Kentucky

[FineAsSwine]

How did we lose to Mizzou twice

Two games don't equal a season.

The Hogs got Kentucky when they were still trying to find their way.

And A&M and USC and BAMA

Those teams caught us while we were still finding our way. Doesn't matter. 

[chenalhog]

Those teams caught us while we were still finding our way. Doesn't matter. 

we never found our way

[jbcarol]

Kyle Tucker ‏@KyleTucker_CJ  4m
Cal hoists the trophy and the crowd explodes as he starts with "You people are CRAZY!"

[Atlhogfan1]

Difference in UK is the guard play now. They had no perimeter game and didnt try to have one much at the end of the reg season which resulted in being easy to defend.

3 pt shooting vs Hogs
3-11
5-11

6-17 in their SC loss most coming after Cal was tossed.


7-11 vs Mich

[Pork Twain]

Because we have an awful coach...Duh...

[TexArkHogFan]

Not the same team as when we played them.  Neither is Florida.  They both got better.  We didn't.  Good teams are consistent down the stretch.  We were consistently inconsistent. 

[PonderinHog]

They hadn't grown teeth yet.

[Pork Twain]

Not the same team as when we played them.  Neither is Florida.  They both got better.  We didn't.  Good teams are consistent down the stretch.  We were consistently inconsistent. 

Yeah, we beat them twice

[Locutus_of_Boar]

...in the name of all that is holy did we beat UK TWICE!!!

Because to quote Mike Anderson from shortly before the win over UK at BWA he felt sure his team was destined to accomplish "something" this season.

UK always has only one goal in mind and the Kentucky head coach doesn't need to search for the words to define their goal.

[HogCzar1]

UK's talent has finally taken over. Their team chemistry has improved, and their players have done a very good job of allowing Calipari to coach them. They have gotten better every game. You don't see sulking out there, and you don't see selfishness.

In addition, they shot lights out. When you get a player like Lee, who hasn't seen the floor this year, to come in and contribute like he did today, it speaks volumes about really how much talent Calipari has accumulated.

We may have beaten them twice this year, but nobody would argue who is the better team at year's end.

[FineAsSwine]

It seems settled on Hogville that making mention of any accomplishment by our guys will be met with hostility and derision.

I don't care if 'tucky wins it all, as far as I am concerned they can still suck it. We beat their backsides three in a row.

Yes. They are still playing and we are not but I am proud that we beat them in spite of the talent disparity. They are where we want to be. I know we aren't there but there is no reason to shout down a proud fan.

Use the ignore function if you don't want to see positive comments about the Hogs on a Hog message board.

(And now let the bashing commence) Fire in the hole!!!

[rude1]

What CMA does philosophy wise has been a thorn in Cal's side, and it didn't just start here. He just seems to have Cal's number. Just like it seems that Frank Martin's philosophy is going to be trouble for us. While SC seems to fold and get buried by most everyone else, they seem to be at their best anytime they play us.

[sickboy]

Not the same team as when we played them.  Neither is Florida.  They both got better.  We didn't.  Good teams are consistent down the stretch.  We were consistently inconsistent. 

At the risk of bringing a surfing metaphor to a crowd who's never ridden a wave in their life...

Kentucky was as inconsistent as we were this year. Unfortunately for us, we caught our big wave going in the last 10 games of the season and ate it right before the league tourney. Unfortunate timing.

Kentucky is riding their big wave right now. They just caught their wave at the right time. There was a stretch during our season where we were playing as well as anybody in the country -- capped off by destroying Ole Miss. Then we just came back down to inconsistency and got dragged along the reef. Hopefully we'll be better at riding that wave out until the end next year.

[FineAsSwine]

At the risk of bringing a surfing metaphor to a crowd who's never ridden a wave in their life...

Kentucky was as inconsistent as we were this year. Unfortunately for us, we caught our big wave going in the last 10 games of the season and ate it right before the league tourney. Unfortunate timing.

Kentucky is riding their big wave right now. They just caught their wave at the right time. There was a stretch during our season where we were playing as well as anybody in the country -- capped off by destroying Ole Miss. Then we just came back down to inconsistency and got dragged along the reef. Hopefully we'll be better at riding that wave out until the end next year.

Landlubber here who has never touched a surfboard.  Great analogy (wife is from Cali, she explained it to me). 

[bphi11ips]

How did South Carolina beat them? Not the same team right now. They are playing on another level now. That's what those highly ranked recruiting classes can do for a program.

South Carolina was a good basketball team at the end of the season.  That's how.

[PonderinHog]

At the risk of bringing a surfing metaphor to a crowd who's never ridden a wave in their life...

Kentucky was as inconsistent as we were this year. Unfortunately for us, we caught our big wave going in the last 10 games of the season and ate it right before the league tourney. Unfortunate timing.

Kentucky is riding their big wave right now. They just caught their wave at the right time. There was a stretch during our season where we were playing as well as anybody in the country -- capped off by destroying Ole Miss. Then we just came back down to inconsistency and got dragged along the reef. Hopefully we'll be better at riding that wave out until the end next year.

Just need better surfers

[hdturner]

Young talent got better as season progress

[FineAsSwine]

Just need better surfers

I thought that's why we went to Maui?

[PonderinHog]

I thought that's why we went to Maui?

Hang ten   Hell, I can barely hang on.  Where's the motor on this thing?

[Hog Fan from Camden]

It seems settled on Hogville that making mention of any accomplishment by our guys will be met with hostility and derision.

I don't care if 'tucky wins it all, as far as I am concerned they can still suck it. We beat their backsides three in a row.

Yes. They are still playing and we are not but I am proud that we beat them in spite of the talent disparity. They are where we want to be. I know we aren't there but there is no reason to shout down a proud fan.

Use the ignore function if you don't want to see positive comments about the Hogs on a Hog message board.

(And now let the bashing commence) Fire in the hole!!!

This! 

[mhuff]

Made the Harrison twins into poop and made FTs.

That is pretty spot on Breems. You might throw in the backside help on Randle.

[sickboy]

Just need better surfers

Our surfers are fine for spurts -- catching 10 to 15 footers. What we need is a good tow-in for the monsters.

You ever see surfers riding the big waves? In order to get enough speed going to actually catch those waves a rider needs a guy towing them into the wave via jet ski. They're classic assist men. We need that guy. Someone who can help us catch the big wave.

Right now, we're short boarders with all the athleticism in the world and no engine to catch the big waves. So we take down the 12 footers, which is nice and gets everyone excited, but in the end we're resigned to watching the other guys tackle the big waves from the beach.

[acey33]

we were on a roll we we beat them and at the end of the year we ran out of gas.

[gmarv]

maybe were a lot closer than people think,heres to hoping consistency
is the next step up for us.

[FineAsSwine]

You ever see surfers riding the big waves? In order to get enough speed going to actually catch those waves a rider needs a guy towing them into the wave via jet ski. They're classic assist men. We need that guy.

And that's where Beard and Durham come in.

[MountieDawg]

Kentucky wasn't playing well at the time and the Hogs played great!  Or you could just say MA has his team playing like HDN's team... Win a big game lose the tap ins...

[FineAsSwine]

Kentucky wasn't playing well at the time and the Hogs played great!  Or you could just say MA has his team playing like HDN's team... Win a big game lose the tap ins...

no matter how much you try to downplay it we kicked the cats behinds.

[jbcarol]

ESPN Stats & Info ‏@ESPNStatsInfo ·46 mins
Kentucky is the first team to win its games in the Round of 32, Sweet 16 and Elite 8 by 5 points or fewer as a lower seed in each game.

[MountieDawg]

no matter how much you try to downplay it we kicked the cats behinds.

Yes... But championships are won in March, if your not playing your best in March it's like hitting the ball well at the driving range and can't find the fairway on the course.

[jm]

We match up well with Kentucky.

[hogsanity]

We match up well with Kentucky.

We matched up well at the time.  Now, the way their guards are playing, it would not be a good match up at all.  Even as it was, it still took a miracle dunk in Fay, and shooting 100% from the FT line in Rupp to beat them.   

[The Boar War]

no matter how much you try to downplay it we kicked the cats behinds.

I'm not sure why this is hard for some of our fans to accept.  It seems like something we should, you know, be proud of.

[hogsanity]

I'm not sure why this is hard for some of our fans to accept.  It seems like something we should, you know, be proud of.

They were both really good wins, but it was the equivalent of beating Auburn in football, but still not even making a bowl.

[jbcarol]

Hugh Kellenberger ‏@HKellenbergerCL ·21 hrs
How cool would it have been if this Kentucky team had shown up all season?

[popcornhog]

As of Selection Sunday evening, Kentucky ranked 310th out of 351 in terms of "Luck," worse than all but three other teams in the NCAA Tournament field. Of course, luck, if that's what is measured, is not a bad category to rank that poorly in. By definition, "luck" is generally not something you have much control over going forward. For perspective, the team Kentucky beat to get to the Final Four, Michigan, was 9-2 in five-point games and ranked 67th in "Luck" at the same point in time.

Rankings that take into account point margins, such as KenPom and BPI, attempt to eliminate a good deal of the luck component and look at how good these teams actually are. Kentucky was ranked 16th in KenPom and 10th in BPI as of Monday, March 17. Systems that are heavily influenced by the final result of win or loss with little regard to margin – like the AP Poll – had a much lesser opinion of the Wildcats.

http://m.espn.go.com/general/blogs/blogpost?blogname=statsinfo&id=87071

I believe that this is a strength of BPI over RPI.

[jbcarol]

At the UK basketball media opp today, the surprise star of Kentucky's Midwest Regional final win over Michigan, Marcus Lee, admitted that he received a standing ovation when he walked into his marketing class.

http://johnclay.bloginky.com/2014/04/01/video-marcus-lee-on-standing-ovation-in-class

[jbcarol]

Gary Parrish ‏@GaryParrishCBS ·20m
Coach Cal is tweaking and Julius Randle is beasting. But that's not why Kentucky is in this Final Four. Here's why: http://cbsprt.co/1gplgnv

the best answer, I think, is that UK has been shooting uncharacteristically well.

"Yes they have," Wisconsin coach Bo Ryan told me Wednesday, and, history shows, this is a common thread between almost every low-seeded team that makes the Final Four.

Look it up, if you don't believe me.

But here's what I know: When a team makes a "surprising run" to the Final Four, it's typically rooted, in some regard, in shooting performances that are above and beyond how that team normally shoots, which brings me back to Kentucky. Yes, the Wildcats have been awesome on the offensive glass, and that's among the reasons they've been winning. But the Wildcats have been awesome on the offensive glass all season, and yet they still got swept by Arkansas and downed by South Carolina. So that's not why they're in the Final Four.

Here's why they're in the Final Four: Uncharacteristically good 3-point shooting.

The Wildcats shot 31.9 percent from beyond the arc in 18 regular-season SEC games, and they made more than six 3-pointers in a game just 22.2 percent of the time. (They went 12-6 in those games, by the way.) Since the end of the regular season, though, Kentucky has gone 6-1 with a lone loss to top-ranked Florida by one point in the SEC tournament championship game, and the Wildcats have shot 39.2 percent from beyond the arc in those seven contests while making more than six 3-pointers in a game 57.1 percent of the time.

"As hot as they're shooting, the only way you could affect their shooting would be to hire a janitor to do something to the rim," Ryan said with a laugh. "It's uncanny."

[jbcarol]

Matt Jones ‏@KySportsRadio ·16h
Michael Wilbon, after calling UK fans "irresponsibly maniacal" says he bets Calipari will leave UK after the NCAA Tournament


On "Pardon The Interruption" yesterday.


Wes Rucker ‏@wesrucker247 ·16 hrs
@KySportsRadio Doubt that happens, but cutting down the nets and then leaving would be one hell of a mic-dropper.

[jbcarol]

Matt Jones ‏@KySportsRadio ·41m
"The job at Kentucky ages you...its not my hip. I look at press conferences 5 years ago and I didn't look like this." --- Calipari

Matt Jones ‏@KySportsRadio ·43 mins
Calipari says his new slogan instead of "One and Done" is to "Succeed and Proceed"...says it will be on t-shirts

[jbcarol]

Adam Himmelsbach ‏@AdamHimmelsbach  4h
Column on how Calipari's pain is worse than he has let on. "He's on fumes right now. I think his wife is concerned." http://www.courier-journal.com/story/sports/columnists/himmelsbach/2014/04/04/adam-himmelsbach-calipari-limping-final-four/7325369/ ...

[jbcarol]

darren rovell ‏@darrenrovell  1h
Shirt on Kentucky fan at Final Four tonight  pic.twitter.com/aXMty3jv7G (H/T @CoolHandLuke95)

[Danny J]

Hawkins and Polson are playing great.

Also...if UK continues to play soft and sag off Wisconsin they are going to get picked apart. If they play tight and the refs call the game like they did in the first half then Wisconsin wins by 10 simply because Wisconsin is a much better FT shooting team.

I thought coming into this game Wisconsin would win and still think that even though I am pulling for UK.

I will also say that the refs can't allow Ryan to dictate the calls and Cal should spend more time lobbying the refs instead of yelling at his players because if they trade FT's then UK has no chance.

[The_Bionic_Pig]

Reggie Miller sounds like a Kentucky Alum...

[Hexametaphosph8]

Reggie Miller sounds like a Kentucky Alum...

They are doing "Homecasts" on Tru and TNT.  TBS is doing a neutral broadcast

[Danny J]

Free throws......UK has to make equal or more than Wisconsin in the second half to win the game. They have no shot if they make less FT's in the second half than the Badgers.

[la20688]

They are doing "Homecasts" on Tru and TNT.  TBS is doing a neutral broadcast

Yes....Barkley was killing me on TBS. calling everyone complaining about it on twitter "idiots".

[TexArkHogFan]

Watching the games tonight I noticed something that seemed kind of odd to me.  In the first game where the list the score of the game at the bottom of the screen they listed it as Gators and Connecticut, not Florida and Connecticut.  That was the first time I had seen a team listed that way.  Then in the second game they listed it as Wildcats and Wisconsin, not Kentucky and Wisconsin.  To me that seems it was deliberate and one can only guess as to the real reason for not listing a team by their name.

I have never seen a Hog game where it was listed as Razorbacks where they give the score.  It is always Arkansas.  Maybe I'm putting more into this than I should, but it did seem odd to me. 

[yraciv]

I wasn't paying that close attention so I may have missed it but if this is the case that is very strange.

[Hogarusa]

Perhaps you were watching the team cast of the game on TNT instead of the actual game cast on TBS?

[TexArkHogFan]

It may have been.  I watched it on Direct TV and can't remember what channel.  I just clicked on the first one that popped up showing the game when I was scrolling down the Guide listing. I think it was Channel 242 or somewhere in that vicinity.