Kentucky escapes Vanderbilt, 58-56

The No. 2 Kentucky Wildcats overcame a poor outside shooting night to hold off the No. 15 Vanderbilt Commodores, 58-56.

John Wall’s biggest play of the night didn’t come on offense, but rather blocking a potential game-winning shot.

The Wildcats still almost allowed Vanderbilt to come back and win thanks to some poor free-throw shooting.

Wall had a tough night offensively, making just three field goals and finishing with only 13 points.

The Wildcats and Commodores both struggled mightily with their shooting, as both had trouble finding the bottom of the net.

Friday, February 26, 2010 at 7:37 pm by steve

Kentucky survives in OT, 81-75

The No. 2 Kentucky Wildcats survived with an 81-75 overtime victory over the host Mississippi State Bulldogs.

It was a battle from the tip-off, as it became clear that the Bulldogs would not back down and would take full advantage of feeding off of their hostile environment.

Kentucky continued to plug away, and it was freshman John Wall wh completely took over the game.

Wall came up just short of a triple-double, finishing with 18 points, 10 rebounds and 8 assists.

DeMarcus Cousins said that it was probably the toughest place the team has had to play in all season long.

Friday, February 19, 2010 at 4:57 pm by steve

Cousins Receives Racist Messages

The cardinal rule of being an athlete: If your phone number somehow gets posted to the public, get ready to change that number…fast.

Somehow, Mississippi State fans got a hand on freshman DeMarcus Cousins’ cell phone number and posted it online this past weekend, which led to a plethora of calls and text messages to Cousins in advance of tonight’s game between the two teams.

Mississippi State fans went below the belt as well, as Cousins admitted that some fans used the N-word in their derogatory calls and texts.

“It started right after the [the game Saturday night]… and I got called the N-word, some Bs,” Cousins said. [...] “I’m going to change it after the game, I want to see what they have to say,” Cousins said to laughter from reporters. Asked what his reaction was to the phone calls, Cousins said, “It kind of made me mad in the beginning, but now I’m answering the phone having conversations with them.”

At least Cousins has maintained a good spirit about the whole incident.

Wednesday, February 17, 2010 at 12:17 am by bryan

Kentucky holds off Mississippi, 85-75

The No. 3 Kentucky Wildcats took care of business at home with an 85-75 victory over the Mississippi Rebels.

The Wildcats built a nine-point lead by halftime and then comfortably cruised to the finish line.

It also didn’t hurt that the Wildcats were on fire from the outside, knocking down nine of their 19 three-point attempts.

Head coach John Calipari has tried to keep his team from relying too much on the outside shot and to utilize their inside game.

Freshman phenom John Wall overcame offcourt distractions to lead Kentucky with 17 points and seven assists.

Saturday, February 6, 2010 at 10:42 am by steve

Wall not happy with Calipari

Kentucky Wildcats freshman phenom John Wall was not pleased with his head coach following their loss to South Carolina.

After the win over Vanderbilt, Wall said that he tries to not listen to his coach and just goes and plays his game.

Wall later admitted that his frustration had boiled over and his comments were a sign of a lack of maturity.

He went on to say that he loves Calipari and any issues the two had have been cleared up by now.

This doesn’t look like a major problem simply because Calipari typically runs a loose ship and is used to these kinds of kids.

Friday, February 5, 2010 at 10:47 am by steve

How John Wall Got His Groove Back

Just days after ESPN.com had a front-page story suggesting that freshman phenom point guard John Wall may finally be hitting the “freshman wall,” the consensus No.1 overall pick in this year’s upcoming draft reminded everyone why they’ve been blown away in the first place.

Wall scored 17 points and dished out seven assists in 36 minutes to lead the No.3 Wildcats over Ole Miss on Tuesday night, 85-75.

“I like to make plays, get the crowd into it,” Wall said. “I still have a lot of work to do. I just want to be the floor general. This is the best I’ve done running the team this year.”

Not only did Wall and the ‘Cats get back on track after losing their first game of the season last week (to South Carolina), but Wall found himself on the receiving end of a beautiful alley-oop from freshman teammate Eric Bledsoe that was named Sportscenter’s Top Play last night.

“It felt great to have the fun back,” Wall said.

Wall wasn’t the only one having fun on Tuesday. DeMarcus Cousins, another of Kentucky’s vaunted freshmen, posted his fifth straight double-double with 18 points and 13 boards. Meanwhile, Darnell Dodson added 14 points and Patrick Patterson’s, the team’s best hold-over from last season, added 12 points and six boards for the ‘Cats.

Wednesday, February 3, 2010 at 8:21 pm by bryan