Kentucky: SEC CHAMPS!

ATLANTA (AP) - Brandon Knight scored 17 points, Darius Miller hit two crucial 3-pointers and No. 15 Kentucky cruised to another Southeastern Conference tournament title, routing regular-season champion Florida 70-54 on Sunday.
The 12th-ranked Gators (26-7) had a miserable day shooting, especially guards Kenny Boynton and Erving Walker. They combined to go 7 of 26 from the field, their woes epitomized in the closing minutes when they put up back-to-back airballs trying desperately to bring Florida back.
Kentucky (25-8) streaked into the NCAAs with its sixth straight win, second straight SEC tournament crown and 27th title overall - more than every other school combined.
Florida trailed at halftime for the third straight game. The Gators came back against Tennessee and Vanderbilt, but they were doomed when Kentucky pushed it out to a 14-point lead with just over 9 minutes remaining on consecutive 3s by Miller, who was named tournament MVP.
Boynton scored 10 points, the only Florida player in double figures. But he was just 4 of 16 from the field, which pretty much summed up what kind of day it was for the Gators.
They shot just 39 percent (22 of 57), matched their second-lowest scoring game of the season and almost took their worst loss, just getting in under a 93-75 defeat to Ohio State back in November. This is a team that lives by the jump shot. When those shots didn't fall, they were dead.
But hand it to Kentucky, a team that totally rebuilt around three freshmen and a very thin roster after most of the big names left for the NBA a year ago.
Even with one of those newcomers, Doron Lamb, plagued by a sprained ankle, the Wildcats appear to be a team that is all grown up at the most important time of year. They have won eight of nine--the only loss in that stretch an overtime setback at Arkansas--and surely improved their seeding for the tournament that really matters.
Miller hit 6 of 8 shots, grabbed six rebounds and finished with 15 points. Freshman Terrence Jones chipped in with 16 points. And Knight, the third youngster, ran the show with four assists and capped the big win with a thunderous dunk in the final minute.
Hardly looking like a team with so much youth, Kentucky turned it over just six times. Florida had 14 turnovers, and no one stepped up as the game got away. The ultra-quick Walker tried putting up jumpers and penetrating the lane, not having much success at either. He shot just 3 of 10 and had eight points.
Chandler Parsons added to the woes with a 4-of-12 performance to finish with nine points. 

'Cats Beat Gators, Coach Cal Gets 500th Win

LEXINGTON, Ky. (AP) - Darius Miller scored a career-high 24 points and Brandon Knight added 16 points and six assists as No. 22 Kentucky surged past No. 13 Florida 76-68 on Saturday.
The Wildcats (20-8, 8-6 Southeastern Conference) won their 33rd straight home game and gave coach John Caliparihis 500th career victory in bouncing back from a difficult overtime loss to Arkansas on Wednesday.
Miller topped the career high of 22 set last week against South Carolina with the kind of dynamic, aggressive play Calipari has been searching for all season.
Kenny Boynton led Florida (22-6, 11-3) with 21 points and Chandler Parsons added 15 points and eight rebounds. But the Gators, who clinched a share of the SEC East title with a win over Georgia on Thursday night, couldn't keep up with the Wildcats in the second half.
Fighting for loose balls, crashing the offensive boards and trying to keep Parsons in check, Miller kept Kentucky perfect at home under Calipari and gave the Wildcats a much-needed confidence boost following another meltdown on the road against the Razorbacks.
Kentucky took control of a tight game with a 10-2 burst midway through the second half to get some breathing room at 58-49.
The Gators answered with a 3-pointer in the corner by Parsons and drew within 61-56 on a layup by Parsons, who appeared to be just fine in his second game back from a painful thigh bruise.
The Wildcats responded, as they always seem to do at home. DeAndre Liggins, who engaged in a spirited back-and-forth with Calipari in the first half, hit a 3-pointer and Doron Lamb added a runner to push Kentucky's lead to 66-56.
Kentucky's offense, however, stalled over the next 2 minutes as the Gators stayed close.

Enter Miller, who has been a puzzle at times during his up-and-down career but finally seems to be finding himself. He chased down a 3-point miss by Lamb shortly after checking back in with 4:51 to go. Kentucky reset and Miller moved to the top of the key. The Wildcats went inside to Terrence Jones, who kicked it back out to Miller. He calmly drilled the 3-pointer and stuck his tongue out briefly while hustling back on defense.
Calipari had chastised his team for being too passive, saying his players appeared to be content to watch and let others do the work.
It wasn't an issue on Saturday. Kentucky held a slight edge on the backboards and outscored Florida 11-1 on second-chance points.
Miller added five rebounds, three assists and three blocks and senior Josh Harrellsonhad six points and 12 boards in his penultimate home game.
Kentucky has been unbeatable at Rupp Arena under Calipari, but the Gators - who ended Xavier's 30-game home winning streak on New Year's Eve - hardly looked intimidated.
The Wildcats needed 13 points from Miller and 11 from Knight to take a 34-33 halftime lead as Jones battled foul trouble and the rest of Kentucky's six-man rotation proved ineffective.
Florida showcased its depth by getting contributions from whomever coach Billy Donovan threw out on the court.
There were seven ties and 10 lead changes in the half, but the Wildcats finally gathered themselves early in the second to breathe some much-needed life into their season.
The win also made Calipari the second coach in NCAA history to win 500 games in his first 19 seasons, joining North Carolina coach Roy Williams, who won 524 games in his first 19 seasons.
Calipari is 500-151 in 19 seasons at Massachusetts, Memphis and Kentucky.

UK Loses A Heartbreaker

Brandon Knight had 24
points in UK's loss to
Florida, Saturday.

GAINESVILLE, Fla. (AP) - Chandler Parsons scored 17 points, Alex Tyus made two big defensive plays late and Florida beat No. 10 Kentucky 70-68 Saturday night.
The Gators, who have struggled from the free-throw line all season, went 18 of 22 from the stripe and hit some clutch ones late.
Erving Walker hit both ends of two one-and-ones in the closing minutes. His final free throw put Florida (18-5, 7-2 Southeastern Conference) ahead for good. Tyus followed with a baseline hook shot and Parsons added a free throw with 12.7 seconds remaining.
The Wildcats (16-6, 4-4) had a final chance, but Brandon Knight's 3-pointer came up short. Tyus had a hand in Knight's face. Tyus also guarded Terrence Jones tight down the stretch, forcing a miss with about a minute left.
Knight led Kentucky with 24 points. Jones added 18 points and seven rebounds.
The Wildcats lost consecutive games for the first time under coach John Calipari. In fact, it's the first Calipari-coached team to lose two straight since Memphis dropped four in a row in the 2004-05 season.
With the victory, along with Tennessee's loss to Alabama, the Gators opened up a 1 1/2-game lead in the East. Kentucky is two games back at the midway point.
Florida certainly will be ranked again after knocking off No. 23 Vanderbilt earlier this week.
The Gators got this one going with a strong second half. They opened the second half with an 11-4 run that gave coach Billy Donovan's team a little breathing room, 45-36.
Florida built a 13-point lead on Vernon Macklin's dunk, Parsons' 3-pointer and five free throws - yes, the team that has struggled from the stripe all season made five in a row.

But the Wildcats clawed back from the double-digit deficit - most of it thanks to Knight.
The freshman point guard, playing against former AAU teammates Kenny Boynton, got the Wildcats rolling. He started the comeback with a pair of free throws, then hit back-to-back 3s. He dished to Terrence Jones for a 3, hit two more from the stripe and then found Darius Miller all alone on the wing for another 3-pointer.
That put Kentucky up 64-63 with 3:36 left.
But it didn't last.
The Gators got an unexpected boost from Scottie Wilbekin early. The 17-year-old freshman made all three of his shots in the first half, including two from 3-point range. Wilbekin entered the game averaging 2.2 points and shooting just 25 percent from behind the arc.
But he caught fire against Kentucky. He came off the bench and hit a wide-open 3 that tied the game at 10. He hit another a few minutes later, then added a running bank shot that gave him nine points in the game's first 15 minutes.
His teammates were considerably colder from long range. The Gators made just 3 of 9 shots from 3-point range in the opening 20 minutes. They were slightly better from the free-throw line, but those two key areas have been the team's Achilles' heel this season.
Kentucky's depth issues were evident again. When Calipari turned to his bench, former Florida player Eloy Vargas responded with a foul and a turnovers in his first few minutes on the court. Fellow sub Jarrod Polson added a turnover, a missed jumper and a blocked layup in the closing minutes.
Daron Lamb and Jon Hood were bright spots off the bench for the Cats. Lamb hit a 3 and had a pair of assists, and Hood swished an 18-footer right before the halftime buzzer.
Jones, Knight and Miller were their usual selves, doing most of Kentucky's scoring.

Xavier Proves That Gators Don't Chomp Too Hard

By:  Coop Ledford

The Xavier Musketeers (17-7) were visiting the Florida Gators (17-8), today.  The Musketeers were                    1-0 against SEC teams (beat LSU) and were trying to be 2-0.  The Musketeers were coming off of a loss to Dayton, while the Gators were coming off of a loss to South Carolina.  Florida ended up getting the hangover, and Xavier gets the "Hard Fought Win", (76-64)-GOXAVIER.COM

Jason Love and Jamel McLean both had a double-double, Love with 20 points and 10 boards, and McLean with 12 points and a career high 15 rebounds.

Xavier had the lead at the half, 40-33.  However, the Gators came out into the second half on fire, they ended up tieing the game at 47, and then took the lead with a Vernon Macklin bucket, but after that, Kenny Frease made a nice jumper, tieing the game at 49.  Xavier took the lead off of a three by Dante’ Jackson, and then XU never looked back.

Next the Muskies will play host to Saint Joseph's, the game is on Wednesday at 7:30 PM ET and will be televised on Fox Sports Ohio.

Picture: Jamel McLean posted
12 points, along with 15 rebounds

Which game will be better, Sugar or Rose Bowl?

By: Cooper Ledford

Some people have asked me, which game will be interesting, the Sugar Bowl (Cincinnati vs. Florida) or the Rose Bowl (Oregon vs. Ohio State)?

My answer to that is the Rose Bowl. Oregon and Ohio State is a great match-up. Oregon has a high-powered offense that can score a lot of points, while the Buckeye's defense is one of the best in the nation, and is ranked first in passing defense and second in rush defense (Texas is first). Oregon loves to run the football, but they will have a hard time against the OSU defensive line.

Cincinnati does not have much of a defense, while the Gators have a great offense, and by offense I mean Tim Tebow. I don't think the Bearcats D is good enough to stop #15 and the Gators. The Bearcats do have a good offense, but I don't think it is good enough to beat Florida.

Now I am going to do a thing where I say who has the advantage on each side of the ball. I will start with the Rose Bowl match-up.

OFFENSE- Oregon has the advantage in offense, Masoli, James, and Blount can all run the ball very well. Masoli also has a great arm and has some great receivers to help him out. Ohio State's offense is still okay, Terrelle Pryor is similar to Masoli, and Dan Herron and Brandon Saine also can be dangerous running backs.

DEFENSE- Ohio State has the advantage in defense. OSU has had three shut-outs this season (Toledo, Illinois, and New Mexico State) and hold opponents to about 12.0 points per game. The most points they have gave up this year is 27, to Navy (31-27 Ohio State won). Oregon does score a lot of points, but with a great run defense, with Cameron Hayward, Thaddeous Gibson etc., they will not be able to do much on the ground. OSU also has a great secondary, with Chekwa, Worthington, and Coleman, Oregon will have a hard time through the air as well.

SPECIAL TEAMS- Both teams are equal on special teams, Ohio State will not have their main punt and kickoff return man, Ray Small. Oregon is okay on punt and kickoffs as well. Ohio State has two great kickers, Devin Barclay and Aaron Pettrey. It is unsure who will be the primary kicker in the game.

Now for the Sugar Bowl (these will be breif)

OFFENSE- Florida, one word, Tebow!

DEFENSE- Without a doubt, Florida has the better defense.

SPECIAL TEAMS- Cincinnati has a better special teams, Jake Rodgers is a great kicker, while Mardy Gilyard can take back both punts and kickoffs.