The Good
* The Masterpiece. We've seen this Kentucky team play very good basketball this year. When they're going right there's honestly not a massive difference between these guys and Cal's best teams. But last night was the magnum opus, and it was surprising to see Tennessee lay down like that.
* Let's Get Physical. The most interesting part of that game was how Kentucky just punched Tennessee in the mouth, and I mean that almost literally. The game was so physical that I think it shocked Tennessee, and Travis and Washington in particular looked out for blood. When orange-clad bodies began bouncing off the floor I think Tennessee got a look in their eyes that was pretty close to fear.
* Speaking of Travis. Aside from PJ, Reid Travis was the man in this game. He played the punisher role, basically thumping anybody who got in his orbit. Then when we needed him to put the ball in the basket for us he reversed a trend we've seen in recent second halves and he hit two or three big shots. If it has any shot at a title this team obviously has to play the power game, and Travis is a key part of that.
* North Carolina Ashton. Ashton Hagans drove Jordan Bone insane for the first 35 minutes of that game, recalling the player we saw against the Tarheels, when he made Kolby White look like he wanted to take up a different sport. Hagans was involved in so many things, offensively and defensively, and he even hunted his shot a little bit. The tentative, confused, hesitant Hagans was gone and we saw the player that could lead us to a title.
* PJ Washington, First Team All-American? Washington was the best player on the floor, and that's becoming a theme. We've seen a guy morph into a star right before our eyes and you wish that could have happened with a returning sophomore years ago because of what it could have meant for Kentucky's program. (I hear you saying "Doron Lamb and Terrence Jones," but the difference with those two is that they were both behind Davis and MKG on that team in terms of perception. PJ has gone from a role player to an absolute man, and if Cal plans on staying at UK for a few more years--which I doubt--he could potentially play the PJ Washington chip to help him keep sophomores in the program.) This guy is playing on a crazy elite level right now. I love the look on his face, and I love the fact that he wants the basketball on virtually every possession. Guy has turned into a killer.
* Answer the Kel-don. Keldon Johnson had a rough stretch in the second half but he was tremendous in the first. His threes set the tone for this game and Tennessee honestly never recovered.
* Glass Work. It felt like Tyler Herro pulled down 25 rebounds last night, I think because he flat dominated the boards in the second half. I continue to tell everybody I know that as crazy as this sounds, Herro isn't that far behind the very best guards John Calipari has had at UK. He does so many things, is involved in the game in so many ways, that he just makes his presence felt out there at all times. He's a very unusual player and I'm just so impressed with him.
* Plant a Seed. So now we pretty much reset things to where they were before the LSU game and Kentucky looks to be back in play for a #1. As discussed a thousand times by now, it's not really that important because the 2 might be better for UK anyway, but it has to be said at this point that Kentucky has one of the three or four best resumes in the country. We have a lot of solid wins, and maybe the most impressive thing about this team is that the solid wins we have have mostly been one-sided. I didn't think North Carolina or Tennessee looked to be anywhere close to us in those two games.
The Bad
* I'm So Over "Overrated." The "overrated" chant is the worst in sports, and I cringed last night when it started to roil around Rupp. It makes no logical sense that anybody would think to chant that, and Cal quickly axed it. For two reasons, I guess: one, we have to go to Knoxville, and two, that chant makes your entire performance look weaker. Who wants to beat an overrated #1 team?
* A Tale of Two Halves. The officiating abruptly turned in that game last night after halftime. It honestly helped Kentucky in some ways because it made Tennessee's attempt to assert their physicality be met with whistles, but I'm not sure why the game sharply changed like that. Almost nothing was called in the first half; virtually everything was called in the second. You see this a lot in the college game and I've never been sure why. My thought is if a game is called one way for the first half it should pretty much hold for the second. Because honestly that game was more physical in the first half than it was later in the game.
* I've Heard Mustard is Good for That. The only thing that's worrisome about PJ Washington's unreal performance was that he was cramping for the last three or four minutes. If you'll recall, the same thing happened to him in Knoxville last year. You don't want us to be in the Elite 8 or Final Four playing a brutal game and Washington can't go because he's cramping up.
The Ugly
* Flop City. I'll be honest: I hated the way Tennessee played. A lot of flopping, a lot of plays where guys were thrashing around and slinging their heads back to try to draw fouls, and a lot of basketball that you just don't need to play if you've got the dudes they have. Grant Williams plays a punk's game at times, trying to draw so much crap down low that he basically acts to get. They're not a likable team in many ways, and you saw early on why they've been in so many scuffles this year with their opponents. You don't need to play the game like that if you have the talent they do.
* The Masterpiece. We've seen this Kentucky team play very good basketball this year. When they're going right there's honestly not a massive difference between these guys and Cal's best teams. But last night was the magnum opus, and it was surprising to see Tennessee lay down like that.
* Let's Get Physical. The most interesting part of that game was how Kentucky just punched Tennessee in the mouth, and I mean that almost literally. The game was so physical that I think it shocked Tennessee, and Travis and Washington in particular looked out for blood. When orange-clad bodies began bouncing off the floor I think Tennessee got a look in their eyes that was pretty close to fear.
* Speaking of Travis. Aside from PJ, Reid Travis was the man in this game. He played the punisher role, basically thumping anybody who got in his orbit. Then when we needed him to put the ball in the basket for us he reversed a trend we've seen in recent second halves and he hit two or three big shots. If it has any shot at a title this team obviously has to play the power game, and Travis is a key part of that.
* North Carolina Ashton. Ashton Hagans drove Jordan Bone insane for the first 35 minutes of that game, recalling the player we saw against the Tarheels, when he made Kolby White look like he wanted to take up a different sport. Hagans was involved in so many things, offensively and defensively, and he even hunted his shot a little bit. The tentative, confused, hesitant Hagans was gone and we saw the player that could lead us to a title.
* PJ Washington, First Team All-American? Washington was the best player on the floor, and that's becoming a theme. We've seen a guy morph into a star right before our eyes and you wish that could have happened with a returning sophomore years ago because of what it could have meant for Kentucky's program. (I hear you saying "Doron Lamb and Terrence Jones," but the difference with those two is that they were both behind Davis and MKG on that team in terms of perception. PJ has gone from a role player to an absolute man, and if Cal plans on staying at UK for a few more years--which I doubt--he could potentially play the PJ Washington chip to help him keep sophomores in the program.) This guy is playing on a crazy elite level right now. I love the look on his face, and I love the fact that he wants the basketball on virtually every possession. Guy has turned into a killer.
* Answer the Kel-don. Keldon Johnson had a rough stretch in the second half but he was tremendous in the first. His threes set the tone for this game and Tennessee honestly never recovered.
* Glass Work. It felt like Tyler Herro pulled down 25 rebounds last night, I think because he flat dominated the boards in the second half. I continue to tell everybody I know that as crazy as this sounds, Herro isn't that far behind the very best guards John Calipari has had at UK. He does so many things, is involved in the game in so many ways, that he just makes his presence felt out there at all times. He's a very unusual player and I'm just so impressed with him.
* Plant a Seed. So now we pretty much reset things to where they were before the LSU game and Kentucky looks to be back in play for a #1. As discussed a thousand times by now, it's not really that important because the 2 might be better for UK anyway, but it has to be said at this point that Kentucky has one of the three or four best resumes in the country. We have a lot of solid wins, and maybe the most impressive thing about this team is that the solid wins we have have mostly been one-sided. I didn't think North Carolina or Tennessee looked to be anywhere close to us in those two games.
The Bad
* I'm So Over "Overrated." The "overrated" chant is the worst in sports, and I cringed last night when it started to roil around Rupp. It makes no logical sense that anybody would think to chant that, and Cal quickly axed it. For two reasons, I guess: one, we have to go to Knoxville, and two, that chant makes your entire performance look weaker. Who wants to beat an overrated #1 team?
* A Tale of Two Halves. The officiating abruptly turned in that game last night after halftime. It honestly helped Kentucky in some ways because it made Tennessee's attempt to assert their physicality be met with whistles, but I'm not sure why the game sharply changed like that. Almost nothing was called in the first half; virtually everything was called in the second. You see this a lot in the college game and I've never been sure why. My thought is if a game is called one way for the first half it should pretty much hold for the second. Because honestly that game was more physical in the first half than it was later in the game.
* I've Heard Mustard is Good for That. The only thing that's worrisome about PJ Washington's unreal performance was that he was cramping for the last three or four minutes. If you'll recall, the same thing happened to him in Knoxville last year. You don't want us to be in the Elite 8 or Final Four playing a brutal game and Washington can't go because he's cramping up.
The Ugly
* Flop City. I'll be honest: I hated the way Tennessee played. A lot of flopping, a lot of plays where guys were thrashing around and slinging their heads back to try to draw fouls, and a lot of basketball that you just don't need to play if you've got the dudes they have. Grant Williams plays a punk's game at times, trying to draw so much crap down low that he basically acts to get. They're not a likable team in many ways, and you saw early on why they've been in so many scuffles this year with their opponents. You don't need to play the game like that if you have the talent they do.
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