Eric Bledsoe

LEXINGTON ? It might not have been an A-plus performance, but Kentucky still got a passing grade from coach John Calipari. The Wildcats certainly looked like a team that spent a lot of energy taking final exams all week while struggling to a 90-69 win over Austin Peay here Saturday in a game that was much closer most of the second half than many expected. "Think about the sloppiness we had up 16 or 18 points and we lose our minds. It looked like we were the (Harlem) Globetrotters at times," said UK coach John Calipari.

Kentucky coach John Calipari hopes his team plays better than it practiced Thursday. "It was so bad that we conditioned for an hour, and I haven't done that since my UMass days," Calipari said Friday. "Coach (John) Robic came in and said that was old school because we ran for one hour. " Calipari is anxious to see how his third-ranked team responds heading into today's contest against Austin Peay at Rupp Arena. Tipoff is set for 4 p.m. It will be the Wildcats' first outing since a 90-73 win over Indiana in Bloomington a week ago. The Governors are 7-4 on the season and are 2-0 in the Ohio Valley Conference.

John Wall can score. So can Eric Bledsoe. Wall gained national attention following his performance in Kentucky's win over Connecticut last week, but Bledsoe took his turn in the scoring department in Kentucky's first "real" road test at Indiana Saturday. Although Wall had 11 points and dished out eight assists, the Wildcats needed another player to step up and take the pressure off Wall, the team's point guard. Bledsoe, Wall's sidekick in the backcourt, picked up the slack.

BLOOMINGTON ? Remember when everyone was wondering why in the world Eric Bledsoe would come to Kentucky knowing that John Wall also was going to play for the Wildcats? The prevailing theory was that the two point guards could not co-exist, or play, together, especially since Wall could well be the best freshman point guard ever in the college game. But guess what? Eric Bledsoe is not too shabby, either. He ended a streak of five games without scoring in double figures by tallying 23 points here Saturday in Kentucky's 90-73 win over Indiana in the Cats' first true road test of what could turn out to be a very memorable season.

BLOOMINGTON, Ind. - Indiana took its best shot at No. 4 Kentucky on Saturday. The Wildcats retaliated with a shrug and a knockout punch in a 90-73 victory. John Wall got the offense in sync, setting up a decisive 18-0 second-half run that gave the Wildcats their first win in Bloomington since 1981. It was just what Kentucky coach John Calipari thought his team needed. "What I was so happy about is how Indiana came out and tried to run us off the floor and made every shot and just played with unbelievable energy," Calipari said.

LEXINGTON ? Kentucky found out what it could be like to have to play without John Wall ? and coach John Calipari says that probably was a good thing. After a dominating first half against North Carolina Saturday, Wall left the game early in the second half with leg cramps. He missed almost 50 percent of the second half before returning and even then was not nearly as explosive or fast. That's why North Carolina was able to cut into a 19-point deficit before losing 68-66. "We are not the same with John Wall hurt," said Calipari.

LEXINGTON ? Eric Bledsoe wanted the ball when it mattered and he delivered. The freshman guard scored seven of his nine points in the last three minutes, including five of six free throws that helped Kentucky snap a five-game losing streak to the Tar Heels with a 68-66 triumph in front of a record crowd Saturday at Rupp Arena. In practice, Kentucky coach John Calipari knows what Bledsoe can do when the game is on the line. When the Wildcats needed it the most, Bledsoe pleaded with his coach for an opportunity in the powerhouse showdown in front of a national audience.

LEXINGTON ? North Carolina won last year's national championship, has beat Kentucky five straight years and is a co-favorite to win the Atlantic Coast Conference championship. The Tar Heels play at Kentucky today as the school's race to become the first school in NCAA history to win 2,000 games. Fifth-ranked Kentucky has 1,995 wins, four more than No. 10 Carolina. So does all that make this a statement game for new UK coach John Calipari and his unbeaten Wildcats" "Most definitely, especially with the ranking we have and the fact we have not lost a game yet. It is really a big statement game for us. I am looking forward to it and playing against a big team," said UK freshman center Daniel Orton.

LEXINGTON ? Eric Bledsoe never got into a comfort zone against Sam Houston State Thursday night. Bledsoe hardly felt at ease, even though the Wildcats posted a 102-92 win over the BearKats in the opening round of the Cancun Challenge at Rupp Arena. "It was real scary," he said. "We stopped playing and kept letting them in the game. We let them keep hanging around. " In assessing the outcome, Bledsoe said the team's defensive lapses, especially around the perimeter are because of a lack of focus by the team's newcomers, especially the freshmen class.