John Wall #11 of the Kentucky Wildcats shoots the ball while defended by Marcus Ginyard #1 of the North Carolina Tar Heels during the game on December 5, 2009 at Rupp Arena in Lexington, Kentucky. Kentucky won 68-66. (Photo by Andy Lyons/Getty Images) Andy Lyons
No.5 Kentucky edges No.10 North Carolina
Big Cuz talked a big game but didn’t put up much to show for it. He’ll have plenty of chances to redeem himself, though.
It was a hell of a game. I looked and the Cats were up by 19.
Half time came and went and suddenly the Cats were no longer taking it to them. Wall, apparently, had cramps. #54 held it down, but, no one else stepped up while Blue Jesus was out.
Finally, though, Eric Bledsoe took advantage of opportunity and iced his free throws and Wall came back in time to to help putt he game away. EB and JW put the final touches on a nice win by hitting 5 of 6 in the final 30 seconds as the Cats held off the Tar Heels.
A nice halt to a 5 game skid that began back in the days of TLT and continued through the lunacy that was Billy Gillispie.
Excellent Game Guys. Wish I could have watched it. AFN doesn’t think that College Basketball is very popular overseas, so I’ll have to catch it tomorrow on tape delay. Better late than never though.
Thanksfully, the guys at Wildcatnation.net kept me up to date throughout the game. If the game was half as frantic as the chat room, tape delay probably saved me a heart attack.
GO BIG BLUE!
LEXINGTON, Ky. (AP) – John Calipari’s rebuilding project at
Kentucky is ahead of schedule.
Patrick Patterson added 19 points and seven rebounds for Kentucky (8-0), which snapped a five-game losing streak to the Tar Heels (7-2) and inched closer to becoming the first program to reach 2,000 victories. The Wildcats have 1,996, while North Carolina has 1,991.
Deon Thompson led North Carolina with 14 points and Will Graves added 13, but the Tar Heels‘ second-half rally stalled in the final minutes.
Wall and fellow freshman Eric Bledsoe made sure of it, making 5 of 6 free throws in the last 30 seconds after North Carolina had trimmed a 19-point deficit to two.
Freshman star John Wall shook off a leg injury to finish with 16 points, including the clinching free throws with 4 seconds remaining, and the fifth-ranked Wildcats held off No. 10 North Carolina 68-66 on Saturday.
| Player |
Game |
|
FGM-A |
FTM-A |
3PM-A |
Off
Reb |
Def
Reb |
Tot
Reb |
Ast |
|
|
|
PF |
Pts |
| E Bledsoe |
2-7 |
5-6 |
0-2 |
0 |
1 |
1 |
1 |
|
|
|
4 |
9 |
| P Patterson |
8-12 |
2-2 |
1-1 |
2 |
5 |
7 |
0 |
|
|
|
1 |
19 |
| D Miller |
3-7 |
0-0 |
2-5 |
1 |
2 |
3 |
1 |
|
|
|
0 |
8 |
| D Cousins |
2-7 |
1-5 |
0-0 |
1 |
4 |
5 |
0 |
|
|
|
4 |
5 |
| J Wall |
5-10 |
5-7 |
1-2 |
0 |
5 |
5 |
7 |
|
|
|
2 |
16 |
| P Stevenson |
0-0 |
0-0 |
0-0 |
0 |
1 |
1 |
1 |
|
|
|
1 |
0 |
| D Orton |
0-2 |
0-0 |
0-0 |
0 |
3 |
3 |
1 |
|
|
|
4 |
0 |
| D Dodson |
3-7 |
1-2 |
2-6 |
2 |
3 |
5 |
0 |
|
|
|
1 |
9 |
| R Harris |
1-2 |
0-0 |
0-0 |
2 |
1 |
3 |
2 |
|
|
|
0 |
2 |
| Totals |
24-54
(.444) |
14-22
(.636) |
6-16
(.375) |
8 |
25 |
33 |
13 |
|
|
|
17 |
68 |
Team Rebounds: 11
The win pushed Kentucky’s victory total to 1,996, just head of North Carolina’s 1,991. Not that the Wildcats were concerned with history.
The win pushed Kentucky’s victory total to 1,996, just head of North Carolina’s 1,991. Not that the Wildcats were concerned with history.
‘You guys are going to say I’m crazy, but I’m happy with the way it played out,” said coach John Calipari. ”We let the other team come at us. We gave up way too many (3s) but I’m proud of my guys. We did what we needed to do. We had just enough.”
The win pushed Kentucky’s victory total to 1,996, just head of North Carolina’s 1,991. Not that the Wildcats were concerned with history.
For a team whose motto is ”envy our past, fear our future,” the first signature win of Calipari’s tenure proved his rebuilding job is well ahead of schedule.
”I hope it just gives people some respect for us that we’re a pretty good team,” Wall said. ”We did what we were supposed to, come out with a win against a great team.”
Consider North Carolina coach Roy Williams convinced, particularly after the Wildcats took control with an explosive 28-2 run in the first half.
”You’ve got to give them congratulations, they really kicked our butts,” Williams said. ”They just ran us out of the gym.”
The Block heard round the world!
