WBN 4PM Headlines: Time for the Cards
By Jason Marcum
Now that the Lamar game is over, the Cats can put all of their focus on the annual UK-UL matchup, which for the first time in the series of the history will feature both teams being ranked in the top-5. The loser of this game will enter the new year with two losses, and a lot of questions yet to be answered and work needing to be done. The winner will have a ton of positive momentum going into conference play, and will be in good shape for a #1 seed in the NCAA tournament. Here’s what some of UK’s players had to say about the matchup:
Terrence Jones
“Louisville picking up its first loss does nothing to diminish the aura of the game. The rivalry and the game, it being Kentucky vs. Louisville, is going to make it what it’s going to be whether they were undefeated or not.”
Marquis Teague
“I just want to come out like any other game and play hard and win. I want to play well and win. I did almost go there, but I’m here. Players have told me about the rivalry. I heard in previous years that is has been really intense. We know how important this game can be.”
Michael Kidd-Gilchrist
“I know that these types of games can get very physical. But I’m going to see Saturday. I’m going to have a lot of fun with Louisville.”
Darius Miller
“We’ve got to treat it like another game. We can’t get caught up in all that anyways. That’s probably for the best. I know everybody around here and everybody in Louisville is going to be going crazy. We’ve got to try to tune all that out and make sure we know what he need to do and come out ready to play.”
And on the opposing side, here’s what Rick Pitino had to say on facing UK:
“I think Kentucky’s the better basketball team right now so running up and down and trying to outscore Kentucky I think would be a futile attempt to try to get a W.”
That’s been the widespread belief on this game, so I fully expect to see Pitino make every attempt to slow down the game and make this a game in the 60s. UL plays 8-10 players per game, and he’ll most likely have those 8-10th players in the rotation foul UK players on fast break attempts to prevent UK from running up and down the court on offense. UK’s players will have to stay patient and not force anything if they want to avoid playing into Pitino’s hand.
Don’t Expect Birch at UK
When Khem Birch announced he was transferring from Pittsburgh midseason, there was a lot of speculation that he wanted to come to UK and play for John Calipari. Who doesn’t? Well, he finally opened up today about what schools he is considering transferring to, and UK is not one of them. The former 5* power forward told CBS that he will transfer to either Florida, UNLV, Gonzaga, Washington, Xavier or New Mexico State.
CBS Still Has UK Players High on POY Rankings
CBS writers Jeff Goodman and Gary Parrish of CBS Sports updated their Play of the Year Award standings, and still in the top 3 are UK players Anthony Davis and Michael Kidd-Gilchrist:
1. Anthony Davis, Kentucky (Last Week: 1): 11.6 ppg, 10.2 rpg, 4.5 bpg, 62.6 FG%
Davis’ scoring has dipped the last few games, but he’s picked up it on the defensive end. Davis is averaging 12.8 boards and 4.8 blocks his last four.
3. Michael Kidd-Gilchrist, Kentucky (Last Week: 3): 13.5 ppg, 6.8 rpg, 54.1 FG%
He’s missed a grand total of two shots in the last two games, averaging 16.5 points, 6.5 rebounds and 4.0 assists during that span.
They also note that Anthony Davis is leading all freshman in rebounds per game at 10.2 rpg. This awrad is also a good indicator on who is currently favored to win the illustrious Naismith College Player of the Year Award, which is college basketball’s equivalent of the Heisman Trophy, and which no UK player has ever won.