Jayhawks

LEXINGTON - Today's game against Kansas certainly has brought out the best - or worst - in Kentucky coach Tubby Smith. Smith's team is 10-1, ranked eighth and coming off a win over South Carolina in its Southeastern Conference opener going into today's game against unbeaten and second-ranked Kansas. Yet Smith said Friday that there was nothing about his team that made him happy. "We've got to play a lot better than what we've played, period," said Smith. "We weren't very good the other night against South Carolina and we were very fortunate to get that win. " What upset Smith the most was his team's defense against South Carolina, which ended UK's 42-game streak of holding opponents below 50 percent shooting.

LEXINGTON - Kansas coach Bill Self acknowledges that he owes part of his coaching success to Tubby Smith because of what Smith did as Tulsa's coach before Self made a name for himself as Tulsa's coach. However, Self also knows what to expect when he plays Smith's Kentucky Wildcats. "They are going to guard you, and they are really going to pressure you," Self said. "They are going to make it difficult to get easy baskets. They will fly around. UK at Kansas Noon Sat. TV: ESPN Radio: WRNZ-FM (105.

Before the season began, Kentucky coach John Calipari predicted that it would take Marquis Teague time to develop as the team's point guard. Although Teague was steady in a 108-58 win over Marist in the season opener, he slipped somewhat from the first game to the second contest. “He (did) everything a guard I have brought into the (Madison Square) Garden has done,” the Kentucky coach said earlier this week. Teague committed six turnovers and dished out three assists in a 75-65 win over Kansas Tuesday night at Madison¿Square Garden in New York.

CHICAGO - Ramel Bradley was back to his normal talkative, jovial self Saturday. The Kentucky junior guard was elbowed in the jaw by Villanova's Curtis Sumpter late in UK's 67-68 victory Friday. However, he did eventually return to the game. "I went back in. Didn't I?" Bradley joked before Kentucky's practice Saturday for today's NCAA Tournament second-round game against Kansas, the No. 1 seed in the West Regional. "Actually, I could have stayed in. "He got me pretty good in the jaw. It probably wasn't as hard as the hit I took against Michigan State my freshman year in the NCAA, but it was close.

If you are looking for enjoyable NCAA storylines, there's nothing better than looking at the possibilities for Kentucky, Louisville and Eastern Kentucky this week. To see this bracket in .pdf format, click here. It was no surprise that Florida, which won its third straight Southeastern Conference Tournament title Sunday, is the No. 1 overall seed in the tourney. That's what you would expect from a team that won the national title last year and returned all five starters. Kansas, Ohio State and North Carolina also had convincing conference tournament wins to make them No. 1 seeds.

Dian Watz can't think of a better time than March to be a college basketball fan. “It's the most exciting time of the year in sports,” she said. “It's better than football, the World Series. It's a bunch of kids who really want to win. It's all for team spirit and pride. “You have so many opinions from people and everybody is rooting for their own team.” For the next three weeks, the NCAA Tournament will take center stage locally and nationally with 68 teams vying for a spot in the Final Four and chance to compete for a national championship.

LEXINGTON - It's been more than a decade since Rick Pitino last coached a home game at Rupp Arena. For all intents and purposes, he's about to get another one. Pitino's Louisville Cardinals drew a No. 6 seed and a date with 11th-seeded Stanford Thursday in the first round of the NCAA tournament. But it's the location of the game - in Lexington, where Pitino once coached Kentucky - that is raising eyebrows. The coach downplayed the venue - just about 70 miles east of Louisville.

CHICAGO - Kentucky senior Bobby Perry doesn't think the bizarre loss to Mississippi State in the Southeastern Conference Tournament last week caused in part by a free throw lane violation on Sheray Thomas will haunt UK tonight in Chicago when it plays Villanova. "I think we can move past it. We felt we had the game won. It was just one play that pretty much took it all away," Perry said. "We didn't play our best, but we fought back and that shows how we can come back. We have to get over it and move on. "I know not many people are giving our team a chance to do well in the tournament.

NEW ORLEANS - Kansas certainly has no argument with No. 1 Kentucky (37-2) being favored to win Monday's national championship game, especially since the Jayhawks remember how UK beat them 75-65 Nov. 15 in New York. “I think they're really talented. From every spot, they have guys that could be really effective, score a lot of points,” said Kansas guard Tyshawn Taylor. “They create havoc defensively. When you talk about one through five, they probably got the best five, six, seven guys, on paper anyway.

Enjoy this moment. Savor this team. The flip side of Kentucky's memorable season that concluded with the school's eighth NCAA national title following a 67-59 victory over Kansas Monday night, is the fact Anthony Davis, Michael Kidd-Gilchrist, Terrence Jones, Marquis Teague, Doron Lamb and Darius Miller likely won't be back next season. Miller, a senior, has used up all of his eligibly, while Davis, Kidd-Gilchrist, Jones, Lamb and Teague could trade their textbooks for a hefty paycheck.