And I think Georgia is really underrated. I think their coach is quite good, and I like their athleticism and their work ethic. They also have a lot of size on the inside, which could be a huge problem for us.
So I expect a very tough game.
Saturday, January 8, 2011
Georgia v. Kentucky
Every year, I dread the eight conference road games that UK has to play. Even good teams struggle with conference road games. Last year, for example, our only two losses of the regular season came at South Carolina and Tennessee.
Subscribe to:
Post Comments (Atom)
Georgia 4 - 0 Kentucky (18:26 left in 1st half)
ReplyDeleteWe're off to a terrible start, and Cal has already called time.
i completely support Enes Kanter's being on the uk men's basketball bench. there is no way, however, that i would've had Mike Hartline on the uk football sideline.
ReplyDeleteGeorgia 18 - 15 Kentucky (11:23 left in 1st half)
ReplyDeleteKentucky really has no answer to Trey Thompkins (other than to deny him the ball). He already has seven points. UK is shooting only 40 percent of the game, and Jones has only 2 points. In short, so far the game has played out exactly as I expected.
By the way, I would be happy if Terrence Jones didn't shoot another 3-pointer for the rest of the year.
ReplyDeleteGeorgia 28 - 24 Kentucky (7:52 left in 1st half)
ReplyDeleteSo far, I see no evidence that UK can guard Georgia man-to-man. I think UK's offense is working pretty well, but Georgia is scoring almost every time they get the ball.
Georgia 32 - 26 Kentucky (3:56 left in 1st half)
ReplyDeleteApparently, UK's offensive success was predicated on UGA's defense focusing on Terrence Jones. Because Jones left a few minutes ago, and UK hasn't gotten off a good shot since. Furthermore, Liggins missed two FT's, and Knight missed the front end of a one-and-one.
Meanwhile, Thompkins is hitting all the shots that Jones was supposed to make for us. He has 12 points.
With Jones on the bench, UK will be lucky if they're not down 10 at the half.
By the way, whoever made the decision to send Tom Leach to that stupid bowl game instead of this game should be fired.
ReplyDeleteGeorgia 41 - 30 Kentucky (Halftime)
ReplyDeleteWell, that was horrible. Like in the UConn game, UK hung in there until Jones went to the bench with two fouls, after which they utterly collapsed. I just don't think Calipari should take him out in those situations. What's the point of having Jones for the end of the game if the game is already out of reach?
I also don't understand why we haven't given up on this man-to-man defense. Thanks to the NCAA's decision to prevent Enes Kanter from playing, we can't guard Georgia man-to-man.
It will be interesting to see what Calipari tries to do differently in the 2d half. And it will be interesting to see if Jones and Knight are able to get on the board (so far they have combined for 6 points).
But so far, this game shows all the signs of a conference road loss.
It's important to remember that UK has done everything this year with defense. We've only had two games so far in which the other team scored more than 70 points, and we lost both of those games.
ReplyDeleteSo unless we can hold Georgia to only 29 points in the second half, we are in really bad shape.
Georgia 47 - 38 Kentucky (15:28 left in 2d half)
ReplyDeleteSo far, it's just been more of the same. My only new comment is that I really wish the SEC would take some of the vast amount of money they bring in every year and replace the tin cans and string they are currently using to broadcast games on the SEC network and put together a TV package THAT WILL GIVE US A DECENT PICTURE!
Georgia 47 - 45 Kentucky (13:21 left in 2d half)
ReplyDeleteGeorgia has finally hit a cold stretch, and UK has finally made a run. UK really contesting everything on the inside against the bulky Dawgs, and Lamb hit a huge 3 in the middle of the run. Georgia has called time.
Georgia 53 - 53 Kentucky (10:33 left in 2d half)
ReplyDeleteIf you don't care who wins this game, this is great stuff. UGA has remembered that UK can't guard them man-to-man, and they are running one beautiful play after another. UK is responding with spectacular drives to the basket by Liggins, Lamb, and Knight. Georgia will have the ball when we come back.
Georgia 55 - 56 Kentucky (8:48 left in 2d half)
ReplyDeleteWell, it's a good thing Coach Cal took Jones out when he had two fouls because he now has four.
once an official mistakenly fails to call a foul, you can expect a foul to be called somewhere, whether there is a foul or not, within the next three seconds of play.
ReplyDeleteGeorgia 58 - 56 Kentucky (7:53 left in 2d half)
ReplyDeleteA devastating sequence for UK. With the Cats up 1 and with the ball, Lamb goes to the basket and is hammered! No call. In the battle for the rebound, Jones is called for a reach-in (that he didn't do). Four fouls on Jones. UGA calls time. UGA hits a loooong 3. Miller gets a wide open shot in the lane, but misses. UGA ball.
Georgia 58 - 56 Kentucky (7:33 left in 2d half)
ReplyDeleteAnother big sequence. UK has the ball. Lamb and a UGA player are battling for the ball, UGA clearly knocks it out of bounds. UGA ball.
THAT COACH IS OUT OF THE BOX--T HIM UP!
ReplyDeleteI once stayed at a hotel in Athens, and that place was awful.
ReplyDeleteGeorgia 62 - 59 Kentucky (3:14 left in 2d half)
ReplyDeleteHere's why it's so hard to come from behind on the road in the SEC. On every close play, the officials are going to call a foul on UK, so Georgia can almost always get to the line. So far they are 17-20 from the line, and they will have two more free throws when we come back.
Meanwhile, UK just gets hammered any time they get close to the basket. Half the time they get a foul call, and half the time they don't.
Oh, well. I hope these freshmen are learning a valuable lesson.
Georgia 66 - 59 Kentucky (2:37 left in 2d half)
ReplyDeleteAnd there's your ballgame. UGA makes two FTs. Jones misses a short shot. Harrellson gets the rebound, and he misses. UGA comes down, throws it to Thompkins, and he hits yet another shot. UK calls time.
georgia now 18 of 21 on free throws.
ReplyDeletealso, down five with about 2:45 to play, kentucky is playing with haste as though they're down 5 with 45 seconds to play.
nice Terrence Jones 3
ReplyDeletegeorgia shooting 62.2 percent on free throws before today
ReplyDeleteas soon as uk got across half court, my father-in-law said, "go ahead and pick out their worst foul shooter because they're going to call you for something, anyway."
ReplyDelete20 of 23, georgia on free throws.
ReplyDelete22 of 25.
ReplyDeleteSEND IN ENES, AND SEE IF ANYBODY NOTICES!
ReplyDeleteboo.
ReplyDelete"i don't think a crowd should be allowed to yell that ... 'overrated.' they obviously had to do something to get to where they are."
ReplyDeletemy sister-in-law is so sweet.
my daughter: "go, cats. sad."
ReplyDeleteGeorgia 77 - 70 Kentucky (Final)
ReplyDeleteSome final thoughts:
1. This game probably kills UK's chance of getting a number one seed in the NCAA's. They really needed to go 14-2 or 15-1 in the SEC. Given that they still have to play at Florida, Arkansas, Tennessee, and Vandy, I don't think that's going to happen.
2. It is important to remember that UK really doesn't have a very good offensive team. They have a number of guys who can be good shooters, but they are too inexperienced to shoot well on the road against a good team. UK has played a lot of tough opponents so far, and they haven't really shot well against any of them. Also, they are not dependable at the line.
3. UK's biggest problem is that they just don't have a dependable 3-point weapon. In modern basketball, you can't really run normal offensive plays at the end of close games -- the trend in officiating is to let defenders hammer everybody at the end of the game. So you really need either a guy like Cousins who is so big that he can score anyway, or you need people who can shoot three's. UK doesn't have either; it has wiry guys who like to drive to the basket. But guys like Knight and Jones will struggle to make shots when they're being banged around.
4. That doesn't mean UK can't win. But they have to win the way they did against U of L and Notre Dame -- with tough defense that keeps the other team in the low 60s and allows UK time for its offense to get in gear.
5. In light of these facts, I just don't see how UK plans to beat big, physical teams like Georgia with a man-to-man defense. We couldn't stop Georgia in the lane today, just like we couldn't stop UConn and UNC. Every time, the result has been the same -- we have foul trouble, we give up over 70 points, we lose.
6. As for Georgia, they are a pretty decent team -- they certainly have more weapons on the inside than a lot of teams we've seen. But my guess is that today is the last time they'll see a man-to-man defense until they come to Lexington, and they aren't going to be as impressive when they're bricking one three-pointer after another. They also won't have many games where they go 30-34 from the line, while their opponent only goes 10-16. It's hard for any team to make up a 20-point deficit at the line.
In retrospect, I think the key to this game was that sequence I wrote about where UK was up 55-56, Lamb got fouled, there was no call, and then Jones was called for his fourth foul. If Lamb goes to the line and makes two, we have a three-point lead and Jones has only three fouls. From there I am pretty confident we go on to win.
ReplyDeleteOh, one more point: I'm not watching any more UK games unless Tom Leach is there.
ReplyDelete