Cats know Vols no easy task

Cats know Vols no easy task

Kentucky junior Darius Miller knows how hard it is to get a win at Tennessee.

“That will be another tough game,” Miller said following the Wildcats’ 68-66 triumph over Vanderbilt earlier this week at Rupp Arena. “They’re a tough team, they play extremely hard and we’ll probably be in the same situation (as we were against Vandy) down there. We’ve just got to play defense and rebound the ball.”

Kentucky hasn’t had much success producing wins in Knoxville recently and last year’s team even struggled to contain the Volunteers in their home arena, which has become more hostile for opposing teams under Bruce Pearl’s regime.

Tennessee, which lost to Kentucky 73-61 in Pearl’s return from an eight-game suspension on Feb. 8, dealt the Cats a 74-65 loss last year and have won three of the past four games in Knoxville. Kentucky’s last win over the Vols at Tompson-Boling Arena came in 2009 when Jodie Meeks scored a school-record 54 points in an 90-72 blowout.

Kentucky senior Josh Harrellson witnessed the feat by Meeks and knows what it’s like playing in front of a sea of orange, especially in the team’s home finale.

“It’s going to be a big (day) for them,” he said. “I don’t know how many seniors they have, but hopefully we can just go out there and play our game and get them out of their game early like we did here and hopefully we can upset them at their house. (Playing) at Tennessee is definitely a tough environment and they’re a great team.

“They’ve been up-and-down this year, but they always play good against great opponents. We know we’re going to get their best shot and we’ve got to bring our ‘A’ game, too.”

Like Harrellson, Knight is expecting to face a loud crowd in his first visit to Tennessee.

“We know it’s going to be a tough environment,” he said. “We’ve just got to pull together, not have any breakdowns and I think we’ll be all right.”

Knight added that he’s confident the Cats can keep the team’s two-game winning streak intact.

“We can build on (the win over Vandy) and this week,” he said. “I think we’ve had a good week and we’re looking to build off it.”

Harrellson hopes the Cats can finish strong and produce a solid showing in the Southeastern Conference Tournament next week in Atlanta, Ga.

“Hopefully we can keep up the winning streak and get a better seed in the (NCAA) Tournament,” he said.

http://www.centralkynews.com/winchestersun/sports/ws-uk-basketball-cats-know-vols-no-easy-task-20110304,0,2796851.story

Great to hear the boys acknowleding their competition. I feel as good about a game on the road as I have all year without reading this.
I just believe they are comming into their own now.
GO CATS!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!

I hope so Mule, going to be a tough game. Especially since its senior day. If our defense shows up we will be fine.