Kentucky Ink

- High school girls everywhere are in awe of ESPN's ability to take a story, make it a bigger deal than it is, and then tell everyone about it over and over again.   Apparently, the Worldwide Leader does not think sports alone are interesting enough, so they need to add some drama into the mix. Cue jumping on the words of a 19-year-old kid and parsing his statement to come up with an interesting angle. Sorry, sports fans, John + John = 4eva... or, you know, until the NBA draft. But John Wall is smiling again, and the world is better place for UK fans, because you know that grin drives opposing fans crazy.

UK 85   Ole Miss 75
 For me the bright spot: Great game from the 3-spot-by-committee:
- Darnell Dodson! He certainly lived up to that "shooter" reputation against the Rebels. He's earning that starting spot, and hopefully being replaced as a starter lights a fire under Darius Miller. Miller played limited minutes, but did hit a few shots at crucial times to help UK keep a cushion over the Rebels.
- Deandre Liggins! Is there anything he doesn't do? He dives on the floor! He chases down rebounds! He shoots 3s! He occasionally tips in put-backs for the other team. (whoops) But he gets a pass on that bad bounce, for following it up with 2 hustle plays. After the bumpy start to his UK career, I must admit, I thought his attitude was suspect. I was wrong. Love his hustle, love his willingness to dive on the floor, love the fact that he's going to be here for 2 more years (possibly). With so many players who could be leaving after this year, players like Liggins buying into Cal's system, and flourishing in it, are important for continuing this success next season.

Games of Interest
Wednesday: Mississippi State at Vanderbilt 8 P.M. on ESPN360/SEC Network-- UK's half-game lead on Vandy for 1st place in the SEC east can become a full game if the Bulldogs can go into slightly bizarre Memorial Coliseum and come out with a win. I don't know the exact stats, but Vanderbilt doesn't lose at home very frequently, so Mississippi State is going to need a solid all around game. This game features probably the two best big guys (not named Patrick Patterson or DeMarcus Cousins) in the SEC with shot-blocking extraordinaire Jarvis Varnado vs. hair-frosting extraordinaire A.J. Oglivy. Maybe Oglivy can live up the hype that is heaped on him this time.

Thursday: Florida @ Alabama 7 P.M. ESPNU-- Okay, this should really be #14 Tennessee at LSU on ESPN2 at 9, considering THAT is the game with 2 of UK's next 3 opponents, but LSU hasn't managed to win an SEC game yet, so it's hard to imagine that their first will come against UT. But UT is still shorthanded, and the wear of the road might be starting to get to them, so crazier things have happened. As for Florida and Alabama, well... it at least has the potential to be more interesting game, and you can see whether Billy Donovan's team will cement their fate of a NIT-trifecta.

Friday: Yale @ #25 Cornell 7 P.M. No TV apparently (shocking!)-- Still reading? You must be bored. Friday is college basketball wasteland. I'd say tune in to see Mark Coury average 3 points a game against some smart kids, but you can't. Sorry. The Fighting Courys of Cornell apparently play again Saturday night too. On purpose. Would have thought an Ivy League school was smarter than that...

Saturday: #2 Villanova @ #8 Georgetown noon on ESPN-- In the never ending (until March) quest to become a #1 seed, it certainly helps when one of your biggest competitors plays a top-10 team on the road. Not that we could ever root for Wildcats to lose... but I'm rooting for those Wildcats to lose. Just for taking our name. And to get them out of our way.

Saturday: #3 Kentucky @ LSU 4 P.M. SEC Network-- Duh. You really didn't need a reminder, right? LSU is winless in the SEC (as of now). Expect yet another school to double their average attendance for a sell out, and an all-world performance from some player you've never heard of. And Tasmin Mitchell. Trent Johnson is a terrific coach, but he's going to need a magic wand to pull this one off. Go Cats!

As a basketball-nerd, weeks like these are a catch-22 for me. The logical college basketball fan in me knows that a whole week to work during the season can only help a team, especially one as young as UK. The impatient, frequently annoyed at what others called "entertainment" (American Idol, are you really still on the air? sigh...) Kentucky basketball fanatic in me doesn't want to wait until Saturday to get our next win. (Presumptuous? Absolutely.)

To get through these weeks, I like to seek out other basketball games to fill the gap, and make them as relevant to UK as possible.

Here are 5 games during this week to satiate the basketball yearning of all UK fans until the Cats tip off at 4 on Saturday. And by all UK fans, I mean me. You may soon realize that, like most other 23-year-old females, in my head, the world is pretty centered around myself. (Some people  tell me that I'll grow out of that eventually... I think those people underestimate just how important I see myself as in my head. ) Lucky for you, in sports terms, things that revolve around me tend to revolve around Kentucky,  so we can call it a win/win.

In order of intrigue:

- South Carolina at Ole Miss Wednesday 8 P.M. on ESPN360:   I hate being wrong. After their sweep of UK last season, the Gamecocks, returning, among others, blistering preseason All-SEC guard Devan Downey was my pick for surprise SEC team of the year. But thanks to injuries and dismissals, the Gamecocks have struggled to live up to the preseason hype that probably only existed in my head. Ole Miss on the other hand, recovering from a rash of injuries from last season, looks like a good pick to win the SEC West. 

- Mississippi State at Alabama Saturday Noon on CBS: Call it an appetizer to the UK game, but since the beginning of the season, MSU is the one SEC team that really scares me. Their talent inside with Jarvis Varnado (though I suspect Patterson will have an easier time this year) coupled with their strong 3 point shooting (ranked 4th in the NCAA in 3 pointers made per game, and 10th in 3pt % through 1/14-- according to the NCAA.org) could be a dangerous combination on the road for these young Cats. Anthony Grant is my favorite of the crop of new (non-UK) coaches in the SEC over the past few seasons, so I'm looking forward to seeing how the Tide are progressing.

- Tennessee at Alabama Tuesday 7 P.M. on ESPN: The logical connection to UK, is that #8 UT is the most formidable competition UK has for not only the SEC East title, but the SEC overall. Two of their suspended players have been reinstated, and the Vols are no longer in the friendly confines of TBA. It's time to see if last week's impressive performance against then #1 KU was truly indicative of their abilities on a consistent basis, or an the effect of a rallying cry for their program.

- Florida at Arkansas Thursday at 9 P.M. on ESPN:  Maybe not what it should be, but this is a match-up of two very good programs (not to mention, UK's next opponent) and has the potential to be a very entertaining game. Courtney Fortson is averaging 17 ppg games in his 3 games back from suspension, with  2 of those being losses to quality teams (Texas, Mississippi State) and a win against Bama. Couple that with Rotnei Clark's occasional Jodie Meeks-esque shooting performances, and the Hogs could be a dangerous team for the Gators (or the Cats) if they can put it all together.

- Texas at Kansas State Monday at 9 P.M. on ESPN: It's still up in the air how much of this game you'll actually get to see, it depends on whether we're treated to another Big Monday-Big East hack-fest this week. Admittedly, I know very little about KState, minus the fact that they are capable of the occasional scorching game from outside the arch, ask UNLV fans (who were treated to 14 of 23 outside shooting by the fake Wildcats). But UNLV does not have absolute load Dexter Pittman, or POY candidate Damion James, or super freshman Avery Bradley (though they do have Derrick Jasper), so I wouldn't expect KState to run away from the Longhorns. Let's be honest, in the grand scheme of things, this game has very little effect on UK, because both teams will lose a game eventually, right? (I need to keep telling myself that).  But in the here and now, why a UK fan would be tuning in to see Texas play a quality team on the road needs very little explanation. Even though our Cats don't seem quite ready to be the #1 team in the country, as a UK fan, I can't help but root for those other Wildcats, just for the point of pride of being the last unbeaten. You know you will too. Go Cats!