Yesterday, I think I touched a few nerves when I said the Kentucky-LSU game is always boring. I didn’t mean that in the sense of “put me to sleep” boring, but rather in the sense of “what happened in the game today? I don’t remember anything about it” boring. There’s a difference.
And for those of you who said “None of the games are boring” and “I love watching a blowout”, well, you are either better fans than me, or your lives away from Kentucky basketball really, really suck. Why would anyone in their right mind want to watch a blowout? I guess watching at home, it doesn’t matter, but if I pay money to see a game in person, I want competition. I want two teams playing hard in a battle that comes down to who blinks at the end. You can have your 25-point wins. Give me a hard fought, close game.
But getting back to what “boring” means. It doesn’t mean it isn’t a good game. In fact, before John Calipari arrived in Lexington, 5 of the previous 6 games in the series were decided by 7 points or less, and outside of the 2005 SEC tourney matchup, I couldn’t tell you a single thing about any of them without looking. But none of that matters, because yesterday’s game was one of the rare memorable ones. Terrence Jones showed up, and in a big way. Anthony Davis got kicked around, and Darius Miller continued his annual late-season surge. Expect double figures from Miller the remainder of the year, including March and April, except for maybe 3 games or so.
Looking ahead, Tennessee comes to town Tuesday night to get spanked in prime time. Scott Anderson and Mack Perkins both think Kentucky wins by 20, but I’m not so sure. Of course, I don’t drink brown liquor as much as they do, either. The last time the Cats had an outstanding game, they struggled mightily in the next one. I think they handle Tennessee with relative ease, but I just can’t commit to a big margin of victory. I said 15 points on the postgame show yesterday, but I keep going back to a number around 10 or 11. We’ll see in a couple days. But know this: regardless of final score, Terrence Jones WILL NOT let Jarnell Stokes eat his lunch like he did the last time these teams played. I’m not sure Jones will have a game like he did yesterday, but I expect him to be nasty on Tuesday night. Should be fun. I’m also looking forward to the debut of the alternate uniform.
[SIZE=1][I]They ain’t losing in threads this sweet.[/I][/SIZE]
I said a couple weeks ago that Kentucky would lose at either Vanderbilt or Florida. Honestly, at this point, I’m not so sure they lose either of them. Here’s a scenario for you: Kentucky sweeps the SEC regular season, gets in the tournament final, and loses to Mississippi State (after Calipari sits Davis and Jones for 18 minutes in the second half) to go into the NCAA tournament with 2 losses. Sound familiar?
Probably won’t shake out that way. There’s a lot of regular season left, but if this team stays focused, it won’t matter. Big things are going to happen.
Now if you’ll excuse me, I have a second coat to apply. Have a good week.
