Voice of Reason

You are locked into your view so no need to belabor the arguments. However, I will say I don't think I have seen Reed Sheppard panic on a play this entire season.

Also, Probst laid the hammer down on quitting at Tribal. He was not letting Jelinsky get off the hook on how he quit. I think the quitters last season still gnaw at Probst. He is having none of that going forward on Survivor.

That Tribal should be called dumb and dumber. Have two people fighting to stay in the game ever made dumber arguments than Jelinsky and Jess? Those two both talked their way out. Fortunately for Jess, Jelinsky was the dumber of dumb and dumber.

Responses in bold above.

Tennessee's last 4 SEC games are Auburn, Alabama, South Carolina and UK.

Cal had a funny comment. He said all he could see in that arena was white shirts. Everyone had white shirts. But at the end of the game the crowd was chanting "Go Big Blue". Where were all those fans? Somehow Big Blue Nation always shows up.

If we want to change the starting lineup, my vote is start Z at center.

Good prediction @se7ens!

What do you disagree with? I agree with you on Sheppard. He has grown into that status. But he isn't the player you called "consistent scorer", is he? He didn't score in double digits the 3 games prior to last night. I agree he is not a role player at this point in the season. But everyone else is.

One consistent scorer and the rest are role players describes the whole roster.

We'll agree to disagree on a chunk of this. Cal doesn't control every play or misplay that his players make. Ugo's foul is not on Cal. Sheppard's stupid turnover is not on Cal. Reed needs to break the habit of jumping in the air and passing the ball. He does that far too often and it too often becomes a turnover. Going into that game Z would be one of the last players anyone expected to be a factor. Way too physical a game and bad matchups. Z got tossed around like a rag doll a half dozen times. But Z showed toughness and that he can contribute in a physical game. I agree with you that Z earned minutes going forward with his play in this game. Kudos to Cal for sticking with him through the misplays and learning Z got last night.

Because they are winning big games with that starting five?

Amen, brother. And while we're at it, fantastic coaching by Cal throughout that game.

That win was as good for UK as Alabama in some ways. Beat a very physical team. Come from behind against that team. Closed out a close game on the road. All that was huge for postseason momentum.

It took longer than usual but injuries and a deep roster of talent impacted that. At this point though, I think Cal knows who can do what and how the pieces can work together. Usually Cal would have his 7 or 8 man rotation in place. Not with this team. I don't think there is a 7 or 8 man rotation. As talented as the roster is, there are no proven complete players. I think Mitchell is there if healthy. Sheppard and Edwards are close. Everyone else's role from game to game depends on matchups and how they are performing in that particular game. I don't know if there has been any other UK team under Cal that has deep tournament potential that will rely more on how Cal makes it fit together on a game by game basis.

If T doesn't get a long term contract, it will be because T doesn't want to be in Cincinnati. With the increase in the salary cap, the money is there for a long term deal.

This was the final confirmation of Duke's coaching transition. If Coach K were still the coach, Filipowski would have taken the charge there. ______________________________ Side note for you. Did you know Filipowski's older brother is a UL grad?

This win moved UK up 5 spots in the NET rankings to #19.

That's exactly what I was wondering about. Thanks.

Has St. X lost any meets in the past 36 years?

Z did some good things. He is fun to watch on offense. He is pathetic on defense. He plays straight up, has slow feet and has no physicality. He is weak and slow. He is terrible defending the pick and roll. If this was a close game, he would have played 2 or 3 minutes.

Awesome game overall. This is not a complaint, but I think Cal missed an opportunity in this game. The last 8-10 minutes the Cats fell into old habits. The same things that got them beat against LSU. Alabama shot 56% in the game. That is a problem. I know it is tough to maintain focus and intensity when you are leading by 30. But Cal should have used the 8 minute timeout to say we are winning this game by 30. Stay focused. No old habits on defense. This is a game where you learn to put a team away and stay focused when you have a big lead.

No way Bluto can pass on that opportunity!

Refs ruining a fun afternoon. Just leave the floor and let the teams finish this game out It’s just AAU/street ball at this point anyway. Someone steal the pea out of those whistles.

Give Cal credit for playing Ivisic like this today. He saw something that told him Ivisic needed minutes today.