Man, I hate this game. As far as I can tell, Mississippi State really only tries hard in two settings: whenever it plays UK and when it goes to the SEC tournament. Under either circumstance, it is a nightmare for the Wildcats. Even if we win, this is almost always a tough game. Here are our last six games against MSU (home team listed first):
01/13/07: Kentucky 64 - 60 Mississippi St.
03/09/07: Mississippi St. 84 - 82 Kentucky (OT) (SEC Tournament)
01/15/08: Mississippi St. 69 - 64 Kentucky
02/03/09: Kentucky 57 - 66 Mississippi St.
02/16/10: Mississippi St. 75 - 81 Kentucky (OT)
03/14/10: Kentucky 75 - 74 Mississippi St. (OT) (SEC Tournament)
In those six games, UK has a record of 3-3 and was outscored 428-423. Three of the games went into overtime. I certainly hope things will be easier tonight, but with this young UK team I have no idea what to expect.
Lamb gets the start in place of Miller. I still don't know whether Miller will play in this game.
ReplyDeleteKentucky 0 - 5 Mississippi St (19:27 left in 1st half)
ReplyDeleteGood Lord, we've already called timeout.
I am going to be so happy when this season is over.
Kentucky 9 - 10 Mississippi St. (15:41 left in 1st half)
ReplyDeleteThe Bulldogs are already 2-4 from three-point range.
ESPN is showing long stretches of this game from a camera in the ceiling that is looking directly down on the floor. I cannot express how annoying this is.
ReplyDeleteHere comes my main man, Darius Miller.
ReplyDeleteMiller coming in for Liggins, who will take the rest of the half off with two fouls.
ReplyDeleteKentucky 13 - 18 Mississippi St (12:24 left in 1st half)
ReplyDeleteMississippi State is shooting 77 percent from the field so far. I have concluded that ESPN is deliberately sticking with the absurd overhead camera to torment UK fans.
Kentucky 13 - 18 Mississippi St. (11:47 left in 1st half)
ReplyDeleteMSU is fouled shooting a 3-point shot, and they will have three FT's when we return.
Well, that's it for me. I have work to do myself, and I'm not going to waste any more time on this game. Good luck to the Cats, and my deepest sympathies to all the Cats fans stuck with this horrible game.
Kentucky 39 - 40 Mississippi St. (Halftime)
ReplyDeleteMSU: 5-11 for three's (45 percent); 11-12 from the line (91 percent)
How long, O Lord?
Some coach without a team on ESPN at halftime of this game just argued that he thought Kentucky should not have been award three free-throw attempts when Brandon Knight was fouled at midcourt by a Mississippi State player with about a second to play before intermission. (This sequence also led to Mississippi State's coach being called for a technical foul, and Knight ultimately hitting four of five free throws to pull UK within one.)
ReplyDeleteThe coach without a team said that he thought Knight was trying to pass to Terrence Jones (not shoot) and that the Mississippi State defender was following the instructions of his coach in committing only the sixth team foul of the half (no one-and-one). So the argument here is that officials should rule that they can get inside the shooter's head (deciphering that Knight intended to shoot instead of pass) but can't get inside the defender's head (unable to decipher that this should be deemed an intentional foul).
Brilliant.
And you're right about this stupid overhead ESPN camera angle. I feel like I've been riding a Ferris wheel for a half-hour.
UK's first lead on Harrelson's putback and Jones short jumper: 43-40.
ReplyDelete45-43, Mississippi State.
ReplyDeleteKnight, flashing his best Bob Cousy two-handed scoop shot in transition traffic: 51-50.
ReplyDeleteSteal and Lamb layup: 53-50.
ReplyDeleteMY MAIN MAN, DARIUS, FROM THE CORNER: 56-50, 13:49.
ReplyDeleteAND STEAL AND LAYUP FROM DARIUS: 58-50.
Special note to No.3Son: Please keep an open mind on Darius. He's trying really, really hard, and we all develop differently.
Kentucky 82 - 70 Mississippi St. (3:39 left in 2d half)
ReplyDeleteMSU is 11-19 (57 percent) from 3-point range, and 15-17 (88 percent) from the line.
Kentucky 85 - 79 Mississippi St. (Final) (No. 2,041)
ReplyDeleteThis was a very, very odd game. MSU shot the lights out (12-22 for 3's, 17-19 from the line), but Kentucky made enough 3's of their own (9-22) so that their inside game was the difference. Jones and Harrellson combined for 26 points and 16 rebounds.
This was the most points UK has scored since they beat Penn 86-62 on January 3. It was also the first time all year that UK has won a game in which the other team scored more than 67 points.
However, UK did maintain their string of having a double-digit lead at some point during every one of their victories (with the possible exception of the one over Washington).
In the last three games, UK's opponents have shot 32-58 from 3-point range -- a total of 55 percent. That is just unreal. Yet somehow, the Cats have won two of those games. We will hope that the offense is coming together, and that when the other teams start shooting a more normal percentage, we will really see something.
By the way, I thought Cal made a huge adjustment midway through the second half when he went into a much more aggressive and pressing defense. UK quickly pressured MSU into some turnovers and opened up an 8-point lead. This is one of the very few times all year UK has tried to push the pace, and I thought it was the key to victory.
ReplyDeleteOne final point: UK fans often complain that the fans in Rupp Arena are not sufficiently loud and intimidating. But I have always found that the Rupp fans are there when UK really needs them, and they were tremendous tonight.
ReplyDeleteOne last final point: I think Eric's decision to jump in and pick up the live-blog played a huge role in turning this game around.
ReplyDeleteThank you. Spoken like a true veteran team leader. The Heath Post's depth and balance are critical.
ReplyDeleteThis was great.
ReplyDelete