Kentucky Escapes in OT 89-86 over Ole Miss
-
-
I saw the game as the first chink in their armor. Looking forward to see how the egos respond amidst adversity.
-
@Blown First chink in their armor is right. This Ole Miss team is not a great team. They are now 9-5 and this game was played at Rupp. It basically set the blueprint. We have already speculated on this but the only way you are going to beat UK is to play up tempo basketball and shoot tons of 3’s and pray that a lot of them go in. This is what Ole Miss was able to do and they were a bucket away from the biggest upset of the year.
Just yesterday I posted on this site that I thought KU was playing for a Final 4 and not a National Title as UK is unbeatable. It feels nice to have egg on my face this morning. UK is beatable and it only took one game at home against a bad team to realize that this is the case.
-
UK is unbeatable if they play well because no one else can match their top gear. However, if they do not play well, the formula presented last night is the one that works. Shoot threes (9-17), match them on the boards (UK only +2) and make FTs (19-22). Ole Miss basically played the perfect game to beat UK.
Except they still lost.
That’s the thing with this UK team. Can they go undefeated? Yes. Will they - probably not, because there will be 2 or 3 more games like last night where they don’t play all that well, and they will lose one or two of those games.
But come tournament time they will be tough to beat because they won’t overlook anyone. It’s not like they are going to come out flat in the NCAA tournament. Plus, last night’s game helped UK more than anything because it showed that they need to shore up their perimeter D. If UK defends the three point line well, I’m not really sure how you can score on them. And if you aren’t perfect from the line like Ole Miss was, that game doesn’t make it to OT (Mississippi was a perfect 15-15 from the line in regulation before going 4-7 in OT).
Most of UK’s weaknesses were on display last night against a team that was playing for a win that may or may not have made them an NCAA team. Remember, because the SEC is down this year, a win over UK for most everyone other than Arkansas, Georgia and maybe Alabama might be enough to get a team into the dance.
Take LSU for example. They played an okay non-con schedule (140 overall). They’re 11-2. They currently rank 38 in the RPI, which is about where things start to break away because of automatic bids, etc. LSU is probably sitting around the bubble as things stand now. Give them a win over UK and they probably get in over just about anyone else. Same for every other SEC team, particularly in the east since only Georgia (24) and Kentucky (1) are in the RPI top 60. That means for Tennessee, Vanderbilt, South Carolina, Missouri and Florida, their whole season could come down to two cracks at UK. Win one of those games and throw some window dressing around it (over .500 in conference play, first round conference tournament win, top 50 RPI) and they probably get into the dance.
This whole conference season for UK is going to be about taking everyone’s best shot because for 10 of the teams in the SEC, that’s probably their only shot at making the tournament.
-
@justanotherfan Good points. If UK is playing at their best they are unbeatable. That is just a fact this year as they have the most talent and the most depth in the entire country.
I am not sure that UK will come out and play flat in March. I agree. But they could play tight. We have unfortunately seen that with many KU teams in the past that have had elite talent. They come out and play “not to lose” or appear pretty frazzled late in the game when they are someone still losing to an inferior team.
What do you guys think? Is it actually best case scenario for UK to come into the NCAA undefeated, that way they are playing for history? That could potentially cause them to be extremely tight / nervous as more is on the line. That is kind of my hope. That they waltz into March 35-0 and get nervous that they are going to be a team that went undefeated in the regular season and then gets bounced. It has happened before. UNLV in 1991. That team was “unbeatable”.
-
No doubt UK has the top talent, but athletes don’t always have good games. They are down a few times here or there. They do have so much depth some of the players can pick up the slack, they may go undefeated but they may go down a time or two this year playing a team having a hot night. Would a loss help them from being too tight in March? I think there is something to that- it will be interesting to see how things play out this year.
-
Screw Kentucky. All this garbage about them being unbeatable is simply hype. With the right game plan, the odds can be narrowed sharply. No doubt, they are likely the best team in the country. But there have many teams occupying that perch, and they have fallen. UK is no different than prior top teams.
I think KU could beat UK. In fact, I think we have great personnel to do it. We are capable of a 12-22 night from three point range and we are playing faster. Would we be even money to win? No. But that doesn’t matter.
Many, many supposed “best” teams don’t win the tourney. Champions win the NCAA tourney. UK isn’t a champion yet.
-
I saw the end of regulation. Stupid Mississippi player, with the lead and the ball, 30 seconds left runs right into a half court trap, turnover, fast break. Mississippi is the best FT shooting team in the country I learned and showed it last night. But one lousy play cost them the game. Come back down court a chance to win with a two and maybe the same stupid Mississippi player dribbles around faking drives to the hoop and finally attempts a shot only Kevin Durant or Stephen Curry could make from about 30 feet. Sometimes I really hate basketball when I see plays like those two plays.
-
The chink in Kentucky’s armor is the fact that they play in a dud conference. The SEC is a big dud conference, especially this year with Florida being down.
I can’t believe top recruits want to go play in a dud conference. Wow… beating Ole Miss at Rupp in OT is a real accomplishment!
What a laugh! If only Kentucky had more depth… at least 10 McDonald’s AAs surely would have helped them out!
-
“I think KU could beat UK. In fact, I think we have great personnel to do it.”
Of course we have the personnel to beat them. We just have to be ready, with a solid plan, execute, and most of all BELIEVE! In our blow out loss we were not prepared and we lost FAITH. Then the wheel came off.
-
I could see UK being upset in similar fashion this year by a top team like Duke, Arizona or even KU. In that Duke-UNLV game, Laettner went for 28 and UNLV missed a bunch of FTs (I think four) to blow a 5 point lead with a couple minutes left to play. UNLV also had a chance to tie or win at the end, but missed a three as time wound down. Many have wondered why UNLV didn’t send Johnson into the post against Laettner, but UNLV opted to go for the win.
In a single game like that, UK could tighten up, but game’s like last night help UK get ready for that. That UNLV team played exactly 0 close games. They beat Arkansas (ranked #2 at the time) by 7 at Arkansas and beat Georgetown by 8 in the second round of the tournament. Most every other game was a 20+ point beat down, with several games being decided by 30 or more. Simply put, that UNLV team hadn’t played a game that was in doubt down the stretch since a two point win against Ball State more than a year earlier in the Sweet 16. Add to that the fact that they had mauled Duke the previous year, and you have a situation where that team may have taken the Blue Devils a little too lightly given their talent (three NBA talents in Laettner, Hurley and freshman Grant Hill).
Additionally, UK’s veterans have been on the other side of the coin. A year ago today, they were being shredded for being underachievers. They have been through that fire in a way that most teams with this much talent never experience. This UK team is truly unique in that they are so talented, but they have also endured so much criticism that if it didn’t sink them last year, they should be able to handle the glare of the spotlight this year.
-
This is an Ole Miss team that was beat pretty comfortably at home by TCU. Just FYI. Any team, any night can pull off a big win. In Kentucky’s case, hopefully that night comes during the tournament.
-
@justanotherfan Good post. Hell of a memory for that 1991 tourney!
-
It really depend on which KU team shows up. Good KU like in the second half of the Florida and UNLV games and first half of the Utah game or bad KU such at the first half of the Florida game, second half of the Utah game or the entire UK and Temple games.
UK’s talent, depth and A game are better than KU’s talent, depth and A game. The key to offset their talent and depth is to get them off their A game and into their B or C game while playing an A game…makes sense? Ole Miss set a blue print on how to beat UK and it came close to doing it, although on paper UK did not play that bad, at least the number look decent, although with all its bigs, UK should have a much higher FG % and even that number is inflates by the 55% they shot from 3…
FG%
- Ole Miss 29-49 - 59.2%
- UK 25-60 - 41.7%
3 point FG%
- Ole Miss 9-17 - 52.9%
- UK 11-20 - 55.0%
Rebounds (O-D-T)
- Ole Miss 10-22-32
- UK 16-18-34
Steals-Assists
- Ole Miss 5-12
- UK 6-16
Fouls
- Ole Miss 29
- UK 18
Free Throws
- Ole Miss 19-22 - 86.4%
- UK 28- 40 70%
Looks like both teams shot very well from the 3 and the stats seem to be fairly even. The big difference was the poor 2 pt FG% by UK (14-40 or 35%) and fouls and free throws where UK outscores Ole Miss by 9 on 18 more attempts.
-
DISCLAIMER: This is not a bash on anyone on this site!
I am growing weary of talking about UK. Are they the best team in the nation? Yes. Did they beat us like a red head stepchild? Yes. But right now, the Big 12 conference is the only thing that consumes my thoughts. ESPN already does everything it can to shove UK down our throats so why add to it on a KU basketball sight?
When it comes to time for tourney talk, I love looking at match ups in our division and the future of playing UK in the elite eight, final four, championship, etc. But to focus on them throughout the season when it bares no influence on getting number 11 in a row comes across as little dog syndrome (See KSU chant when they F*** KU during a timeout no matter who they are playing). It’s funny to me how MU fans still watch KU games to point out flaws when they are now in a different conference. I refuse to give that treatment to UK. It gives them way to much credit because we are KU, a classic blue blood program in contention year in a year out.
Again, I do not put anyone here in the same breath as MU, My rant is over. Rock Chalk!
-
@JhawkAlum sounds great to me! That other team, can go implode on their own time!
-
So it is said that if you know your enemies and know yourself, you can win a hundred battles without a single loss.
If you only know yourself, but not your opponent, you may win or may lose.
If you know neither yourself nor your enemy, you will always endanger yourself.
Sun Tzu - The Art of War
UK is the enemy and every win and loss affects the all-time win ranking, plus…KU might end up facing KU again in the Tournament, so it is helpful to be informed. Just my opinion and I could be wrong.
-
I completely agree when tourney time rolls around. But as for me, I am am more worried about how good OU looks, waiting for UT to fall apart, and hating ISU. But who am I to block the joy of my KU brothers? If scouting UK brings excitement and energizes you for college basketball, then by all means, do so and let me know what you have discovered in early March! .
-
I can’t say I disagree with you since I have in the past advocated keeping this forum focused on all things KU.
As long as the thread is not dedicated to bashing another program(s) or individual(s), the squid and MUexempted, and it is college basketball or KU related, I don’t have too much problem with it.
-
@justanotherfan I think the Badgers are as well equipped as anyone to knock off Kentucky. UW still gets no respect!
-
@VailHawk HA! Fizzou is 6-7! LMAO!
-
@Lulufulu thx for noticing, that was my whole purpose of posting the pic!
-
@VailHawk Yeah, I wonder what Jack@SS Harry thinks of that huh? Sucker! hahaha
-
@HighEliteMajor said:
Screw Kentucky.
Thats exactly how I feel. Screw them up the place the sun dont shine!! But, I hope they hit the NCAAs undefeated and get beat in the first round by a hot handed killer B team.
-
@wissoxfan83
I thought the Badgers could have knocked off UK last year in the Final Four. I actually thought they should have beaten them then. I don’t like the matchup for them as much this year because Cauley-Stein matches up with Kaminsky better than anyone else in the country from a size and quickness standpoint. I don’t think Cauley-Stein can shut him down because Kaminsky is a great player, but I do think he could force Kaminsky into an inefficient night, which I think would hurt Wisconsin.
The Badgers are equipped with the talent, but I don’t like the matchup for them this season as much as I did in last year’s Final Four.
-
@justanotherfan A missed FT against Kentucky really hurt us last year. This year, we’re a year older, but generally Kentucky is not. UW is shooting lights out from 3 land this year (except last night!) and playing their usual stout defense. I know Kentucky would be favored but they don’t want to play us again.
