Saturday Pop Quiz

It’s Saturday morning, let’s take a pop quiz! Here’s how it works: A question about the Cats will be asked and I will give you the correct answer with my “expert knowledge”.  Feel free to tell me if I’m wrong… if you dare! The questions will be layed out in a True/False or multiple choice format… Okay, ready? Here we go:

1.) True or False. Will the Cats knock out the Gators today?

Answer: True. Obviously I am taking the easy route here and going with the favorite, but don’t be fooled, this game is much tougher than it appears. UK has already defeated these boys twice this season by an average of 17.5 points. With that said, it is never easy to defeat a team three times in a year, especially a Billy Donovan coached team. Say what you want, but this team has been embarrassed twice by the Cats and they are going to do everything in their power to win this game. The reason I believe the Cats still pull it out is simple, too many weapons. We saw it yesterday, the Cats’ guards were silenced, but the frontcourt stepped up in a big way. Look for Anthony Davis to have another monster game, as Florida has yet to find an answer for him this year. Anthony’s averaging 19 points (17 of 26 from the field) and 6 blocks against the Gators this year. He had 12 points, 14 rebounds and 6 blocks yesterday in the win over LSU. 

2.) True or False: Kentucky has already locked up the #1 overall seed in the NCAA Tournament.

Answer: False. With Syracuse falling to Cincinnati many fans already think it is a lock that Kentucky has the overall #1 seed in the tournament. Not so fast. The Orange lost in the semi-finals of the Big East Tournament to a Cincinnati squad that could go on to win the whole tournamnet (as long as they take down “your friend and mine” the Louisville Cardinals tonight). So knowing that, let’s take a step back and look at this. If Kentucky falls today, each team will have two losses this season and have lost in the same round of their respective tournaments. So what does it come down to next?

Well, a couple of things: How bad is the Kentucky loss, are the regular season losses equal and who has had the tougher shedule. If the Cats lose a tight one, then I would say its a tie with those questions up until we get to that last question (Who has the tougher shedule?). Many Cats fans will say wins over UNC and Kansas are good enough, unfortunately I don’t believe that will be enough in the eyes of the committee. Just by playing in the Big East, I’m afraid the edge goes to Syracuse in this one and they will get the #1 overall seed. Don’t get me wrong, in my mind there is no doubt UK deserves the #1 overall, but the committee thinks differently. When it comes down to it, from a national perspective, the Big East is stronger than the SEC.

3.) If Anthony Davis gets into foul trouble, who will have to step up for Kentucky?

A. Terrence Jones
B. Darius Miller
C. Kyle Wiltjer
D. Eloy Vargas
E. None of the Above

Answer: E, None of the Above. Sorry, have to go with the None of the Above answer here. Honestly, I’m looking for Doron Lamb to come up huge in the tournament. He is virtually unguradable when he’s on. Lamb has ridiculous range from the outside (47.7% for the season), he can hit the floater in the lane and you want the ball in his hands at the end of the game (shooting 83% from the charity stripe). If the Cats can get this guy going it will open up everything else for them offensively. But lets not overlook one of the more important roles he fills for this squad, leadership. Teague has struggled some through parts of the season and especially yesterday (0-5 from the field and 4 turnovers). What Coach Cal has asked Lamb to do is fill in at the point guard spot when Teague is off. This offense needs a guy to facilitate the ball to all the playmakers, Lamb can do that. He can also take over games with his shot. To me, he can be that guy that hits the big shot late in games to either “seal the deal” or bring the Cats back. Look for Lamb!

So there it is, your Satruday morning pop quiz! Wasn’t too bad right?