Kentucky is really really good

[Shotclock]

Outside of Syracuse, Kentucky is the only other team that I have watched where they had me saying Wow. Phenominal defensively, quicker than hell going to the basket and just as long as the Cuse. Davis is a stud shot blocker. Not sure they could beat us but I would love to see that game

 

[orangehomer]

kentucky has the best collection of individual players. they have nba talent at every position. it doesn't mean they are the best college team or that we couldn't beat them on a given day. i like doron lamb, but in total i don't love their guards, that might be enough to beat them. they are probably one of the very few teams that have better wing play than us.

 

[heresjohnny88]

They have a TON of talent. But every Calipari team does. Let's see what they do in the tournament.

 

[orangepassion]

You get what you pay for.

 

[LAOrange]

The only way we play them is in the Championship Game. I don't see them being consistent enough through 5 games away from home. They've almost lost to Auburn and Tennessee on the road. The key is their point guard, Teague. Without him being on, they're toast against the big guys.

 

[SWC75]

Are we Illinois? I'm referring to 2005 when Illinois started 29-0 and was ranked #1 for 13 weeks. They then lost but remained #1 because they'd outlasted not only all the other unbeaten schools but also the one loss teams. But eveyrbody was saying North Carolina was better, despite a mid-seaosn slump that left them with 4 losses. I kept saying that Illinois must be pretty good with their record. They met in the NCAA final and the superior talent of UNC won out 75-70.

Of course we could lose 3-4 games by the end of the season and the comparison would be moot. But it's one of the things you think about as long as we are in the current situation.

 

[ORANGEsPHK]

Are we Illinois? I'm referring to 2005 when Illinois started 29-0 and was ranked #1 for 13 weeks. They then lost but remained #1 because they'd outlasted not only all the other unbeaten schools but also the one loss teams. But eveyrbodyw as saying North Carolina was better, despite a mid-seaosn slump that left them with 4 losses. I kept saying that Illinois must be pretty good with their record. They met in the NCAA final and the superior talent of UNC won out 75-70.

Of course we could lose 3-4 games by the end of the season and the comparison would be moot. But it's one of the things you think about as long as we are in the current situation.

I love being #1 and recognized as one of the best college basketball teams in the nation, but the format of the NCAAT doesn't always favor the best team, its the team that plays the best every game for the tournament that counts. You have to bring it when it matters. You don't have to be a #1 seed to win the Tournament, everyone knows that. This is part of the reason why, although I'm very excited and happy to be ranked #1, I don't think it really means much (other than possibly recruiting) - what I do think is important is being extremely focused and bringing it for the six games through the NCAAT.

As far as Kentucky, they are pretty impressive, more so than previous editions of the Kentucky Wildcats - at least they are winning on the road this season, even when they are behind and have to make a run. I, too, would love to see a Syracuse vs Kentucky NC game, but in the mean time I'm gonna enjoy the hell outta the way this team plays and wins ... although I would like to see our offensive sets improve dramatically!

 

[Rocco]

One of the announcers last night said that he would take UK's top 6 over SU's top 6, but when you start getting to 8th and 9th players off the bench, that's where SU can dominate with their talent and depth off the bench. Amen.

 

[tbonezone]

they have the talent yes but not the experience of our core group.

 

[bballbeadle]

We are a team, a real college team. Kentucky is a collection of one and done players. But I also saw Kentucky play a little last night, and it was rather chilling. But against Tenn, they looked so so. Will team win out over talent? It didn't for Illinois.

But . . . we get ahead of ourselves.

 

[Orangezoo]

last night arkansas had the worst game plan possible against uk. they pressured them to let them not have to play long periods in the halfcourt, they tried to drive drive around the shot blokckers or go 1 on 2 to the hoop and they couldnt make shots... they essentially made uk look amazing. a bit of what shu did against us.

 

[General20]

Are we Illinois? I'm referring to 2005 when Illinois started 29-0 and was ranked #1 for 13 weeks. They then lost but remained #1 because they'd outlasted not only all the other unbeaten schools but also the one loss teams. But eveyrbody was saying North Carolina was better, despite a mid-seaosn slump that left them with 4 losses. I kept saying that Illinois must be pretty good with their record. They met in the NCAA final and the superior talent of UNC won out 75-70.

Of course we could lose 3-4 games by the end of the season and the comparison would be moot. But it's one of the things you think about as long as we are in the current situation.

If that scenario were to play out I'd wager Ohio St. would be the North Carolina to our Illinois. Not Kentucky.

Kentucky has the most high draft picks but they are weak at point guard and a weak shooting team. If you cant stop them from scoring around the basket they are going to beat you, every time. However, if you can stop them around the basket their offense becomes very pedestrian. Also, they are not great away from home.

Kentucky is certainly one of the best teams in the country, but they are a bit of a one trick pony. That may very well change over the course of the season (the potential is there for it to change, and if it does they become the prohibitive favorites) but if it does not change, one trick ponies tend to get knocked off eventually through the course of the tournament.

 

[realorange]

As LAOrange and General20 have said, their guard play, particularly point, is weak compared to the rest of the team. If we really got tough on defense, our 4 guards could make it a very long night for them. They don't get it to their big guys the way they want, we take them. But God help us if G-K and Barnes get the ball. I'm afraid Melo would be in trouble early and CJ and Joseph would be overmatched.

 

[Marsh01]

They certainly are talented but Arkansas sucks. They should have won by what they did at home.

 

[orangecuse]

One of the announcers last night said that he would take UK's top 6 over SU's top 6, but when you start getting to 8th and 9th players off the bench, that's where SU can dominate with their talent and depth off the bench. Amen.

That's a pretty unintelligent quote and foolish argument. In college hoops, a lot of teams only play 6-7 guys (and when I say play, I mean play for real minutes). The 8th and 9th guys aren't going to beat you and certainly not the top 6 of UK's. With 5 team timeouts per game and 8 media timeouts, not to mention other brief stoppages of play, it's really a non-factor. JB has said this many times in the past and SU has been very successful over the years with playing 6-7 guys. Additionally, NCAA tournament games are not up and down affairs, but typically won by the team that executes more efficiently in the half court.

Keeping things real, SU certainly is capable of beating UK, and vice-versa. If both teams play at a high level, neither one would dominate the other, and just an overly pollyanna viewpoint if truly believed...

 

[ImperialOrange]

One of the announcers last night said that he would take UK's top 6 over SU's top 6, but when you start getting to 8th and 9th players off the bench, that's where SU can dominate with their talent and depth off the bench. Amen.

Did he detail who our top 6 are? Not even sure I could name our top 6. It changes from game to game depending on who we're playing and the fact that we can do that is what makes us so dangerous.

 

[SWC75]

last night arkansas had the worst game plan possible against uk. they pressured them to let them not have to play long periods in the halfcourt, they tried to drive drive around the shot blokckers or go 1 on 2 to the hoop and they couldnt make shots... they essentially made uk look amazing. a bit of what shu did against us.

What would our strategy be against Kentucky? If we couldn't hit from outside, we'd have to drive to the basket- and into their shot blockers.

What bothered me was the implication that we would lose because we don't play hard like Kentucky.

 

[Knicks411]

Did he detail who our top 6 are? Not even sure I could name our top 6. It changes from game to game depending on who we're playing and the fact that we can do that is what makes us so dangerous.

It's usually Scoop, Brandon, Dion, CJ, Fab, and Kris. Those guys are probably top 6 in minuted played more often than not.

 

[tbonezone]

the mooseman,dirtydix and mcw all also average over 10 min.s a game. kentucky only plays 7 in double digits.

 

[Orangezoo]

What would our strategy be against Kentucky? If we couldn't hit from outside, we'd have to drive to the basket- and into their shot blockers.

What bothered me was the implication that we would lose because we don't play hard like Kentucky.

Thats a good point and concerns me a bit. Arkansas was quick but their guards were tiny. We can match UK's size with ease and honestly are probably bigger in that scoop is the smallest guy (height wise MCW girth wise) on the squad. Scoop, Dion and Brandon look for contact when they attack the rim. Arkansas was trying to go underneath, around and everything but up into the mug of UK. Additionally, UK can't just pack in the middle. When we penetrate against them they will be forced to decide if they want to step up to block the shot or guard the pass. Our ability to find the open man looking for an open trey or Melo/Keita finishing inside is going to cause them problems. With that said.. UK is impatient on offense.. they take a lot of jumpshots and don't move the ball well all the time. That young backcourt would struggle handling the ball. We should be able to counter Davis by getting out on the break off of turnovers. Outside of Lamb/Miller who both are streaky, they really don't have great outside shooting. Davis likes to go over the top vs positioning on rebounds and our size would give them trouble doing that and would really test Davis' ability to use athleticism vs position. The key for them is Kidd Gilchrist. He is the guy that could wreak havoc in the middle of the zone. I would see us vs UK as a repeat of us vs Oklahoma in the regional finals personally. Just not enough decision making or shooting to get them over the top.

 

[Madbiker]

They looked good but they were playing a vastly inferior team. Like SU vs Hall or Providence. While UK has very talented players and no doubt several NBA 1 st rounders doesn't mean they are the best team. Their PG play isn't great...he's a freshman who makes freshman mistakes. Overall they lack experience since they're mostly freshman with a couple sophs. If we played them straight up man, they'd kill us. But the zone is a different story. They will not have seen anything like the SU zone...especially the freshman PG. It takes strategy and patience to play against it. Cal is a great recruiter (backed by tons of UK booster $$$$) but not a real good tactician or game coach. I like our chances if we meet up with them.

 

[Rocco]

Did he detail who our top 6 are? Not even sure I could name our top 6. It changes from game to game depending on who we're playing and the fact that we can do that is what makes us so dangerous.

Top 6 based on minutes played:

KJO 29.5 min/game
CJ 25.5 min/game
Fab 22.6 min/game
Dion 22.4 min/game
Scoop 22.2 min/game
Triche 21.6 min/game

The rest:

JSouth 15.8
MCW 12.6
BMK 12.3
Rak 12.1

You are right. The top 6 can change every night, but I think the top 6 based on minutes played have been the most consistent this year. JMO. I would love to see "Buck" Fab versus "Uni" Davi$.

If we played UK 10 times, I think he win 6 of them.

 

[tbonezone]

post above reminded me i was remiss in leaving out rakim christmas in the 10+ club.people here probably not expecting much come tourney time but keep in mind how fab suddenly caught fire late last year. he has that capability as well.

 

[swish7]

Kentucky worries me big time. Although it is presumptuous to think we will face them.

 

[HOFCeluck]

It's a logical fallacy to assume that because UK is so taletned it means they don't play as a team. They've been to an alite 8, final four, and are courrently 18-1. Hopefully we get to face them because 1. It'd be an awesome game and 2. Based on right now it'd mean we were either in the final four or title game.