bugatti

2 hours ago, Randy Parker said:

You'd run faster if Cal would start Sheppard. 

Touché.

43 minutes ago, nikeman49 said:

Everyone that wants to, go ahead and joke about Shep, but him not starting on this basketball team will be the biggest joke in UK basketball history!! Bringing him off the bench 2-3 minutes into the games this season is absolutely stubborn, stupid and ridiculous and most people that know anything at all about basketball realize this especially with Wagner and Edward’s doing absolutely nothing for the better part of this entire season, so go ahead and have a great time with it.

I think you’re missing the entire point.  Zero people believe Sheppard is not one of UK’s best players and worthy of starting in a traditional sense. He’s awesome. And no, it’s not customary to have he and Dillingham checking in at the 17:43 mark of the first half. But, trying to say UK’s struggles are largely due to him - not necessarily playing more minutes (2nd most in SEC play) - but him being in the lineup at the tip, is like me saying I’m running slower because I’ve changed running shoes. Completely ignoring my weight gain and the fact I’ve gotten older. Him starting might be the correct thing to do… he would start if I were coaching. But it is far from UK’s biggest problems and ranks about 700 in Calipari’s coaching blunders through the years.

6 minutes ago, Voice of Reason said:

Here is my tweak for UK in the tournament. Double down on who you are - great offense, terrible defense. Go all offense to start the game. Starting lineup is Sheppard, Reeves, Edwards, Mitchell and Big Z. Put Dillingham with the defensive lineup of Wagner, Theiro and Ugo.

I like it!

Fun fact. UK would be 34-0 had Sheppard started every game this season.

Purely theoretical here...

Oddly, as the season progressed UK looked better on the road than at Rupp. It makes no sense. Last Friday was practically a home game; hence, why they played so badly. I am holding out hope the further from Lexington they are, the better. 🙂

30 minutes ago, REALSPORT said:

The advantage they have in their bracket is that their opponents have low defensive efficiency numbers as well.  Oakland, Texas Tech and NC State all have low defensive numbers.  UK's offense should carry then early.  Marquette is like 60th in defensive efficiency.  They can definitely beat UK but they aren't an elite defensive team.  Houston is elite.  I don't see UK winning that game.   

I get that, but I am not worried about UK scoring. I am worried about UK needing to get stops. Now maybe every other team is the same as UK (until Houston), but history shows if the game plan is to outscore everyone, they could just as easily go home in the next few days. Many are acting like this will be a waltz and we have no evidence of this.

And I am not saying Kentucky can't find its way through the bracket, but this team has given zero evidence it can manufacture enough stops. But it is the NCAA tournament, the most exciting tournament for all the wrong reasons, most notably the uncertainty of it all. Putting 18-20-year-old kids in weird arenas at weird times of the day, madness happens. In short, who knows?

42 minutes ago, REALSPORT said:

The bracket really favors them until a possible elite 8 match-up with Houston.  No reason the Cats shouldn't get there.

Are you kidding? I'll give you a big reason: they are putrid on defense. UK's top two draft talents are their worst on-ball defenders and a 4 mph wind could knock their post-defenders off the block. It's been a literal expressway to the rim half the season. I am looking at the opposite from all these "UK should make a run or the Final Four" people. I believe the other (potential) opponents, beginning Thursday, genuinely believe this team can be had if you bring the physicality to UK and licking their chops for a chance to play them.

53 minutes ago, Voice of Reason said:

The 3 teams that were not in the top 6 - who were they and what were they in KenPom?

2014 UConn was 40th*. I couldn't find the others. I assume the other UConn team from 2011 and probably Syracuse from 2003?

*I was looking at something different because 25th is later referenced.

32 minutes ago, MJAlltheWay24 said:

Saw a clip where Tom Crean was lighting coaches up for refusing to play in the NIT.

Saw that. I wonder if it was partly due to his former employer bypassing the invite so it was his chance to fire back at them. It is easy to take shots from the cheap seats. I do not support it, but I get it because the transfer portal opens today and procuring talent for next year's squad is much more important than playing an NIT game.

16 minutes ago, MJAlltheWay24 said:

And maybe Houston...whose only the best defensive team in the country. All this hyperbole about how far the Cats should go is just premptively setting people up to crucify Calipari if they don't make the Final Four, or even the Elite 8.

I like their chances to make a nice little run here. But so many people are acting like they've never watched this tournament before, which is named for its "Madness".

Exactly.

I am not saying I am happy with where things are with UK basketball, as a whole. But you would think the '23-'24 basketball team was a preseason top-5 squad the way some are acting. Based on pre-season rankings and national buzz, this team is about where we thought they would be if not a smidge better.

28 minutes ago, MJAlltheWay24 said:

I'd say it's pretty hot.

My phone was catching fire as I was typing that 🙂

Not sure how hot of take this is, but the women’s tournament is much more compelling than the men’s.

41 minutes ago, TheDeuce said:

Free money. 

Oh wow. I just saw 20-1 on ESPN.

13 minutes ago, 16thBBall Fan said:

West Region:

#1- North Carolina

#2- Arizona

#3- Baylor

#4- Alabama

I change my previous statement that the Midwest was the easiest I think it is the 2nd easiest. I think the West is the easiest.

There is history for the West traditionally being the “easiest” of the regions. It’s normally the last #1 seed and the fact the committee does their best to keep teams geographic. There simply isn’t enough teams west of the Mississippi to draw from.

3 minutes ago, DragonFire said:

I still feel the same as I have always felt about Kentucky - they can make the final four from this bracket, could lose pretty much any game along the way.  NC State is dangerous right there next to them.

Yeah, I’m taking this one game at a time.

Calipari returns to his hometown for the first weekend.
 

5 minutes ago, 16thBBall Fan said:

South Region: 

#1- Houston

#2- Marquette

#3- Kentucky

#4- Duke 

A good region tough for the Cats.

Again showing conference tournaments mean very little for seeding. I have no doubt had UK went 3-0 this weekend they would be in the same spot.

12 hours ago, Voice of Reason said:

I am hoping for a 4 seed for UK. 

4 seems about right. That’s about where they were before the UT result. Had they won Friday, it probably would have clinched a 3 seed, regardless of a Saturday or Sunday result. 

Just now, MJAlltheWay24 said:

I read it and you're right. The way our bigs protected the rim was disgustingly bad, which is kinds of wild cause often they were right there challenging.

Like you, not sure why we didn’t get more Bradshaw minutes. I assure you, he would have fouled 🙂 At the least, he would have provided some energy.

2 hours ago, Voice of Reason said:

And both were in the floor almost all of the last 12 minutes. UK down 4 and they didn't get it done. How many times did Sheppard get beat on drives to the basket? He MUST get better in man defense and stop getting beat on drives to the hoop.

Dillingham was better than Sheppard on defense last night. But Dillingham had 7 turnovers. Half the team's turnovers were by Dillingham. 

I am not sure UK can go with Dillingham and Sheppard on the floor together in the last 8 minutes of a close game.

They were both brutal. Sheppard was so bad it almost looked like he was intentionally funneling players to the rim. Unfortunately, Anthony Davis wasn’t protecting the paint.

Give A&M credit. That’s the type of team UK can’t deal with. In a 7 game series they would win it in 6.

53 minutes ago, TheDeuce said:

It was kinda crazy how easy A&M was getting buckets. 

When you got Sheppard and Dillingham guarding you out front, they teach a master class in how to be a matador.

Every single player had at least two “what in the hell are you thinking” plays in the ballgame. 

13 minutes ago, Breds82 said:

My son has said to many times to count, to me, “we should onto the sec tournament”. I’ve replied each time that I’m not dropping that kind of money when our HC says over and over again he doensnt care about the SEC tournament. That may be him just being insecure but the past history makes it seem true. 

I think it’s silly he’s had that attitude, but in fairness, we annually learn conference tournaments mean very little when it comes to seeding. So, I get it in that sense.

1 hour ago, Voice of Reason said:

What did Coach K's last 7 years look like? One final four. Lost 8 or 9 games a year most of those seasons.

My take on this is the model doesn't win titles. Duke and UK are in the same boat. With NIL and the transfer rules, experience is winning over the most talent. If half or more your rotation are freshmen, only a lot of luck will win a title. UK will test that this year if they keep playing how they are and better. But my thought now it is the one and done model that is the issue.

There is some truth to this. Coaches can be much more strategic in players they want to fit their system after seeing them in college for a year or two. But, it also depends on who the Freshmen are. Cooper Flagg as a senior in high school (who has reclassified) would easily be the top pick in this year's NBA draft. And it ain't close. Transformative talent will generally prevail, imo.

10 hours ago, Randy Parker said:

A-10 has been crazy today.  Top 4 seeds all fell (Richmond, Loyola, Dayton, & UMass), so the tournament semifinals feature the 5, 6, 7, & 9 seeds.

That's insane.