TheCatsDomain.Com Message Boards: What would it take to beat Kentucky?

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Posted by catmandoo (Member # 1284) on 12-21-2014, 06:45 PM:

Maybe 10 NBA players and a couple of ref's that hate Kentucky.

UCLA coach Steve Alford is right, Kentucky could well go unbeaten this year.

“In my 24 years of coaching, this is the best team I’ve coached against. This team is really, really good,” said Alford after UK blitzed his team Saturday in Chicago.

So with Louisville coming up this Saturday, what kind of team is it going to take to beat them?

“They’re a hard team to man, and we tried zoning, and that didn’t work. So we went man, and they’re a very difficult team to man because they’ve got very good inside out,” said Alford. “I would think if a team can come in with a lot of length and throw a zone out there that’s got length and really gets them out of the paint to where they have to shoot jump shot after jump shot, okay, and that might sound like a good game plan, but they rebound — for every two shots they take, they rebound one of them.

“It’s just a hard team to play against. I think their key is defensively. I really think this is a team that if you guard them well and they score 50 points and shoot 20 percent from the field, they still beat you because they hold you to 35. I just think that’s their makeup.

“This team is focused, it’s driven. There’s not a weakness on the team. It is, it wasn’t a fun team for me to watch today, but I’ll enjoy watching it the rest of the season, because it’s good basketball that’s really well coached with really good players.”

Link

Posted by catmandoo (Member # 1284) on 12-21-2014, 08:58 PM:

That is high praise coming from from a coach that was born with a basketball in his hand.

Posted by Trey Ball (Member # 332) on 12-22-2014, 12:39 AM:

Obviously UK is playing great, but I actually think there are 5 teams that I believe are capable of beating UK on a given night:

Virginia/Duke/Louisville/Wisconsin/Arizona

UK's two main Achilles heel are consistent perimeter shooting and cleaning the defensive glass.

I think there are some really good teams in college basketball this year.

Posted by Bama Cat (Member # 153) on 12-22-2014, 07:42 AM:

I have to agree on those 5 teams. The can all beat us if things go slightly wrong. But Louisville is the only one left on the schedule. I think a good number of those 5 teams will get knocked off on the way to the final 4 and we'll never have to face them. The can all be beat on a given night also and a lot of them will find that out.

Posted by boomdaddy (Member # 2644) on 12-22-2014, 08:01 AM:

Cal has his most experienced team by his standards at Kentucky. That being said, UK still puts a lot freshmen and sophomores out on the floor. They are dominating top ranked teams, with mostly freshmen and sophomores.

The question other teams should be asking is this:

How does any team beat Kentucky, when those young players get even better at the end of the season?

Posted by m hamilton (Member # 127) on 12-22-2014, 08:48 AM:

THe only way that I can see a team beating us is to be shooting lights out on a given night.
It's going to have to be a team that moves the ball with precision. Shooting lights out from the perimeter.

Show me GREAT outside shooting team. MAYBE!

Posted by m hamilton (Member # 127) on 12-22-2014, 09:58 AM:

John Gasaway, an ESPN analyst says the scary stat about KY is, "They're only giving up 32% on 2 point field goals!"

Posted by catmandoo (Member # 1284) on 12-23-2014, 12:08 AM:

Our offense is good but it's our defense that will make us the stand out.

Posted by catmandoo (Member # 1284) on 12-23-2014, 12:10 AM:

Once we get to SEC play there is no one that can stay with us.

Posted by catmandoo (Member # 1284) on 12-23-2014, 12:12 AM:

I don't think we will give many teams any good looks as our size alone will make us a special defensive team plus our athletic big men can move and jump out of the gym.

Posted by m hamilton (Member # 127) on 12-23-2014, 12:40 AM:

The nice thing about our size is once they've had a shot or two blocked by us they begin to second guess there shots inside and the begin altering their shots making it harder to make them.

Posted by catmandoo (Member # 1284) on 12-23-2014, 09:37 AM:

They play team basketball and it shows in our play.

Posted by WildcatFanatic (Member # 2932) on 12-23-2014, 09:50 AM:

This team is so much fun to watch I can't stand waiting a week to see them play again!

Posted by m hamilton (Member # 127) on 12-23-2014, 03:11 PM:

It does make it hard, Fantastic. They are a JOY to watch

Posted by m hamilton (Member # 127) on 12-23-2014, 03:58 PM:

Especially when you figure that we went like 3 weekends in a row where we played 3 games in 5 days.

Posted by catmandoo (Member # 1284) on 12-23-2014, 04:46 PM:

Exactly four days from now the game will be over.

Posted by catmandoo (Member # 1284) on 12-23-2014, 04:48 PM:

It's hard to schedule games around Christmas and rightfully so. I hope all the players got to spend a Merry Christmas with their families.

Posted by Bama Cat (Member # 153) on 12-23-2014, 05:16 PM:

I thought it from the get go but I was sure of it after the KS game. I talked myself into a 1 loss season at the beginning but after KS I just couldn't see a loss, unless we have a really really really bad game.

Posted by m hamilton (Member # 127) on 12-23-2014, 05:51 PM:

We might still end up with 1 loss. It could be that UL this weekend is just like the IU game of 2011.

Posted by m hamilton (Member # 127) on 12-23-2014, 05:52 PM:

I'm hoping not, but that's why they throw the ball up!

Posted by catmandoo (Member # 1284) on 12-23-2014, 07:18 PM:

The IU loss is one that never should have happened and never understood why we didn't call a time out before they threw the ball in to set up our defense.

Posted by catmandoo (Member # 1284) on 12-23-2014, 07:21 PM:

Playing them at their place is going to be a challenge, just hope we get some decent ref's to call the game. I would think however they will have a good crew for a game of this magnitude. If they call the game halfway close we win easy but if they get away with hacking us the whole game it could get dicey.

Posted by m hamilton (Member # 127) on 12-23-2014, 08:32 PM:

THe road game will be a huge challenge!

Posted by Bama Cat (Member # 153) on 12-23-2014, 08:50 PM:

I don't think they'll let it get rough fearing they could be causing a fight to break out. I expect them to call a lot of fouls on both teams but we have replacements for anyone that has fouls, they don't.

Posted by m hamilton (Member # 127) on 12-23-2014, 09:01 PM:

Ricky has gone deep in his bench tonight, but he's facing an opponent that he's been able to zone all night because they don't shoot three's and they zone UL right back and allowing the small white guards to shoot three pointers even.

Posted by m hamilton (Member # 127) on 12-23-2014, 09:01 PM:

CSNU has attempted 3 three pointes the entire night!

Posted by m hamilton (Member # 127) on 12-23-2014, 09:06 PM:

I was at my company Christmas party the night of the IU game. I recorded the game and never watched it. I think the Vandy game is the only game I saw them lose that year.

Posted by catmandoo (Member # 1284) on 12-23-2014, 10:39 PM:

Pitino had 5 players that played 25 minutes or more and 3 players that played 10-15 minutes a piece.

Posted by catmandoo (Member # 1284) on 12-23-2014, 10:49 PM:

It's interesting to hear that Pitino played a zone as you kcan bet he will play a pressing type offense a lot of the time against us. He may try and mix it up to keep us guessing. He is no dummy and you can bet he will have something up his sleeve. I wouldn't be surprised if he has something planned depending who we are playing. If we have Booker in they may press and when we have our big line up in he may zone and protect the middle. It will be interesting as he wants this win as much as any game he has ever coached, he doesn't like Cal one bit.

Posted by m hamilton (Member # 127) on 12-23-2014, 10:55 PM:

I think the feeling is mutual

Posted by catmandoo (Member # 1284) on 12-24-2014, 09:53 AM:

This game may be the epic game between the storied teams. I just hope it is a game where no won gets hurt and the best team wins and we all know who the best team is. Go Cats.

Posted by m hamilton (Member # 127) on 12-24-2014, 02:03 PM:

What will it take to beat KY?

You better hope everyone on KY is having a bad shooting night on the same night. Missing free throws and turning the ball over.

YOU ARE NOT, I REPEAT, NOT, GOING TO BEAT KY. ONLY KENTUCKY CAN BEAT KENTUCKY!!!

Posted by catmandoo (Member # 1284) on 12-24-2014, 02:22 PM:

In exactly 3 days from this very moment we will be playing Louisville and having a good lead.

Posted by m hamilton (Member # 127) on 12-24-2014, 02:35 PM:

Don't get my anxiety up already, CMD, I first have to get through Christmas!

Posted by catmandoo (Member # 1284) on 12-24-2014, 02:54 PM:

[Smile]

MH your the best UK fan I know and would really like to meet you.

Posted by catmandoo (Member # 1284) on 12-24-2014, 02:55 PM:

I think we should try to get TCD gathering before some of us get so old we couldn't make the trip.

Posted by m hamilton (Member # 127) on 12-24-2014, 02:56 PM:

It would be fun to get together with some of you guys.

Posted by catmandoo (Member # 1284) on 12-24-2014, 04:35 PM:

Hope so.

Posted by country cat (Member # 1774) on 12-25-2014, 06:37 AM:

i would love to meet all the members on this board----i might not always agree---but i love reading ever post

Posted by Old Norm (Member # 1482) on 12-25-2014, 09:57 AM:

If y'all want to meet me, we may better go ahead and get it set up. After all, I'll be 80 in the spring! I would take some planning and coordination.

Posted by catmandoo (Member # 1284) on 12-25-2014, 10:55 AM:

cc if we all agreed this would be a boring site but happy to say I don't think this site is "one bit" boring. [Wink]