Last night's win against Tennessee was nothing short of impressive. The Wildcats shot the ball well, played good defense, and owned the boards. The Big Blue defense held Tennessee to 38.6% shooting from the floor and 26.9% from behind the arc. And, a couple of those made 3 pointers came from Lofton at the end of the game when Kentucky was trying not to foul anybody. The Wildcats also outrebounded Tennessee 36-27. The most impressive stat for me though, was the fact that Kentucky made 24-28 from the free throw line. The Wildcats also shot 48.9% from the floor, thanks mostly to the fact that they didn't take too many bad shots.
All eight players that coach Gillespie played last night performed very well. But, I think Patrick Patterson and Perry Stevenson deserve special mention. Patterson finished the game with 20 points, 8 rebounds, 3 blocks, and 3 assists. Stevenson just flat out looked like a man possessed. Stevenson finished the game with 14 points on 6-7 shooting, 7 rebounds, 2 assists, and 5 blocked shots. The usual suspects were there as well. Ramel Bradley finished with 16 points and went 10-10 from the free throw line, Joe Crawford had 10 points in only 24 minutes of play, and Jodie Meeks contributed 8 points in only 18 minutes of play. Both Crawford and Meeks played limited minutes because they were apparently nursing injuries.
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I don't know if anybody outside of the Big Blue Nation has noticed yet, but Billy Gillespie and the Kentucky basketball team look like they may be starting to get better. The Wildcats are only 2-2 in their last 4 games, but they have at least been competitive in all 4 games against some pretty good competition.
I still think the Wildcats only hope of making the NCAA Tournament this year will be if they win the SEC Tournament for the automatic bid, but I least I can now say that in public with a straight face.
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