Kentucky @ Auburn Game Thread.

[Joneslab]

It is kind of depressing that the game of the week in the SEC is going to be...LSU and Texas A&M.

*insert crazzed's Looney Tunes bull avatar*

Assuming Kentucky can handle its home court, which is a huge question mark at this point, I see five more losses: at Arkansas this week, at Kansas obviously, at Vandy, at Texas A&M, and at South Carolina.

That puts us at 9 losses total and 6 in the SEC.

We'll still have a solid RPI, but we'll have lost a lot of games in an average SEC. And we will have shown we can't win on the road.

That's probably 6-8 seed territory.

But with Marcus Lee in a kind of deathspiral now, the front line like something from a DII team, and the defense mysteriously quitting late in the game, really nothing is a given. Vandy at home, going to Tennessee, going to Florida...it's all going to be a battle.

[Katmendo]

Will, don't forget an additional loss in the SEC Tourney, in all likelihood. That's ten losses, if it falls that way.

What the heck is up with Marcus? He's quit. All he has to do is what he's good at.

[JFCats22]

A 10-11 loss team that finishes 4th or 5th in the SEC and that doesn't win the SEC tourney is no way a 6-8 seed. That's a bubble team fighting to make the tourney.

Their biggest issue is the Duke and UL wins aren't going to be all that impressive (it seems) by the time the season ends.

I am completely blown away by how this season has gone. Would have bet every penny I have we would not have experienced anything close to the NIT season again.

[Joneslab]

Lee was probably the one guy you could count on on the front line. Even though he didn't put up many numbers, he would at least play with energy.

Suddenly he's just sort of mailing it in. Yesterday we almost overcame that because of Willis's great game, but you're playing with fire when you've got a rotation of basically six and a half men and one of those doesn't come to play.

Has to be one of the softer front lines UK has had in recent years, and there was a time when Gillispie started Mark Coury at the 4.

[Joneslab]

A 10-11 loss team that finishes 4th or 5th in the SEC and that doesn't win the SEC tourney is no way a 6-8 seed. That's a bubble team fighting to make the tourney.

Their biggest issue is the Duke and UL wins aren't going to be all that impressive (it seems) by the time the season ends.

I am completely blown away by how this season has gone. Would have bet every penny I have we would not have experienced anything close to the NIT season again.

Still 20th in the RPI. Not close to a bubble team yet. Could get there, but with a decent SOS we should be fine barring a disaster.

Duke has been without Amille Jefferson. That was still a solid win. Louisville was also a decent W. Need to find a couple of others, even if they're just marginal homecourt wins in this league.

Don't think we'll be on the bubble, but clearly we're trending down. Arkansas is a must-win but they're better than Auburn and their home court has always given Cal's teams fits.

[Joneslab]

It's important to know what actually constitutes "the bubble." Rather than just saying it because it sounds negative, one needs to look at what it really means.

In 2012-13, Kentucky had lost four of its last eight games and still would've gotten into the tournament had it beaten Vanderbilt in the SEC Tournament. That stretch included a 30-point loss at Tennessee.

The bubble teams right now according to Lunardi are teams like Alabama, St. Joe's, Vandy, and Seton Hall--teams who sit in the 40-60 RPI range and who have generally low strength of schedules.

We could be a bubble team. Right now? No.

[CATHYnKY]

OT question....how many losses would put them playing on Thursday rather than Friday in the SEC tourney? Need to know for reservation purposes.

[Joneslab]

OT question....how many losses would put them playing on Thursday rather than Friday in the SEC tourney? Need to know for reservation purposes.

Last year Ole Miss was the highest-ranked team that played on Thursday. They were 11-7 in SEC play.

There are going to be a bunch of teams with very similar records. The entire middle of the SEC is going to all have 5 to 7 losses. Looks like TAMU is going to pace the pack, and I think they're the best team; they'll probably finish with 2 or 3 losses. Everybody else is going to be vying for the middle because there's a lot of sameness.

One weird thing about the SEC Tournament this year is no Missouri. So I guess that means there'll be only one Wednesday game and one of those teams will get a bye into Thursday.

[Lighthouse]

A 10-11 loss team that finishes 4th or 5th in the SEC and that doesn't win the SEC tourney is no way a 6-8 seed. That's a bubble team fighting to make the tourney.

Their biggest issue is the Duke and UL wins aren't going to be all that impressive (it seems) by the time the season ends.

I am completely blown away by how this season has gone. Would have bet every penny I have we would not have experienced anything close to the NIT season again.

This team, with all it's current issues, is not near a bubble team at this point. Unless they fold the tent, which I can't see happening, they will have more than enough home wins to make the NCAA Tournament. And we all can hope for a road win somewhere.

Sorry Will. I didn't see your post before I posted.

[teamchemistry15]

It isn't just us. There were 16 teams in the top 25 that lost last week.

[TrueblueCATfan]

Jorts took to twitter on Sunday and told the BBN to stay calm....remember all the SEC road losses in 2011 and they still made the FF

[Lighthouse]

Jorts took to twitter on Sunday and told the BBN to stay calm....remember all the SEC road losses in 2011 and they still made the FF

That team had Jorts, who changed his game completely and became a leader. Other than Ulis, I see no one on this team who remotely resembles what Jorts did. If this team makes the sweet 16, I will not be satisfied, but I will be happy.

[capcat]

That team had Jorts, who changed his game completely and became a leader. Other than Ulis, I see no one on this team who remotely resembles what Jorts did. If this team makes the sweet 16, I will not be satisfied, but I will be happy.

Forgive my ignorance if this is a ridiculous comparison, but you don't see some potential of that in Willis?

[Joneslab]

Thing about Jorts is that he could always rebound.

If you look at his stats through this part of the season, he was grabbing boards. He just couldn't score.

2 points and 14 boards against LSU on January 15th. 3 points and 9 boards against Alabama. 2 points and 5 rebounds against South Carolina but then he came back and got 4 and 8 against Georgia.

So he could grab rebounds. Had this weird knack of being able to offensive rebound at a pretty impressive clip.

Willis had a great game Saturday but our big men don't consistently rebound on the whole the way Harrellson did. When they do nothing, they tend to not really give much of anything. It's blanks all the way across.

[surveyor]

I would love to see Willis transform himself into a better balanced player. Watching him in high school he liked to drift outside and shoot. Seemed he liked shooting more than he did banging inside near the basket - or at least he seemed to be more comfortable doing that. That said, he seems to have more tenacity than Wiltjer did.