True Blue Kentucky

The Cats travel to Starkville, MS tonight to tackle the Mississippi State Bulldogs tonight in primetime action.  ESPN is carry tonight's game which starts at 9:00pm EST.  Here is a preview of the MSU Bulldogs.

Whats at Stake?

1. Conference Champions - Cats just need one more win to clinch a share of the SEC season title.

2. Tournament Seeding -  Cats still need to keep the pedal to the metal in conference play.  Three of the next four opponents are contenders to make the NCAA tournament.  An 0-3 record against those three could cost the Cats the top seed in the upcoming tourney.

3. State's Tournament Hopes - According to ESPN's recent "Bubble Watch," the Bulldogs Tournament hopes are in jeopardy.  A win tonight helps their case for a tournament bid.

Series History

UK holds an 80-18 series advantage over the Bulldogs.  The Cats have won the last three meetings between the two schools.  Two of the last three contests have went to overtime.

2011-2012 Season

Mississippi State has a record of 19-8(6-6).  They have lost their last three games to teams that are in bottom of the conference standings.  MSU has quality wins this season against West Virginia and at Vanderbilt.

Players to Watch

1. Dee Bost -  Bost may be the key tonight if MSU looks to pull off an upset.  He averages 15.8 points, 3.3 rebounds, and a team leading 5.0 assists per game.  Dee shoots 34.1% from three and 75.4% from the foul line.

A busy weekend is in store for Big Blue Nation as the Ole Miss Rebels come in to town to try to knock off the first place Kentucky Wildcats.  Let's preview what is on tap for Saturday's game at Rupp.

What's at Stake

1. SEC Season Championship -  UK just needs two more victories to claim at least a share of the SEC season crown.

2. Nerlens Noel - The high school phenom is schedule for his visit to Lexington this weekend.   His visit is crucial.

3. The winning streak -  Right now UK has won like eleventy billion (49 to be precise) straight home games.  Why stop now???

4. A number one seed - UK has punched their ticket to March's NCAA Tournament.  They are just now playing for a number 1 seed in the Big Dance.

Series History

Kentucky holds a staggering 98-13 advantage over the Rebs.

2011-2012 Season.

Ole Miss comes into Rupp with record of 15-10(5-6).  They had a decent non conference part of the season with a 10-4 record including a win over Miami.  The SEC has proved to be rather difficult for the Rebels.  Including last night's beatdown at the hands of Vandy, Ole Miss has lost 4 out of their last 6 SEC games.

Players to Watch

1. Terrance Henry - The senior big man averages 11.5 points and 4.6 rebounds per game.  He is a 30.2% shooter from three and a 69.7% shooter from the line.

Five games are all that remains in this magical season.  So far we have seen records broken, a ton of alley oops, and poor ole Digger get his panties all wadded up.  Yet we with all the fun, there is still some work to be done.  That work begins with the five games left in the season.

First things first.  UK is not on the bubble.  We will not have to sweat it out like several teams will this year.  Heck, only one point seperates from being undefeated.  While all that is great, Kentucky still has some tough games remaining.  So let's take a look at the Cats remaining season games.

Date:  Saturday, February 18,

Team:  Ole Miss Rebels

Location: Rupp

Ole Miss comes into Rupp after facing Vandy on a Thursday/Saturday slate.  Right now the Rebels have a record of 15-9(5-5).  Their quality wins are against Mississippi State and Arkansas.  They are led by junior Terrance Henry and freshman Dundrecous Nelson.

Date:  Tuesday, February 21

Team:  Mississippi State

So after a hard fought road victory you need to rest, right? Wrong! Reports from various sources across the internet have our very own "King of Camelot" taking in high school hoops tonight in the Windy City. One could only guess his focus is on 2013 #1 overall player Jabari Parker. With the recent reclassification of Nerlens Noel, Parker has risen to the top of the list of high school players for 2013. Parker is a dominant 6'7" forward for the number one team in the nation, Chicago's Simeon High School.

When you are a KY football coach you have to come to the realization that it is a tough job. Regardless of where you play football you simply don’t win without talent and recruiting is the lifeblood of every program. There is no other football conference as competitive as the SEC and the state of KY produces fewer D1 prospects then every other state that comprises the SEC conference. KY simply isn’t at a point where it can lure the best of the best HS talent to play for the Cats and there isn’t much home grown talent to pick from.Therefore, just like the Oakland As and in the movie Money Ball, KY coaches have to find a non-traditional way to get it done on the recruiting trail. The trick is finding under valued talent that can get the job done. When Joker was hired the first thing he did was build his staff with recruiters and coaches that had contacts with HS coaches they could trust. The key is to get on kids early and get them to February. We won’t know the full results for several years, but overall this was one of the deeper classes in KY history and very well could have been our best class in decades. This is the first blog breaking down the recruits in a little more detail and in-depth perspective about their recruitment.

The most important position on the football field is quarterback and KY signed two kids they really wanted. Both do different things but they both add important pieces to the puzzle.

Patrick Towles 6’5 242 LBS 4 star QB

Towles brings everything you want to the position of QB. He is big, he is mobile and he has both a powerful and accurate arm. He also brings all of the intangibles. He has great leadership skills as shown by the fact he was the first recruit to fax in his LOI. He is a winner as shown by his multiple state championships and he has the pedigree, his grandfather is HOF pitcher and US Senator Jim Bunning. The kid simply has everything you could possible want in a scholarship athlete. 

About his recruitment-Towles father and uncle graduated from the University of KY and he grew up a lifelong UK fan. Former UK QB J. Lorenzen coached him and there was very little doubt that he would be a wildcat. His recruitment ended early and Towles never waivered, not when UK struggled and not when other high profile teams like Arkansas came calling. This kid bleeds blue but Joker and Sanders proved they were worthy of his trust and commitment.

When will we see him? Like any first year college athlete it would be best to have him redshirt but I don’t think that will happen. Joker wants Towles to be the face of the program and frankly he has the physical skills and maturity to handle the position as a FR. What he doesn’t have is the experience of playing in a highly competitive HS conference. It will be a huge adjustment in complexity and speed so it will take time to adjust. Nonetheless, UK has some questions at QB both in terms of performance and health. Add in the fact that UK’s line is highly suspect at the OT position and its very likely we will see the need for more then one QB play. Preferable or not, I think Towles sees the field next year even though he has to wait until fall camp to get his first practice.

Jalen Whitlow 6’3 210 LBS QB/ATH

Whitlow solves a huge need for KY addig a legit running QB who can run and execute the Wildcat package. KY simply has to have the right fit and outside of Roark, UK really didn’t have anyone that could run the package the way UK needed it run. Whitlow gives KY that type of talent. Similar to Towels, Whitlow brings all the leadership skills you could want in a QB. He is intelligent, he works like no other and he instantly is one of the most explosive athletes on the team.

About his recruitment-Although Whitlow committed late UK had followed him for about a year. Sometimes when you are a school like KY you have to be sneaky with your recruitment. KY loved this kid all along but didn’t want to show our hand early and while some other positions had to be filled first UK was in a battle with Ole Miss and Arkansas State to secure his signature. Malzahn went so far as to have Cam Newton to call him to discuss how playing for him would benefit his development. I’m not sure the Ark State coach factored in, however, that Tee Martin coached Cam Newton and in the end Newton had to sing his praises as well.

When will we see him? I think we see him the first game as long as he develops. KY needs to be able to run some wildcat package and Whitlow can do it and I think he can do it well. He is talented enough to play some WR as well but expect to see UK get him worked in early focusing on the wildcat package similar to what you saw from M. Roark in the TN game. Hopefully when the same results.

Memorial Coliseum will be rocking as ESPN's Gameday will visit Saturday as a prelude to the UK/Vandy matchup.  The young Cats will be in one of the more hostile environments this season.  Do the Dores have what it takes to knock off the top ranked Cats?  Let's take a look in our preview of Vanderbilt.

What's At Stake.

1. UK would move down the rankings after a loss.

2. Vanderbilt's hope of winning the SEC.  The Dores are three games back now.  A win would help them pull closer.

3. Vanderbilt's tournament hopes.  Vandy still has some tough games left.  A win against UK would be a good tourney resume booster for them.  A pre-season tournament lock, Vandy is now on the bubble.

Series History

UK owns a 134-44 series domination over Vandy.  The Cats won the last meeting in Lexington last season 68-66.

2011-2012 Season

Vanderbilt is 17-7 (6-3) this season.  They have wins against Oregon, Marquette, NC State, and Alabama to name a few.  In past seasons they have been viturally unbeatable at home, but that has not been the case this season.  Vandy has home losses against Xavier, Indiana St, Mississippi State, and Cleveland State.  They have also been beaten by Louisville and Florida.

Players to Watch

1.  Jon Jenkins -  Umh, they have this fellow name Jenkins.  If you don't know him after the last two seasons, then you may want to learn about him quick.  Jenkins is one of the deadliest shooters in college basketball.  He averages 19.7 points a game and has hit 89 three pointers this season.  Jon shoots at a 44.3% average behind the line and at 84.6% from the free throw line.

Forget Duke and North Carolina.  The biggest game this week takes place tonight in Rupp Arena when 7th ranked Florida comes to town.  A lot is on the line tonight, so let's not waste time and look at the Gators.

What's At Stake

Three things are on the line tonight against Florida.  First of all, UK can own sole posession of first place with a win.  Florida would tie UK in the loss column with an upset tonight.  Second.  UK's number one ranking is at stake.  Well it is on every game they play.   A loss will send them down in the rankings.  Last.  UK's home winning streak of 48 straight wins is on the line.

Series History

Kentucky holds a commanding 90-33 lead against Florida.  The Cats have won the last two in a row including a 70-54 victory in last years SEC tournament championship game.

2011-2012 Season

Florida enters tonight's matchup with a 19-4 (7-1) record.  They have wins against Mississippi State, Florida State, Arizona, and Texas A&M.  Their losses include Ohio State, Syracuse, Rutgers, and Tennessee.

Players to Watch

1. Bradley Beal - UK is not the only SEC team with talented freshman.  Beal leads the Gators in minutes played.  He is second in scoring and third in rebounding at 14.3 and 6.1 per game.  The freshman guard shoots 34.5% from three and 74.3% from the line.

Tennesse comes into Rupp tonight trying to cool off the red hot Cats.  The Vols have revenge on their mind, so let us get down to business and preview what to expect tonight in SEC confernce play.

First Meeting

Behind MKG's 17 points and 12 rebounds, and Anthony Davis's 18 points, Kentucky came from behind to beat the Vols 65-62.   UK shot 42.9% from the floor and 40.0% from the arc.  The Cats out rebounded the Vols 37-35.  UT was led by Cameron Tatum who scored 16 and Jeronne Maymon who scored 15 points and had 10 rebounds.  The Vols shot 40.4% from the floor and 35.3% from three.  UT also committed 15 turnovers.

Series Standings

Kentucky holds a 147 to 66 advantage over the Vols.  The Cats have won 8 out of the last 10 against UT.

2011-2012 Season

The Vols got off to a rocky start, no pun intended.  They are 10-11 over all and 2-4 in the SEC.  The lost one day to Georgia and then beat a ranked UCONN team four days later.  They are very inconsistent

Players to Watch

Kentucky heads to Athens tonight to defend their newly number 1 ranking as the Cats and Dawgs do battle on ESPN.  Let's take a look at what the Cats can expect on their trip to Georgia.

Series History

Kentucky holds a 113-25 advantage over Georgia.  The Bulldogs, however,  won the last meeting in Athens 77-70.

2011-2012 Season

The Bulldogs have a record of 10-9 (1-4).  Their best win on the season came last week against Tennessee.  They have losses against California, Xavier, Alabama, and Cincinnatti.

Players to Watch

1. Kentavious Caldwell-Pope - The 6'4"  freshman leads Georgia in scoring at 14.7 points a game.  He is a 32.6% shooter from three, 63.2% shooter from the free throw line, and pulls down 5.1 rebounds per game.

2. Gerald Robinson - The senior averages 13.8 points, 3.5 rebounds, and 3.6 assists per game.  He shoots 30.8% from three and 79.1% from the line.