Calipari 1.20 - Cocks Go Downey On Cats

Well, hello there Big Blue Nation!

President Barack Obama and NBC Nightly News got the last laugh on the Boys in Blue and jinxed our undefeated season. Mr. President made the fatal error of saying Kentucky should be able to get by USC, as they posed no real threat to our 20th win. One thing is clear after tonight's result...........the season has begun.

Our fearless leaders were exposed tonight in Columbia as Kentucky-killer Devan Downey poured in 30 points (9-29 FG) to help Cocky get a huge win over the #1 Cats. South Carolina outhustled, outworked, and outplayed a top-ranked team that simply looked uninterested the entire night.

To the highlights:

• Big Cuz improved his draft stock tonight with another insane performance (27 points - 12 rebounds - 3 blocks, 9-10 FT). Cousins also played a season-high 34 minutes tonight, smashing his average of just over 20 minutes/game.
• Freak Show gave us some flashes of brilliance again, but they were few and far between. He finished with 19 points and four big turnovers.
• I'm all for Pat playing passive and roaming around the court, but at some point he has to get involved. A player of his stature cannot only take four shots in a game. It's as if he's been invisible during the last month. If that continues, so will the close games/losses.
• Darnell Dodson got eight shots. If he can get eight, you can get eight, Pat. He's definitely not scared to shoot.
  
• How many bunnies did we miss tonight?
• You simply cannot let a team with the size of South Carolina beat you on the boards. They got 20 offensive rebounds. TWENTY! We got a bit friskier at the end, but it too was little too late. The only intensity that we saw during the entire game was when it really started to look dire.
• Here's to hoping the Cocks don't shoot the ball well in Rupp, which is destined to happen. They shot 34% from the field and only 25% from 3-point range. Uh oh.

We all knew it was going to happen. We probably even knew it would be soon. But it always hurts when it does. In other words..................It is what it is.

Cats are 19-1 going to Nashville coming to Lex. Bring your A game fellas. We'll need it.

Go Cats.