Not Jerry Tipton's Friday Basketball Notebook

The 2013-14 season is here, and Kentucky will spend the entirety of it trying to atone for the disaster was the 2012-13 season. John Calipari’s team is trying to do something that no team in the history of college basketball has ever done: Win a national championship relying primarily on 6 freshmen who were McDonald’s All Americans. With disappointing losses to Michigan State, Baylor (lol) and North Carolina, the team will fail to reach its ultimate goal of perfect season, and will instead try to console itself with a national title. To stay apprised and educated, follow me on Twitter @NotJerryTipton. Here’s the weekly notebook: *Body Movin' (Fatboy Slim remix): On Monday, Louisville coach Rick Pitino announced that junior Chane Behanan was dismissed from the team. Pitino refused to say exactly what it was that Behanan did to warrant losing his place on the team, but if one reads between the lines, it’s simple: Pitino was so disgusted by Behanan’s failure to score a point against Kentucky’s overhyped freshmen that he told the youngster to get the hell out. A lot of words have been written about how UK has failed to meet expectations this year, but as far as we know, Chane Behanan is the only player to get kicked off his team for failing to dominate the Kiddie Cats. A look at the big picture doesn’t do Kentucky any favors, either. Prospective recruits will likely see this as proof that when it comes to preparing players for life after basketball, Pitino means business. In the next few months, expect to see a handful of five star recruits commit to Louisville. *Sabotage: After UK’s lackluster win over undermanned Louisville (Kevin Ware was out with an injury and Akoy Agou would have played more had he not been indefinitely suspended), UofL fans took to the internet to cordially make the same observation that millions of basketball fans were making during the game, probably: The refs cheated for Kentucky. Bear in mind that this was not just some random fan crying foul, either. It was a well respected web log (also referred to as a “blog”) doing so. As such, it carries a great deal of weight. Something else that carries a great deal of weight? Statistics. Due to the dubious fouls called on the Cards, UK was allowed to convert 16 free throws. Meanwhile, the Cats won the game by 7 points. It doesn’t take Sir Isaac Newton to figure out that without the help from the officials, Kentucky loses by 9. If that happens, whispers regarding John Calipari’s job security commence. A job, by the way, that pays him $5.4M per year. With those figures in mind, suddenly the notion that Coach Cal paid off the refs suddenly doesn’t seem so far-fetched, does it? Can you say “incentive?” *Ch-Check It Out: On Saturday, UK beat Louisville 73-66. This does not bode well for Kentucky. In 28 previous seasons, Kentucky beat Louisville. In 24 of those seasons, the Cats failed to win the national title. Statistically, then, this means that UK now officially has just a 14.3% chance of bringing home the national championship trophy in April. In fact, in one of those years when UK bested the Cards (1985-86), it was UofL who went on to win the whole thing. Will that happen this year? Probably. Yes. Some Kentucky fans may point out that the only time in the last 90 years before last week that UK’s winning margin was 7 (two years ago), the Cats did go on to win it all. However, that’s in the past and has nothing to do with this year. * On this date: On this date in 1977, Kentucky beat Georgia in overtime, 64-59. However, the celebration following that win was short lived, as the Cats would go on to find themselves on probation twelve years later.