Meeks Destroys Pigs; Drops Another 40+

You just gotta love it when you're watching a game on TV, and late in the first half the production crew is putting up graphics that say:

One of your team's players: X points
Entire other team: Y points

See, it's not even all that important what the exact numbers are, because you figure at that stage everything must be clicking pretty good.

Well, in this case, clicking pretty good might be an understatement. Jodie once again put on quite a show Saturday, and basically ripped the heart out of a Razorback team that (I gotta say it) looked like it had some real quit in 'em. I suppose Jodie will do that to you when he's bombing in those 3-pointers and swiping passes for breakaway opportunities. As his point total kept rising, Arkansas looked more and more lethargic.

You wonder if Danny Fortson is that much more valuable to the Hogs than Patman is for UK. Regardless, we know two Bud Walton Arena records were broken yesterday: the single game point total by Jodie, and the quickest-ever jacket removal by one John Leslie Pelphrey. Coach Pelphrey clocked 0.08 seconds in swiping off his faux Armani in frustration, besting a mark previously held by Nolan Richardson. (Note: some call for an asterisk in this situation, considering Richardson's jacket was reportedly a polyester blend.)

However, Pelphrey's frustration was understandable, given Meeks' getting off to a white-hot start, and that being compounded by Michael Porter knocking down a couple of threes himself in the first half. (Gosh almighty, I just love typing that.) It's just remarkable how much can open up when a defense has to pay a bit of attention to everyone.

Keep it up, Mr. Porter. Nice and easy, just like Jodie...you set those feet, take dead aim, and fire away. Only when you're open now, okay? Nothing stupid. Take what the defense gives you. Sometimes you just gotta launch one... so when you do, just believe in yourself, big guy.

Now, like everyone else, I'm a bit "cornfused" as to why Kevin Galloway rode so much pine this game. Guy plays only 3 minutes after looking like a world-beater against Florida. Once again, we chalk it up to the mysterious Billy Gillispie / Magic 8 Ball substitution pattern.

BG: Should I put Galloway in? (Shake, shake, shake.)
M8Ball: Ask again later.
BG: (Shrugs)

I haven't touched upon the erratic playing time issues too much, but I do think it does very little to help a player's confidence. I'm sure every guy on that roster would like to have a better handle on when they are going to play, at what stretches in the game, basically just know more what to expect, minutes-wise. But all you can do is prepare yourself for anything and recognize that Coach definitely rewards defensive effort and good practice habits. Galloway will surely have more opportunities, and sooner rather than later.

Give Ramon Harris some credit for pulling more than his share of the rebounding load against the Hogs and for contributing another solid, if unspectacular, all-around game.

Overall, I'm very encouraged by this win and the fact that UK did not do anything stupid in terms of rushing Patterson back.

Let him heal. Period.

Reports were that Pat was moving very gingerly, although without a boot or crutches being necessary. I'd prefer the trainers and coach take as much time as needed, especially if it fosters the emergence of a more "opportunistic" scoring mentality amongst the rest of the team. They can't all be like Jodie, of course, but Kentucky certainly needs each of them to augment the attack to the best of their abilities.