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My thoughts on the game...

Likes for UK

1. Michael Kidd-Gilchrist, enough said. His rebounding performance has to be one of the best of modern times. It's amazing that his performance still doesn't get him onto the top 10 in UK history for rebounds in a single game (nobody has had enough to get on that list since 1969) but it was really, really awesome. He always hustles and gives 110% effort on the floor. Also buried a couple of big outside shots.

2. Anthony Davis - made his typical great defensive plays. The best part - shot 12/13 from the line.

3. UK free throw shooting - Coach Calipari's teams have come under fire for their lack of ability to shoot free throws. However, free throws won the game for the team today.

4. Defense - We played a great game defensively. Guys knew their assignments very well.

Dislikes for UK

1. Terrence Jones - Played solid on the defensive end and rebounding, but I hate to see him struggle so bad offensively. Dropped three passes that resulted in turnovers, and had 3 or 4 shots blocked by a good UL interior defense. His hand may still be bothering him, but one can tell that Jones' poor play as of recent has affected him psychologically on the court.

2. Handling the press - Teague did a pretty solid job at times. He did have a few turnovers though, part of it being because sometimes the UK players would not run up to help him when he was under pressure. That resulted in a couple of turnovers off of the press.

3. Officiating - It seems like every time we play UL we get officials that like to call the little tick tack fouls. I think one reason that neither team really got into a rhythm was because if they did as much as breathe on the opponent, they would be called for a foul.

4. Moving the ball against the zone - I didn't think we took any off the wall shots like we have against that team in the past. However, I thought the guys were a bit intimidated by it, often times moving the ball around on the outside until the shot clock ran down.

For UL, I thought their defense overall was very good, but their interior defense was rock solid. Dieng has really developed into a nice player. Even with all the injuries, it still looks like they are going to be a tough out for anyone this year. As a previous poster mentioned, it was nice to see Elisha Justice get out there to play for a couple of minutes. He played good defense and gave it his all. Coach Pitino had to like that. Also, Smith had an amazing game that IMO kept Louisville in it. He is a good offensive threat, and it looks like for Louisville to win in March he will have to catch fire. Siva has improved some as well, particularly with his decision making when he goes into the paint.

All in all, this was a very good win for UK. Even though I would have liked to see us open up our big first half lead more, it was good to see the guys make the plays needed down the stretch to win the game.