by Zach Rosen
This game has become the late season focal point, the UConn of the conference schedule. The UNC of conference tournament seeding. UK fans have been waiting for this game since January 26th, when basketball royalty had finally felt the cushion of the throne of the collegiate landscape once again. The energy was electric all around the undefeated program and nothing but good karma had surrounded the team for the week leading up to this. From a wildly successful telethon in which over $1 million dollars was raised to support Haitian disaster relief to a call from the leader of the free world, momentum was so far on our side it went to the game in the team bus. Then the Cats took the court.
In what could only be described as an ugly game for the blue and white, they still managed to gain leads and score points, but with a little less than five minutes left to play in the game senior guard Devan Downey, AKA the littlest ‘Cock in the room, scored eight points in a row to put South Carolina up 54-51 and they never looked back. The pristine record had been desecrated and the air of invincibility had disappeared in the cold night.
Since then the team has rallied and have arguably been playing their best basketball of the season. The SEC conference is always a gauntlet of playing styles and match-up problems, and no win is guaranteed (unless you’re playing the roadkill that is LSU), but the reasons for losing to South Carolina are always baffling. But the biggest thorn in the proverbial paw of the lion is not pulled about by the mouse, it’s driven in further with rainbow bank shots and underhanded sprawling layups. Devan Downey is listed at 5’9″ which is so generous Oprah must have signed off on it, and has been a Cat killer for his entire career. The senior surprisingly hasn’t been punishing us as long as you would think, he transferred from Cincinnati after his freshman year after coach Bob Huggins was fired. But the former South Carolina high school player of the year returned home and waited on the bench for Dave “For the last time, I’m not the Crypt Keeper” Odom until he retired and left the reins to native Kentuckian Darrin Horn. Going from a walking corpse to a guy that looks like a mortician was a good move in sticking with the whole macabre theme, and Downey has thrived. If you care to remember the Billy Gillspie era, and judging by the groans across the internet you don’t, you’ll remember on January 31st, 2009 the diminutive Downey hit a game winning shot at Rupp that finally threw Kentucky out of the Top-25 and ultimately caused Billy Clyde’s drinking problem (HA yeah right).
But his history of torturing Big Blue fans seems to extend for ages, and tonight is our last (guaranteed) chance to put the pint-sized point guard in his place. And then there’s the Resolution. It’s the real world equivalent of GloboGym’s slogan “We’re better than you, and we know it”. Doesn’t that just sound douchey? The audacity to claim absolute superiority over the University of Kentucky should be enough to get your blood boiling, but emotions will have to be kept in check. So how are we going to beat them? Here’s what players and coaches are saying:
John Calipari:
“In most cases, when you want to hold the ball against a good defensive team, you aren’t going to score a whole lot. Then, it comes down to us offensively making the layups, making a few extra jumpers, making free throws, and then you create a gap. Then they have to make a choice. If I don’t like what’s happening or they are way sharper than we are, then maybe we’ll go into some other things that we have. Trapping, pressing more or trying to speed up play.”
Daniel Orton:
“Play better defensively. We all need to guard the pick and roll better, and do a better job getting offensive rebounds.”
DeAndre Liggins:
“They outrebounded us and we broke down defensively. We have to make up for it and not do that again.”
So when the ball tips this evening at 9 pm, remember; we may have lost the last few against them, but it’s still better than being from the armpit of America.
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