[Cactus Jack]

Well…..I have to admit I’m one of those that was screaming at the tv to foul. I know some coaches are scared of it. It’s never been a debate in my mind. In that spot, you foul. Yes, they could make two and get a steal and score. That might happen once every two or three years. Them making a three? Gonna happen once every three games or so. Take the foul. And Sheppard’s defense, while really good in a team setting, is pretty atrocious one-on-one, sort of the dirty little secret of what had been a feel good season, Cactus Jack has pointed it out numerous times on here.

But anyway, I don’t want to get into the Cal debate. I’m more concerned about where we are headed. The schedule the rest of the way is brutal, and even the mediocre teams (hello, Texas A & M) get sky high for their shot at us. 10+ losses and a 6 or worse seed in the tournament is a very real scenario. ESPN had Florida in their first four out line before last night. They are now 15-6. We are 15-5. Hmmm.

If Wagner is going to miss extended time, Reed might be lucky to get his bag as a first round pick at the end of the season. I think games like last night and being in a situation where he plays a ton of minutes risks exposing him. Lateral quickness is one of the most difficult things to enhance or improve as an athlete.

Very worried about the type of seed Kentucky gets. I'd just as soon be a 7 that can beat the 2 and take their path as I would being a 3 or 4 and playing a strong, experienced team from a small conference in the 3-14 or 4-13 game.

I swear to you, the older I get the more pathetic I become. Fell asleep again before the end of the game. So I watched it again this morning. UK should have won this game. I'm so tired of the 7 footers standing around with their fingers up their butt. I'm also pretty proud of Reeves and Sheppard. Reeves would drive against a bull dozier and Sheppard's sight of the floor continues to impress me.

For those of you looking for someone to blame, this loss falls squarely on Cal's shoulders. Even if Florida WAS in the bonus, I would've gone after the ball and not stopped before we took possession or fouled. In this case, Florida wasn't in the bonus, so it shouldn't have even been considered whether or not to foul. Calling time outs close to the end of the game to set up a play is ELEMENTARY. These two scenarios are absolutely Cal's fault and nobody else's. Sorry, that's just the way it is.

I'm becoming more and more disappointed in this season. Hopefully, some of the smarter players can coach us through the Tennessee game; otherwise, you can chalk up even another loss for UK this weekend.

One made free throw by Dilly and none of these critical posts would have seen the light of day. All we would have heard is how great Ugo was . Bottomline is this , BGR nation. These UK defenders can't stay in front of anyone. Worst perimeter defenders I have ever seen. As much as our coaches preach and teach defense(and they do it a lot) , our guys simply cannot, or will not, defend. It's an easy path to the basket on the drive or a wide open three for any decent offensive team, like Florida. Our guys want to play Kenny Rodgers defense. They gamble! Rather than playing disciplined , they gamble, and often find themselves out of position. What in the Dwayne Schintzius was Reed Sheppard doing, or thinking? Under 10 seconds to go and up 3 and you are six to eight feet from the three point line, allowing Clayton an open look? You really think that's what Cal wanted?

Cal has said numerous times that 18 and 19 y.o. kids don't always listen to what's told to them. We all know that's true. We have some very good coaches on a bench but, still, it's up to these kids to execute. Our guys just can't defend!!! But look around college basketball. It's not just UK. Purdue gave up 96 at home to Northwestern last night and almost lost. We are gonna have to hope we can outscore teams and make ONE STOP down the stretch in games in order to advance in the NCAA tournament.

Didn't to get to watch the entire game, but thought Onyenso had some really great moments, but he's really skinny and gets pushed out of the way on the glass very easily. That's going to keep him from being in the NBA unless he can improve. There's still plenty of time, and it's probably a matter of putting on weight as much as anything else. Just like some of the things OSH mentioned, if Onyenso doesn't get pushed out of the way and a Gator snatches a rebound, we probably aren't having this discussion either.

I don't have a huge problem with Dillingham getting the ball at the end of the game. I think the preference would be to get it in the hands of Sheppard or Reeves, but Dillingham is lightning quick and I can understand why you'd trust him to either be open or work to get himself open. The shot that was made on Sheppard was also a very tough look.


Think we'll at least split with Tennessee. I've never been a fan of Rick Barnes and don't know what people see in him. For someone who has been in the game so long and is supposedly so great, he only has one Final Four on his resume (and that one was while he was the coach at Texas, his regional final was played in San Antonio, and he beat a 7-seed in the Elite Eight).