THE STATE JOURNAL ■ FRANKFORT, KENTUCKY ■ JANUARY 9, 2012 ■ PAGE B3 UK | Big test coming Thursday at home against always-tough Lady Vols CONTINUED FROM PAGE B1 ing parade with 22 points, point shots and finished bounded Mississippi State Goss had four boards each. for a while, and, hopefully, I was really, really proud of and Mathies followed with 10 points. 51-34 and forced 29 Bulldog Senior guard Diamber we can win 100 more. That that effort. It was outstand- with 20. Snowden and Ma- “What is so great about turnovers. Kentucky scored Johnson led MSU with 16 would be great. ing.” thies sparked the Wild- our team right now is that 40 points off those MSU points. The Bulldogs played “I am just so grateful to be Mitchell’s Wildcats cats to a school record 14 you aren’t under pressure turnovers. without leading scorer the coach here, you just can’t come at you in waves, and three pointers (in 27 at- for one person to do some- Mitchell’s team turned Porsha Porter, who stayed imagine,” Mitchell added. “It it doesn’t seem to matter tempts...that’s 46.7 percent). thing, other than A’dia Ma- the ball over just 12 times, home with the flu. is the most wonderful place who’s on the court at any Snowden was four of six thies needing to lead us in which is all the more re- “I don’t know that Por- in the country to coach bas- one time, with the possible from three-point range, and field goal attempts,” Mitch- markable given the Wild- sha is good for 40 something ketball. I’m really grateful exception of junior guard Mathies three of seven. ell said. “Everybody else can cats’ 4 by 100 relay approach points, but she certainly for all the effort. There have A’dia Mathies, who’s in a And consider THIS bit of kind of let the game come to to the game. jump starts us from a defen- been a lot of people work a lot world all her own. information: Snowden’s 22 them.” “I think everyone just sive standpoint,” Fanning- of long hours and a lot of kids Twelve Wildcats played points came in 13 minutes “We knew they were go- came out and played ag- Otis said. play hard and gone through a at least 12 minutes in this of playing time, and Ma- ing to have four people out gressive,” Mathies said. “Ev- This game marked Mitch- lot of practices to get there.” game, and all of them thies played just 21 minutes. there in the smaller lineup erybody had confidence to- ell’s 100th victory as coach of But, back to the precious played like they belonged. Freshman swing player who could shoot the three,” day and did a good job play- Kentucky. And brother, UK is moment, just how good are Mitchell substituted one, Bria Goss, who appears des- Fanning-Otis said. “Some- ing their role.” fortunate to have him. Mitch- the 2011-12 Wildcats? two, three, four at a time, tined to be one of the best times when you make some Sophomore center Sa- ell is not only an outstand- We’ll know more about even five at a time on occa- players ever to wear Ken- and catch fire, it snow balls marie Walker led Kentucky ing recruiter, an outstanding whether this year’s Kentucky sion, and it made no differ- tucky blue and white, added from there. That’s what you on the boards with seven coach, but a fantastic, classy team is SEC champion and ence. Everybody pressed, 13 points, including three of want from a team, to be rebounds in 15 minutes of representative of the school. Final Four caliber this Thurs- everybody ran, and 10 of the four three-pointers. able to rally and play hard action. Mathies, Samantha “I’m just glad that I am still day when the Wildcats host 12 Wildcats scored. Sophomore guard Berni- together and have fun, and Drake and Azia Bishop add- here,” Mitchell said. “I am re- another outstanding Ten- Senior guard Keyla sha Pinkett had a relatively that’s what they did today.” ed five rebounds each, and al happy to be here. Hopeful- nessee team, at 7 p.m., also Snowden led the UK scor- ho-hum two of four three The Wildcats out-re- Brittany Henderson and ly they will keep me around at the Coliseum. COLLEGE FOOTBALL BCS as we know it is going away BY RALPH D. RUSSO in a championship game AP COLLEGE FOOTBALL WRITER the following week. NEW ORLEANS (AP) — It’s a format that Ala- The Bowl Championship bama coach Nick Saban has always liked. Series as college football “I just feel that only hav- fans have come to know it is ing two teams sort of takes going away. a lot of teams out of it,” he Over the next six months, said media day in New Or- the people who oversee the leans. much-maligned postsea- Currently, the top two son system will talk about teams in the BCS stand- how to deconstruct the ings after the regular sea- system for crowning a na- son, including conference tional champion. In the tu- championships, advance multuous 14-year history to the title game. It’s a for- of the BCS, never has there mat that’s led to frequent been more of an appetite debates about whether the for change among college right teams were getting a AP/DAVID J. PHILLIP football’s leaders. shot to play for a national “It’s my impression that LSU head coach Les Miles poses for a picture with Alabama head coach Nick Saban during a news conference for the BCS National title. Championship game in New Orleans. ... there will be meaning- This year’s controversy ful discussion about pos- involved whether Alabama sible changes to the BCS,” (11-1) should get a second Southeastern Conference chance at undefeated LSU REMATCH | Miles, Saban have polar opposite styles Commissioner Mike Slive or if Big 12 champion Okla- said Thursday as SEC rivals homa State (12-1, including CONTINUED FROM PAGE B1 Miles’ disjointed grammar with LSU if not for the dis- thieu and Morris Claiborne, LSU and Alabama prepared its bowl victory over Stan- and goofy antics make it dif- mal performance by its two isn’t far behind. The Tigers to play in the title game Alabama, the Tigers have ford) had earned a shot to ficult to take him seriously kickers. Cade Foster botched Monday night at the Super- victories over two other ma- have allowed the second- play for the national title. at times, there are no such three field-goal attempts, in- dome. jor bowl champions: Rose fewest points (10.5) and are The BCS has often issues with Saban. He’s all cluding a 52-yarder after the What the changes will Bowl winner Oregon and no lower than sixth in the caused as many arguments business, mixed in with a Tide went the wrong way be is hard to say because Orange Bowl champ West other three major rankings. as settled them, and drawn healthy dose of fear and au- with its overtime possession. nearly everything seems to Virginia. In all, they’ve The first game marked a the ire of fans all over the knocked off eight teams that tocracy. Jeremy Shelley also missed. be up for discussion, from country in the process. turning point for LSU quar- were ranked in The Associ- “He’s not like that all the Given these are two de- eliminating automatic bids It’s also come under pres- terback Jordan Jefferson. ated Press Top 25, with only time. He does have a per- fenses that take it person- to top-tier bowl games to sure from a political action He began the senior year of three of those games in Ba- sonality,” junior Robert Les- ally when someone gets creating a four-team play- committee called Playoff- his checkered college career ton Rouge. ter said. “But he’s hard on us close to the goal line, Foster off — an idea that’s known PAC, and been the subject with a four-game suspen- “The only team I’ve told because he wants us to get and Shelley are likely to be as the plus-one model. of a congressional hearing them not to schedule is the the job done. On the field, called on again in the cham- sion, punished for his in- What’s not on the table is and a Department of Jus- Green Bay Packers,” Miles he demands what he wants. pionship game. But the Ala- volvement in a bar fight, but exactly what many football tice inquiry. Even President quipped. By doing so, the guys go out bama offense hopes to make took over when Jarrett Lee fans are clamoring for, a Barack Obama has said he Maybe it’s only appro- there and try to do it perfect it a little easier on them this threw a pair of interceptions full-scale playoff that would doesn’t like it. priate for the Tigers to find to please him. It works. You time. Foster’s other misses against the Tide. Jefferson require numerous teams to Apparently, all that con- play additional games. one more daunting chal- can tell, because we’re play- were from 44 and 50 yards. guided the Tigers to their sternation is starting to ing in the national champi- Shelley failed to convert on Still, there is likely to be register with the decision- lenge standing in the way of biggest victory and started a BCS extreme makeover in a championship season — a onship game again.” a 49-yarder, far beyond his the final four games.