Kentucky Sports Radio
[Moderated by Matt Jones]
[Moderated by Matt Jones]
Ok, let’s make this quick. Matt’s internet is acting up and I should have gone to bed about 4 hours ago so what you’re about to see is quite possibly the briefest news and views of all-time. But, we couldn’t let the day slip by without acknowledging the 35th birthday of Tiffani (please don’t call me Amber anymore) Thiessen. That’s right, Kelly Kapowski is well on her way to 40, which makes me feel a little outdated. For people my age, Saved by the Bell is the ultimate pop culture reference and I’d bet a good portion of my generation could quote or summarize just about every single episode. And, let’s be honest, that show gave us all a little Kapowski-fever. So, I’m not ashamed to say that it’s her birthday and I’m so excited….I’m soo excited…I’m soo…..scared. Of getting old.
Ok, onto a few quick notes:
- The message boards were aflutter tonight while I was away over Jeff Goodman’s article stating that the SEC is down this year. Well, I’d say so. But, Goodman goes on to add that “Kentucky would be fortunate to finish in the top 8 of the Big East” despite the fact that they lost on a lucky buzzer-beater to the team that, unfortunately, is probably far and away the best team in the conference. Well, Jeff, I’m not so sure about that. As we’ve covered a number of times this year, polls in college basketball really don’t mean a whole lot because they’re based on opinions and we all know those are like certain exit points of one’s body. But, that’s what this blog is based on too, so get your nose plugs ready. Here is my opinion.
The Big East is incredibly overrated. And, it’s not even close. The reason that the Big East gets so much love nationally is because….it got so much love nationally before the season started. So, much like the Big 12 football used to do in the early 2000s, they beat up on each other and don’t move in the rankings because “they lost to the #15 team in the country”. But, with college basketball’s parity - especially this year - outside of about 5 teams, you’re going to find a lot of balance the rest of the way. Here is how I see the Cats stacking up in the Big East:
I guarantee you that UK would blow out these teams:
DePaul
Rutgers
Seton Hall
St Johns
South Florida
Cincinnati
They would win these games:
West Virginia (already did)
Providence
Syracuse
Notre Dame
Villanova
I’d say they’re 50/50 in these:
Pitt
Georgetown
Marquette
Probably lose:
Louisville
UConn
So, if you look at this crude estimate (hey, we’re rushing this, remember?), I’d say it would take a disaster for the Cats to finish 8th or worse and being “fortunate” to be in the top 8 is downright absurd. If they play well (which, outside of the Auburn game they have), they’re in the top 5 of the Big East. So, Jeff, you’re wrong. Or, at least that’s what I think. Feel free to stink up the joint with your opinions below.
- If you’re jonesing for some high school basketball, make sure to check out Da Toilet on the deuce this evening. That’s right, everyone’s favorite Facebook updater, Terrence Boyd and his San Diego High team (featuring U of L commit and top 2010 player Jeremy Tyler) will be facing Rivals’ #10 player in the class of 2009, Renardo Sidney. The game will start at 9:30 on ESPN2. *UPDATE: I guess Terrence Boyd was ruled ineligible last week. I must have missed that while I was trying to avoid getting layed off at the end of the month.
- Pop on over to NCAA.com for a piece on the stellar duo of Jodie Meeks and Patrick Patterson. And, no mention of any rules violations by Gillispie.
- According to the UK blog, Gillispie and his crew went through a light practice today, walking through Alabama’s offensive and defensive sets. Gillispie said that this also allowed Patrick Patterson to rest that injured middle finger of his. Also, I’d advise Patterson to avoid both Nicholasville Road and all of Tampa this week before the Super Bowl week. Those are two places that finger won’t get any rest.
That’s it for now. Stay tuned throughout the day as we get back in the groove and get you prepared for the weekend and those low down, dirty snitches from Tuscaloosa. See you in a few…
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January 23rd, 2009 at 12:37 am
You left off Villanova, but I’m guessing they’re in the probable win section.
January 23rd, 2009 at 12:38 am
Dang, I remember that show from back in the day. I always thought she was hot….how I thought she was in a get-up like that is beyond me.
Low standards I guess.
January 23rd, 2009 at 12:38 am
Good call.
January 23rd, 2009 at 12:53 am
I also find it kinda surprising you have UK as a 50/50 shot at beating Pitt. They’re a very good team, I reckon the center for Pitt would walk all over Stevenson, lol. No offense to perry of course.
January 23rd, 2009 at 1:01 am
Okay no way UK beats Nova or Notre Dame with ease…Pitt is not a likely win and G-town not a likely win…UK isnt quite to that level yet, maybe by the end of the year. Id like to see how u see them matching up with the ACC as well..The ACC is Number 1 in the RPI
January 23rd, 2009 at 1:10 am
there is no chance in hell we would beat pittsburgh, probably not syracuse either. we just beat auburn by 9 on our home floor. we are better than last year, but saying we would most likely only lose to 2 big east teams is crazy.
January 23rd, 2009 at 1:10 am
Kelly Kapowski…possibly the person ever.
January 23rd, 2009 at 1:24 am
hottest* person ever. My bad, I’m just stoned.
January 23rd, 2009 at 1:43 am
i agree, but on the other hand, it’s the same thing they say about the sec in football every year. And i know that it’s won the past 3 championships but, let’s face it, the championship is more chosen than played for in football.
January 23rd, 2009 at 1:46 am
I just turned 36 Monday Beisner and I refuse to go along with the “well on my way to 40″ crap. 40 is a long way away for me.
Why do we continue to feed hits to Goodman when he has continued to print anti UK comments simply to increase readers. For someone who thinks we are not worthy of comment anymore, he can’t seem to help throwing us into every article. I promise you if he were to go a year without bashing us he would not get near as many hits on his stories. He knows what he is doing, STOP LINKING HIS STORIES!
January 23rd, 2009 at 2:17 am
This Big East thing is the same thing I’ve been tellin my UL buddies for a week. And G-Towns HOME loss to West Va. just proves all you said. WVU didn’t even have mazzula 9their starting point guard).
And Notre Dame is in the midst of what will be a 5 game skid. They are slow and play no defense #5. And Nova/MU have no answer for PPatt.
January 23rd, 2009 at 2:19 am
Besides… Notre Dame plays no defense. If they get hot we struggle, but we’d beat them 7 of 10 times.
January 23rd, 2009 at 3:24 am
We would beat Georgetown.
January 23rd, 2009 at 4:42 am
I think that we have done better than some give us credit for. Yes, we lost to Louisville on their home court. But, if you factor in the home court advantage that is usually considered of 4 or 4.5 points, then that means we won that game by a point or so. Played on a neutral court, we would have been the winner by this evaluation. I think that if everybody is pumped and really comes with their A game, we are a very tough out. Go Cats!
January 23rd, 2009 at 4:49 am
Isn’t Boyd ineligible? So how would he play tonight?
January 23rd, 2009 at 4:55 am
Why should Patterson avoid Nicholasville Rd. all of this week before the Super Bowl Week? Is something special gonna happen on Nicholasville Rd.? Clue me in someone, please.
January 23rd, 2009 at 6:58 am
Goodman needs to be ignored!!! Leave him in obscurity and he’ll change his tune.
January 23rd, 2009 at 7:39 am
Then why didn’t UK blow out an auburn team that is worse than South Florida?
Also, hasn’t UK only beaten four teams with a winning record?
January 23rd, 2009 at 7:48 am
Without clicking on the link, isn’t that Jessie?
January 23rd, 2009 at 7:58 am
You might need to utilize the finger if you drive on Nicholasville Rd?
I loved Saved by the Bell, sadly enough my friend and I use that quote all the time!(I’m allowed, I’m a girl)
January 23rd, 2009 at 8:00 am
18, Auburn would easily beat South Florida.
What is Villanova’s best win? Beating St. Joseph’s by 3? And they’re #20?
Pitt was #1 and their best win was what? Texas Tech?
Notre Dame has a one-point win over Texas and a whole lot of tiny schools victories.
The fact of the matter is that it’s absurd to say that UK would be “fortunate” to finish 8th in the Big East when so many of their teams are clearly paper champions at this point.
19, you’re a good man
January 23rd, 2009 at 8:07 am
Why wouldn’t we beat Georgetown? I think we have 2 common opponents (Tennessee and West Virginia). We fared much better in those matchups.
January 23rd, 2009 at 8:27 am
beisner, you’re right. nicholasville is a disaster..something along the same lines as jeff goodmans “statement”-making journalism
January 23rd, 2009 at 8:28 am
whats the latest on John Wall????? WE need him!!
January 23rd, 2009 at 8:31 am
The Big East is definitely the best conference in the country and the SEC is down. Those 2 points are hard to refute. I for one don’t get too upset about the other teams in the SEC sucking. In fact, I prefer that Florida and Tennessee suck every year. As long as Kentucky is plygin up to its own standards, I’m fine. We’re not there yet, but we’re getting there.
January 23rd, 2009 at 8:40 am
Goodman how’s Beisner’s opinion taste?
January 23rd, 2009 at 8:44 am
I have always loved this site and it has always been the first place to go for good UK news but the information on here as of late is pathetic… Last week you were making fun of Pittsnogle, a player that led WVU farther than anyone did at UK in those year, and now you are saying UK would only lose 2 games in the Big East… I love UK and they are playing great right now but they tend to not play well in big games against ranked opponents. I imagine they would do the same against ranked BE opponents.. the WVU win was bad basketball on both sides, I’d love to see them play again
January 23rd, 2009 at 8:49 am
Let me help you here…
I guarantee you that UK would blow out these teams:
DePaul
Rutgers
Seton Hall
St Johns
South Florida
They would win these games:
Cincinnati
West Virginia (already did) (I’m only giving you this due to head to head, I still think this is a 50/50 based on how they are playing now)
I’d say they’re 50/50 in these:
Providence
Notre Dame
Probably lose:
Villanova
Syracuse
Pitt
Georgetown
Marquette
Louisville
UConn
January 23rd, 2009 at 8:58 am
Wait, wait. You mean to tell me that Matt almost fired the most popular blogger winner?? That’s garbage Beisner! You need to tell that arrogant law prick that you make things happen around here and if he doesn’t appreciate you Maggard will reward your skills!!
January 23rd, 2009 at 9:02 am
People are drinking the ESPN kool-aid when it comes to the Big East. They are definitely the best conference but that doesn’t mean they would all crush us.
Take a look at some of their non conference schedules and you will see why all of them have great records. If people thought we played a lot of cupcakes take a look at teams like Pittsburgh in non conference. They played NO ONE!
January 23rd, 2009 at 9:03 am
Syracuse is flying under the radar right now. They are either feast or famine….meaning they’ll beat you down or get whipped. The couple times i’ve watched them play they looked like a dangerous tourny team.
My sleeper is Marquette. No way you have that backcourt and don’t have a good season. Come March they are an extremely tough team to match up against. Given our recent history with them I don’t particularly like em but you got to give credit where it’s due.
And well Pitt is Pitt and same goes for Uconn. The rest of the Big Least is too inconsistent and fickle.
January 23rd, 2009 at 9:03 am
I’d say Beisner is pretty much right on as far as who we would beat.
19 Yep, it’s the one where Jessie overdoses on caffeine pills and Zach comes over to console her… that’s when she says that line. - I’m pathetic for knowing that.
January 23rd, 2009 at 9:05 am
Syracuse beats us for sure
January 23rd, 2009 at 9:07 am
29 - as lucrative as I’m sure Beisner’s “contract” with this site is, I don’t think that’s where he was worried about getting canned from.
I challenge anyone to Saved by the Bell trivia…you’ll go down like Craig Strand to Zack Morris on a Malibu Sands night, or perhaps like Needick to Slater. Yes, I know, I’m a huge douche.
January 23rd, 2009 at 9:10 am
34. Ah. Well in that case I suppose I owe Matt an apology for the “arrogant law prick” comment. Sorry man.
January 23rd, 2009 at 9:10 am
Also, debate: Kelly Kapowski vs Valerie Malone.
I think Tiffani (I’ll always call you Amber) Thiessen is actually the perfect combination of the two and part of the reason that some 15 yrs later I still love her and think she’s one of the hottest chicks out there. Tiff, call me.
January 23rd, 2009 at 9:10 am
If I was filling out my Bracket and Pitt was a 1 or 2 seed, I guarantee they will be the first 1 or 2 seed to get knocked out.
January 23rd, 2009 at 9:18 am
29) LOL. If Breisner goes, I GO! BREISNER RULES!
January 23rd, 2009 at 9:18 am
Kelly Kapowski is way better, can’t stand Valerie!
January 23rd, 2009 at 9:21 am
37) Yeah, EFF Pitt. I picked them to go to the Final Four last year and Memphis ate their lunch. I will forver hate Pitt for destroying my bracket!
January 23rd, 2009 at 9:31 am
I’m never surprised by the assumed expertice that sports journalists contiually shower us fans with. They are nothing more than glorified weathermen predicting bad weather for a conference that, for anyone who pays attention, does nothing but go out and compete every night. Sure we aren’t dripping from the lips of Bilas or Seth Davis, but we’ll be the teams that no one wants to play come March (thats hoping that we garner enough respect to get a few teams in!)
January 23rd, 2009 at 9:31 am
Remember people: When you have Jodie Meeks you can beat anybody!!!
January 23rd, 2009 at 9:32 am
http://rivals.yahoo.com/ncaa/basketball/news;_ylt=AoXH_vqfKZ_mL6wnh4Tl 4YjevbYF?slug=jn-meeks012309&prov=yhoo&type=lgns
here is a great article on the fame Jodie Meeks has received just on campus.
January 23rd, 2009 at 9:35 am
Beisner added a little Update in his article about he guess Boyd
was ruled ineligble last week.
Yeah becaue I told him that he was in post #15. I should get some
credit. LOL
January 23rd, 2009 at 9:49 am
27 and everyone else, Beisner never said we would only lose 2 games in the Big East. He said we would most likely lose 2-5 and I’m sure he would acknowledge that garunteed wins on paper aren’t so garunteed on the court. I say we would probably lose 4-6 games in the Big East.
January 23rd, 2009 at 9:53 am
i have to say Jeff Goodman is UK enemy #1 these days. i hate that downs baby.
January 23rd, 2009 at 9:54 am
Common… Louisville is a probable loss? I think UK has a shot of beating any Big East team, especially at home. I don’t see how you can say we’re 50/50 on beating Pitt and Georgetown, but would probably lose to Louisville and UConn. We came very close to beating Louisville on their home floor and would have won that game at Rupp, probably going away. I think any UK team has a shot of beating a top 10 team at Rupp.
January 23rd, 2009 at 9:54 am
28, no. Georgetown and Marquette both lost to UT. UK beat UT on the road by 18. So saying we couldnt beat those two is just unfounded opinion based on nothing. We already beat WVU, scoring only 16 in the first half and having 20+ turnovers. Nova isn’t that good, Syracuse and UF played to the wire on a neutral floor. Pitt hasn’t proven anything, and didn’t fare as well as UK did at UL, and UL shot the best they have shot all year in that game (still) and needed a 25 footer to win it. UConn is tough, but UK matches up very well with them and they have been very inconsistent. A game that close could come down to free throws, and UK is one of the best there.
The BigE is a great conference, but alot of the hype is media created with the inflated rankings. No matter how much they lose, they stay in.
As far as ACC, I put us behind UNC. That’s it. If you don’t think we would split a home/home with Duke and Wake you are just blind. Anyone who watched the Miami game, knows we would beat them now easily.
Ultimately, there is no way to decide this, but I can’t wait to see people so surprised that the SEC and UK are better than ESPN thinks.
January 23rd, 2009 at 10:02 am
43) Thanks, that was a great read.
January 23rd, 2009 at 10:07 am
thanks, 43. excellent article.
January 23rd, 2009 at 10:18 am
Boyd is in serious trouble. Apparently he and his unemployed mom have been living in a luxery $2400/month condo since he’s been in San Diego. He is now being investigated.
January 23rd, 2009 at 10:19 am
48-First off, how many times does someone have to disprove the comparitive score method for analyzing teams before you realize it is not a valid way of doing it.
Second off, Louisville pretty much dominated UK for 38 minutes of our game, no, it wasn’t by 20 points but UK only took the lead once in the second half, for one second…. Pitt on the other hand had us on the ropes throughout the game and was on the verge of opening it up had we not made our run with 8 minutes to go. Just because Pitt lost by 6 and UK lost by 3, doesn’t mean UK played UL better then Pitt did.
Third, I’d be interested to see how in the heck you think UK matches up with a deep and taleented UConn team or how Pitt hasn’t proven anything. If you watch basketball, you can watch these teams and see how good they are. Now mind you, I walked away from the UK game w/ a lot of respect for your team, but I stand by my #28 post… and thats not a slap at UK, even finishing 8-10 in the Big East, they would still make the NCAA’s and probably be better prepared for it then they will be given their current SEC schedule.
January 23rd, 2009 at 10:55 am
No way is Louisville a “definite loss.” I mean, yeah, we definitely lost, but I would hardly call a last second twenty five footer buzzer beater a sign that we would defintely lose to them if we played again.
January 23rd, 2009 at 11:02 am
It’s a point that can’t be argued without opinion, and the only facts we have are scores to actual games. UL played above their average level of play against UK and held on to win it. They played their average game (39% field, 65% ft) and still beat Pitt by a better margin. Take a look at UL numbers against UK, and how bad it could have been had they shot what they shot against Pitt. And please don’t talk about defense, UK is one of the top 15 defensive efficiency teams in the nation.
I like UConn’s team, one of the best in the nation. I just believe that their strengths will not exploit UK’s weaknesses. You need quick guards that can get to the rim, make 3’s, and pressure the snot out of our guards. I think their strength is their inside, like ours. And they may be one player better than UK at this point. But I like the matchup, if we are going to play a #1 seed this year, they are my pick, win or lose.
January 23rd, 2009 at 11:13 am
I’m not trying to bash UL or the BigE. I am strongly refuting the idea that UK couldn’t compete in that league. If UL can, UK can because the difference between the two teams isn’t that big.
Louisville beat Ole Miss by 9, UK by 3
Syracuse beat UF by 6 (and they shot 32 free throws to UF’s 13)
UT beat GTown by 12, Marquette by 12
Vandy beat USF by 19
UK beat WVU by 11
WVU beat Ole Miss by 2
January 23rd, 2009 at 11:14 am
Like I said, if your gonna base your outputs on simply the final score of a ball game, then you have missed 39 minutes and 59 seconds of play. I watched both games multiple times, and even an average basektball fan would be able to tell you, regardless of fandom, that Pitt played UL tougher, w/o question. You can spend all day comparing 6 points to 3 points and so on and so forth, but Pitt simply is better then UK, its not a knock on UK, Pitt is rated #4 in the country for a reason.
UConn… have you seen them play… or better yet, have you watched college basketball at all this year…. their guards are pretty well known for those of us that have paid attention.
January 23rd, 2009 at 11:41 am
As sweet as gutting KY with a last second shot was, I wish we’d just finished the game right and blown you all out. It’s given way too much confidence to a team with 2 starters.I’m not saying KY is a bad team, but at this juncture we really won’t know until they get into the tourney and play another decent team.
Let’s try it another way. In pitino’s second year Tennesse beat the crap out of us for 39 minutes. In the last minute or so we managed to go on a 9-0, 10-0 run to win the game. Now were we really better than Tenn, or did we get fortunate to make a game out of it.
Or how about this…let’s see how many teams are even able to narrow that much of a gap in the last few minutes. My guess would be it happens in less than 5% of the games. So while yes, it’s really neat to see so many cat’s fans thumping their chests over a loss to us, I think the first 38 minutes were much more indicative of the talent gap between the two teams than the last 2. We also played a majority of the game without samuels due to foul trouble while Patrick patterson made it through 38 minutes with 2 fouls. That’s fine, but last year in Rupp when Patterson was in foul trouble, you guys had nothing else. We still found a way to over come that to win the game.
Meeks and Patterson are great players, no doubt. I love meeks game, Patterson is fantastic on the boards, and they both really seem like great kids. But the fact is you got nothing behind them, and if one of them has a bad night you’re in trouble. Hell patterson had a career night and you still barely beat Auburn at home.
Finally, since “Media Bias” is the other favorite phrase out of the UK broken record spin machine there are currently 8 big east teams sitting higher than UK in the RPI, and 6 higher than them in the Pomeroy standings. So perhaps lucky to finish in the top 8 isn’t all that much of an exageration.
January 23rd, 2009 at 11:44 am
Nich RD is pretty bad. It’s where calm drivers go to die. Big redneck trucks and Asians in Toyotas all cutting each other off many times, for no reason AT ALL…” You can’t go any faster than anyone else in traffic you friggin tards! ! ! /rant
January 23rd, 2009 at 1:34 pm
So i guess we can mark VMI down for a top 5 Big East finish too right?
January 23rd, 2009 at 1:36 pm
57 — Comparing last year to this is not a fair comparison. Louisville was much better team than they are this season and UK was in their first season under Billy G. The rest of your argument you pretty much contradict any point you were trying to make. If I played the “what if” arguments for every game UK played, I’m certain I could come out with a different outcome for almost every close game.
Ie: How about the fact that UofL as a team had shot the ball extremely poor from the three point line prior to their game with UK, then all the sudden they shoot 50+%? You don’t think UofL gave UK their best game of the season to that point? Of course they did. If UofL is such a dominant team as you imply, then they SHOULD HAVE blown UK away, but they couldn’t. I think UK had SOMETHING to do with the outcome. I believe UK would have won convincingly at Rupp, but like your comments, it has very little meaning since it didn’t happen that way.
January 23rd, 2009 at 1:38 pm
Why does this page come up each time I come to this site during the day? Has there been a change in formats?
January 23rd, 2009 at 3:55 pm
I can not WAIT till tourney time. Kentucky is going to shut a lot of mouths. I HATE LOUISVILLE - a freakin 25 foot shot at the buzzer is what it came down to. kentucky played UL CLOSE and we made our share of mistakes. Slick Rick sold what was left of his soul for that shot. A wing and a prayer - thats what it came down to. Damn Louisville. Until we meet again…….