Kentucky 60 - 51 Louisiana St. (SEC Tournament) (New Orleans) (No. 2,083)

One of the odd things to me about the SEC tournament is that from time to time, they choose to play it hundreds of miles from the nearest basketball fans. Most years they hold it in Nashville or Atlanta -- towns that are relatively easy for Big Blue Nation to reach. But then occasionally they go off to New Orleans or Florida -- which is weird, since UK fans are the only ones actually interested in attending. (True fact: Since 1993, the ACC Tournament has been played in the state of North Carolina on 14 different occasions. During the same period, the SEC Tournament has been played in Kentucky exactly zero times.)

Anyway, this year we're back to New Orleans for the first time since 2003. All week, the UK message boards have been filled with stories of fans headed down to "Blue Orleans" to watch the Cats. My dad tells me that most of Marion, Kentucky is down there already. But while the UK fans cavorting in the French Quarter are excited about the tournament, Coach Cal is not. One of the biggest stories of the week was how Cal doesn't like conference tournaments very much, because he doesn't think they help you get ready for the NCAA's. And I'm sure his mood isn't helped by the fact that UK crushed Florida in the SEC final last year -- only to learn that Florida was given a very easy two seed in the Big Dance while UK was given one of the most difficult number four seeds ever.

Also, for reasons that I've never understood, the number one seed in the SEC Tournament plays all of its games at 1 PM Eastern -- and given that I have two teenage sons, I know how difficult it is to get young guys to focus, or even wake up, before noon. I should also point out that the SEC quarter-final is one of the few times that UK plays during the workday, so I'm not able to give the game my usual attention.

Put it all together and this is one of my least favorite games of the year. And UK usually doesn't play well in this fixture. Two years ago, John Wall and company were down 35-30 to Alabama at halftime, before grinding out a 73-67 victory. And last year, UK almost blew a second half lead against Ole Miss, before hanging on for a 75-66 win.

So I didn't have high hopes for this game, and while I didn't get to see it, I'm not surprised that the Cats played poorly. Davis got into foul trouble in the first half, and UK's guards did a poor job of handling LSU's aggressive defense. The Cats made only 1-8 from three-point range, and suffered 18 (!) turnovers for the game. They only scored 25 points in the first half, and only 60 points in the game. On the whole, they did not look like a team that was worth driving across Mississippi to watch.

And yet -- and yet -- look at it this way. LSU was playing for its season -- the Tigers had an outside shot at an SEC bid if they beat UK in this game. The Tigers played hard, and led early in the second half. They got all of those turnovers. And UK's own coach had indicated he's not a big fan of the SEC Tournament. But even with all of that, this game was never that close. Michael Kidd-Gilchrist got 19 points and 9 rebounds, Terrence Jones got 15 points and 11 rebounds, Doron Lamb got 12 points -- and, of course, Davis got 12 points, 14 rebounds, and six blocks. And UK's defense was quite good -- LSU shot 20-68 from the field, making only 29.4 percent of their shots. And the Cats out-rebounded LSU 42-36.

Back when Tiger Woods was the greatest golfer in the world, he used to talk about winning tournaments with his "B" game. That's pretty much what UK did today.

I'm sure that other teams will try to go after Marcus Teague, who had four turnovers today. But they've been trying that all year anyway, so I don't think that will be much of a difference. And I expect Teague to play better than he did today.

One final note: I understand the reality of the recruiting process, but I am always annoyed by the presence of a Kentucky high school player in the SEC who torments the Cats whenever he plays them. Anthony Hickey, who led Christian County to the state tournament last year and who now plays point guard for LSU, played that role today. He had five steals and was one of the main reasons Teague had such a long afternoon. I like Hickey, I was thrilled with his performance for Christian County, and I dread seeing him for the next three years. Can't we find a place with the Wildcats for kids like this?

Oh, well. Next up: Florida. We'll hope that the Cats play better, and that this game looks like the one we saw last Sunday. In the meantime, we should reflect on the fact that Syracuse and Kansas both lost today, and be pleased with our 23d victory in a row.