Regeln » season, so he doesnt provide much cap relief, aside

Lexington, KY (SportsNetwork.com) - Kentuckys next big test was supposed to come this weekend against a national powerhouse, not during a midweek game against an Ivy League school missing its best player. But there were John Caliparis top-ranked Wildcats, yet to score a point after five minutes against Columbia. There was no fire, Calipari said. There they were, trailing at halftime. There was no buzz, he said. And there they were, after 26 minutes, still yet to hold a lead. There was no nothing, Calipari said. But in the end, there was enough. Aaron Harrison scored 14 points and Kentucky finally pulled away in the last 10 1/2 minutes on Wednesday night to avoid what would have been a crushing upset ahead of Saturdays game against No. 21 North Carolina. The Wildcats beat the Lions 56-46 in the first meeting between the teams since the 1966 NCAA tournament. They trailed 11-0 in the first half, 25-23 at halftime and didnt take their first lead until there was 13:18 left in the game. Eventually, Calipari said, his team forced Columbia to take tough shots. As the game went on, we did it, he said. We had four turnovers. (It was) our third game in a row where were not making shots. I mean, literally, not making like open shots, shooting air balls, and missing them so poorly, open shots. The 10-point win was Kentuckys smallest margin of victory this season, but it wasnt the first time the Wildcats (10-0) underperformed against a seemingly inferior foe. They shook off a 38-33 deficit to Buffalo on Nov. 16 and beat the Bulls 71-52, then went on to rout Kansas by 32 points two days later. Willie Cauley-Stein had 10 points and 10 rebounds against Columbia, most of it in the second half, but no other Wildcats player scored in double digits. Andrew Harrison was 1-for-12 from the floor, highlighting Kentuckys shooting problems. I thought the energy was so bad, said Calipari. We threw it ahead, got it back, and stood straight up and stopped, when there were areas to get in the lane and throw that lob we throw or go in the lane and throw him a shot that he can make. Its all based on that. Maodo Lo scored 16 to lead Columbia (5-3), hitting several key 3-pointers in the first half. It was Columbias first game against a top-ranked team since losing to Indiana at Madison Square Garden on Dec. 26, 1975. We tried to take it like it was just another game, just one out of 28 games of the season for us, said Columbia center Cory Osetkowski. Granted it was against Kentucky, the No. 1 team in the country, but we just came out here and tried to play exactly like we play all the time and thats what we did. The last Lions victory over a ranked opponent technically came in 1994 after No. 14 Cal was forced to forfeit a game over an ineligible player. But Columbia hasnt beaten a ranked opponent on the scoreboard since topping No. 19 Rutgers on Dec. 2, 1976. More recently, the Lions lost on the road to a No. 2-ranked Michigan State 63-52 on Nov. 15 last season. Their first-ever game at Rupp Arena started with an improbable 11-0 run as the Wildcats, who had trailed for just 36 minutes all season, missed their first seven shots and the Lions made four of their first six. Calipari subbed out his five starters 2 1/2 into the game and Aaron Harrison, after checking back in, ended the field goal drought with a layup just over five minutes into the game. Later, a 7-0 Kentucky run was stopped by Los 3-pointer, which gave the Lions a 20-14 lead. Columbia made its run against the top-ranked Wildcats despite playing without star forward Alex Rosenberg, who led the Lions in scoring last season but withdrew from school last month because of a broken foot in order to protect his fourth year of eligibility in the Ivy League. Lo made Columbias fifth 3-pointer of the first half from the left corner with under a minute to play. I think we started off believing we could win in the locker room, yesterday and the day before, said Osetkowski. We have to come into a game like this believing we can win, and that was our mind set through the whole game even if we get down. We always believe we can come back, hit a shot here and there, get a stop. Thats what basketball is. The Lions didnt trail until Derek Willis free throws gave Kentucky a 36-34 lead. The Wildcats didnt begin pulling away until a 6-0 run capped by Cauley- Steins alley-oop dunk off a pass from Andrew Harrison made it 44-37 with 10 minutes left. Kentuckys lead reached 15 after that. It ended the game shooting under 37 percent, including 2-for 17 on 3-pointers. Game Notes Kentucky continued its best start since going 19-0 to begin the 2009-10 season ... In the only other meeting between the teams, Kentucky beat Columbia in the first round of the NCAA tournament at Madison Square Garden on March 18, 1948, on the way to its first national title ... 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The announcement was made at the world mens curling championship at Capital Indoor Stadium in China.The Philadelphia Flyers and Columbus Blue Jackets hooked up to make a deal involving veteran wingers, both of whom have size and can score. Numbers Game looks into the trade that sends Scott Hartnell to Columbus for R.J. Umberger and a pick. The Blue Jackets Get: LW Scott Hartnell. Hartnell, 32, is coming off a season in which he scored 20 goals for the seventh time in his career and his 52 points represented the third-highest total of his career. Since joining the Flyers in 2007, hes one of eight players with at least 100 goals and 500 penalty minutes. While Hartnell does take more than his share of penalties, hes an aggravating player to play against, doesnt hesitate to go to the other teams net and has a tendency to fall, which means he also draws a lot of penalties. So long as hes healthy, Hartnell gets involved in the play. Despite his style of play, Hartnell is durable. Hes missed 23 games in seven seasons with the Flyers, including 16 games with a broken foot in 2013. Part of the reason that Hartnell has been so effective is that he has been riding shotgun alongside Claude Giroux for a good portion of the last handful of seasons. While Hartnell isnt necessarily the one driving play on that line, hes been a very good complement to Giroux and Jakub Voracek, most recently, as that trio has generated better possession numbers together than when they were apart. In Columbus, that ability to play with top talent, could give Hartnell a legitimate chance to spend time on the wing with Ryan Johansen on the Blue Jackets first line, though Boone Jenner and Nathan Horton can make some claims to those wing spots as well. Where this deal could become an issue for Columbus is that Hartnell is signed through 2019, thats five more seasons, at a cap hit of $4.75-million. Hartnell isnt the fleetest afoot already, so as he gets into his mid-thirties, that is only going to be more of an issue in a game that is getting ever faster. But, if Hartnell could fill a top six role for the next couple seasons, and a third or fourth line spot for a couple more, then maybe the last year could be tolerable when compared to what the Blue Jackets felt they could be getting out of Umberger going forward. The Flyers Get: LW R.J. Umberger and a fourth-round pick. Umberger is a 32-year-old who can play all three forward spots and is a five-time 20-goal scorer who has hit for 50 points or more three times in his career. This past season, Umbergers role was reduced, his 16:53 average time on ice reprresenting his lowest since 2006-2007, when he was playing for Philadelphia.dddddddddddd. While Umberger doesnt stir things up the way Hartnell does, hes still a physical player, using his 6-foot-2, 220-pound frame to his advantage and Umberger is a stronger skater. The trouble for Umberger is that hes been getting worse as a possession player. He had some okay years mixed with some bad years earlier in his career, but Umberger has been thumped in possession terms over the past three seasons and virtually every one of his teammates has fared better without Umberger on the ice. That doesnt mean Umberger cant play. It does mean he was likely playing too big a role on a Columbus team that, until 2013-2014, has been on the wrong side of the scoreboard all too often. Where does Umberger fit in Philadelphia? Well, his flexibility does help in this respect. While Umberger isnt necessarily a natural choice to play with Giroux and Voracek, playing alongside Sean Couturier and Matt Read could be a possibility. Umberger has also played enough centre that he could fit into that spot if the Flyers juggle some pieces around when composing their lines. If Umberger isnt going to play on the Flyers top line, thats a plum opening. If it is going to come from within, Wayne Simmonds, Brayden Schenn or Vincent Lecavalier could get that opportunity. Umberger is signed for three more seasons, at a cap hit of $4.6-million per season, so he doesnt provide much cap relief, aside from the fact that his deal runs a couple of years less than Hartnells. A fourth-round pick doesnt offer huge value, but of the 600 picks in the 91-120 range made between 1990 and 2009, just over 4% became top-six forwards, top-four defencemen or starting goaltenders, while just under 20% have played (or are most likely to play) 100 NHL games. Immediately, the Blue Jackets appear to be the better team for making this deal. Not that Hartnell holds a monumental advantage over Umberger, but hes been more productive and has fared positively no matter who he plays with. Umberger had requested a move out of Columbus, not appreciating his declining role, and he should have a chance to play a top nine role in an organization that he played with for the first three seasons of his NHL career but, in a vacuum, this deal makes the Flyers slightly worse. Scott Cullen can be reached at Scott.Cullen@bellmedia.ca and followed on Twitter at http://twitter.com/tsnscottcullen. For more, check out TSN Fantasy on Facebook. ' ' '