Cats and Gamecocks: Random Thoughts

Another win in the books for the ‘Cats. The seniors stepped up as they have been doing during this SEC run. I hope to see it continue at senior day and beyond for those guys.

I thought the ‘Cats did just what they needed to do, get the win. It did start to get dicey there for a little, which is nothing new for this team. It’s been said many times, they struggle playing with a nice lead. But usually they find the way to win at the end, something that matters the most at this point.

The defense was great in the first half. We blocked some shots, contested most everything inside, except for a few cuts they scored on. It was our Achilles’ heel, turnovers, which prevented us from blowing this game open more.

They second half looked like we were going to open it up. Joe Crawford scored like 5 straight points and Ramel had a three etc. South Carolina ended up getting hot there for a little down the stretch, but we kept them in check to take the victory.

The more I see Derrick Jasper, the more I see what he can and does bring to this team. It’s just good having him back and I hope his knee continues to get stronger. He’s not going light it up scoring wise, but it’s all the other things he can do. He’s can rebound, play defense and does all these little things that may not show up stat wise. He’s also shown he’s capable of hitting the three, something I hope he looks for more in the future. I feel he’s going to play a big role for the ‘Cats next season.

I’ve seen that many feel this win may have sealed an NCAA tourney bid. I’m not that confident just yet and I hope the team doesn’t feel that way either. We surely can’t look past the next game.

Speaking of the next game….

This Sunday we take on Florida, who will look to play spoiler on a couple different fronts.

First…It’s UK’s senior day where we will say goodbye to Joe Crawford and Ramel Bradley.

Second…Florida is still looking to earn a NCAA bid and it could come down to this game on whether we, or they get it.

The Gators will also be coming off a close loss to Tennessee and are probably not too happy about that. Then again, maybe that will work to our advantage. (Wishful thinking)

So, with all that said. This upcoming game may be the most important of them all.