Kentucky Wildcats 5 for Monday: Wildcats in unfamiliar underdog role versus Ohio State
By Paul Jordan
It’s set in stone now. Kentucky will play the mighty, number one ranked Ohio State Buckeyes on Friday night at 9:45PM. Boy, it’s going to be a long week. The line opened in Vegas last night and Kentucky started as a four point underdog and as of now, the line has moved to about a six point underdog. And that is fine with me.
Kentucky is 2-0 in games where they were an underdog this season as they defeated both Louisville and Washington. As I mentioned on the podcast last night (which WILL be released later today), this is in stark contrast to last year’s game against West Virginia where the Mountaineers got to play the underdog card all week.
Look for the same from Calipari as there is no coach better at playing the disrespect card. And I would look for the line to move up even more in favor of Ohio State as the Buckeye blasted George Mason 98-66 last night. So get ready for tons of media reports on how Kentucky will be the next victim of the mighty Buckeye machine and John Calipari will be using that to fuel his team.
Apparently DeAndre Liggins likes to play with a chip on his shoulder as well. As we recall, Liggins was witness to the WVU players doing the John Wall dance last year after they upset the Wildcats. And he has a memory like an elephant. Check out Liggins after the game Saturday when he told the WVU players to “Do the John Wall now”.
Gotta love Liggins.
In case you missed it, Billy Clyde Gillispie is back in the saddle again. BCG has accepted the head coaching position at Texas Tech and will be formally announced on Wednesday morning. Billy Clyde reportedly has signed a five year deal. Hopefully this does work out for BCG and I personally wish him the best of luck.
Tom Leach has a theory on how Kentucky can beat the Buckeyes on Friday night. Team Speed. And he may be right. Having played the plodding style of the Big 10 all year, they probably have not faced a team with the team speed of Kentucky. Tom pointed out how VCU “ran circles” around Purdue and noted that this could be an opportunity for the Wildcats. It makes sense…..
And finally, this has to be one of my favorite videos of the weekend. Charles Barkley (who has been the main reason to watch the post and pre game shows) was trashing the Big East in front of an indignant Rick Pitino. You have to hand it to Barkley. He called the FSU win over Notre Dame, and it should be noted he picked UK in the Final Four to boot. Here, Pitino takes offense to Barkley picking a FSU win and Ricky P “is on record” saying that Notre Dame would not lose:
Ummmm Notre Dame lost to FSU 71-57. Advantage Barkley.
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