Thumbs Up/Thumbs Down: UK vs. ETSU (NCAA 1st Round)

Kentucky opened play in the NCAA Tournament with a 100-71 victory over East Tennessee State behind 29 points from Eric Bledsoe.


Thumbs Up

Focused & Prepared- From the opening tip of this game, the Cats were completely focused on the task at hand. I don't recall seeing a player with a blank stare on their face or anything of the sort. They were prepared to come out and take it right at ETSU and put the game away early. That's exactly what they did.

Balanced Offense- It started with Patrick Patterson scoring 11 of the Cats first 21 points, mostly from the paint. Eric Bledsoe quickly got in the groove, scoring 15 points in the first half, mostly on three pointers. The entire team was active, and those two led the way from the inside and outside. Late in the first half, the Cats got out on the break and scored six straight points on breakaway dunks. Kentucky was hitting on all facets of the game.

Unselfish Offense- Kentucky finished with 27 assists on 31 field goals. That is an incredible stat, and it was a great display of ball movement. John Wall led the way with 11 assists, many of those coming in the first half on passes to Bledsoe. DeAndre Liggins had five, and even DeMarcus Cousins had four.

Eric Bledsoe- The freshman was smoking hot from behind the arc tonight. He hit eight of his nine three-point attempts, and finished with a career high 29 points. The eight threes is a Kentucky record for the NCAA Tourney. Hopefully he continues his hot shooting on Saturday.

Patrick Patterson- In his first career NCAA Tourney game, Patterson came ready to play. The junior scored 22 points and pulled down five rebounds. He set the tone early, hitting all six of his field goal attempts in the first half for 15 points.

Thumbs Down

Outlet Passing- On a couple occasions tonight, Daniel Orton was too quick in trying to get the ball into the hands of Wall. This has been a concern all year, because the Cats want to the ball out to Wall or Bledsoe as quickly as possible. Everyone has to be more cautious when it comes to getting the ball out on the break.

Miller's Defense- Four times in the first half, Micah Williams drove right down the lane on Darius Miller and scored over the top of him. I don't want to pick on Miller, but this is one of the very few negatives I noticed tonight. I wonder if other coaches saw the same thing and will try to take advantage of that later in the tournament.

This was a great victory by Kentucky. The Buccaneers kept it close for a couple minutes before the Cats flexed their muscles and ran away with it. I didn't mention Daniel Orton in thumbs up, but he continues to improve and had another good game today. Kentucky has far and away been the most impressive looking team in action on the first day of the tournament. The Cats will now face the winner of Texas and Wake Forest. Whoever it is, it will be a difficult match up against NBA-caliber talent.