2000! It's a celebration of the Wildcat spirit as UK dispatches Drexel 88-44

by Paul Jordan
The big knock on UK this season is that they have been playing down to the level of their opponents. Sure, UK plays inspired and starts well against UNC and UConn, but what about Miami (OH) and Stanford. In a sure sign that this team is maturing, UK brought their “A” game to a “B” opponent and it was pure and total domination. UK wanted to make sure there was no no unnecessary drama on their coronation as first team to 2000 wins and they handled the Drexel Dragons with surprising ease, 88-44.

Remember, this was a Drexel team that lost to then #3 Villanova by just 17 points. Tonight, it just took UK 7:16 to go up 18 at 25-7 when DeMarcus Cousins rebounded his own miss and slammed it home. Cousins started the game in true beast like fashion, scoring 8 of UK’s first 10 points. DeAndre Liggins added 2 3-pointers to put UK up 31-9 with at the midway point of the first half and you knew that the post game celebration was going to go on as planned.

The rest of the half got no better for Drexel and UK went in up at the half at 56-20. At this point, the scene at Rupp became eerily similar to Times Square on New Years Ever as the big clock stood at 20:00 and UK fans were counting down the minutes to the celebration. It did not help that Drexel came out ice cold in the second half and through default, UK had upped their lead to 66-20 before Drexel scored in the second half with 14:23 remaining in the game.

Calipari, proving he is no “jagoff” pulled the mercy switch on the game with the Cats up 78-29 and about 9:00 left in the game. It was good to see the “rest” of the Wildcats get some face time and they played out the clock and the streamers and confetti covered Rupp Arena a la Times Square. All in all, a solid night for UK’s “big three”. Cousins and Patterson both had 18 points and Cousins had 13 boards to just one for Patterson. Wall threw in 16 points and 7 assists. It was the team stats that was really impressive in. It was a 9-13 3 point shooting night, a 42-21 rebounding advantage and have we noticed that UK has been 35-37 from the line the last two games? For complete game stats, go here.

Yea, I know that was kind of a lame game summary, but for tonight at least, it was about the destination and not the journey. UK, after a few years away from the national scene, is enjoying the rarefied air as college basketball’s all time wins leader. The Big Blue Nation is as united as it has been in about 11 years or so, and for tonight, everyone celebrated our birthright, Kentucky basketball with a passion.

It’s one thing to see Joe B Hall, Kyle Macy, or Kenny Walker’s eyes well up with tears. These guys have been Wildcats for decades. But to see DeMarcus Cousins and John Wall, Wildcats for just 12 games, fighting unsuccessfully to hold back the tears, you get an idea of how truly special it is to be a Wildcat. You could see it as the generations came together as one, whether it was John Wall talking to Joe B Hall, or Patrick Patterson embracing the family of Bill Keightley. You start to realize that the Wildcat bond that people share as important and vital as the bonds we share with our own families.

Tonight was a celebration of UK basketball and it was a perfect opportunity for a sometimes beleagured Wildcat Nation to stop worrying for once and enjoy the moment. If you had asked the BBN 7 months ago, it would have come with a pessimistic answer. Now, instead of looking behind us at North Carolina and worrying, Wildcat fans are looking at UCLA and trying to figure out much we can dig into their championships lead.

The race to 3000 is on.

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