Kentucky did win the game yesterday, right? Or did they lose by –10 instead of winning by 10? I ask because the outrage both on the radio and in message board universe is comparable to that of a blowout loss.

There is cause for concern after a game like yesterday. There is not cause for angst. There should never be cause for angst after a win. Angst-ridden people are just unpleasant people to be around. Here are the things that concerned me, and you can do with them whatever you’d like.

I’m concerned that the team keeps getting off to slow starts. Every game it’s a different reason. Against Central Michigan, it was cold shooting. Against Louisville, it was turnovers. Against Vanderbilt, it was the inability to defend the three. Vandy hit the first five threes of the game, and it put Kentucky in a quick hole. Had it not been for solid first half play from Meeks and Stevenson, it would have been double digits by the first TV timeout. Tennessee’s home crowd thrives off of hot starts. This cannot happen on Tuesday.

I’m concerned that the team did not close yesterday’s game well. They did such a great job of extending to a 20-point lead, but then they took the foot off of the accelerator, and had it not been for excellent free throw shooting, there might have been a lot of sweating in the stands yesterday.

I’m concerned about the team’s strategy against breaking an extremely aggressive press. Vandy had nothing to lose when they were down 20, and when they broke out that press, it took too long for the guys to figure it out. Coach Gillispie has to come up with a better plan than throwing it to Patterson in the corner, leaving him for dead against a double team and having him chuck a prayer to the other side of the court before there’s a 10-second violation.

I’m concerned that the team had one less rebound than one of the worst rebounding teams in the SEC without its top rebounder. I understand that Vanderbilt had to shoot more threes than they normally do because AJ Ogilvy was gone. But everybody knows that missed threes take strange bounces off the rim and make for long rebounds – everybody except the Wildcats, I guess.

Just to show you that it is possible to analyze a game while taking both the bad and the good into effect, here’s what I liked about yesterday.

I liked that the team beat a good Vanderbilt team by double digits, in a game where the final margin was closer than the game would have indicated, without a prototypical Patrick Patterson performance. Hooray for alliteration! And make no mistake about it, with or without Ogilvy, Vanderbilt is good. I don’t want anybody to automatically pencil in 16 points for the big Aussie like the rest of the Comodores were going to play like they did. Vandy would have relied on more of a post game yesterday, which would mean less scoring from Jermaine Beal, Jeffery Taylor and Brad Tinsley.

I liked that Ramon Harris finally had a good game. Yesterday is about as good as it can get for Harris, but wouldn’t you take 12 points, seven rebounds and three assists? And wouldn’t you take a 5-5 shooting day from him? I’m happy for the kid, and I strongly recommend Eric Crawford’s piece on Harris as the required reading of the day.

I liked the play of Darius Miller and DeAndre Liggins. I don’t care that they only scored three points between them. I thought their level of intensity on both ends of the court was much higher than it had been in recent games. The team as a whole might not have rebounded well, but Miller did. Liggins probably had his best defensive game of the season. Brad Tinsley ran Meeks around some screens and found himself open from three all throughout the first half. Tinsley didn’t get off a good shot when Liggins was on him. Both guys should have earned them some more minutes for Knoxville.

I liked the mental toughness of the team. It’s amazing that they could have the kind of turnovers they had against the press, but once they got to the FT line, everybody was nails. FT shooting will win this team a handful of conference games. Don’t believe me? Ask the Georgia Bulldogs. Had they made some of their free throws down the stretch, they probably would have held on and scored an upset against Tennessee yesterday.

Whether you’re concerned, angst-ridden or perfectly content over yesterday’s game, it’s time to move on.

I’m Seth Stogsdill. Need I remind you that nothing sucks like a big orange?