unfortunately for the Wildcat faithful, the Commodores rallied with a 23-11 run to pull out a 5 point victory.
In the spirit of sharing some local knowledge nuggets for those unfamiliar with the greater Music City area, Vanderbilt’s campus is a mere three miles from some of the best Live Music venues in the country, with multi-level watering holes with some of the finest local musicians and a quick Pro Tip, if so inclined when listening to live music, always identify the bass player that looks like they learned their musical chops playing metal…..and throw a donation or two, request, and then sit back and enjoy Metallica’s Enter Sandman…..IT’S ALWAYS A CROWD PLEASER, particularly after a great win or tough loss. The ‘Cat’s fall to 3-3 in SEC play, with their 3rd loss in the last five…..and have Tennessee up next in Knoxville on Tuesday prior to Coach Cal and Pig Sooie’s arrival in Lexington next Saturday.
1/18/2025
The Kentucky Wildcats split their home games this week, hosting two Top 15 squads, defeating Texas A&M on Tuesday by 12, before falling to their first home defeat of the Mark Pope era, at the hands of Top 5 ranked Alabama on Saturday, 102-97. Despite balanced scoring offensively with 7 players in double figures, their inability to match the foot speed of Nate Oats High Tides, was evident throughout, as the visitors knocked down 13 three pointers and headed to the line 34 times.
The ‘Cats currently sport a defensive rating outside the Top 75 in Ken Pom ratings and continue to put tremendous stress on the offense, akin to wearing non-spandex pants while dining at the endless buffet of the Golden Corral Buffet & Grill……at some point, someone needs to yell STOP!!! Step away from the dessert bar and go get a defensive rebound!!
1/12/2025
In a nod to the GREAT Charley Daniels, Mark Pope and the ‘Cats went down to Georgia, lookin' for a win to steal, quickly found themselves in a bind 'cause at the half time, they were way behind….and while they played a pretty good fiddle and had to give Mike White and his Bulldogs their due, on Tuesday Night, losing in Athens by 13.
The ‘Cats then continued their road trip in Starkville, Mississippi on Saturday to face the cowbell toting Bulldogs, and came away with a hard fought 95-90 victory. The coming week includes visits from the Top 15 ranked Texas A&M Aggies and Top 10 ranked Alabama Crimson “High” Tides. Subsequent to the College Football playoffs, the SEC has dropped “It Just Means More” for all football related activities……this is A Basketball Conference NOW and is LOADED with quality teams..
1/4/2025
Kentucky opened their SEC season at Rupp with a 106-100 victory over Florida, improving the season mark to 12-2, following a midweek dispatching of Brown. Gator coach Todd Golden was thrilled to start the SEC season on the road, both as a measuring stick for his undefeated squad and as an opportunity to buttress his Instagram co-ed picture likes by broadening his existing portfolio to include conference schools including KentuckyHot from Twitter.
Unavailable for comment post defeat, we suspect the coeds retained their undefeated record.
As for the ‘Cats, they surpassed the 100 point plateau for the 5th time on the season in keeping an undefeated record at home with the ever dapper suited Mark Pope at the helm. Next up is a Tuesday trip to Athens to face an improving Bulldog squad.
12/22/2024
Kentucky visited MSG on Saturday to play the Ohio State Buckeyes….and it was the day of The Ohio State University, as the Buckeyes spanked the ‘Cats as if the game was played on the gridiron. The ‘Cats fell to 10-2 to start the season, but optimism still abounds despite the poor shooting evening. The rotation is rounding into shape with the SEC schedule slated to start shortly after the New Year. Mark Pope has brought a refreshing change to the program with a more mature squad that can legally consume alcohol, a winning ticket for anyone familiar with the wonderful bourbons available in the Commonwealth. Coach Pope has shown a fantastic ability to make in-game adjustments, develop a gameplan and strategy depending on the opponent, as further evidenced by the ‘Cats being led by 5 different leading scorers through 12 games. Contrary to the false impression that UK fans were led to believe under Cal, strategy and in game adjustments ARE NOT banned by the NCAA ………the more you know…..Cal and Pig Sooey come calling on February 1st……and the after market ticket prices are already 250% higher than games vs Florida and Tennessee….and 2x of Auburn and Alabama. Should make for an interesting scene at Rupp.
12/15/2024
The Kentucky Wildcats fended off a feisty Colgate on Wednesday before a wire to wire victory vs in state Louisville on Saturday to improve to 10-1 and 8-0 at Rupp, while the Cards fall to 17 and 40 vs the Wildcats. The ‘Cats were led on Saturday by Lamont Butler's 33 points and his perfect 10 for 10 from the floor, including 6 of 6 from beyond the arc…..and the only quibble with Butler’s performance from this Cat fan was his inability to maintain perfection at the charity stripe, going 7 of 12 and impacting the margin of victory. GOOD teams win, GREAT teams cover!! Next up on Saturday the 21st is Ohio State at Madison Square Garden before closing out the calendar year with a victory vs Brown.
12/8/2024
The Kentucky Wildcats, after dropping a mid week SEC/ACC Challenge game to Clemson, rebounded with a rousing comeback to defeat Gonzaga last evening, after trailing by 18. The ‘Cats, down 50-34 at the half, sent the game to overtime tied at 79, and then pulled out the victory 90-89 in late night basketball from the Emerald City Seattle. The win over 7th ranked Gonzaga should keep the ‘Cats in the Top 10, with a mid week scrimmage, check that….. it’s actually a game, scheduled against the Colgate Raiders, before hosting the Louisville Cardinals for their annual spanking next Saturday. Last time the Cards won in Rupp, W. was still President and Rick Pitino was still coaching in the state. For those forgetting, Rick has coached Iona and donned a sweater in tribute to Lou Carnesecca yesterday at St. John’s, and the Cards have been led by David Padgett, Chris Mack, Mike Pegues, Kenny Payne and now Pat Kelsey….not that we’re counting!!
11/28/2024
The ‘Cats crowd-pleasing consistency of completely crushing competition in home contests (say that fast) despite lacking continuity from the 2023 roster with ZERO returning players, have jumped out to a stellar 7-0 mark including 6-0 at the friendly confines of Rupp, has been a much needed tonic at the start of Mark Pope’s command leading the Kentucky faithful back to college basketball prominence. The competition stiffens next week with a trip to Clemson prior to hosting Gonzaga….while keeping a watchful gleeful eye on Arkansas dropping a couple of early season games vs Illinois and Baylor…..has created excitement throughout the Commonwealth.
11/22/2024
The ‘Cats of Kentucky continue to embrace a non-secular religious revival re-incarnation under the Pope, Mark Pope, with a 5-0 start. The Big Blue Nation has been re-energized with the Three and D philosophy of yesteryear….and have now focused their attention to more pressing concerns including the hideous attempted makeover of the Wildcat emblem, which eerily looks stolen from K – State.
The December schedule provides some stiffer competition beyond this week's scrimmages vs Bisons of Lipscomb or the Jackson State Tigers.
11/11/2024
The Mark Pope led Kentucky Wildcats are off to a 2-0 start by scoring triple digits in both games vs Wright St and Bucknell. Next up is the hated Duke Blue Devils ($*%k Laettner)....Tuesday will be the first of several litmus tests for the burgeoning love affair between Pope and the Big Blue Nation. A victory is certain to make Mark more favored than Francis in Rome. And Mark Pope's #1 fan in the Commonwealth rooting more for a return to elite college basketball is none other than Mark Stoops, who was hours from a massive payday from Texas A&M last December prior to the 12th Man Foundation revolt.
Comments