by Paul Jordan
The biggest question that everyone had after Kentucky’s loss to South Carolina was how the young Cats would respond after adversity. Especially with the new media darling of the SEC, Vanderbilt, coming to town. The Commodores brought a 10 game winning streak and a 5-0 SEC record into Rupp Areana. The Commodores were looking to pull off back to back wins at Knoxville and Rupp Arena. Both teams would have to face an extra element in this SEC showdown today though: whistle happy refs who called a whopping 57 fouls in the 40 minutes of action.
As for the question of how Kentucky would respond, they responded quite nicely, thank you. DeMarcus Cousins got Kentucky off to a good start, scoring UK’s first two baskets and displaying some of the footwork that NBA scouts are drooling over. Cousins was actually the key to the early part of the game as he converted on three of four three point plays and UK stormed to a 26-13 lead just 10:00 into the game. For the naysayers, the game was in effect over at this point as Kentucky displayed great tenacity playing with the lead and never let the Commodores get the lead within single digits the rest of the way. Vandy would make runs and get it to 11 or so, but UK responded by pushing the lead back to 19 or so.
In reality, the officials ruined what could have been a very entertaining game, but with a foul being called about every :40 or so, it was hard for either team to really get into a rhythm. Both teams suffered from the fouls though (Vandy 29, UK 28) so it kept both teams at the same disadvantage. UK played with a lot more heart and hustle in this game as they were cohesive as a unit and dove on the floor after every loose ball and in general, outplayed the Commodores in every aspect of the game.
A look at the stats prove just that. UK won the rebounding battle 39-21 and had 18 offensive rebounds to just 3 for Vandy. Kentucky had 10 steals to just 3 for Vandy and UK nailed 12-23 3-pointers compared to just 5-15 for the ‘Dores.
Darnell Dodson was inserted into the starting lineup in place of Eric Bledsoe and responded. Dodson had 16 points and 7 rebounds and hit 4-8 3-pointers. DeAndre Liggins also played very well today and scored 9 points with 4 rebounds and 2 steals. Liggins is playing with a lot of heart and hustle right now and he plays very well no matter what other guards he is paired with. Patrick Patterson had 12 points and hit 3-4 3-pointers. I am beginning to think no player in college basketball can cover DeMarcus Cousins.He had 21 points and 10 boards, but more importantly hit 9-13 free throws. He is sending the message that if other teams foul him, he will convert.
John Wall had 12 points and 9 assists and set the UK freshman record for assists in a season. DeMarcus Cousins also broke the freshman record for double doubles in a season while the UK freshman class is tied with the 1979-80 freshman class as the second scoringest ever. (Thanks to Corey Price for those stats).
All in all a great win for UK. They had their backs against the wall and held off a very good team without too much trouble. They stormed out to a double digit lead and held it for 30 minutes and got great contributions from players that are fighting their way into the rotation. Kentucky has another tough game on Tuesday when Ole Miss comes into Rupp Arena. It’s a tough test for sure, but you get the feeling that no one is going to hang the “L” on UK at Rupp this season.
For complete game stats, go here.
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