Most know that I am a native Kentuckian. Born and raised here (Hudson, KY), and went to school and now work here (WKU). It's a hoops-mad commonwealth. UK is the big gun in this territory and historically they expect to waltz through their non-conference home slate with little resistance. Not so last night.
Gardner-Webb shellacked Kentucky 84-68 last night on UK's home court. Most of the state is currently suffering an apoplectic meltdown of Biblical proportions. Blame is being launched in every direction with no regard for human life (somehow, this is STILL Tubby Smith's fault in many UK fans' minds).
The nice part for TBB is that we have a heaping pile of evidence that this is November. TBB always takes an opportunity to remind folks of this each season. Things tend to get wild and crazy in November. Santa Clara beats national champion North Carolina teams (2005). Butler rips through the preseason NIT field to take a title (2006). Michigan State and Ohio State lose exhibition games while UK loses by SIXTEEN in Rupp to G-W (2007). Some of these things are early indicators of unexpectedly fantastic teams (Butler) and some are merely lessons learned by future March juggernauts (North Carolina, 2006). Is G-W that good? Is Kentucky that bad?
Hard to tell. It's NOVEMBER, and most wonderfully, games like these remind us that it is basketball season. Soak up this wild mess while it lasts. Games like G-W over UK are exactly why I posted the early season event guide a few posts down. Although the Bulldogs managed to smack UK in Rupp, these early season events often put non-BCS schools against BCS teams in lots of neutral court games. This usually makes for interesting hijinks and so-called "upsets" which are often not upsets at all. Often, they are merely games between fairly even teams on a neutral court.
So, we have a smattering of games tonight that will give way to a tidal wave of contests this weekend. And, rest assured, there will be some wild results ticking across the bottom of the screen. We will take a closer look at the weekend tomorrow.
