The UK Hoops team is running, scoring and playing defense unlike any team we've seen in the Matthew Mitchell era.

The Cats have already eclipsed the 80-point mark twice this season - a feat they accomplished just four times last year - and they've outscored their three opponents by a margin of 24.0 points per game.

Imagine what those numbers would be like with senior guard/forward Lydia Watkins, who has missed the first three games of the season with a strained left shoulder. Watkins injured her shoulder during the Bellarmine exhibition game.

An MRI test two weeks ago indicated there was no structural damage, and Mitchell said Friday that she could return as early as Sunday against Chattanooga.

"She's definitely closer," Mitchell said. "She did some functional tests yesterday that had good results, so it's a possibility for her to play Sunday. We'll know more this afternoon, but she's clearly progressing back and closer to this point than she has been. It's not a situation where we're still trying to figure out if she's coming back. She'll be back either this game or we would be hopeful at the latest next Wednesday."

Watkins is expected to be one of the key returning cogs on this year's team. Before missing most of last season due to personal reasons, Watkins averaged 4.4 points and 3.8 rebounds as a sophomore.

The 6-foot-1 athletic senior not only adds another athletic presence in the paint - a position the Cats are razor thin at - she's one of the few veteran players on a team primarily made up of inexperienced and untested freshmen and transfers.

"We're an athletic team without her. When you add her, she may even be one of the top two or three athletes on the team, so it just makes you more athletic," Mitchell said. "It makes you deeper in the frontcourt, but the biggest thing is it does is brings back experience, and that's very, very important for us now against quality opponents."

Freshman forward Brittany Henderson has filled in admirably for Watkins, averaging 2.0 points and 4.0 rebounds per game in 11.0 minutes of play, but Mitchell said the experience Watkins brings to the table is irreplaceable.

"I've been happy with Brittany Henderson and her effort (but) she's just three games into a career and there's no way she can function at a level that Lydia can being a fourth-year senior," Mitchell said. "It's clearly an upgrade to our team when (Watkins is) available."

Georgia might be riding a wave of emotions Saturday vs. Kentucky in honor of Uga VII, which died suddenly in Savannah, Ga., on Thursday.

Uga VII, the legendary Georgia mascot who roamed the sidelines at Georgia football games, died of heart-related causes, according to owner Frank W. "Sonny" Seiler.

There will be no live mascot at Georgia's game on Saturday, but a wreath will be placed on Uga VII's doghouse.

Putting aside your animal views and opinions, the Uga mascot has been a long-term fixture in Georgia football. As you'll see by the statements below, Uga is an iconic figure in the football community.

"Our hearts go out to the Seilers and the entire Bulldog Nation at this unexpected loss," Georgia President Michael Adams said in a statement. "Uga VII was both a family pet and a symbol for millions of fans, and besides that he was just a sweet dog. We will miss him."

"Just as his ancestors, he had captured the hearts of college football fans everywhere as the country's No. 1 mascot," UGA Athletics Director Damon Evans said. "He had been truly embraced by all those who follow the Georgia Bulldogs across the country."

Georgia posted a 16-7 record during Uga VII's brief but storied tenure.

Will the loss of Uga VII have any bearing on the UK-Georgia game? Who knows. But with senior night and the death of the legendary mascot, you can expect an emotional night in Sanford Stadium.

"He's by far the biggest celebrity on the field when Georgia plays," Georgia sports announcer Matt Stinchcomb said, according to the Athens Banner-Herald. "He has more security than coach (Mark) Richt."

John Calipari keeps warning the UK faithful that his Cats could very well drop one of these early season games to what most would qualify mid-major opponents.

Some - most notably those that have irrationally predicted UK will go undefeated this season - scoffed at the notion of losing to an opponent like Miami (Ohio) or Sam Houston State.

Well, they aren't laughing so much anymore. After escaping the Miami game on a last-second game-winner and surviving a barrage of Sam Houston State 3-pointers, maybe we should all listen to Calipari a little more closely.

When he says these are good teams, he isn't kidding.

OK, some of it has to do with UK. The 3-point defense has been nothing short of frightful, this team is young and they turn it over too much.

But, upon closer look, UK's non-conference schedule might be a lot tougher than some have given credit for.

After watching the Cats scrape by their last two opponents by the skin of their teeth, I decided to scan through the schedule and see what some of the teams were picked to do in their conference. Even though these early adversaries lack the star power appeal of some other schools, these "mid-majors" are clearly a major hurdle in UK's schedule.

Team	Conference	Predicted finish
Morehead State	OVC	First
Sam Houston State	Southland	First
Rider	MAAC	Third (received first-place vote)
Cleveland State	Horizon	Third (received two first-place votes)
UNC Asheville	Big South	Second
Austin Peay	OVC	Third
Long Beach State	Big West	First

Of these so-called mid-majors UK plays, three - Morehead State, Sam Houston State and Long Beach State - were picked to win their respective conferences. Four other mid-majors -- Rider, Cleveland State, UNC Asheville and Austin Peay -- were preseason picks to finish second or third in their leagues.

And that's not even factoring in the high-major non-conference opponents. Throw in North Carolina, who was again picked to win the Atlantic Coast Conference, Louisville and Connecticut from the rugged Big East, and we could be talking about a very tough non-conference schedule by season's end.

Calipari talked in the offseason about playing the best of the best to heighten his team's RPI. Although the names might not pop off the page, it appears some of the nation's best have found their way on the UK schedule.

Time: Saturday at 7:45 p.m. ET

Location: Sanford Stadium, Athens, Ga.

TV coverage: ESPN2 with Mark Jones and Bob Davie 

Radio coverage: Big Blue Sports Network with Tom Leach, Jeff Piecoro and Dick Gabriel (630 WLAP-AM in Lexington); Check for an affiliate in your area 

Satellite radio: XM 200; Sirius 213 (note: you must have the "Best of XM" package to hear the game on Sirius)

Digital coverage: Gametracker; Wildcat Alerts

Game-time weather: 52 degrees, showers, 60 percent chance of precipitation

Arrive early: Fans are highly encouraged to arrive at the stadium early to avoid parking delays and also to enter the stadium early to avoid long entry lines at the stadium gates.

Parking: Parking information can be found on Georgia's Gameday site

Cat Walk: The "Cat Walk" will resume Saturday at 5:30 p.m. ET. Fans wishing to participate in cheering on the Wildcats as they enter the stadium Saturday should be on East Campus Road outside of Sanford Stadium near Gate 5. The team bus will arrive at approximately 5:30 p.m., when the team will unload the bus and walk to the stadium. Guests are asked to line up on each side of the "Cat Walk" to allow for ample space for the team to walk from the buses to Sanford Stadium. View a map of the "Cat Walk."

Visitor information: Check out everything you need to know about the city of Athens 

There was plenty to love in Kentucky's high scoring 102-92 victory over Sam Houston State to open the Cancun Challenge:

- The Cats scored 100-plus points
- DeMarcus Cousins continued to build off his second-half performance against Miami (Ohio), scoring a career-high 27 points and 18 rebounds for his second career double-double
- Five Cats scored in double-figures, the lowest of the five coming  from Darius Miller with 15 points
- UK shot 60 percent from the floor, including 50 percent from behind the arc

But there were also plenty of things to squirm about. UK failed to get a single point from its bench, made just 19-of-29 from the charity stripe and turned it over 23 times (six each from freshman guards Eric Bledsoe and John Wall).

Take your pick at the most glaring issue. I'll take the 3-point defense.

For the second straight game, the Cats were torched from the perimeter. Sam Houston State dropped a Rupp Arena record 18 3-point shots Thursday night largely on the back of Corey Allmond.

The senior guard nailed a Rupp Arena record 11 treys, breaking Tony Delk's previous record of nine. Allmond made 99 triples last season, 14th most in the nation, but it was clear from head coach John Calipari's reaction after the game that it's more a Kentucky issue than just a kid catching fire.

"I was so mad a couple of times that my head almost popped off," Calipari said.

Calipari started the news conference shaking his head. By the end of it, his forehead landed squarely on the microphone.

"I've just called the rules committee to see if they'd move the line back," Calipari joked after the game.

But this is hardly a joking matter anymore. UK is bad at guarding the 3-pointer. Like, historically bad.

"This may be at this point the worst defensive team I've had since 1988," Calipari said. "At the end of the day, if we're going to be what everybody thinks we're going to be, we have to be one of the best defensive teams in the country."

Uh, they've got a long way to go. And I mean a long, long way to go.

Over the last two games, UK has surrendered 33 treys on 64 shots. Two players alone - Miami of Ohio's Nick Winbush and Allmond - have combined for 19 3-pointers (57 points), single handedly keeping UK's opponents in the game.

They're gut-wrenching numbers when one considers that the Cats face Rider on Saturday, a team Calipari calls a better perimeter shooting team than the one that poured gasoline on UK on Thursday and lit it on fire. Rider lost to Virginia earlier in the evening, but Calipari doesn't expect that to be a problem Saturday.

"Do you think they're going to shoot it here well Saturday?" Calipari said. "Is there any indication that we're going to guard 3-point shooters?"

None so far, coach.

The root of the problem, according to Calipari, seems to be communication. The Bearkats would "leak" out a player in transition every time the Cats would shoot it, forcing a UK defender to get back on a man that typically wasn't his.

That is when the trouble would start.

"We don't talk," Calipari said. "Instead of saying, 'I got yours, you take mine,' no one speaks. So now no one knows who's who, we step up and take the guy dribbling and leave the best 3-point shooter maybe in America tonight with no one on him. ... You have to communicate and talk on defense."

The only player who talked by Calipari's account was senior Ramon Harris. Otherwise, UK made Allmond look like Steve Kerr.

Part of it's from a lack of effort. Some of it's bad technique. But maybe the most glaring indicator of the Cats' struggles to defend the long ball is just plain immaturity.

One of the biggest adjustments from the high school level to the collegiate level is defense. Before the season started, Calipari expected this team to struggle adjusting to the Dribble Drive Motion Offense, not the defense. Now it's become clear that he's going to have to start teaching Defense 101 with some of the younger guys.

"You've got to stay and play the entire possession," Calipari said. "Young players do not because they never had to in high school."

Calipari said championship teams usually hold their opponents to around 29, 30 percent shooting from the 3-point line. By comparison, UK's last two opponents have scorched the Rupp Arena floor at a 51.5 percent clip.

It's left Calipari confused, bewildered and frustrated before the meat of the schedule has even begun to approach. But it's a problem Calipari isn't going to shy away from.

"It's who we are right now, and I'm not embarrassed about it" Calipari said. "I love my team, we've got a chance of being good, but we also have a chance of being bad if we don't start changing. If they don't take pride in their defense and have a sense of urgency and say we're going to come together and start talking, everyone of us ... if we don't get better defensively, folks, do you think we can score 100 against everybody because we're going to have to. They're going to score 100 on us."

The bottom line is UK was the one to score 100-plus points Thursday and notch the third win of its season. The offense moved with pace, Cousins went off and UK remained undefeated.

But if the Cats don't correct their 3-point defense soon, none of that will matter. The nightmarish perimeter defense is becoming an ever-growing elephant in the room. If the problem isn't corrected soon, it's going to grow too big and crush the season's ultimate dreams.

"You can't defend this way and win," Calipari said. "Any championship team in any sport at any level that's going to try to win championships does it with their defense. It's just how it is."

UK isn't close to that team right now. That's just how it is.

Preseason All-American Patrick Patterson (as seen on the right) graced the cover of the Sports Illustrated college basketball preview.

Along with it, Grant Wahl has written a pretty in-depth story on head coach John Calipari's arrival and the chilly relationship that has developed between he and former Kentucky coach Rick Pitino. Wahl walks readers through how Pitino had a major impact on Calipari landing the Massachusetts job and the how they've crossed paths throughout the years.

Both coaches go on to say they respect each other in the story, but there is no doubt that any mutual love affair is non-existent. It's added even more fuel to the fire that is arguably college basketball's most heated rivalry.

And don't forget, live blog for the Sam Houston State game at 7 p.m. I'm taking off for Rupp Arena shortly, so I'll see everybody on the live blog later tonight. 

Cat Scratches will continue its weekly football scouting preview this week for the Kentucky-Georgia football game by bringing in Matt May of The Cats Pause and Marc Weiszer of the Athens Banner-Herald.

On Thursday at 12:30 p.m. May and Weiszer will join us for a live chat to give their thoughts on the matchup, what the keys are to the game, who fans should look out for and more. The 30 to 40 minute chat with the reporters will offer fans an inside look at the game from the people who are closest to the teams.

Fans are encouraged to join the interactive blog and send in questions. The last 15 minutes of the chat will be dedicated to fans' questions. If you can't join us and would like to have a question submitted, please send your question to catscratches@email.uky.edu and we'll try to fit it in.

 

Sophomore Randall Cobb took "a few" reps at Thursday's practice and will be a game-time decision for the Georgia game.

Cobb, who is third in the Southeastern Conference in all-purpose yards, has battled nagging injuries for much of the season. Cobb's latest injury is a bruised shoulder, which head coach Rich Brooks believes to be around the AC joint.

Brooks said the injury started bothering Cobb before the Vanderbilt game from the season's wear and tear.

"For all those fans out there that want him to touch the ball all the time, it's a tough job when you take as many hits as those guys do," Brooks said. "He's not the biggest guy in the world. He is one of the most talented, but he's not one of the biggest."

Cobb was one of the catalysts behind UK's near upset of Georgia last year in Commonwealth Stadium. The then-freshman accounted for 187 total yards and three scores in the 42-38 loss.

Also, Brooks said backup defensive tackle Antwane Glenn has the flu and will not make the trip to Georgia.

DeMarcus Cousins and Daniel Orton were used to being the big men on campus.

In high school, they towered over their opponents like trees in a forest of shrubs. They were bigger, faster and stronger than their competition on almost a daily basis.

It often became easy for them.

"At the high school level you just overpowered everybody," Cousins said.

If Cousins or Orton wanted to take a night off and put it in cruise control, so be it - they'd still score 20 points and grab 10 rebounds. Physical abilities alone were good enough for a nightly double-double.

"A lot of times, I guess you could say I played laid back," Cousins said.

How laid back?

"I was very laid back," Cousins said "It's just bad habits from high school."

Cousins, maybe a bit unfairly, earned the title as being a lazy player because it was so easy for him in high school. Orton never earned that questionable distinction, but it was just as obvious that the game came easy to him at Bishop McGuiness in Oklahoma City, Okla.

Now the twin towers are no longer the only buildings on the block. Unlike high school, the collegiate floor is filled with players just as big and just as strong as they are.

"Here they're just as strong as you so you're going to have show some skill," Cousins said. "It's just an adjustment. The speed of the game, the strength of the game, all of it's just a new adjustment."

Patterson remembers a similar alteration when he came to UK two years ago. Although he hardly showed any signs of struggling during a 16.4-point, 7.7-rebound, All-Southeastern Conference season, he said it takes times for young post players to learn that they have to bring it every day, game and practice.

"There's guys bigger than you out there, so it's all about you wanting it more and you getting lower than they are," Patterson said, pointing out some of college's biggest post presences like Cole Aldrich of Kansas. "(Cousins and Orton are) not necessarily lazy guys. I think that just comes naturally. You're used to overpowering people by not putting forth much effort. You get used to that. But when you come to another level where you have to put forth the effort and put forth the energy and power to it, actually getting low, actually running and doing all the little things, it takes time to adjust to it."

Orton, who towered over most high school players at 6-foot-10, said he fell victim to the playing level of high school, where he could get away with just about anything and still dominate.

"In high school, usually after a while you become the man and really don't have to work that hard," Orton said. "Your coach knows that you're the guy so you really don't have to put forth much effort in practice and all. You are bigger than everybody so it takes less effort to score and play defense, so you do become lazy and develop bad habits in high school."

In the two exhibition games, it looked like both would breeze through the transition. Orton scored four points and seven rebounds in his debut before getting hurt the next game against Clarion, and Cousins averaged 15.5 points and 6.0 rebounds in the two preseason games.

However, when it came to the real thing in the season opener vs. Morehead State, both appeared to become lost in the flow of the game. Cousins was saddled in foul trouble for much of the contest and Orton played just 13 minutes.

"You really can't walk over people," Patterson said. "I'm sure that they're starting to figure that out."

It took an 18-point first-half deficit to Miami (Ohio) for them to understand what head coach John Calipari has been warning them about since the start of practice: play hard every minute because Kentucky is everyone's Super Bowl.

"I just got to get my motor going early," Cousins said. "I'm just going to try come out with a different approach."

Cousins and Orton appeared to find that approach Monday night. Orton finished with an overall strong performance despite limited minutes because of an elbow he took to the head, and Cousins, after sitting out most of the first half with two fouls, erupted in the second.

"DeMarcus, he's just a freshman.  He's got to keep his emotions in check," Calipari said Monday night. "He sometimes wears them on his sleeves, so his body language doesn't look right. What he doesn't understand yet is that negative physiology blends to the rest of us. That passion and emotion and the enthusiasm is also contagious. He's just going to learn."

When Cousins screwed his head on straight, he scored 10 points and grabbed 10 rebounds, most of them coming during a critical stretch near the end of the tightly contested game.

"The reality of it is for that four-minute stretch he dominated the game," Calipari said. "He just dominated."

Like any freshman, Cousins and Orton are going to struggle. The hills and valleys of a college season are in a freshman's DNA, and highly touted or not, there are rarely exceptions.

Calipari understands that, but he has also quickly realized that the paint is where his team's strength lies. After watching his team boot around a few more turnovers than he would like and struggle with the pace of the game, Calipari's told reporters twice in the last three days that he plans on getting the ball to the post more often.

Patterson's body of work has proven that he's up for the task. Now it's time to find out if the young twin towers are ready to play like big men on campus.

"We've got two good centers," Calipari said. "The problem is they're 18 years old."