In Chris Dortch’ ‘Fast Break’ for the SEC Digital Network, he touches on what this week’s #1 ranking means for UK and what it will take to achieve Coach Cal’s ultimate goal for the rest of the regular season, obtaining a #1 seed in the NCAA tourney. Here is what Chris had to say:
[LEFT][I][COLOR=#000000][FONT=Tahoma]The No. 1 ranking doesn’t mean as much at Kentucky as it might at other schools. What matters more to Calipari is whether the Wildcats can grab a No. 1 seed in the NCAA Tournament, a platform from which another deep run can be launched. Calipari has led his team to the Elite Eight and the Final Four in his first two seasons. Can the Wildcats take it another step farther in 2012?[/FONT][/COLOR]
[COLOR=#000000][FONT=Tahoma]Here are some numbers to keep an eye on as the season progresses. If the ’Cats continue to rank among the SEC leaders in each of them, that’s a sign that they’ll be ready for the half-court slugfests to come in the NCAAs:[/FONT][/COLOR]
[COLOR=#000000][FONT=Tahoma]• Field goal percentage defense. The Wildcats are allowing their opponents to shoot .363 from the field. That leads the league and is second in the nation behind only Wisconsin. It’s hard to stress how impressive that statistic is given the collective youth of this team. Calipari got his players to quickly buy into defending, and it has become a habit.[/FONT][/COLOR]
[COLOR=#000000][FONT=Tahoma]• Rebound margin. Again, Kentucky leads the SEC (+7.3) and is 15th in Division I in this key statistic. Those half-court slugfests usually include a bunch of rebound opportunities. The team that gets to the majority of them, especially on the offensive glass, often wins.[/FONT][/COLOR]
[COLOR=#000000][FONT=Tahoma]• Free-throw percentage. Kentucky is shooting .715 from the line, tops in the SEC. Close games are often won by clutch free-throw shooting.[/FONT][/COLOR]
[COLOR=#000000][FONT=Tahoma]• Assist-to-turnover ratio. This one isn’t bad at 1.03, fifth in the conference, but it can be improved upon. The continued maturation of point guard Marquis Teague will be the key.[/FONT][/COLOR][/I][/LEFT]
for the rest of Chris’ article, which touches on various topics around the SEC, click [URL=”http://www.secdigitalnetwork.com/SECNation/BlueRibbon/tabid/1502/Article/230683/sec-fast-break-with-chris-dortch.aspx”]here[/URL].
