I have been struggling all year to think of who it is that Nick Calathes of the Florida Gators reminds me of. It suddenly hit me during today's game that Nick reminds me of the character Chuck Sherman from the American Pie movies. Does anybody else see a resemblance between Nick Calathes of the Florida Gators and the character Chuck Sherman, aka The Shermanator, from the American Pie Movies? Take a look at the above picture. The face on the left is Nick Calathes, the face on the right is the Shermanator. Sherman is played by actor Chris Owen. I guess if Calathes' basketball career doesn't work out he may have a future on the big screen.Of course, I make this comparison with all due respect to Nick Calathes. That guy is one heck of a basketball player who will haunt UK until he moves on to the NBA or runs out of eligibility at Florida.
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The University of Kentucky Wildcats finished an unbelievable regular season today with a 75-70 victory over the Florida Gators. The win gave Kentucky an SEC regular season record of 12-4 in Conference and an overall record of 18-11 on the season. Next up is the SEC Tournament.
The Wildcats' 12-4 conference record earned them a a second place finish in the SEC East and a first round bye in the SEC Tournament. They will face the winner of the Mississippi/Georgia game on Friday, March 14th. You can check out the SEC Tournament bracket here.
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My thoughts on the Florida/Kentucky game:
1) It was proven today that Bradley and Crawford don't have to both play great games in order for Kentucky to win. Crawford had a rough day from the field, only hitting 7 of his 17 shots. Joe did, however, continue to play great defense. Ramel only hit 5-12 from the field and uncharacteristically struggled at the free throw line missing 3 of his 5 charity tosses. Still, Joe finished with 16 points and Ramel finished with 14 points.
2) Jasper, Harris, and Stevenson really stepped up. Jasper didn't miss a shot from the field and went 4-4 from behind the arc. Harris played stellar defense and knocked down 2 big 3 pointers en route to a 9 point outing. Stevenson looked like an All-American going 6-6 from the field, 6-8 from the free throw line, and grabbing 10 rebounds with 5 blocked shots. My hat is also off to Stevenson for making the 2 big free throws at the end of the game that sealed the victory.
3) Stewart and Porter deserve a lot of credit for turning in some valuable minutes as well. Porter didn't score any points and Stewart only had 4 points, but they both played extremely well while they were on the floor.
4) I thought Kentucky played pretty well overall, but I was a bit concerned by the Wildcats' sudden failure to produce at the free throw line. The Cats only hit 9-20 from the charity stripe. This game wouldn't have been as close as it was down the stretch if Kentucky had shot their season average from the stripe.
5) My other concern was Kentucky's difficulty handling Florida's press. I'm sure Kentucky will see the press again in the NCAA Tournament if they are lucky enough to get there. I personally think the Wildcats will be Dancing.
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Has Kentucky already done enough to guarantee a date for the Big Dance? I think they have, but I also think it would be a good idea for the Wildcats to win their Quarterfinal Game in the SEC Tournament just to make sure.
Go Big Blue!!
