Indiana. Yup. It Happened.

It was an interesting weekend in the world of college hoops. The top 2 teams fell, there was a brawl, and the NBA Commissioner became the evil emperor. With that little primer, let's dive into it...

Kentucky @ Indiana: Many people were worried about this game when the schedule was released. Were we worried that we WOULD lose? No. Were we worried that we COULD lose? Most definitely. Kentucky had to play its first true road game of the year in front of a raucous and blood thirsty crowd on Saturday and left with a hard loss. Gone was the undefeated season, the number one ranking, and reason. Many fans went into freakout mode after the loss. The fact is Indiana out played us. For one game, Indiana played better. Does that mean that they are the better overall team? No!

Give credit where credit is due though. Tom Crean has done a heck of a job in rebuilding the Indiana program. A few years ago they were playing with just one player who had any starting experience. Now they were able to keep a Zeller home and have landed a top recruiting class for next season. Indiana is certainly on its way back and this win helped to notify the world that Hoosier Hysteria coming.

For the Cats, it was a different story. Individually, certain players shined and redeemed themselves while others just added fuel to the fire of a rabid fan base.

Praise:

Marcus Teague: Teague was TERRIBLE in the first half. His Indiana homecoming was anything but memorable. Coach Cal lashed out at Teague in front of the cameras which meant that his playing time was going to be severely restricted in the second half. Instead, Teague came out firing in the second half and helped to keep us in this game. Teague showed a lot of maturity when faced with adversity.

Michael Kidd-Gilchrist: MKG again played like a crazy man and showed tremendous leadership on the court. When we needed a key layup or shot, MKG went out of his way to take over the game. He continues to shine as a special UK player.

Eloy Vargas: ELOY! Davis being in foul trouble and Jones being non-existent provided us the opportunity to sweat nervously as Eloy stumbled onto the court. The Eloy we saw was not the bumbling Centaur we are all so used to. Eloy put in great minutes and played stellar defense. This could be a special year for him as well.

Darius Miller: Senior leadership came through in the second half. He had a mistake on the last play that we can overlook, this time...

Jeers:

Terrance Jones: What was going on there? His lack of production on the court didn't bother me as much as his lack of enthusiasm on the bench. The camera caught him too often hunching over in his chair, looking apathetic, and lost in space. Everyone has bad days on the court, that is still no excuse to look like you don't care on the bench. Not every team will have UNC on their chests. Hopefully it was a fluke. Let's hope the Jones we all love shows up next time.

Kentucky fought back in a hostile environment when down by 10. They showed a lot of poise and determination. The free throws hurt as did the lack of a foul on the last play. However, this YOUNG team showed a lot of growth in Bloomington. This is a good loss. It's one that we can all dissect and then ask the question, "Ok, how do we not let that happen again?"

Polls

Polls are worthless in basketball. It doesn't matter what you are ranked. Kentucky fans are sometimes too caught up in the vanity of a high ranking. Being ranked number 1 is nice, but not important. The new polls came out today and the pollsters had us ranked number three behind Syracuse and Ohio State. Cuse is undefeated and OSU lost on Saturday. Wait... Don't complain. Ohio State went to Lawrence to play a tough Kansas team without Jared Sullinger. Understandable loss. With that said, don't be bitter about it. We beat Kansas, remember that. RPI is very important. Even with our loss, our RPI remains solid. One last thing- We are still ranked higher than Louisville. Boom.

The Brawl

Xavier and Cincinnati decided to beat the hell out of each other in a fight that called their annual crosstown rivalry short on Saturday afternoon. The suspensions came down for the UC players that threw sucker punches and the Xavier players who too were involved in the fight. Throwing sucker punches is inexcusable UC. However, going on national TV and telling the nation that you were going to "zip them up" is also moronic Xavier. Mick Cronin made it clear that the punishments would be severe. He also expressed sincere apologies to anyone who would listen. The punishments came out today... 6 games maximum. Geez. Charges need to be filed and Yancey needs to be booted from the team. This is one rivalry that needs to be put on ice for a while.

All in all, another great weekend of college hoops. Don't jump UK fans, it will all be ok come March. Maybe.