Final thoughts on Ole Miss

Just a few final thoughts on Kentucky's win over Ole Miss last night. 

Coming into the game, Kentucky's post season chances were in doubt for the first time under the John Calipari era, something Cat fans never thought would be the case. So face it, last night was a huge game/win for the Cats no matter who the opponent was. 

 Kentucky fans have been severely spoiled over the last three years with the success Cal has had with his overly, sometimes absurdly, talented freshman classes since his arrival.  In his first three season at the helm of the Wildcats, John Calipari racked up an Elite Eight, Final Four and something everyone said would never happen with "one and done's", the coveted National Championship. 

So when Kentucky has a record of 14-6 (5-2) this season, people tend to hit the panic button early and often. With losses to the likes of Notre Dame, Duke, Baylor, Texas A&M, Alabama and hated rival Louisville, fans panicked. It's not their fault, it's just the nature of a Kentucky fan, it's bred into them. So of course Kentucky fans are going to get excited about a win over Ole Miss. It doesn't mean that their expectations have been lowered (that will never happen), they just knew what was on the line last night in Oxford. A loss, Kentucky is more than likely boarding a bus for the NIT. A win, Kentucky's chances of making the NCAA tournament improves drastically as that it was their first "signature win" and their first over a top 25 team this season. 

Along with their first win over a ranked team, Kentucky seemed to turn a bit of a corner last night. In past games, when put in the same situation Kentucky no doubt loses that game. Instead, Kentucky dug in, fought, battled for loose balls and made the "hustle plays" necessary to win a highly contested game, on the road and in a hostile environment. Plain and simple, this team seems to be growing up, it has just taken a little longer than expected. Guys who played timid for most of the season played with heart and a determination to win that we haven't seen all year. They were making the right decisions at the right times, minus a few minutes in the second half Kentucky played its best ball game of the season. 

With the Cats suffering from early foul trouble in the first half, Jarrod Polson and Jon Hood got their names called. These kids played quality minutes when Kentucky had absolutely no one else to turn to, especially with Willie Cauley-Stein still nursing his injury. They came in, ran the offense and got key rebounds when it mattered. 

Then came the play of Kyle Wiltjer. Enough can't be said about the obvious and drastic improvement in Kyle's play as of late. Everyone remembers his shooting struggles, or his embarrassment of a game in Nashville against Vandy, but not last night. Kyle came in and provided steadiness and surprisingly enough, leadership. When Kentucky needed a basket Big Wilt answered the call without hesitation. Going into halftime, Kyle had 17pts and he was just getting started. In the second half, Kyle never gave shooting a second thought as he sank three after three when left open, then unimaginable happened. Kentucky holding off a run by the rebels, Kyle sets the pick heard around the world, jarring the smack talk and jersey poppin' right out of  Marshall Henderson then proceeded to flash to the bucket for a two handed dunk, just the fourth of his career. It was clearly a statement to fans and his team that he is finally ready to play ball. Kyle finished the night with a career high and team high 26pts on 10-19 shooting and 5-12 from three. 

Nerlens Noel, what can I say about Nerlens Noel. I can try to breakdown his performance, but it wouldn't do it justice, but I'll try. Nerlens only had 2pts for the game, but the presence he had defensively was just insane. After setting the tone early in the first half with 5blks, guys actually looked terrified to drive the lane. When they finally did one of two things happened, either Noel blocked their shot, or altered it so badly that it would literally bounce off the shot clock. Coming into the game Andy Kennedy said "I'm not sure Anthony Davis was the presence around the rim that Nerlens Noel is".  Turns out he was right, at least for this night as Noel went  on to set a career high and new school record with 12blks. His 12blks is a tie for fifth most among NCAA freshman and third most in SEC history. So yeah it's safe to say it was a pretty good night for Nerlens. 

Kyle and Nerlens wasn't the only one to have great games, fact is the entire team did. Archie Goodwin had a excellent game scoring 24pts grabbing 6rebs and dishing out 4asts, not to mention hitting some clutch freethrows late in the game finishing the night 12-14 at the line. 

It was another "manly" game from Alex Poythress last night. He was hampered by foul trouble in the first half, but then came the second. Grabbing "manly" rebounds and going to the basket with a purpose, he finished the game with 15pts 7rebs. These are the types of number Alex has to maintain for this team to reach its potential. 

It was a big win for a team that has struggled all season long to find itself. After last night, maybe, just maybe Kentucky has an identity. A team that can grind out a win when faced with adversity and doubt. Maybe they are the kind of team that will battle and do whatever it takes to win, at least they were last night...