Kentucky 86 - 63 Arkansas (No. 2,070)

One of the nice things about playing Arkansas -- and one of the main reasons I think that UK fans have never developed the rage toward Arkansas that they tend to develop against most programs -- is that the Razorbacks get on with it. They don't sit back in a zone and hope to beat you 49-47, like a lot of the teams UK plays. They come at you and try to beat you. To me, this is how basketball should be played.

I believe that Mike Anderson, the new coach at Arkansas -- who we all remember from his big victory as the UAB coach over Tubby's 2004 UK team -- will eventually build the Razorbacks into a serious contender. But they were not yet ready to deal with the likes of Anthony Davis. The big UK freshman basically destroyed Arkansas's whole scheme at both ends of the court. On defense, he was always there as the last line of defense whenever the Arkansas players got close to the rim -- he finished with seven blocks, and in fact broke UK's all-time record for blocks in a season when he got his 84th block of the year early in the game. And on offense, UK knew that so long as they didn't turn the ball over against the Arkansas press, Davis would be there for a dunk or layup. His line tonight was one of the best I've ever seen for a UK player: 10-12 from the field, 7-8 from the line, 27 points, 14 rebounds, 7 blocks, 0 turnovers, and 0 fouls. He was just spectacular.

The rest of the team -- finally freed from the shackles of low-possession road games -- played with great fervor and energy. Terrence Jones is really starting to look like himself again: 13 points, 9 rebounds, and 5 blocks. Michael Kidd-Gilchrist went 4-7 from the field with 10 points and 4 rebounds. Darius Miller got 11 points and some rare praise from Coach Cal. Doron Lamb went 2-4 from three point range and finished with 14 points. And Marquis Teague had 7 points 9 assists and only 3 turnovers against the Arkansas press.

Shooting note: the Cats made 19-25 from the line (76 percent), due largely to Davis's 7-8. Since he missed a key free throw at the end of the Indiana game, Davis has gone 38-45 from the line, a remarkable 84.4 percent. All my life I have screamed at UK players to get better from the line; Davis is the only one I can remember who has actually done so. On the other hand, the non-Lambs went only 1-7 from three-point range, which is not great.

Anyway, this was a nice break from the usual trauma of SEC play. On Saturday, we host Alabama -- and we'll be back to the grind.