SB Nation User Blog: JLeverenz

GOG 2009 #12: Long Beach St

JLeverenz — Tue, 22 Dec 2009 18:11:04 -0000

Another quick turnaround for the Cats as they finish their pre-Christmas schedule with their 3rd game in 5 days. The players should be fairly rested for the game as no one played more than 26 minutes against Drexel. What kind of effort will we see after the dominating performance against the Dragons, the elation of 2000 victories and with Christmas on the horizon? Long Beach St has played some tough opponents already including Texas, West Virginia, and Clemson. They've also played a not-so-good UCLA and Notre Dame and a pretty solid Utah St team. Because of their tough non-conference schedule, this could be one of those games that at the end of the season ends up as an RPI 50-100 win for UK should they get it.

Series History:

None. For the second game in a row we have a first ever matchup for UK.

GOG #00 has information about the game. Follow the link if you have any questions.
Statsheet.com has information about Long Beach St.
Congratulations to btcoop71 for winning GOG #11! Follow the link for full results.

GOG 2009 #12: Long Beach St. [Max 32 Points]

The worst loss in terms of margin for Long Beach St was by 33 to Texas at Texas. Does UK beat LBS by 33 points or more? [+1 point if correct, -1 if incorrect]
Long Beach St doesn't have much height, they are not very good at defending 2 point shots, and they have no shot blockers of any note. All of this spells a big day for the Cats inside. How many points in the paint for UK? [4 points if correct, 3 points if within 1, 2 points if within 2, 1 point if within 3]
UK had 31 points at the 10 minute mark of the first half against Drexel - a pace for 124 points for the game. How many points does UK have at the 10 minute mark against LBS? [4 points if correct, 3 points if within 1, 2 points if within 2, 1 point if within 3]
How many combined points for Patterson, Cousins, Orton, Stevenson, and Harrellson? [4 points if correct, 3 points if within 1, 2 points if within 2, 1 point if within 3]
After UK went 8-12 on 3's against Austin Peay, I almost used a question for the Drexel GOG asking if UK would be able to hit 40% of their 3's since they obviously wouldn't go 8-12 again. Shows what I know. UK is now an astounding 17-25 (68.0%) on 3's in their last two games. Does UK hit 50% or more of their 3pt shots? Does UK hit 10+ 3's? [+1 point if correct, -1 if incorrect each question]
DeMarcus Cousins is really improving rapidly. His current averages of 14.9 ppg, 8.7 rpg, and 1.8 bpg are coming with just playing 20.3 mpg. If he could stay on the floor for 30 minutes a game that would translate to 22 ppg, 12.8 rpg, and 2.7 bpg. Oh, and he's also hitting all his free throws now: 13-13 in the last two games to raise his FT% to 63.0%. Predict Cousins points/rebounds/blocks. [2 pts each]
Against Drexel every player on the team played at least 10 minutes. I can't remember the last time that happened. How many players get double digit minutes? [3 pts]
UK finally put up a dominating effort on the defensive glass, grabbing 79.5% of Drexel's missed shots. Does UK get 70% or more of Long Beach State's missed shots in this game? [+1 point if correct, -1 if incorrect]
Just because. Darnell Dodson: predict his points/made 3's/steals. [2 pts each]
Bonus Non-Basketball GOG question: Who wins the Music City Bowl between UK and Clemson? [+1 point if correct, -1 if incorrect]

Deadline for entries is tip-off at 1:00 PM Wednesday, December 23.

GOG 2009 #11: Drexel

JLeverenz — Sun, 20 Dec 2009 23:41:06 -0000

UK faces a quick turnaround from Saturday's thwacking of Austin Peay to face a Drexel team that has the dual honor of honor of a cool nickname (the Dragons) and a head coach with a cool name (Bruiser Flint). Seriously, how cool of a name is Bruiser Flint? Would you mess with someone with that name? I wouldn't. As for the game, this is an otherwise thoroughly standard late-December contest with no special significance what-so-ever. Nope, none what-so-ever. Just another chance for a win that is no different than any other win.

Series History:

This is the first ever matchup between Drexel and UK. The players should note what happened this weekend though, as Old Dominion - another CAA school - beat Georgetown at Georgetown.

GOG #00 has information about the game. Follow the link if you have any questions.
Statsheet.com has information about Drexel.
A GOG first! A three way tie for winning GOG #10! Follow the link for full results.

GOG 2009 #2000: Drexel [Max 40 Points]

Drexel has a good defense centered around making it difficult for their opponents to hit shots; permitting 40.9% on 2pt shots and 30.1% on 3pt shots for an eFG% of 42.2%. What is Kentucky's eFG% for the game? Any guess that is within 3 percentage points of the answer will be counted correct. [3 pts] I was way off on this one. UK shot an exceptional 61.2% eFG%. Anything from 58.2 to 64.2 would have received 3 points, but no one guessed that high.
Drexel also is one of the most whistled teams in the nation, fouling 22 times per game and sending opponents to the free throw line 25 times per game. How many free throw attempts do the Cats attempt? [3 pts] The Cats attempted 19 free throws. There probably would have been more if the game hadn't gotten out of hand quite so quickly.
After a terrific 18-18 mark from the line against Austin Peay, does UK shoot better or worse than 75% from the line against Drexel? [+1 point if correct, -1 if incorrect] UK made 17 of those 19 free throws and shot much better than 75%.
How many second chance points for UK? [4 points if correct, 3 points if within 1, 2 points if within 2, 1 point if within 3] 17 points
How many points in the paint for UK? [4 points if correct, 3 points if within 1, 2 points if within 2, 1 point if within 3] 38 points
How many point off turnovers for UK? [4 points if correct, 3 points if within 1, 2 points if within 2, 1 point if within 3] 16 points
Which team scores more points off turnovers? [+1 point if correct, -1 if incorrect] UK edged Drexel 16 to 14 in this category.
Which team has more bench points? [+1 point if correct, -1 if incorrect] UK again narrowly edged Drexel, 31 to 29.
DeAndre Liggins has played in two straight games and Cal noted in his post game radio interview that he liked the energy Liggins brought to the floor. Personally I hope Liggins can give the team 10-15 minutes a game and provide another ball handler to give Wall more of a break so he doesn't have to play so many minutes every game. Predict Liggins' points/assists/turnovers against the Drexel. [2 pts each] 6/0/0
One way to measure the efficiency of a player's scoring ability is points-per-shot (pps): points scored divided by field goal attempts. The meausure includes points scored at the free throw line but does not include free throw attempts. Which player leads the team in pps (minimum 2 field goal attempts) against Drexel? [3 pts] Liggins was 2-2 from 3pt range for a 3.0 pps.
Ramon Harris continues to give the team good minutes off the bench. Against Austin Peay he had 6 rebounds, 1 assist and 0 turnovers in just 7 minutes. Predict Harris's rebounds/assists/turnovers against Drexel. [2 pts each] 2/1/0
Drexel plays at a slow pace and plays good defense. Combining the two trends, it would not be a surprise if Kentucky scored their fewest points to this point in the season. The current low is 64 points against UConn. Does UK score less than 64 points in this game? [+1 point if correct, -1 if incorrect] UK blew past this one scoring 88 points - their 6th highest total of the season.
Which player scores the point(s) that gives UK the lead for good against Drexel? [3 pts] Cousins took care of this with the first basket of the game.

Deadline for entries is tip-off at 7:00 PM Monday, December 21.

Congratulations to btcoop71 for winning GOG #11! This is btcoop71's 2nd GOG win this season. UKlvrJM was a close second with 14 points while BigSkyCat finished 3rd with 12. Full results are below.

Mean	8.22
St. Dev	4.79
Median	7

	UserName	# of GOGs	GOG #11	TOTAL PTS	Rank by PTS	AVERAGE	Rank by AVG
1	btcoop71	4	15	45	12	0.281	1
2	UKlvrJM	7	14	54	9	0.205	9
3	BigSkyCat	11	12	60	4	0.150	20
4	tippey	4	10	28	15	0.206	7
5	a2d2	11	7	79	1	0.198	10
6	RandomGuy0	7	6	38	13	0.145	21
7	Wild Weasel	10	5	59	5	0.162	15
8	floundringaround	11	4	56	7	0.140	23
9	JLeverenz	11	1	70	2	0.175	12
	dancoo626	10		63	3	0.175	11
	Acdixon	7		57	6	0.226	4
	EagleTDL	9		55	8	0.168	13
	UKWildCatFanatic	9		50	10	0.152	19
	Ken Howlett	5		47	11	0.245	3
	GoLightning	5		30	14	0.154	17
	yearofthecat	2		20	16	0.278	2
	kentuckygirl0724	4		19	17	0.143	22
	Ontherocks	3		16	18	0.162	16
	bluelaw	3		16	18	0.154	17
	SpartanWildcat	2		14	20	0.206	7
	vinceuk1	2		13	21	0.210	6
	hoboat33	1		7	22	0.226	5
	KYCatwoman	1		6	23	0.162	14
	E4	1		3	24	0.083	24

Poll

If Bruiser Flint were not a basketball coach, he would be a...

GOG 2009 #10: Austin Peay

JLeverenz — Fri, 18 Dec 2009 17:39:36 -0000

UK enters the semester break portion of its schedule with a string of home games beginning with Austin Peay. I will be very interested in how the team performs in this game. The Cats are coming off their best game of year and after a week of practice and with exams behind them the players should really be ready to get on the floor and play.

Series History:

Kentucky is 4-0 against Austin Peay and last played them Dec 31, 2003 in Louisville, a 61-53 victory. Believe it or not, that game is tied for the largest margin of victory by UK in the series, the other games decided by 6, 2, and 8 points. I don't think that means anything about Saturday's contest, but it should be noted that UK was ranked in 3 of the previous 4 constests.

GOG #00 has information about the game. Follow the link if you have any questions.
Statsheet.com has information about Austin Peay.
Congratulations to tippey for winning GOG #09! Follow the link for full results.

GOG 2009 #10: Austin Peay [Max 34 Points]

The Ken Pomeroy game predictions are out and KP has UK an 18 point winner. Simply asking who wins this game would be a stunningly easy question to answer, so instead I ask you this: Does UK win by 18 points or more? [+1 point if correct, -1 point if incorrect] Yes, UK won by 21 points
KP also predicts 68 possessions for this game. Do UK and AP play faster (more than 68 possessions) or slower (68 possessions or fewer) than predicted? [+1 point if correct, -1 point if incorrect] The game went exactly 68 possessions, so "slower" for the purposes of this question
I really like the game stats provided by the UK Athletics website. They provide information in a lot of categories like points in the paint, points of turnovers, ties and lead changes and usually provide 1st half/2nd half box scores. This provides a lot of fertile ground for GOG questions, such as asking for 1st half/2nd half leaders in categories. Who leads UK in scoring in the 1st half? In the second half? [3 pts each] Wall led the first half with 13 points, Patterson the second half with 11
You may want to look at some old box scores before answering this one: how many fast break points does UK score? [3 pts] 13
DeAndre Liggins made his season debut against the Hoosiers, does he play against the Governors? [+1 point if correct, -1 point if incorrect] Yes
Can a Hoosier be a Governor? [0 pts]
Eric Bledsoe is coming off a terrific shooting performance against IU, predict his field goals made/field goal attempts/three pointers made. [2 pts each] 2/4/1
The Governors have a couple of dangerous outside shooters in Wes Channels (21-43, 48.8%) and Anthony Campbell (25-51, 49.0%). How many three point shots do they combine to make? [3 pts] They "combined" for 5, but really it was only Channels as Campbell was held to 0-6 from beyond the arc
We all know that Cousins fouls a lot, but did you know that Cousins is 2nd in the country in drawing fouls from opposing players? Opponents are fouling the big man at a rate of 9.0 per 40 minutes and Cousins is tied with John Wall for the most free throw attempts on the team. How many free throw attempts does Cousins get? Who attempts more free throws: Cousins or Wall? [first question: 3 pts, second question: +1 point if correct, -1 point if incorrect] Cousins had 5 FTA and more than Wall (2 FTA)
The three biggest areas of improvement for the Cats (to my mind anyway) are turnovers, 3pt shooting defense, and defensive rebounding. The Cats are 279th in TO%, 231st in opponents' 3pt shooting and 109th in defensive rebounding (rankings from Ken Pomeroy). Austin Peay comes into the game forcing a 19.0% turnover rate, shooting 35.4% from 3pt shots and grabbin 32.4% of thier own misses. Does UK turn the ball over less than 19% of the time? Does UK hold Austin Peay to less than 35.4% shooting on 3pt shots? Does UK hold the Governors to under 32.4% offensive rebound %? [+1 point if correct, -1 point if incorrect] UK had a 23.5% TO Rate, AP shot 33.3% from deep and had a 34.2% offensive rebound % so that's no - yes - no.
Despite having two really good outside shooters, the 3pt shot is not a big part of the Austin Peay offense. Only 29.7% of the Governors' shots come from beyond the arc and they only make 6.2 per game. This is very similar to Kentucky as only 27.1% of UK's shots come from beyond the arc and the Cats only make 5.9 per game. How many 3pt shots do the two teams combine to make? [3 pts] 17 combined 3's
Which UK player leads the team in assist-to-turnover ratio (minimum 5 minutes played)? [3 pts] There was a tie for this as both Harris and Liggins had 1 assist and 0 turnovers

Deadline for entries is tip-off at 4:00 PM Saturday, December 19.

We have a 3-way tie for the winner of GOG #10! Congratulations to (in alphabetical order) a2d2, btcoop71, and kentuckygirl0724 who each scored 9 points! This was an otherwise low scoring GOG as dancoo626 was 4th with 4 points. Full results are below.

Mean	3.25
St. Dev	3.72
Median	2

	UserName	# of GOGs	GOG #10	TOTAL PTS	Rank by PTS	AVERAGE	Rank by AVG
1	a2d2	10	9	72	1	0.201	9
1	btcoop71	3	9	33	12	0.275	2
1	kentuckygirl0724	4	9	19	17	0.143	22
4	dancoo626	10	4	63	3	0.175	12
5	JLeverenz	10	2	69	2	0.192	10
5	UKWildCatFanatic	9	2	50	9	0.152	19
5	Ken Howlett	5	2	47	10	0.245	3
5	tippey	3	2	21	15	0.219	6
9	floundringaround	10	1	52	7	0.145	20
9	BigSkyCat	10	1	51	8	0.142	23
11	EagleTDL	9	-1	55	5	0.168	13
11	UKlvrJM	6	-1	40	11	0.179	11
	Acdixon	7		57	4	0.226	4
	Wild Weasel	9		54	6	0.166	14
	RandomGuy0	6		32	13	0.144	21
	GoLightning	5		30	14	0.154	17
	yearofthecat	2		20	16	0.278	1
	Ontherocks	3		16	18	0.162	16
	bluelaw	3		16	18	0.154	17
	SpartanWildcat	2		14	20	0.206	8
	vinceuk1	2		13	21	0.210	7
	hoboat33	1		7	22	0.226	5
	KYCatwoman	1		6	23	0.162	15
	E4	1		3	24	0.083	24

GOG 2009 #09: Indiana

JLeverenz — Fri, 11 Dec 2009 18:00:31 -0000

UK will play its first (and only) true road game of the non-conference season Saturday as it takes on a still-rebuilding-but-better-than-last-year Indiana team. I watched most of their game against Pitt and came away impressed by how well they played. UK should still win, but this is a much better team than last year and that combined with it being a true road game and the Cats coming off a big win makes this a dangerous game.

GOG #00 has information about the game. Follow the link if you have any questions.
Statsheet.com has information about Indiana.
GOG #08 is graded! Follow the link for full results.

GOG 2009 #09: Indiana [Max 35 Points]

Who wins the game? [+1 point if correct, -1 point if incorrect] UK
Does UK win by double digits? [+1 point if correct, -1 point if incorrect] Yes, 90 - 73
Will Indiana have a lead at any point in the second half? [+1 point if correct, -1 point if incorrect] IU held a brief 48 - 47 lead early in the second half, we all know what happened after that!
How many points does Indiana have at halftime? [4 pts if correct, 3 pts within one, 2 pts within two, 1 pt within three] 41 points
How many points does Indiana have at the end of the game? [4 pts if correct, 3 pts within one, 2 pts within two, 1 pt within three] 73 points
In which half does UK score the most points? [+1 point if correct, -1 point if incorrect] UK was slightly better in the second half scoring 48 points compared to 41 in the first
Who is the game high scorer (both teams combined)? [3 pts] Maurice Creek led all players with 31 points
UK had 13 steals against UConn, the most in a game since, well, I'm not really sure but it's probably been a while right? How many times do the Cats swipe the ball from Indiana? [3 pts] 6 steals for the Cats
Who scores the first points for UK? [3 pts] Fittingly, Eric Bledsoe scored the first two points of the game
Which team is the first to miss a shot? [+1 point if correct, -1 point if incorrect] UK missed its first shot of the game
Will we see Good Cuz or Bad Cuz? Predict his offensive rebounds/defensive rebounds/fouls. [2 pts each] Overall it was Good Cuz: 3/5/4 plus an adorable noogie
This strikes me as the kind of matchup where Josh Harrellson could play well. In fact, Harrellson had a great game against Indiana last year: 15 points (career high), 7 rebounds, 6-12 from the field in 18 minutes. Predict his minutes/points/made field goals. [2 pts each] Boy I was off on this one. I still think this game was a good matchup for Harrellson but it's a testament to how good UK's front line is that he wasn't needed. He finished with 1/0/0
John Wall is spectacular at many things, including giving the ball back to the opponent (and then stealing it away again). Over or Under 4.5 turnovers for Wall? [+1 point if correct, -1 point if incorrect] Wall was terrific with just 1 turnover for the game

Entries are due by tip-off at 12:00 PM, Saturday December 12.

Congratulations to tippey for winning GOG #09! Ken Howlett continues his strong play with a 2nd place finish while a2d2, Wild Weasel, and vinceuk1 round out the top 5 with strong performances. Full results are below.

Mean	4.07
St. Dev	3
Median	4
Mode	2

	UserName	# of GOGs	GOG #09	TOTAL PTS	Rank by PTS	AVERAGE	Rank by AVG
1	tippey	2	10	19	16	0.306	1
2	Ken Howlett	4	8	45	10	0.285	2
3	a2d2	9	7	63	2	0.194	11
4	Wild Weasel	9	6	54	6	0.166	14
5	vinceuk1	2	6	13	20	0.210	8
6	JLeverenz	9	4	67	1	0.206	9
7	floundringaround	9	4	51	7	0.157	18
8	kentuckygirl0724	3	4	10	21	0.101	23
9	dancoo626	9	2	59	3	0.182	13
10	Acdixon	7	2	57	4	0.226	5
11	EagleTDL	8	2	56	5	0.190	12
12	UKlvrJM	5	2	41	11	0.216	7
13	BigSkyCat	9	0	50	8	0.154	19
14	UKWildCatFanatic	8	0	48	9	0.163	15
	RandomGuy0	6		32	12	0.144	22
	GoLightning	5		30	13	0.154	19
	btcoop71	2		24	14	0.279	3
	yearofthecat	2		20	15	0.278	4
	Ontherocks	3		16	17	0.162	17
	bluelaw	3		16	17	0.154	19
	SpartanWildcat	2		14	19	0.206	10
	hoboat33	1		7	22	0.226	6
	KYCatwoman	1		6	23	0.162	16
	E4	1		3	24	0.083	24

GOG 2009 #08: UConn

JLeverenz — Tue, 08 Dec 2009 18:09:38 -0000

Kentucky travels to Madison Square Garden to play UConn Wednesday night. For some reason, playing Connecticut always makes me think of this. Anyway, UK is 9-3 in the Garden, but hasn't been there since the Coaches vs Cancer classic in 2000. Of course, the Cats would have played UConn there 2 years ago, if it weren't for a pesky little team whose name sounds a bit like Wardner-Gebb. In fact, this is only the second ever meeting between the two schools, the first coming in the 2nd round of the 2006 NCAA tournament.

GOG #00 has information about the game. Follow the link if you have any questions.
Statsheet.com has information about UConn.
Congratulations to Ken Howlett for winning GOG #07! Follow the link for full results.

GOG 2009 #08: UConn [Max 30 27 Points]

Who wins the game? [+1 point if correct, -1 point if incorrect] UK
What is the scoring margin at halftime (regardless of who is ahead)? [4 pts if correct, 3 pts within one, 2 pts within two, 1 pt within three] 6 points, 29-23
What is the scoring margin at the end of the game (regardless of who wins)? [4 pts if correct, 3 pts within one, 2 pts within two, 1 pt within three] 3 points, 64-61
UConn is always one of the top shot-blocking teams in the country and so far this year are averaging 9.4 blocks per game (1st in the country as of Monday) while blocking 23% of opponents' shots (also #1 as of Monday). How many shots does UConn block? [3 pts] 8 blocks
Kentucky is no slouch itself on the rejection front, swatting away 8.2 baskets each game (4th) and blocking 22.2% (3rd) of opponents' attempts. How many shots does UK block? [3 pts] 8 blocks
With the exception of John Hood, every Kentucky player who has seen action has at least one block and nine players have multiple blocks. How many UK players block at least one shot? [3 pts] 5 UK players had at least 1 block
I admit that I've been rather annoyed at the fiction Calipari has been trying to spin about how Darius Miller "barely played" last season. Darius played 36 games and averaged 21.2 minutes which was 5th on the team - how stupid does he think fans are? DM (which always makes me think of this) is having a fine season: He's made the most 3-ptrs on the team (14 of 35, 40.0%) while chipping in 28 rebounds, 16 assists, 5 steals, and 4 blocks. He's not spectacular in any one area, but neither is he really lacking in one - He makes solid contributions everywhere and fits in well with any kind of lineup. Predict Darius's made 3-ptrs/assists+steals/rebounds+blocks. [2 pts each] 0/3/1 Not a great game for Miller, but solid defensively and that was pretty important
The irresistable force meets the immovable object: as mentioned previously UConn is a really good shot blocking team and they are holding their opponents to 37.8% shooting percentage on 2-pt shots (8th best in the country as of Monday). Not surprisingly, UK is really good inside the arc, making 55.9% of their 2-pt shots (13th best in the country). Does UK shoot 50% or better on their 2-pt shots? [+1 point if correct, -1 point if incorrect] The object proved to be a bit more immovable. UK did not shoot better than 50%, instead shooting 42.3% (22 for 52) on their 2's
The much less irresistable force meets a slightly more immovable object: UK is actually slightly tougher than UConn to make shots against, holding teams to 37.7% on 2-pt shots (3rd best). UConn shoots only 48.5% on 2's (151st). Does UK hold UConn below 45% on their 2-pt shots? [+1 point if correct, -1 point if incorrect] UConn went consistently inside and UK could not hold them under 45%. UConn shot 48.9% (22 for 45) on 2's.
The completely resistable force meets the easily movable object: UK averages 17.6 turnovers per game and turns the ball over on 24.5% of their possessions (305th - yuck). Fortunately, UConn is not terribly interested in turnovers, as they only force 13.6 per game and only on 18.9% of opponents' possesssions (268th). Does UK turn the ball over on less than 20% of their possessions? [+1 point if correct, -1 point if incorrect] This one was close, but UK committed 14 turnovers on 69 possessions, a 20.3% turnover rate although that still constitutes an improvement.
This game is part of ESPN's SEC-Big East Challenge or Contest or Competition or some other word that begins with C. Georgia and St. John's play in front of UK and UConn Wednesday in what should prove to be quite the battle of putridity. The other games are on Thursday: Florida vs Syracuse and DePaul vs Mississippi St. Setting aside UGA/SJ, what is the SEC's record in the other 3 games? [3 pts] UK and Mississippi St won while Florida lost, so the SEC goes 2-1 in the 3 games.

Deadline for entries is tip-off at 9:30 PM, Wednesday December 9.

Full results for GOG #08 are below:

Mean	8.07
St. Dev	3.89
Median	7.5
Mode	3

	UserName	# of GOGs	GOG #08	TOTAL PTS	Rank by PTS	AVERAGE	Rank by AVG
1	JLeverenz	8	15	63	1	0.217	9
2	Acdixon	6	13	55	4	0.253	6
3	UKWildCatFanatic	7	13	48	7	0.185	14
4	a2d2	8	12	56	3	0.193	13
5	tippey	1	9	9	19	0.333	1
6	EagleTDL	7	8	54	5	0.208	10
7	BigSkyCat	8	8	50	6	0.172	15
8	Wild Weasel	8	7	48	7	0.166	16
9	vinceuk1	1	7	7	20	0.259	5
10	floundringaround	8	6	47	9	0.162	18
11	RandomGuy0	6	5	32	12	0.144	22
12	dancoo626	8	4	57	2	0.197	12
13	UKlvrJM	4	3	39	10	0.252	7
14	kentuckygirl0724	2	3	6	22	0.094	23
	Ken Howlett	3		37	11	0.301	2
	GoLightning	5		30	13	0.154	20
	btcoop71	2		24	14	0.279	3
	yearofthecat	2		20	15	0.278	4
	Ontherocks	3		16	16	0.162	19
	bluelaw	3		16	16	0.154	20
	SpartanWildcat	2		14	18	0.206	11
	hoboat33	1		7	20	0.226	8
	KYCatwoman	1		6	22	0.162	17
	E4	1		3	24	0.083	24

GOG 2009 #07: UNC

JLeverenz — Fri, 04 Dec 2009 16:10:21 -0000

After winning the first 4 games of this annual series, UK has dropped 5 straight to the Tarheels. It's time to reverse that trend and UK has the personnel to do so. UNC is similar to UK in many ways, namely they have a big, talented front line and turnover problems. UK has the best player on the floor in Patrick Patterson and maybe the second best player too, although it's a close call between John Wall and UNC's Ed Davis.

    * GOG #00 has information about the game. Follow the link if you have any questions.
    * Statsheet.com has information about UNC.
    * Congratulations to EagleTDL for winning GOG #06! Follow the link for full results.

GOG 2009 #07: UNC [Max 37 Points]

   1. Who wins the game? [+1 if correct, -1 if incorrect] UK
   2. How many points does UK score? [4 points if correct, 3 points if within 1, 2 points if within 2, 1 point if within 3] 68
   3. How many points does UNC score? [4 points if correct, 3 points if within 1, 2 points if within 2, 1 point if within 3] 66
   4. How many ties in the game? How many lead changes? (note: 0-0 does NOT count as a tie) [3 pts each] 0 ties, 1 lead change
   5. In two games against UNC, Patrick Patterson has 38 points, 20 rebounds, and 2 blocks while shooting 14-23 from the floor (60.9%) and 10-13 from the free throw line (76.9%). Predict his made field goals/made free throws/offensive rebounds. [2 pts each] Patterson went for 8/2/2. How's this for consistency: Patterson has now scored exactly 19 points in each game against UNC.
   6. Both teams have had trouble with turnovers. UNC averages 17.2 per game and turns the ball over 22.7% of their possessions. UK averages 17.1 per game and turns the ball over 24.2% of their possessions. 35.5 turnovers for both teams combined: Do you take the Under or the Over? [+1 if correct, -1 if incorrect] The teams combined for 37 turnovers, so Over.
   7. The game could come down to the team that fails to turn the ball over last. Which team commits the final turnover of the game? [+1 if correct, -1 if incorrect] UK turned the ball over last, Bledsoe with 47 seconds remaining. Fortunately that did not decide the game.
   8. As mentioned above, both teams feature big, talented front lines with Davis, Tyler Zeller, and Deion Thompson for UNC and Patterson, DeMarcus Cousins, and Daniel Orton for UK. Which group of big men collect the most rebounds? The most blocks? [+1 if correct, -1 if incorrect, each] The UNC trio out rebounded the UK group 24-16. Both groups tied with 4 blocks a piece, so everyone got the second part of this question correct.
   9. Speaking of Orton, he's given the team valuable minutes off the bench with good production. Predict his points/rebounds/blocks. [2 pts each] 0/4/2 and those blocks proved to be big.
   10. The big pre-season question on offense was about 3-point shooting, but the Cats have come out and hit 37.9% from 3, their best percentage in quite some time. Bledsoe and Dodson have both been good and Miller is getting better. Who makes the most 3-pt shots for the Cats? [3 pts] This was a tie between Miller and Dodson with 2 each, so if you picked either one you got credit.
   11. The UNC-A was a dunk-fest for UK. How many of those "high percentage shots" do they get against the TarHeels? [3 pts] 4 dunks for UK

Deadline for answers is tip-off at 12:30 PM on Saturday, December 5.

Congratulations to Ken Howlett for winning the UNC GOG. This makes Ken the first 2-time winner of the GOG this year! Full results are below.

Mean	5.79
St. Dev	3.47
Median	6
Mode	6

GOG #07 Rank	UserName	# of GOGs	GOG #07	TOTAL PTS	Rank by PTS	AVERAGE	Rank by AVG
1	Ken Howlett	3	13	37	9	0.301	1
2	JLeverenz	7	10	48	2	0.183	10
3	floundringaround	7	9	41	7	0.156	15
4	UKlvrJM	3	8	36	10	0.281	2
5	EagleTDL	6	6	46	3	0.198	9
6	BigSkyCat	7	6	42	5	0.160	14
7	Wild Weasel	7	6	41	7	0.156	15
8	UKWildCatFanatic	6	6	35	11	0.151	19
9	KYCatwoman	1	6	6	20	0.162	12
10	dancoo626	7	4	53	1	0.202	8
11	kentuckygirl0724	1	3	3	21	0.081	22
12	RandomGuy0	5	2	27	13	0.138	20
13	a2d2	7	1	44	4	0.167	11
14	GoLightning	5	1	30	12	0.154	17
	Acdixon	5		42	5	0.221	6
	btcoop71	2		24	14	0.279	3
	yearofthecat	2		20	15	0.278	4
	Ontherocks	3		16	16	0.162	13
	bluelaw	3		16	16	0.154	17
	SpartanWildcat	2		14	18	0.206	7
	hoboat33	1		7	19	0.226	5
	E4	1		3	21	0.083	21

GOG 2009 #06

JLeverenz — Sun, 29 Nov 2009 19:02:12 -0000

The Cats look to shake off the tryptophan in Louisville for a neutral (*snort*) court game against the Bulldogs of UNC-Asheville. The Bulldogs are still seeking their first win of the season having lost to, among others, Tennessee by 75 points (ouch!)

GOG #00 has information about the game. Follow the link if you have any questions.
Statsheet.com has information about UNC-A.
Congratulations to Ken Howlett for winning GOG #05! Follow the link for full results.

GOG 2009 #06: UNC-Asheville [Max 37 Points]

Who wins the game? [+1 if correct, -1 if incorrect] UK
How many points does UK have at halftime? [4 pts if correct, 3 pts within one, 2 pts within two, 1 pt within three] 45
How many points does UK have at the end of the game? [4 pts if correct, 3 pts within one, 2 pts within two, 1 pt within three] 94
Last year Jodie Meeks put on one of his many incredible scoring displays in Freedom Hall with 46 points - his career high at that point in time. Does a UK player score 30+ points in the game? [+1 if correct, -1 if incorrect] No
Do any UK players establish a career high in points? How many players establish career highs in points? [First question: +1 if correct, -1 if incorrect, Second question: 3 pts] No, although Dodson tied his career high of fifteen points, nobody established a new career high in points. Incidentally, I thought Hood was a mortal lock to make this a "yes" since all he needed was 4 points.
It seems like everybody on this team can block shots, even the guards (Wall and Bledsoe each have 5 for the season). How many UNC-A shots does UK swat away? [3 pts] 7 blocks
Darnell Dodson reappeared in Cancun, but did he make it back to the Bluegrass? Predict his minutes/made 3-ptrs/steals/ [2 pts each] 20/3/0
UK still only has 1 game in which they have more assists than turnovers. Do they accomplish the feat in this game? [+1 if correct, -1 if incorrect] Yes, In a big way
This is the kind of game where guys could potentially put up some big numbers. Which UK player has the most combined points+rebounds+assists+steals+blocks? [3 pts] This was a tie between Cousins and Wall
UNC-A averages 74.8 possessions per 40 minutes, UK averages 71.3. How many possessions in the game? (Note: I'll be using Statsheet.com to answer this question) [3 pts] This game had 70 possessions. I think there was some confusion on this question - both teams have the same number of possessions in any given game and the number of possessions an individual team averages is a way to measure how quickly they play.
Which group has the better FG% for UK: the starters or the bench? [+1 if correct, -1 if incorrect] The starters outperformed the bench on this one.
Just because of the name: The bulldogs have a freshman named Austin Alecxih who has appeared in 4 of their 5 games and played a total of 15 minutes. Predict his minutes/points/steals. [2 pts each] 2/0/0

Deadline for answers is tip-off at 7:00 PM on Monday, November 30.

EagleTDL led the way with 16 points, making him the 6th different GOG winner, congratulations!

Mean	9.09
St. Dev	4.11
Median	9
Mode	9

GOG #06 Rank	UserName	# of GOGs	GOG #06	TOTAL PTS	Rank by PTS	AVERAGE	Rank by AVG
1	EagleTDL	5	16	40	4	0.253	7
2	UKlvrJM	2	14	28	11	0.519	1
3	dancoo626	6	11	49	1	0.259	6
4	Acdixon	5	11	42	3	0.275	5
5	floundringaround	6	10	32	8	0.169	16
6	a2d2	6	9	43	2	0.228	8
7	JLeverenz	6	9	38	5	0.201	11
8	RandomGuy0	4	9	25	12	0.158	18
9	BigSkyCat	6	4	36	6	0.190	12
10	UKWildCatFanatic	5	4	29	9	0.184	14
11	Wild Weasel	6	3	35	7	0.185	13
	GoLightning	4		29	9	0.184	14
	btcoop71	2		24	13	0.279	2
	Ken Howlett	2		24	13	0.279	2
	yearofthecat	2		20	15	0.278	4
	Ontherocks	3		16	16	0.162	17
	bluelaw	3		16	16	0.154	19
	SpartanWildcat	2		14	18	0.206	10
	hoboat33	1		7	19	0.226	9
	E4	1		3	20	0.083	20

GOG 2009 #05

JLeverenz — Mon, 23 Nov 2009 20:42:35 -0000

The Cats take their show on the road (well, neutral court anyway) after a decisive win against a good Rider team. Cleveland State is a good squad out of the Horizon Conference that is coming off a trip to the NCAA Tournament that included a convincing drubbing of a good Wake Forest team. In their second game the Cats will get their first crack at a BCS-conference opponent facing either Virginia or Stanford. Personally, I am hoping for Virginia as the Cats owe them for that loss in Maui 6 years ago. Also, even though Virginia will be pretty mediocre, the ACC will be much better than the Pac-10 this year which helps that RPI SOS ever so slightly.

GOG #00 contains information about the game.

Info about Cleveland State, Stanford, and Virginia and the Cancun Challenge

Congratulations to yearofthecat for winning GOG#04! Click the link to see the full scores.

GOG 2009 #04: Cancun Challenge [Max 54 points]

What will UK's record be in the two games they play? [3 pts] 2-0
UK has an average margin of victory of 14.25 points through the first four games. What is their total margin of victory for the two games (a loss will count as a negative MOV for this question)? [4 pts if correct, 3 pts within one, 2 pts within two, 1 pt within three] Total MOV was 32 points (24 vs CSU, and 8 against Stanford)
UK will face either Stanford or Virginia in their second game. Who will it be? [ +1 if correct, -1 if incorrect] Stanford
In which game does UK score the most points: first or second? [ +1 if correct, -1 if incorrect] This was a tie as UK scored 73 points in each game, everybody got this correct
Does UK make more 3-pt shots than their opponents (both games combined)? [ +1 if correct, -1 if incorrect] UK opponents edged the Cats 12-11 on made 3-ptrs for the two games
The other four teams (Rider, Sam Houston St, Florida A&M, Oral Roberts) will play in the Mayan division. Which team wins that bracket? [3 pts] Sam Houston St won this division over Rider
As Ken Howlett mentioned in the PostMortem, the Rider game was the first time all season in which UK finished a game with more assists than turnovers. How many times does UK accomplish that feat in Cancun? [3 pts] 0 games as UK committed more turnovers than assists in each contest (15 to 20 against CSU, 15-16 against Stanford)
What is UK's overall difference in assists and turnovers (assists - turnovers) for the two games? [3 pts] UK was -6 for the two games
Who leads UK in rebounding against Cleveland St? [3 pts] This was a suprise tie between Darius Miller and Ramon Harris, each with 8 rebounds
Who leads UK in scoring against Cleveland St? [3 pts] John Wall led the way with 15 points
Who leads UK in assists against Cleveland St? [3 pts] This was an easy one, John Wall with 6
Cleveland St is led by 6-1 junior Norris Cole who is averaging 21.0 ppg and hitting 58.3% on 3-pt shots (7 of 12). He is also averaging 2.5 steals per game. Predict Cole's points/made 3-ptrs/steals against the Cats. [2 pts each] UK held Cole to 9 points, 1 3-ptr, and 2 steals
Patterson is having the kind of monster season that we all wanted to see. Predict his points/rebounds/blocks against Cleveland St. [2 pts each] Patterson only played 18 minutes but still managed 9 points, 5 rebounds, and 1 block
Patterson and Cousins each already have an 18-rebound game which is pretty incredible. Who grabs the most rebounds in the tournament? [ +1 if correct, -1 if incorrect] Patrick did just a little more on the boards, grabbing 16 to Cousin's 12
Which group grabs more rebounds for the tournament: Patterson + Cousins or the rest of the team combined? [ +1 if correct, -1 if incorrect] The rest of the team grabbed more than Patrick and DeMarcus, 59 to 28
John Wall put on a show against Rider, predict his assists/steals/blocks against Stanford/Virginia. [2 pts each] Wall had 5 assists, 1 steal, and 2 blocks against Stanford
The bench figures to be an important aspect of this tournament for UK as they will be playing their 4th and 5th games in 10 days. Which UK player scores the most points off the bench against Cleveland St? Against Stanford/Virginia? [3 pts each] Orton led the way against CSU with 6 points, Harris was the only bench player to score against Stanford and had 7 points.

Deadline for answers is tip-off of the Cleveland St game at 4:30 PM on Tuesday, November 24.

Congratulations to Ken Howlett for winning the Cancun GOG with a score of 23 points! The decisive question was the total margin of victory which Ken nailed at 32. Full results are below.

Mean	14.71
St. Dev	4.34
Median	15
Mode	15

GOG #05 Rank	UserName	# of GOGs	GOG #05	TOTAL PTS	Rank by PTS	AVERAGE	Rank by AVG
1	Ken Howlett	2	23	24	9	0.279	1
2	JLeverenz	5	19	29	6	0.153	16
3	btcoop71	2	18	24	9	0.279	1
4	BigSkyCat	5	17	32	3	0.169	11
5	UKWildCatFanatic	4	16	25	8	0.158	14
6	floundringaround	5	16	22	12	0.116	18
7	a2d2	5	15	34	2	0.180	10
8	Wild Weasel	5	15	32	3	0.169	11
9	dancoo626	5	14	38	1	0.201	8
10	UKlvrJM	1	14	14	17	0.259	4
11	Acdixon	4	13	31	5	0.203	7
12	EagleTDL	4	12	24	9	0.152	17
13	GoLightning	4	9	29	6	0.184	9
14	RandomGuy0	4	5	16	14	0.101	19
	yearofthecat	2		20	13	0.278	3
	Ontherocks	3		16	14	0.162	13
	bluelaw	3		16	14	0.154	15
	SpartanWildcat	2		14	17	0.206	6
	hoboat33	1		7	19	0.226	5
	E4	1		3	20	0.083	20

GOG 2009 #04

JLeverenz — Fri, 20 Nov 2009 20:55:03 -0000

So here's a question for you. If UK were to ever run one of those half-time contests where a student gets to take a half-court shot to win a million dollars or some such, is he allowed to have some players on the floor to guard him to improve his chances of making it? Just wondering.

GOG #00 contains information about the game.
Info about Rider
Congratulations to dancoo626 for winning GOG#03! This was a low-scoring GOG, thanks to DeMarcus Cousins's stubborn refusal to pick up fouls and SHS's stubborn refusal to miss three point shots. Special shoutout to BigSkyCat for being the only person to pick Cousins to lead the team in scoring for the game.

GOG 2009 #04: Rider [Max 36 points]

Who wins? [ +1 if correct, -1 if incorrect] UK
What is the margin of victory (regardless of who wins)? [4 pts if correct, 3 pts within one, 2 pts within two, 1 pt within three] UK by 29 points
Who leads UK in scoring? [3 pts] John Wall with 21 points
Patrick Patterson has hit a three pointer in each of the first three games. Does the streak continue against Rider? [ +1 if correct, -1 if incorrect] No, Patterson went 0-2 from behind the arc
UK has struggled shooting free throws in the games that count. Does UK shoot 70% or better as a team from the line? [ +1 if correct, -1 if incorrect] Yes, UK went 20-28 from the line for 71.4%
Despite "only" grabbing 9 rebounds against SHS, Patterson is still averaging a double-double early in the season. Is he still averaging a double-double after the Rider game? (Note that Patterson needs 0 points and 9 rebounds to continue averaging a double-double) [ +1 if correct, -1 if incorrect] Yes, although with 18 rebounds "Yes" seems a wholly inadequate way to answer this question.
How many Rider players hit 3 or more 3 point shots? [3 pts] Incredibly no Rider player had 3 or more and only 1 player had 2.
Does Rider as a team hit 10 or more 3 point shots against the Cats? [ +1 if correct, -1 if incorrect] No, Rider was held to 4-17 on three point shooting
DeMarcus Cousins has picked up 5, 3, and 1 foul in his first three games respectively. He can't get -1 fouls to continue the trend, so I expect him to commit a foul that gets tagged on someone else (watch your back Daniel Orton!). Cousins has had an outstanding game and a half. Predict his made field goals/rebounds/steals. [2 pts each] Cousins had 7/6/1 in limited action. He's a beast.
Calipari mentioned Ramon Harris as one guy he was pleased with after he grabbed 5 boards in 12 minutes against SHS and was vocal on the floor. He suggested that Harris would see more floor time as a result. Predict Harris's minutes/rebounds/steals+blocks. [2 pts each] 21/2/2
UK got big time games from the starters, but no scoring from the bench. How many bench players score in the game? How many total bench points? [3 pts each] Only 2 bench players scored (Orton and Harrellson) and they combined for 18 points
Speaking of the starters, it was the first time in almost two years that UK had three players score 20+ points in a game (the last time was against FIU in 2007 I believe). How many players score 20 points or more? [3 pts] Wall was the only player to go over 20, although Patterson and Cousins were both very close and could have gotten there with better FT shooting

Deadline for answers is tip-off at 1:00 PM on Saturday, November 21.

Programming Note: Due to UK's next two games being back-to-back and Thanksgiving holidays, I'm going to combine both games into a single GOG.

Update: Congratulations to yearofthecat for winning GOG #04 with a whopping 15 points!

Mean	5.08
St. Dev	4.05
Median	4
Mode	3

GOG #04 Rank	UserName	# of GOGs	GOG #04	TOTAL PTS	Rank by PTS	AVERAGE	Rank by AVG
1	yearofthecat	2	15	20	2	0.278	1
2	GoLightning	3	9	20	2	0.192	4
3	JLeverenz	4	8	10	13	0.074	17
4	dancoo626	4	7	24	1	0.178	7
5	BigSkyCat	4	6	15	9	0.111	13
6	Wild Weasel	4	4	17	6	0.126	11
6	bluelaw	3	4	16	7	0.154	9
6	UKWildCatFanatic	3	4	9	14	0.087	15
9	EagleTDL	3	3	12	11	0.115	12
9	RandomGuy0	3	3	11	12	0.106	14
9	E4	1	3	3	18	0.083	16
12	a2d2	4	1	19	4	0.141	10
13	floundringaround	4	-1	6	16	0.044	18
	Acdixon	3		18	5	0.182	6
	Ontherocks	3		16	7	0.162	8
	SpartanWildcat	2		14	10	0.206	3
	hoboat33	1		7	15	0.226	2
	btcoop71	1		6	16	0.188	5
	Ken Howlett	1		1	19	0.031	19

GOG 2009 #03

JLeverenz — Thu, 19 Nov 2009 00:19:28 -0000

Well, that Miami game was more exciting than I think most anyone not name John Calipari wanted to see. The Cats now face an experienced Sam Houston St team which should prove to be another solid opponent and a good opportunity for the Cats to learn more about themselves.

GOG #00 contains information about the game.
Here is info on Sam Houston St.
Congratulations to SpartanWildcat for winning GOG #02! ~~I don't have the full results ready to post, but I should have them updated either later tonight or tomorrow.~~ Results are updated. Follow the link to see them.

Scoring Change: One of the difficult things about writing the GOG is to come up with questions in which there is a reasonable chance for people to guess the correct outcome. Even before the first GOG I knew that guessing the score for each team would prove to be rather difficult and I've been bouncing around various ways to score that type of question because let's face it - a game where you guess the outcome of a basketball game that *doesn't* include guessing the score is pretty lame, but I also want it to be fair. After some thought I've come up with the following scoring system:

"Guess the score" questions will be worth anywhere from 1 to 4 points based on how close to the actual score a guess is. Getting the score exactly correct will be worth 4 points. A guess within one of the actual score will be worth 3 point, within two will be worth 2 points, and within three will be worth 1 point. Ex: If you predict UK will score 75 points and UNC will score 43 points and UK scores 76 and UNC scores 40, then you would get 3 points for the UK score (within one) and 1 point for the UNC score (within three).

GOG 2009 #03: Sam Houston St [Max 32 points]

Who wins? [ +1 if correct, -1 if incorrect] UK
How many points will UK score? [4 pts if correct, 3 pts within one, 2 pts within two, 1 pt within three] 102
How many points will SHS score? [4 pts if correct, 3 pts within one, 2 pts within two, 1 pt within three] 92
Who leads UK in scoring for the game? [3 pts] DeMarcus Cousins
According to Calipari's post game radio interview we can expect to see John Hood make his debut Thursday night, making this the third straight game that a freshman has made their debut. Predict his minutes/points/made three pointers. [2 pts each] 8/0/0
Calipari also said that he needs to deepen his bench and get more guys to play. How many UK players play 10+ minutes? [3 pts] 7 players saw 10+ minutes
SHS has a pretty small team and UK has dominated the boards in each of its first two games. How many Offensive Rebounds for the Cats? [3 pts] 13 off. boards for the Cats
What SHS does do very well is steal the ball, with 25 in their first two games and four players each with 4 or 5 steals. Handling the ball has been an issue so far on the season for UK. How many steals for SHS? [3 pts] 14 steals for the Bearkats
John Wall and Eric Bledsoe have combined for 12 assists. For SHS Drae Murray and Josten Crow have combined for 25 assists on the season. Which duo dishes out more dimes? [ +1 if correct, -1 if incorrect] Wall and Bledsoe had 12 assists, Murray and Crow had 7
DeMarcus Cousins has struggled with foul trouble in the first halves of games, but in the second half against Miami was very active and only picked up a single no-no. Does Cousins pick up two (or more) fouls in the first half? How many fouls does he get for the entire game? First question: [ +1 if correct, -1 if incorrect] Second question: [3 pts] Remarkably, Cousins only had 1 foul the entire game.

Deadline for answers is tip-off at 7:00 PM on Thursday, November 19.

Results:

Congratulations to dancoo626 for winning GOG #03! This was a low scoring GOG as you can see and that happens from time to time. I blame Patterson for deciding not to lead the team in scoring.

Mean	2.69
St. Dev	2.21
Median	3
Mode	4

GOG #03 Rank	UserName	# of GOGs	GOG #03	TOTAL PTS	Rank by PTS	AVERAGE	Rank by AVG
1	dancoo626	3	7	17	3	0.172	7
2	btcoop71	1	6	6	14	0.188	3
3	a2d2	3	4	18	1	0.182	4
3	bluelaw	2	4	12	7	0.176	6
3	EagleTDL	2	4	9	9	0.132	11
3	BigSkyCat	3	4	9	9	0.091	14
7	Ontherocks	3	3	16	4	0.162	9
7	Wild Weasel	3	3	13	6	0.131	12
7	GoLightning	2	3	11	8	0.162	8
10	SpartanWildcat	2	2	14	5	0.206	2
10	RandomGuy0	2	2	8	11	0.118	13
12	floundringaround	3	1	7	12	0.071	16
12	UKWildCatFanatic	2	1	5	15	0.074	15
12	Ken Howlett	1	1	1	18	0.031	17
15	Acdixon	3	-1	18	1	0.182	4
15	JLeverenz	3	-1	2	17	0.020	18
	hoboat33	1		7	12	0.226	1
	yearofthecat	1		5	15	0.139	10