Managing the mental state of a team is one of the biggest challenges that coaches face. X's and O's give the players the how to do it part of the game and talent affords the ability, but motivation is often the key to implementation. This group of Wildcats is getting pretty good at running a game plan and the inherent in game adjustments that are always necessary. It is the motivational or psychological part of the game that likely will determine if they end up winning it all.

Coach Calipari is a master motivator, perhaps one of the best the game has seen since John Wooden. This Friday's match up with the Hoosiers presents him with a unique challenge. He may actually have to demotivate his team to some extent. IU presents a reverse trap game as I see it. Coach Cal does not need to open his mouth to get this team up for the game. The lingering hurt of the earlier loss plus the constant replaying of the shot has done that job for him. The danger is that the team will expend too much emotion on the IU game and, should they win, come out flat for the next game. We see this every time an SEC team beats us.

Coach Cal is going to have to convince his young warriors that this game is no more than another step towards the only goal, a national championship. A hard fought physical battle will not take the bounce out of young legs in the next game 48 hours later. Physically they will be okay. They just cannot afford to play all of their emotional cards on the seductive nature of revenge.

Just read a bunch of the tweets Indiana University fans are sending to Coach Cal. Most of them are just juvenile and stupid, a few are actually threatening but all of them are over the top. I really think that Tom Crean needs to step in and call his own fans out on this. I remember Coach Cal telling the UK fans to lay off Rick Pitino when he brought the Cards to Rupp after his sex scandal was in the news. Of course I really lay all of this at the foot of their Knight in not so shining armor. His public comments about UK and Coach Cal have fueled this. I hope he is proud of himself. Come to think of it, he probably is. I think this should tip the scale to drop the IU series. We sure don't need them so let them rot in their own insignificance.

Am I the only one scouting this game? Wisconsin can't hit the side of a barn and they are only down one at the half. UNC just doesn't seem to have it together lately. The second half of this game could be very interesting. If Wisconsin finds the range, I think UNC could be coming into Rupp on a two game skid. Is that good or bad? If nothing else, they could be bombing out our strength of schedule. Oh well, I'm still pulling for the badgers.

Now, we will all admit that we are as good, if not better, coaches than whoever happens to be at the helm of the Wildcats at any given point in time.  So let's indulge in a sports fantasy scenario.  We are waiting for a flight back to Lexington and who do we see?  Coach Cal is waiting for the same flight. I actually had something similar happen except it was Al McGuire.

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The NCAA rules for charges under the basket will now allow an arc 3 feet from the center of the basket to be painted on the floor and secondary defenders will not be allowed to take a charge inside the arc.  It is about time. That has always been one of my soap box issues because of the possibility of injury plus the refs only get it right about half the time.  I absolutely hate it when a player has left his feet driving to the basket only to have some idiot in a Duke uniform flop underneath him.  I think it will be a positive for the game.

[Promoted.  I added a poll below. -- Ed.]

 the famous saying goes, soon falls.  I can hear  Henny Penny starting to mumble and stare at the sky.    Coach Cal can't win it all with freshmen, we hear, based upon the notion that he hasn't done it already.   There are many good coaches out there that have never won a national championship and some who have won it are not considered great coaches.

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Brace for an outpouring of hate.  Coach Cal had to be behind this, right?  It won't matter to the haters that the NCAA accepted Bledsoe's academic credentials before he came to UK.  Heck, that won't even matter to the NCAA when it comes down to it.  I just wonder how far back in a player's high school career a school will have to dig before accepting a player for their team. 

As the story of the 2010 NCAA Tourney unfolds it once again plays out like a fine suspense novel.  A main character gets killed off early, mystery teams pull off upsets right and left, and the hero marches toward the ultimate climax.

If I were writing this story from my own imagination, I am not sure I could have topped the surprises reality is delivering.  Let's see, I think I will develop a story in which a different UK player sets a personal best scoring record in each of the first two games.  Oops, that already been done.  Let's see, a KY bred and raised walk on who loves the team in ways his NBA bound teammates will never understand, will come in and sink a three that meant nothing to the victory but everything to every true blue fan within the boundaries of KY and beyond.  Oh and add the nuance of his superstar teammates jumping up and down celebrating his triumph like they were schoolkids or something.  Really?  I am looking forward to the next four chapters.  Let's write them together.

According to Jerry Tipton, Patrick Patterson will jump through the hoop Sunday and still might return for one more year.  Pat also said something to the effect of jumping through the hoop again next year.  Maybe a new tradition is born.  Graduate early and get a diploma and two hoops.  I am sure that this will not end the debate on who is a Senior and who gets honored.  I personally am glad to see Patrick get his due for coming back and taking care of business on and off the court.

At a joint news conference Sunday afternoon, the Attorneys General of Mississippi and Tennessee announced the filing of charges against the players and coaches of the University of Kentucky men's basketball team.  They have been accused of stealing basketball games from teams in both states, charges that, if proven, would result in intensified motivation for the offended parties in future meetings.

The alleged transgressions were found to be particularly egregious regarding the events in Mississippi where, according to unnamed sources, the incident occurred "despite the overwhelming hospitality extended our guests when concern that they might be dehydrated from their exhaustive efforts on the court resulted in bottles of water being delivered to them by fans at the end of the game."

Additional charges of conspiracy are being contemplated against the officiating crews of both games.

It was also stated that top officials from South Carolina were requesting information from both states out of concern over rumors of planned acts of revenge against their team on Thursday night.

Updates and film at 11.

UK holds on to beat UNC and it was obvious that the Cats have much room for improvement.  That is exciting.

So far this season we have:

Come back from an 18 point deficit to win on a last second shot.

Come back in the last seconds to send the game into OT where we came from behind again to win.

Won a run and gun shootout.

Won 2 games in a ballroom on a bad floor.

Won a couple of blowouts.

Beat UNC.

The coaching staff must be ecstatic that we have had so many valuable teaching scenarios and have managed to win all of our games so far.

We have learned:

John Wall is the man and as he goes, so goes UK.

Patrick Patterson is a rock.

DeMarcus Cousins is a child in a man's body.  Watching him mature will be fun.

UK will go far if the supporting cast continues to improve.

None of this is news to the avid (rabid?) UK fan but I am bored and putting off cleaning up the mess I made partying last night after a day of exciting sporting events.  Can't wait for Wednesday night.

Just watched Texas Tech defeat Washington and, like  the Wisconsin/Duke game last night, the students stormed the floor.  This practice, encouraged by Dickie V until the crowd ran him over one night, is dangerous and should absolutely be stopped immediately.  The players get engulfed by the mob and could be injured.  An opposing player who might have invoked the anger of the fans could be assaulted.  It smacks of the out of control soccer fans who riot in the stands in third world countries.  Nip it, nip in the bud!!!  Adolph Rupp would have had anyone who stepped on his court publicly flogged.

My hat is off to Pat Knight.  Near the end of the Texas Tech upset, the crowd started chanting "overrated".  He screamed at them to stop.  It is the most stupid of all cheers.  While it may demean the opponent, it absolutely diminishes the accomplishment of your own team.  Cheer underrated instead.

My last pet peeve is people who feel compelled to post their pet peeves!  Excuse me now, I have to go get a life.