Kentucky @ Florida, 1/12/10

 I'll start by saying that I, a loyal Kentucky Wildcat fan, reside in Florida. Naturally, I work with a lot of Gator fans who have really been enjoying their streak of domination over UK in football and have enjoyed UK's fall from prominence in basketball more than the law should allow.

 All I've heard was how UK was going to leave with a loss and their tails between their legs. Then came the morning after at work. UK silenced the Gators with a "closer than it should have been" 89-77 victory and maintained a perfect 17-0 record. It was an especially sweet victory to me given my situation, and a long time coming.

 I heard all of the excuses (once I finally found where the Gator fans were hiding). It is ironic how many of them said that they "fell asleep" during the game and didn't see much of it, then virtually gave a play-by-play of how the Gators lost.

 Kentucky didn't have their "A" game with them, but I continue to be impressed with the way they seem to come up with big plays that take the heart and will of the opponent. The most impressive part of it is that there are several different players that have stepped their game up to make the plays when things are looking bad.

 Will the Cats go undefeated? I don't think so for all of the same reasons that every sports writer is flooding the market with.

 Can they go undefeated? Absolutely! If this team gels and learns to play together (including the bench) at a high level consistently like everyone knows they are capable of, nobody else in college basketball even comes close. Whether or not they will reach their potential is the only thing standing in their way.

 For now, my advice is to just keep winning any way you can Cats. An ugly win is still a win in anybody's book. Learn to throw the knockout punch when you have them on the ropes. Don't let up and make teams play are your level instead of the other way around.