In one game, the 2010-11 version of the Kentucky Wildcats accomplished two major objectives, win their first SEC road game and accomplish something even the 2009-10 version couldn’t, win at South Carolina, exorcising the demon known as Sandstorm.
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Knight led the Cats and tied for the game high, as Kentucky rolled early and often with South Carolina closing the gap late to only 5 points, giving Cat fans a momentary scare, until UK went on a quick 6-2 run over the final 1:15 to close out the Gamecocks, 67-58.
Let’s take a look at some of the numbers that seemed to matter:
[SIZE=6]0:[SIZE=2] Trailing is something no Cat fan wants to say when asked what the score is, that is unless it’s the opponent we’re talking about. Against the Gamecocks, the Cats trailed exactly [B]0:00[/B] seconds. Once, at the 15:19 mark of the first half, that number was in jeopardy as South Carolina tied the game 10-10. Kentucky ended that nonsense with a 12-2 run over the next 5:07, putting to bed any chance of a Gamecock win.
[SIZE=4][SIZE=2]12:[/SIZE] [SIZE=2]The Cats had three players in double figures tonight with Brandon Knight leading the way with 23, Miller had 18 and Jones pitched in 14. The rest of the team combined for a total of [B]12[/B] points on 2-12 from the field and 8-10 from the line. Doron Lamb had 9, Josh Harrellson with 2 and DeAndre Liggins had 1. For Kentucky to make a deep run, the rest of the team has to contribute consistently.
[SIZE=5]14:[SIZE=2] John Wall will not soon be forgotten, but Brandon Knight is doing his best to fill some huge shoes. Over the first 19 games Brandon Knight is averaging 17.6 points per game and is in reach of equaling the single season Freshman scoring record currently held by one…. wait… wait…. John Wall. Knight has scored in double figures over the last [B]14[/B] games and in 18 of the 19 games Kentucky has played. His only single points outage was UCONN where he could only manage 6 points.
[SIZE=7]1:[SIZE=2] It took three tries, but the Cats finally won [B]1[/B] on the road in the SEC. Even in a season when the SEC is down, a road win is tough, especially when the visiting team has Kentucky across the front of their jersey. This team found out that even a 17 point lead with 7:06 isn’t safe as South Carolina closed to within 5 before Kentucky finished them off over the last 1:15.
[SIZE=3]3: [SIZE=2]With a 3-2 SEC record, Kentucky looks to make a run to the top of the SEC regular season standings. If they’re going to accomplish the objective and win their 45th regular season championship, rebounding will be a big part of achieving the goal. Over the first five SEC games, Kentucky has been out rebounded in [B]3[/B], two of which were losses to Georgia and Alabama. The one win where UK was in the deficit was at South Carolina.
[SIZE=4]11: [SIZE=2]Kentucky held South Carolina to only 33.3% from the field as the Gamecocks only hit 19-57 from the field, including 3-18 from behind the 3-point line. [B]11[/B] times this year the Cats have held their opponent under 40% from the field, all 11 times the Cats walked off the court with a win. Lombardi said it when he stated offense wins game, defense wins championships. Hold UK’s opponents to under 40% and the Cats win.
[SIZE=6]768: [SIZE=2]Darius Miller ensured Kentucky continued it’s streak, the third longest in the nation, when he made UK’s first 3-pointer of the night, extending the streak to [B]768[/B] games. The Cats only made three 3-pointers, the lowest total of the season since the Washington game at the Maui Invitational earlier this season.[/SIZE][/SIZE]
[SIZE=4]18: [SIZE=2]Earlier this week, Coach Calipari challenged his upperclassmen to step up their game and perform at the levels he expects. When Calipari was asked, what do you want to see from the upperclassmen, Calipari said, [/SIZE][/SIZE][/SIZE][/SIZE][/SIZE][/SIZE][/SIZE][/SIZE][/SIZE][/SIZE][/SIZE][/SIZE][/SIZE][/SIZE]”Make plays, make a block, get a ball, grab a rebound, dive on the floor, take a charge, do something. What are you doing to help us win? Or are we sitting there saying I hope one of these Freshman make a play, which isn’t fair to them.” [SIZE=6][SIZE=2][SIZE=4][SIZE=2][SIZE=5][SIZE=2][SIZE=7][SIZE=2][SIZE=3][SIZE=2][SIZE=4][SIZE=2]Darius Miller must have taken that challenge to heart as he poured in a season high [B]18[/B] points on 7-12 from the field, 1-2 from 3-point range and 3-3 from the line. Time after time it seemed that Miller made the big shot, something the entire team knows he’s capable of accomplishing.
[SIZE=5]616: [SIZE=2]Although Doron Lamb was the first sub in and the one most frequently used accumulating 16 minutes of play, it was probably the substitution [B]616[/B] seconds into the first half that surprised Cat fans the most when Coach Calipari sent Jarrod Polson in for Brandon Knight. Although his initial appearance was only 0:44 long, for Polson and Cat fans it was exciting to see Jarrod walk on hit the floor at a time that wasn’t just mop up work.
[SIZE=7]2,038:[SIZE=2] When it comes to wins, no one has more then our beloved Cats and Kentucky added one more to the belt with their win at Colonial Life Arena. Up next for the men in blue and white, the teams first payback game as the Bulldogs of Georgia come to town on Saturday, January 29th.
[/SIZE][/SIZE][/SIZE][/SIZE][/SIZE][/SIZE][/SIZE][/SIZE][/SIZE][/SIZE][/SIZE][/SIZE][/SIZE][/SIZE][/SIZE][/SIZE][SIZE=2]Until next time, Go Cats!!![/SIZE]
[SIZE=2]Contact Chip Miller with your Kentucky questions or comments at [EMAIL=”[email protected]”][email protected][/EMAIL], via twitter at [URL=”http://twitter.com/ukbigbluenation”]@ukbigbluenation[/URL] or here at N of B, at his NofB Profile, by [URL=”http://www.nationofblue.com/members/chip-miller/”]clicking here[/URL]. [/SIZE]
