your #4 University of Kentucky Wildcats marched out to a 17-point halftime lead on their way to beating Vanderbilt, 84-70. The significance of this game is it’s the last time Big Blue came out of Nashville with a win. Five years, people. FIVE YEARS! Vanderbilt. Seriously? And after dominating the first half, Kentucky still needed a 14-2 second half run to get the final margin. The win pushed UK to 17-2 on the season, along with an undefeated 8-0 record in conference. Big Blue was led by senior great Chuck Hayes (15 points - 13 rebounds - 3 assists - 2 steals - 1 block) and his new Hannibal Lecter mask. He broke his nose a few games earlier at Tennessee when I’m sure something dirty happened to our Modesto-native. Hayes said it was the first time he had felt completely comfortable in his new face garb. Kelenna Azubuike (15 points - 5 rebounds), Johnny Rondo (14 points - 8 assists), and Booger Sparks (15 points - 4 steals) helped Chuck put a hurting on the Commies in half one. Hopefully Coach Cal will have The Boys ready to break this disturbing streak a few weeks from now. If there was ever a team to......... (gasp)........... beat Vandy in Nashville, this is it. If not, then it might not ever happen again.......DUM-Dum-Dum.

your #6 University of Kentucky Wildcats manhandled the newly annointed #1 team in the nation, the Florida Gators, 70-55, in front of a record-breaking Rupp Arena crowd. From the tip, Florida looked like a deer in headlights as anything and everything they did went woefully wrong. The Cats had one of the most complete 20:00 spurts of basketball in recent memory as they humiliated an “elite” team. At the end of the day, all Kentucky did was expose them for the frauds they were, building 45-22 lead by halftime. A suffocating defense, an endless barrage of three-pointers, and multiple fast breaks built the lead to 60-31 by the midway point of the second half. The Cats were called off, allowing the Gators to make the score respectable, but the damage was done. Kentucky was led by Keith Bogans (15 points - all in the first half), Gerald Fitch (14 points - 7 rebounds), Erik Daniels (12 points - 5 rebounds), Cliff Hawkins (4 points - 8 assists), and Chuck Hayes (9 points - 8 rebounds). The performance was so incredible, Tubby’s Cats only attempted three free throws all night. Enjoy.

your #9 University of Kentucky Wildcats scored the game’s final 11 points to snatch away a win from the Florida Gators in Gainesville. Florida led 65-57 with under three minutes remaining and looked to be on its way to giving UK its first losing streak in two years. But the losing streak would have to be put on hold, as some veterans made some key plays to get us over the hump. Kelenna Azubuike drained a three-pointer after Erik Daniels got an offensive rebound, cutting the lead to five. After two Daniels free throws, a few poor plays from Florida’s Christian Drejer, and two more free throws via Chuck Hayes, the lead was down to one. Cliff Hawkins then picked off a cross-court pass and took it in for a layup to give Big Blue the lead for good. Daniels led the way with 22 points, Gerald Fitch added 10, Azubuike and Hawkins each had nine points, and Antwain Barbour added eight off the bench for the balanced offensive attack. And while the Cats were 19-39 from the field, much of the damage was done on the charity stripe (26-40). The Wildcat defense held Florida to only one field goal in the final 6:41 of the second half.

your University of Kentucky Wildcats led by phenom first year head coach Billy Clyde Gillispie used toughness and grit to squeeze out a win against perennial powerhouse Georgia, 61-55. The amazing thing about the win was that it was accomplished without three of its best players: Ramel Bradley, Joe Crawford, and Jodie Meeks. In essence we had no backcourt down the stretch, with the exceptions of Michael Porter and Derrick Jasper, who had a shredded up knee. Joe actually played 31 minutes (9-15 FG, 5-6 3PM - 26 points - 5 rebounds) , but his feet were giving him problems once again and had to sit down the stretch. Ramel got blasted on a fast break by Georgia’s goon, Dave Bliss, and left the game with a concussion. Poor Smooth was seeing all tweet-tweet. Jodie’s sports hernia left him out of action for the entire game. So what did we do to counter of all of the injuries? We told our all-world big man, freshman Patrick Patterson, to take over and end this nonsense. Pat finished his first trip to Athens with 16 points (8-13 FG) and six rebounds. Cat-killer Sundiata Gaines led the way for the Bulldogs.

a freshman phenom came out on fire to lead your #14 University of Kentucky Wildcats to a 81-68 beatdown of hated rival Tennessee. Keith Bogans scored 16 of Kentucky’s first 23 points, including four 3-pointers in the first 10 minutes to energize the usually sleepy Rupp Arena crowd. He ended with a career high 25 points (8-17 FG, 4-9 3PM - 5 rebounds - 2 assists - 2 steals). Tayshaun Prince (6-9 FG, 3-4 3PM - 17 points - 6 rebounds) and the most popular player ever to wear #11, Saul Smith (12 points - 6 rebounds - 5 assists), added some firepower as well. The win was UK’s 12th in its past 13 games (16-5) and put them all alone atop the SEC East at 6-1. After starting the season 4-4 and dropping from the rankings across the board, Big Blue used the Tubby stare and some key play from the freshman (Bogans), a lanky sophomore (Tayshaun Prince), and an eighth-year senior (Jamaal Magloire). The 1999-2000 season was Tubby Smith’s first “10 loss” team. The #6 Vols were led by former Kentucky recruit Vincent Yarborough (17 points), but dropped to 18-3, 6-2 in the SEC.

Melvin Turpin had a game for the ages, but no one else helped out as the #10 Cats dropped a tough road game in Knoxville. Turpin scored 42 points on 18-22 shooting from the field in what was a Top 10 scoring performance in program history. The Big Dipper added 12 rebounds and four blocks to boot. Future NBA All-Star Dale Ellis led the way for the Volunteers with 22 points - 6 rebounds - 3 assists - 3 steals. No other player on Kentucky’s roster scored over five points in the game (Derrick Hord). The loss was the fifth on the season to go with 13 wins, a record Joe B. Hall wasn’t too thrilled to have. The Cats were missing All-American center Sam Bowie, someone Hall knew could put Lexington atop the basketball world again. The 1983 Cats would ultimately end the season in the Elite Eight against a team they hadn’t played in 24 years. The Dream Game loss to Louisville in overtime would usher in a new hatred for the rabid Kentucky fan base. Some things are just meant to be.

your University of Kentucky Wildcats beat the Florida Gators, 71-48, to win their 14th straight contest at Rupp Arena. Jamal Mashburn led the way for Big Blue with 22 points and 7 rebounds, including 4-5 shooting behind the 3-point line. Rodrick Rhodes (10 points - 5 rebounds), Rodney Dent (5 points - 11 rebounds), and Travis Ford (10 points - 5 assists) helped control the game as Kentucky had built a nine point lead by halftime. The Gators were led by Stacey Poole’s 16 points and 10 rebounds. A name you should get familiar with, as his son, Stacey Poole Jr., will be enrolling at UK this coming fall as a part of coach John Calipari’s second recruiting class. The Florida Stacey Poole still stands as the fourth leading scorer in Gator basketball history. The Kentucky Stacey Poole is ranked as the fourth best small forward in the class of 2010 by Rivals and the 11th best by Scout. Poole fits the Coach Cal mode as he is another 6'5" swingman/slasher who is a lockdown defender.