According to Cortney Basham of the Bracket Board blog (and Dan Lunardi of ESPN agrees) if the NCAA tournament field were picked today, the University of Kentucky would not be dancing. They would be "Not In Tournament." What an impressive demise. This team made the Elite Eight last year, lost two players of significance, and now are staring an NIT birth in the face.
It's still VERY early in conference play, but UK is 0-2 in the SEC after two games at Rupp Arena. That's put the Mildcats into an early hole that the team may not climb out of. The return of forward Randolph Morris looks to make the team more potent than pond water, but not much more. Tubby Smith is searching for answer and UK fans are contemplating suicide. It is possible that this season Western Kentucky, Louisville (have yet to prove much more than UK has), and Murray State may all make the dance while the Kitties stay home. An unprecedented turn of events.
So why do I bring this up? Because I'm a Western fan and we're 12-4 with the highest RPI in the state of Kentucky. Succintly, we have the best resume of any team in the Commonwealth.
Tuesday, January 17, 2006
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And let's not forget the tough Jet Blue/Winn Dixie Sun Belt conference schedule coming up.
Sorry, couldn't help it. That's the funniest thing Colin Cowherd has ever said and will ever say.
It really is amazing how a group of very talented basketball players can screw up the same system that 2 years ago had a bunch of no names dominating every game they played with less than half of the true talent that's there now.
I think we can all agree that this is somehow all Patrick Sparks' fault. LOL
Yeah the conference will murder our RPI like it does every year. There are only two teams (WKU and Middle Tenn) that are in the top 100 in RPI in conference. That's wretched, but as a SBC school, you get used to it.
I actually feel sorry for Fatrick Sparks. I never thought I'd say that after he used my alma mater like a Junior College to punch his ticket to Lexington, but watching him play now is just sad. He doesn't play with a fraction of the energy or enthusiasm that made him fun to watch. There are some deep running problems in Sexy Lexy.
I now believe that if the season continues in this way, Tubby should go. If he's not fired, he should walk away. This team has quit. Sparks has quit, Alleyne never tried, Crawford is selfish, Rondo refuses to take over, and the rest of the team just isn't at all talented.
I still can't see how you start Sparks and not Ravi Moss. Moss is providing 200x the effort of Central City's Finest (says a lot about Central City.)
I find it interesting that Sivart is taking such solace in the Cats demise when not two months ago he was tsk tsking Cats fans for taking solace in U of L's demise.
We are still in the early season and the SEC is not the best conference this year, not Sunbelt standards, but not Big Ten standards. I saw Joe Lunardi on ESPNews and he did say that if the field were picked today UK would not be in, but there were still two months of the season left and he expects UK to make the field. As do I.
I actually think that UK has a better road ahead than U of L. UK has at least beat teams that will make the NCAA tournament. Joe Lunardi also said that there was no reason the U of L should be ranked in the top 25. They haven’t beaten anyone, lost to the pitiful Cats, and they still have UConn, Cinci, at Villinova, at Cinci, at Syracuse, at WVa, and at UConn. I am not so sure that the Cards will end with a better conference record than the Cats.
The good news is that when neither of those teams make the tournament we will have WKU and Murray to carry on the Kentucky basketball tradition with their usual first round exits, which would be the same result if UK makes the tournament.
As for not starting Moss over Sparks, I would say that because Sparks is a Kentucky boy and is lighter skinned is the reason he is starting. I can't think of any other reason. “Sparks is a liability when he can't hit the three,” direct quote from Dickie V and he loves Sparks and UK.
Sparks is the great white hope that beat UofL last year and hit "the 3" against Michigan State. He played horribly in the tourney last year other than that shot and has continued all season, but only now has anyone even hinted that maybe he hurts more than he helps.
They all must think he's a misplaced Unforgettable or something. When in fact, he's just a groundhog.
They can get better, I know this is an insane statement since the popular belief is that no player at UK actually improves from his first exhibition game, but we are talking about sophomores.
The only reason that it wouldn't bother me to see Tubby go is just to see what everyone thinks about the new guy. Because Tubby is one of the best of the best coaches in college basketball. And there is no arguing that.
So I can't wait to see who his replacement is and that is the only reason I look forward to it.
I also hope they 0-25 in the new guy's first season.
I think UofL is going to get hammered in the Big(L)east, but UK will too. UK's got a huge game against UGA this week. They're 0-2 at home, so they HAVE to win some on the road. That means UGA and USC. Lose one of those two and they're in deep caca.
Before the Alabama game I said UK would still make the tourney. I really am starting to doubt that now. Ala is a bad team. Uk just happened to be worse that day.
I'm not taking comfort in UK losing as much as I'm enjoying being the best team in the Commonwealth, and the only one with a quality win under its belt (UAB)
Well, UK has defeated West Virginia and Lousiville this year.
By the by, have you seen the latest Bracketology and where Lunardi has WKU and who he has them matched up against? Could be a chance for some revenge against the Wildcats.
West Virginia was a good win, but UofL wasn't. Once they get into conference play and get beat up some more, you'll see that. Right now UK's best wins are WVU and Iona, and neither are top 50 RPI teams.
I would love Arizona again. We coulda/shoulda won that one in Tempe. On a neutral court, I'll guarantee 'Zona wants no part of that potential matchup.
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