Ohio State it is.
Well, that happened. Ohio State took George Mason to the woodshed, 98-66.
David Lighty and Jared Sullinger lit the fire on both ends, driving home the point that Ohio State can beat you from the inside and the outside. For the Cats to have a shot, they must put in their best performance from start to finish. Ohio State pounced on each George Mason mistake and thoroughly punished the Patriots. Yeah yeah, I hear you, Kentucky is in a different class than George Mason when it comes to talent, but this squad has been making errors the whole tournament and getting away with it. That won’t happen Friday.
Because today’s game was rather boring, the announcers spent a lot of time talking about how Kentucky matched up to Ohio State. And, surprisingly, it was Rick Pitino who pointed out that if there is a team in the tournament who could beat Ohio State, it’s Kentucky. Think about it: the Cats are the type of team that can give Ohio State fits with their up-tempo pace, defensive intensity, and impressive guard play. This Kentucky team plays best when it emphasizes its talent and athleticism in the open court. The Cats must control the tempo of the game, keeping Ohio State on their toes defensively (I’m looking at you, DeAndre Liggins) and capitalizing on fast break opportunities. Like BTI mentioned earlier, Brandon Knight must dominate; his performance yesterday was incredibly encouraging.
Jorts will have his hands full with Jared Sullinger in the middle, and hopefully Eloy can provide valuable minutes off the bench when he needs a break (although the thought of Eloy going up against Sullinger terrifies me). We’ll need more than one big three from Darius Miller and Doron Lamb must hustle on defense, an area in which he’s been lacking this season. Five DeAndre Liggins on defense wouldn’t hurt either.
Scared yet? Take heart in one thing: for the first time in forever, Kentucky will be the underdog. And no one wants to piss off the underdog.
118 Comments for Ohio State it is.
Free Enos!!
In time for the game!
Cats by 5!!!
Who do yo all think Liggins will be guarding? Craft off the bench, Lighty, Diebler? Darius Miller should have a big night offensively b/c he’s a match up nightmare for this game
I live in Ohio now (unfortunately). PLEASE PLEASE PLEASE CATS! Win this one please! I will wear my UK gear for a week straight around here if we win. Let’s show them that they should stick to football…
Cats must play their best game of the season so far. On the other hand OSU doesn’t have to be perfect.
All the Cats will need to show up for that game. If one or two have an off day, OSU will sniff it out and use it.
Should be a good one. If we can get by OSU, i think we win it all. Big if.
GO CATS!
If OSU hits 16/26 from 3 we are done for no matter what. Let’s hope the law of averages returns and they shoot it very poorly next game.
What time is the game?
And it all comes down to this. The big wins against the Big East, the great neutral court record, the SEC tournament championship. It all rides on Friday. Let’s not take this blow out win as the end all be all of Ohio State. They were defeated by Purdue and Wisconsin on the road, the were pushed by Northwestern (yes, Northwestern) and Penn State in the Big 10 tournament.
essentially it’s been home games for the Buckeyes the first two rounds. When they get to Newark, they will run into a Sea of Blue. Homecourt advantage will be gone.
Get it Done.
if we have to go out, cant think of a better place. give em hell and leave it all on the floor….
The key to the game in my opinion will definitely be Jones. Sullinger starts at the 4 and will guard Jones at the beginning of the game, so Jones will have to get out to a good start by taking Sullinger off the bounce. OSU has no one who can guard Jones and he has to play the way he did in Maui and against Notre Dame for the CATS to win! GO BIG BLUE!!!
4) Have you even watched Ohio St. play at all this year? Miller will struggle to score in this game mightily. He will most likely be guarded by David Lighty who is considered by many to be one of the top perimeter defenders in the country. How about you actually watch some basketball before you decide to chime in with a comment about something you obviously know little about.
Cats are 0-6 against OSU in the NCAA tournament, we are due and 7 is lucky.
Hey I wanted to look at what the TT folks were saying about the BCG hire for shits and gigs, and I stumbled upon this gem. This dude calls BCG “The Warrior” and says he will go from being a UK fan to a TT fan because of the hire.
http://mbd.scout.com/mb.aspx?s=188&f=1651&t=7338756
Lets just hope the refs dont try to protect Sullinger. If we get in foul trouble its gonna be a lonnnnng day. It seems like every team we play has a golden boy.
we got this !
Can’t have Miller and Jones disappear again.
13 just think, if Dre could hand check everybody he guards like Lighty and his teammates, he would be the best defender in the country hands down.
13. Your right I don’t watch any basketball… Sorry I made a mistake not realizing Lighty would be guarding Miller.. Since you know everything you should see if you can get a D1 coaching job DUMBF###!
We can’t beat this team.
Complete toss up in my book. Both teams play basically the same amount of ppl and the seasonal averages are practically the same. Its whoever wants it more. If I were Josh, I would tell everyone that this will not be my last game and everybody better play their tails off!(Im talking mainly about you Jones!) OSU is a good team, but the GM players might as well have been wearing OSU jerseys because they simply left shooters wide open and didnt play with a lot of intensity. I hope the CATS are the victors but wouldnt be ashamed to lose.
We only have to beat them once. I like the fact that our backs are against the wall.
13.Also, Your posotive Lighty will be guarding Miller? How do you know? Are u in the preparation meetings with the Ohio St. team? Sorry I have a life and haven’t had the time to study every D1 basketball team.. I watch Kentucky not every 1 else
I think we can play well and still get beat.
I like our underdog position. Hell, if we lose we were supposed to. If we win…………….yeah baby, we have made the largest step anyone could have imagined.
No way a team that has to put “The” in front of their name can beat UK. Mark it down UK wins
Liggins is coming…….and hells coming with him, we aint bringin no colonial league team
29 – Morehead, Morehead, Morehead
29..First spelling isn’t a UL strong suit -gotcha. Second, you should know all about brains being splattered since we have managed to do that to you all over our state. Just don’t confuse us with Loserville when facing quality teams. Now, shut up
Previous 29 Loserville troll deleted. Makes sense & thank you!
Hey 29… what was that that Morehead “splattered” all over you? And by the way, with your coach, I’d lay off any images of splattering anything.
bring it on.
Actually, Ms. Tyler, it was Kenny Smith who pointed out that KY could give OSU matchup problems. Pitino just stated the obvious.
Cant wait to hear what the talking heads on ESPN are going to say about this game.
Remember we have ballers as well. OSU better be ready to lace em up.
24) It’s common knowledge that Lighty will be guarding Miller. Ask any sensible college basketball fan and they will tell you the same. Now if Knight is to get really hot from the perimeter, Matta might have to put Lighty on him to try and contain him. But from the tip-off these will be the matchups on the UK offensive end: Lauderdale-Harrellson, Sullinger-Jones, Lighty-Miller, Diebler-Lamb, and Buford-Knight.
I like the fact Ohio State shot so well. The law of averages suggests they will not be nearly as hot. Classmates will pat them on the back all week as will the media. OSU is not that deep and foul trouble could play a part. We have a decent shot.
Liggins is one bad ass dude. I am ready for this. Cal likes the underdog role. We are a about to get Sh!+ right. I see ya E. Bledsoe
UK will be ready to play Friday … this game will be a war !!!
Hope the coaching staff goes over and over game films of the OS vs, Northwestern and OS vs Penn State games. Has to be something in them we can pick up on.
Its a war of the masses, outcomes disasterous. Many of the victim’s family saves the ashes.
Its the Blu Clan, Blu Clan
Blu Team Ain’t nuttin to mess with
plus, OSU can’t guard Knight and Lamb off the dribble …… we should have open 3’s
or layups alot. UK can get hot from 3 just like they can.
Anybody heard a time yet??
Let’s just do the opposite of last year’s WVU game. I sincerely think that if we hit our 20 first 3 point attempts, we win this game. There I said it!
Doron Lamb will be the hero of this game.
guys i love it…its rare for us to not be expected to win. the pressure is on them….we really have nothing to lose and i hope our guys can feel free and have their play reflect that. its so strange to feel such little pressure this time of year
A little perspective: http://sportsthat.blogspot.com/2011/03/its-not-impossible.html
And don’t forget everybody, our team seems to play up to the competition all year. 8-1 on a neutral floor this year and there will be A LOT of Blue in NJ. I for one cannot wait to see what happens. This team has lost twice. They can be beat.
#21 We can’t win this game? Are you kidding me? We can win this game in a multitude of ways. As long as we guard the three and try and make Sullinger (a freshmen) try and beat us I think we win by 8 points or more. We are more athletic than OSU and they haven’t run into this Kentucky team that is battle tested and doesn’t back down from anyone. I live in Ohio as well and am looking forward to our victory on Friday night.
I think Kentucky has a better chance than most people think. Is OSU going to be favored? Yes. Would I bet on Kentucky? No. But I have a feeling Kentucky is going to play them tough as hell. Go wildcats!
If OSU plays like they did today no team in college basketball could beat them.. That was an impressive showing from OSU… I just hope they cool off a little bit before Friday..
Leave it all on the court Cats! Winner goes on to win the Championship!
The game is Friday 710pm
This can be done. We got this. UK gonna beat them Suckeyes. You watch.
we match up so well with OSU its not even fair. our guards and forwards are going to be something they have never seen. they can have all the interior buckets they want but i think jones has something for the nonathletic sully. we keep them from raining 3s we win.
Best bet was for either Ohio State to lose or win big…the latter is fine…they can’t shoot this well again…and no home court advantage…we will play with chip on shoulder as well for the stupid 4 seed…look out Buckys
If we had Duke as our #1 seed, I would feel a lot more confident.
They have The
We have Thee
God Bless Kentucky
Ohio St did not look good in the Big Ten Tourney. They are now, but they have not played a good team.
I say a dog fight, GO CATS
Ms. Tyler, u nailed it….we gotta run.
Good game OSU
Free tatoos at any Columbus area Tatoo parlor in exchange for
Big Ten tourney trophy.
Rick Barnes strikes again!
Rick Barnes sucks. Look for him to be moving to NC State.
First of all, George Mason’s defense was absolutely terrible.
The worst I have seen all year. Kentucky is battle tested, if this game stays close, Ohio State gets tight and Wildcats pull this one out. BK is a nightmare match up for them.
I find it interesting that Ricky 2-Stacks wears his UK National Championship ring on his wedding ring finger… I guess the statement he is making is…”Basketball is my bride.” Wonder why he and his wife don’t live together anymore? However, as good Catholics…they could never get divorced…but I guess for the right coin they could get annuled.
VCU is putting a beat down on Purdue. Purdue was one of only 2 teams to beat OSU this season. We have the talent to win this game. Brandon Knight needs to control the tempo and keep turnovers to a minimum. I think you have to lockdown the perimeter and take your chances with the big guys down low.
Bring it on you blue bitches.
37) I disagree that it’s common knowledge Lighty would guard Miller, in fact I’d be surprised if he isnt checking Knight. For one, Knight is the guy you have to stop to beat us, two Miller can post Lighty all day. Dude has a point, Miller can post any of their wings if he stays aggressive. Lighty is only 6’5.
Does ANYONE know for certain what time the game is Friday!?
If Syracuse wins, it is going to look a Final Four: Ohio. St-UK and Cuse vs UNC
To the same point, they have no one to guard Jones, unless Sully wants to get in foul trouble.
Tipoff…..regardless of who wins between the Cuse/Quette, we are the marquee game. Second game, no doubt.
We are a powerhouse of a 3 seed. Why didn’t we get to play Tennessee?
I hope the media disses us all the way til game time, telling anyone who’ll listen how we don’t have a chance against OSU. I’m also glad that they won in a blowout today. Let ’em get fat and sassy. The bigger they are, the harder they fall.
I just do not see this UK team getting blown out by anyone. The only game they not got into was UCONN. I like the odds that this team will claw and claw to give itself a chance on winning. How many teams has this team been down by 8,9,10 or more points and comeback and make it game. This team will be hard to take down. If we go down, we will go down swinging. I just hope the damn officiating lets us play and does not dictate the game.
70) You and I both know that the refs won’t allow Jared “The GoldenBoy” Sullinger to get in foul trouble. He gets more calls than anyone I’ve seen since Tyler Hansbrough was at UNC.
It’s starting to look like the Big 10 was a cakewalk at this point
I know Sullinger is awful glad Kanter isn’t playing.
3 point defense is the key. Everybody talks about how great OSU is at shooting the three yet none of the teams they have faced rank in the top 100 in 3 point defense. The Cats have faced 9, 4 in the top 50. Both teams have allowed under 40% and the stats there are in UKs favor as the one thing about the SEC is that several teams have shot the 3 well not to mention Louisville and Notre Dame.
If the cats can neutralize the shooters and make Sullinger beat them I think they get it done.
Sullinger is glad Kanter is on the bench
oh and Jorts and Jones are strong enough to guard Sullinger. When Eloy is in the game his length might bother him as well. Don’t forget the weakside help for Jorts from Jones and Miller, both having 40+ blocks on the season.
I don’t believe any Overall Number 1 seed has won the Championship for like 15 years either.
Our team doesn’t have to do anything different from what they have been doing; defend, rebound, and make shots. We are good enough to match up to O.S. I believe we can and will win this game. Our fans just need to show up for this game. The wife and I went down to tampa last weekend now someone else pick me up and go to jersey. Let go CATS!!!
Syracuse going down.
Bring it CATS! If they want it they have to go through the Big Blue.
#79. I Totally Agree. Big east. Big least
SYRACUSE IS DONE! o yeaa, big east is clearly the best conference in history *rolls eyes*
Fsu gonna take down irish!!!!!
87.
They lost to a big East team.
Big East is mediorcrity beating up on mediocrity and people mistake that for parity. Having that many teams in and 3 (possibly 2 cause ND is looking shaky) making it to sweet 16 is pathetic. Most opportunity for losses, but most opportunity for wins as well and two years in a row they all go down early.
And somewhere the members of the selection committee are sitting around laughing, f***ing ass bags.
We very well may get embarassed in this game. It is funny how everyone says that we match up well with OSU, when the very thing that kills us is exactly what they have…a skilled, physical big man and good shooters…especially Diebler. I would feel much better if ALL our guys gave the effort of Harrellson…but the bottom line is that Harrellson (and I love the guy to death) will just be way physically overmatched this time out, and we have a couple of guys (Miller and Jones) who lack the heart and/or desire to overachieve. I wish that I could be positive about this game…but I just do not see us even competing with this team for more than about 10 minutes.
NCAA Committee did not start awarding Overall #1 seeds in the tournament until 2002 I believe and non of the overall #1 seeds have won it all not even the Hansbrough led UNC team in 2008. UNC was not overall #1 seed in 2009. Let’s hope that streak continues but we knock off The Ohio State Buckeyes and not North Carolina in Elite Eight. We are also long a do a win over Bucks in NCAA look at what happen with Huggins record versus Cal he owns him but Cats came out on top. Slow down the tempo run our stuff OSU only uses same number of players as us so foul situation could play some role. Go Cats leave it all on the floor anything is possible in March.
We’re pretty worried about this one. If we win, we won’t be allowed to flood Lakes Cumberland and Herrington, as well as Cave Run, with our fat ass women, our oil burning outboards, and our tube sock tans every summer. Not to mention the way we f++k up I=75 with our land yachts going 50 mph in the left lane. Old habits die hard. Maybe we should take a dive with this one.
#92….
You sound like a whiny little biotch… Stand up, gird your loins, and get ready for battle! Stop all this “meow” talk! We are the BIG BLUE NATION!
What’s the deal with all the negativity. Cats will have a challenge, and an opportunity in front of them, but they have the talent to pull this off!!
So Kentucky has to play their best game yet…….any doubt they can do it???
Not in my mind. They may be good, but they are still buckeyes. Go Cats!
I made the mistake of looking at Ohio State’s Scout.com message board. They’re all acting like they’re invincible. They’re obviously a great team, but to act like they’re invulnerable is ridiculous. I don’t have a whole lot of confidence in us to win that game, but we have at least a puncher’s chance of beating them. I’d love to see us come out and play like we’ve been disrespected all week.
In my opinion this game comes down to two things: making OSU beat us off the dribble (thereby containing perimeter opportunities) and Miller and Jones taking advantage of the relatively small OSU starting five. Both are entirely possible, though Miller’s tendency to disappear and Jones’ lack of consistent production and tendency to pout give OSU the advantage. Those two are clearly the key in my opinion…let Sullinger have a big day (like Ezeli for Vandy) and make the smaller OSU guys work hard guarding bigger players. If we can’t do this we will be soundly beaten.
i bet sullinger’s glad they didnt free Enes!!!!!!!!!!! i get so tired of hearing how good he is (i know he is) but our boy Enes still destroyed his fat ass when they went head to head.
Threebler! Go Bucks!
After Matta and crew thump you I cant wait to hear all of the “WELL IF WE HAD ANUS!” excuses.
Jorts>Sullinger
Tyler? That last line, “Scared yet?”
Seriously? Who should we ever be scared of? Nobody.
I think with our defense, we’ll be in the game regardless. Offensively, we have to shoot the 3 well like we have been and Jorts and TJones have to pull some offensive rebounds.
Ohio State should fear Jorts. He’s comin’, and Papa Jorts is coming too!!
Sullinger is going to get his, he is gonna get his 20-10, i dont think we have what it takes to stop that from happening. But with that being said, This years team plays the best perimeter defense i’ve seen from UK in a long long time, if we can avoid the momentary lapses our freshman occasionally and keep their shooters from shooting over 40% from 3 I think we’ll be right there at the end with a chance to win. If Sullinger gets his and we let their shooters get hot then its gonna be a long night. The room for error is small, but Kentucky most definitely has the talent to beat anyone in the country. Lets not forget Brandon Knight is somewhat of a superhero.
Sullinger is a big guy, but also mushy and not the most athletic guy in the world. Cal needs.to pick something to shut down, either the 3 or Sullinger. Can’t do both. I’d let fat ass get his and shut down the 3.
I would love to see Harrelson dominate Sullinger. Classic.
Ohio State may be the better team, but a team like UK will always have a chance against a Big Ten team…especially one that has struggled against mediocre opponents. OSU has some great wins, but they’re nowhere near invincible. Especially not against a team that likes to run and play aggressive defense.
I like to believe that we have a chance against anyone. There have been bigger upsets in this tournament than the cats whipping up on OSU would be. Head over Ville was a little more of a shocker I would think. If Knight plays like he did yesterday there is no doubt we can beat anyone, anywhere, anytime. The cats will come to play, I guarantee it.
101,102, spoke just like that little homo that you are. I say if we put the D on them let (golden boy) sullinger get his and we simply shut down the rest of the outside shots I feel we’ll have a great chance of winning. I mean c’mon an 11th seed VCU kicked the sh!t out of a “STRONG” 3 seed that they said would’ve been a #2 had they went to the championship game. The buckys hasn’t went up against this UK team….Personally I like our chances.
If there is one worry I have is how the refs are going to call this game, if they call it like they did for them tonight, and what I mean is if they get physical with our guards and not call them we could be in a little trouble…..
By the way Little Ricky called that the “Cuse was going to win b/c they are the best in the country…..Two words….Morehead State, you moron………… GO CATS!!!!!!!!
Lenard Hamilton kickin’ some Irish ass
We basically have to bring our A-game that we brought to the SEC championship, UL game, Notre Dame game, etc. If we do that, we can play with anybody. We cannot help defend the post from the perimeter, that is how they’ve been killing people. We need to only help on Sullinger from the weak post position. Our perimeter length is pretty good and something that could give them problems if we don’t give up open looks. I like how our guards match up.
Harrelson will be the best center he has faced from a basic skills standpoint, he doesn’t leave his feet and is very strong, sulli wont be knocking harrelson around like he does so many scinny centers they’ve faced thus far!
I hate to say it, but I think Ohio State will roll….it is their year. I know we all want the Cats to pull this out, but being a “fair and balanced” sports fan, I have to be honest. We are BIG underdogs here and we’ll have to play the game of our lives to even try to keep this within reach at the end.
I know liggins is ready to ham
Mattyice) you are a complete tool! Buford will be on miller. Lighty would get abused on the post against miller! Yes your right that lighty is a great perimeter defender which is why he will be on knight or lamb! Miller would post lighty up and shoot turn arounds all day on him! You might want to learn a little bit about basketball b4 you go bashing someone else’s comments! Whatta douche!!
Florida won it all as overall#1 in 07″. Some of our fans think they know everything cuz they listen to guys like gottlieb and bilas…. Lol whatta joke!
If our Cats take the role of an underdog seriously which I believe they will then I expect them to play like someone insulted their mother or sister. I’d rather almost be in position we are where everyone is expecting us to be blown out than mabe saying we should whip WVA like last year. I’ll take this one every time!!! Go Cats!!!
YOU GUYS FORGET ABOUT ME,THATS RIGHT DUKE IS BACK AGAIN FAVOR TO WIN IT….LISTEN CLOSELY AS IM GOING TO SAY THIS ONCE…. NO CHANCE IN BEATING OHIO STATE UK FANS….YOU GUYS MUST HAVE DREAM HARD LAST NIGHT…LOL DUKE # 1