A few pre-game afternoon notes

The Cats are about an hour away from tip-off with the Ole Miss Rebels.  The KSR crew is settling into their assigned spots for game coverage and waiting for this midday slugfest between Georgia and Alabama to end.  As you do the same, a few notes.... - Obviously, the key to stopping Ole Miss is locking down Chris Warren.  He's not only the Rebels' most potent scorer, he's also the player who controls the tempo, emotion and everything else for Andy Kennedy's team.  He played extremely well in February, including nailing a game-winning shot, but faces a focused DeAndre Liggins and possibly even spurts of Brandon Knight, who has improved greatly defensively since their last meeting.  If the Cats can keep him in check, they'll roll big. - Coach Cal told the media that he expects this to be a physical game between the two teams.  Kentucky hasn't traditionally played extremely well in games where physical play was allowed by the officials.  It's one small reason why there seemed to be a disparity in their play at home and away.  When the whistle was blown a little tighter for them at Rupp, Kentucky's offense had a much better flow to it.  On the road in the SEC West, where they sometimes let them play through it, they struggled.  Ole Miss' physical style will present another opportunity to build off of a positive. - Like most games this year, the start is going to be key for the Cats.  They're a more rested and more talented team and one that should be playing for revenge.  If they start the game as you would expect they would, it will be over before it starts.  Kentucky needs to get out early and remind Ole Miss what they know deep down:  upset in February or not, they're not on Kentucky's level. - With John Pelphrey's chances of remaining head coach of Arkansas decreasing by the second, a new candidate has emerged via the rumor mill.  Fellow former Cat Travis Ford is a rumored candidate for the Arkansas job should Pelphrey be dismissed.  Well, come get your whoopins, I guess. - Don't forget that the Live Blog will be starting about 30 minutes before tip. If you missed the show this morning, Matt, Mark, Drew, Turkey Hunter and myself talked all things Cats and Atlanta and let Matt declare himself the smartest man in the world for temporarily stumping the crowd with his question about coaches' sons.  The podcast is below (will be updated in a few minutes).  Enjoy.