[16BBall Fan]

Final. A season sweep of the Vols! A big win for the Cats!

[Granny Bear]

Final!!!

How 'bout them CATS!!!!

[Old School Hound]

Gutted this one out. Some big tickers for the guys in blue and white tonight. I can't think of too many coaches , besides Barnes, who could take top five talent and lose to a rag tag , but big hearted , KY team w/o Mr. Robinson and w/o Mr. Butler down the stretch. My guy, Tony P. has to be thinking about hitting a bottle of Tennessee Jack. Last night, a debacle on Log Mountain, and tonight his top five Vols lose to Chandler, Noah, Almonor and Perry. The Vols will figure it out, coach. Just gotta keep grinding.

[Old School Hound]

Final!!!

How 'bout them CATS!!!!

How about our guy???   I love that kid.

[Bluecat]

Big time performance by the Cats and the KY boys. Glad to see Noah and Perry stepping up. I especially enjoy seeing the mountain boy Noah coming up big.

[Spud6]

The Kentucky boys combining for 20 points is so awesome to see. The Mountain Mamba needs to be on a shirt tomorrow being sold

[Cactus Jack]

If you told me before the game that Noah and Perry were going to combine for 20 points against a top 5 team, I'd have told you that the game was going to go one of two ways...

Loved seeing this one go in our favor.

Hope I'm not speaking too soon because we may meet them again, but it seems like Pope has Barnes' number. I know Tennessee has shot some atrocious percentages from three against us, but I think our game plan had at least a little to do with that.

For Kentucky fans: does it mean more to you when you see a game like this where in-state kids made big contributions? For me, the answer is yes.

[Old School Hound]

If you told me before the game that Noah and Perry were going to combine for 20 points against a top 5 team, I'd have told you that the game was going to go one of two ways...

Loved seeing this one go in our favor.

Hope I'm not speaking too soon because we may meet them again, but it seems like Pope has Barnes' number. I know Tennessee has shot some atrocious percentages from three against us, but I think our game plan had at least a little to do with that.

For Kentucky fans: does it mean more to you when you see a game like this where in-state kids made big contributions? For me, the answer is yes.

Takes me back to when I was a kid in the '70's.  Goose Givens, James Lee, Larry Johnson, Dirk Minnefield  and , remember this kid from Maysville...  ???


[Image: https://i0.wp.com/www.wildcatworld.com/w...C300&ssl=1]


It's kind of a throwback to an earlier, and better, time. Old School heartily approves of these KY youngsters.

[Cactus Jack]

Kentucky's win over Tennessee tonight is the Vols' 5th loss. Their other three? At Florida, at Auburn, and at Vanderbilt.

We're going to find out a lot more about who the Vols really are in their upcoming stretch. They host Vandy, then have road trips to Texas A&M and LSU, a home game against Alabama, and a road trip to Ole Miss. After that, they host South Carolina and it's on to the SEC Tournament. I don't know that three losses is out of the question-- I suspect that they'd be an underdog against Alabama and if they're even favored, I doubt Vegas would give them more than a three points against Texas A&M and Ole Miss.


In terms of SEC Standings, Kentucky's game against Missouri just gained a lot of importance for seeding. With five conference losses (Alabama, Arkansas, Vanderbilt, Ole Miss, and Georgia) and two more top five match-ups (Alabama and Auburn) remaining, there's no way we catch one-loss Auburn or Alabama. There's a slim chance that we catch three loss Florida and Texas A&M, but we at least own head-to-head tiebreakers. The Gators have a pretty favorable four game stretch coming up (South Carolina, LSU, Oklahoma & Georgia) before ending with three tough games (A&M, Alabama, and Ole Miss). The Aggies have a tough landing-- Arkansas, a now desperate Mississippi State, Tennessee, Vanderbilt, Florida, Auburn, and LSU.

Ole Miss and Missouri's four losses in conference play leave them just ahead of the Cats for now. Tennessee (5 losses) is technically tied but loses the head-to-head tiebreaker with UK; Mississippi State (6) and Vanderbilt (6) are just behind.

The aforementioned school who should change their mascot ends the year with Auburn, Tennessee, and Florida in three of their last four but own the head-to-head tiebreaker.

Missouri's only remaining games against ranked opponents are home dates with Alabama and Kentucky. The Tigers will have some landmines (Arkansas and Vanderbilt), but their remaining schedule is pretty manageable otherwise (Oklahoma twice, LSU, South Carolina, and Georgia).

Statistically speaking, I'd be very surprised if Kentucky could afford a loss to Mizzou but still expect to be seeded ahead of them unless you're counting on beating Alabama or Auburn and only losing one other game the rest of the way. Beating Alabama or Auburn head-to-head is nice for NCAA Tournament seeding, but is basically just another conference game for SEC seeding before you get to the third or fourth level tiebreakers.

Avoiding a letdown against Vanderbilt, LSU, and Oklahoma is going to go a long way in determining whether we're as high as #4 or as low as #9 going in, but expect the most high leverage game to be Missouri.

[TheTruth!]

How about those true KY boys!! Sko Cats

[Granny Bear]

The Kentucky boys combining for 20 points is so awesome to see. The Mountain Mamba needs to be on a shirt tomorrow being sold

His aunt does that as a side business.  Trust me, they are printing now. 
Several of HC fans attended the game last night with fake black snakes around their neck.
Hillbillies!!!  I LOVE THEM!!!

[Mr. D]

Really gutsy performance by the team and great work by the coaching staff. This season has been a roller coaster with huge highs and low lows. But one thing is for certain Mark Pope can absolutely coach and outcoach the best of the best in the business. That was our 9th Quad 1 win already and our 5th victory against the top 10.

To be able to win without your starting point guard hobbled, starting shooting guard out, starting power forward hobbled, and backup point guard out is incredible. I don't know how sustainable this is for the rest of the season if Lamont Butler and Jaxon Robinson are out several weeks but last night felt amazing. Now we need a strong performance at Texas (who will be desperate) and not play down to the competition.

---

Also wanted to shout out our defense. The had a really rough stretch but have played with much more focus, discipline, and just increased energy the last two games. Held South Carolina to 57 points and Tennessee to 64 points. We do not have to be excellent at defense, but we can't be horrible either. It was much better the last two games and hopefully we continue that on to tournament play.

[Bluecat]

I hate injuries but I think it has helped find other rotation guys who can help.

[Old School Hound]

Really gutsy performance by the team and great work by the coaching staff. This season has been a roller coaster with huge highs and low lows. But one thing is for certain Mark Pope can absolutely coach and outcoach the best of the best in the business. That was our 9th Quad 1 win already and our 5th victory against the top 10.

To be able to win without your starting point guard hobbled, starting shooting guard out, starting power forward hobbled, and backup point guard out is incredible. I don't know how sustainable this is for the rest of the season if Lamont Butler and Jaxon Robinson are out several weeks but last night felt amazing. Now we need a strong performance at Texas (who will be desperate) and not play down to the competition.

---

Also wanted to shout out our defense. The had a really rough stretch but have played with much more focus, discipline, and just increased energy the last two games. Held South Carolina to 57 points and Tennessee to 64 points. We do not have to be excellent at defense, but we can't be horrible either. It was much better the last two games and hopefully we continue that on to tournament play.

Barnes is a criminally poor coach, relative to the talent he has had at his disposal in his career. He couldn't even win with Kevin Durant. He has good players and still finds a way to to lose to an injury-riddled KY team that needed 19 points from Noah and Perry. Barnes seems like a nice enough guy but he is getting roasted on social media by Big Orange fans for his horrible game planning. Leaving Igor on the bench for several minutes at a critical period down the stretch was insane. Thank you, Ricky B !

[Granny Bear]

The Kentucky boys combining for 20 points is so awesome to see. The Mountain Mamba needs to be on a shirt tomorrow being sold

His aunt does that as a side business.  Trust me, they are printing now. 
Several of HC fans attended the game last night with fake black snakes around their neck.
Hillbillies!!!  I LOVE THEM!!!

I spoke too soon.  They can't make the shirts because of something related to NIL

[Old School Hound]

The Kentucky boys combining for 20 points is so awesome to see. The Mountain Mamba needs to be on a shirt tomorrow being sold

His aunt does that as a side business.  Trust me, they are printing now. 
Several of HC fans attended the game last night with fake black snakes around their neck.
Hillbillies!!!  I LOVE THEM!!!

I spoke too soon.  They can't make the shirts because of something related to NIL

NIL(and portals)  is why I watch Nil  college sports, outside of UK games.

[Mr. D]

Really gutsy performance by the team and great work by the coaching staff. This season has been a roller coaster with huge highs and low lows. But one thing is for certain Mark Pope can absolutely coach and outcoach the best of the best in the business. That was our 9th Quad 1 win already and our 5th victory against the top 10.

To be able to win without your starting point guard hobbled, starting shooting guard out, starting power forward hobbled, and backup point guard out is incredible. I don't know how sustainable this is for the rest of the season if Lamont Butler and Jaxon Robinson are out several weeks but last night felt amazing. Now we need a strong performance at Texas (who will be desperate) and not play down to the competition.

---

Also wanted to shout out our defense. The had a really rough stretch but have played with much more focus, discipline, and just increased energy the last two games. Held South Carolina to 57 points and Tennessee to 64 points. We do not have to be excellent at defense, but we can't be horrible either. It was much better the last two games and hopefully we continue that on to tournament play.

Barnes is a criminally poor coach, relative to the talent he has had at his disposal in his career. He couldn't even win with Kevin Durant. He has good players and still finds a way to to lose to an injury-riddled KY team that needed 19 points from Noah and Perry. Barnes seems like a nice enough guy but he is getting roasted on social media by Big Orange fans for his horrible game planning. Leaving Igor on the bench for several minutes at a critical period down the stretch was insane. Thank you, Ricky B !

Barnes seems like a good man but overrated throughout his career. His teams are always good defensively but have a tendency to stall on offense. That still doesn't change the fact that Pope has already beat Jon Schreyer, Mark Few, Pat Kelsey, Todd Golden, and Buzz Williams in addition to beating Rick Barnes twice.

[Old School Hound]

Really gutsy performance by the team and great work by the coaching staff. This season has been a roller coaster with huge highs and low lows. But one thing is for certain Mark Pope can absolutely coach and outcoach the best of the best in the business. That was our 9th Quad 1 win already and our 5th victory against the top 10.

To be able to win without your starting point guard hobbled, starting shooting guard out, starting power forward hobbled, and backup point guard out is incredible. I don't know how sustainable this is for the rest of the season if Lamont Butler and Jaxon Robinson are out several weeks but last night felt amazing. Now we need a strong performance at Texas (who will be desperate) and not play down to the competition.

---

Also wanted to shout out our defense. The had a really rough stretch but have played with much more focus, discipline, and just increased energy the last two games. Held South Carolina to 57 points and Tennessee to 64 points. We do not have to be excellent at defense, but we can't be horrible either. It was much better the last two games and hopefully we continue that on to tournament play.

Barnes is a criminally poor coach, relative to the talent he has had at his disposal in his career. He couldn't even win with Kevin Durant. He has good players and still finds a way to to lose to an injury-riddled KY team that needed 19 points from Noah and Perry. Barnes seems like a nice enough guy but he is getting roasted on social media by Big Orange fans for his horrible game planning. Leaving Igor on the bench for several minutes at a critical period down the stretch was insane. Thank you, Ricky B !

Barnes seems like a good man but overrated throughout his career. His teams are always good defensively but have a tendency to stall on offense. That still doesn't change the fact that Pope has already beat Jon Schreyer, Mark Few, Pat Kelsey, Todd Golden, and Buzz Williams in addition to beating Rick Barnes twice.

Definitely agree. Mark has some very nice wins in his initial season at the helm. There's been a couple of games where he's coached poorly, but overall he's been fine. Cal schooled him at Rupp, in what was probably Coach Pope's worse game. Pope obviously has obviously gotten the better of Barnes twice. Pope definitely gets passing marks up to this point.  In all honesty, this bunch shouldn't win 15 games all season but they are going to eclipse that by quite a lot. Kelsey at Louisville has also been a gem. The Cardinals have overachieved, like Kentucky.

[-STAT-]

Kentucky has had some great wins this season, some big time wins but I think this game was by far the gutsiest effort I've seen from them all season, maybe than the first Tennessee game. Was like everyone else, excited to see the Kentucky boys getting not only minutes, but valuable down the stretch minutes, especially Noah repping that 606 with pride.

I think we can all say, if it wasn't for injuries Noah & Perry wouldn't be getting these kinds of minutes, not trying to say I am glad other players are injured, but I am glad that they have both been asked to step up and play in these big-time games/moments, only will benefit them going forward. They have steadily improved every single game, and to be in the best conference in the country, only will boost their confidence more.

This is what Kentucky basketball was for me growing up man, I am so glad that it's back. Playing for the name on the front of the jersey.