Random notes on Tuesday's game:

In the grand scheme of college hoops, Kentucky's loss at South Carolina on Tuesday night means little, unless ... it becomes two losses.

Even before the defeat, John Calipari had warned a drop off in play could become a viral matter, with one loss turning into two and so on.

Look at Texas, which was bounced not once but twice last week after taking over the No. 1 spot in the polls Kentucky (for) now holds. After Kansas lost at Tennessee, the Jayhawks trailed Nebraska at the half of its next game, only to right the ship in the second half.

■ In the same vein, UK's smashing of Arkansas last Saturday may have handed the Cats' the No. 1 ranking, but in the grand hoops scheme it ended up meaning nothing.

Not when you can't follow up. It's about putting great performances together. Back-to-back-to-back. It's about that elusive but all-important characteristic called consistency. You need that to put six wins together come NCAA Tournament time.

■ When Darrin Horn was playing high school hoops at Tates Creek, did you think one day, as a coach, he would be 3-0 against Kentucky?

■ Heard a national media member say Wednesday that Devan Downey played out of his mind Tuesday night. No, Downey played well within his beautiful mind. The South Carolina guard was averaging 31.6 points per SEC game. He scored 30.

Downey actually missed 20 shots, going 9-for-29. The difference Tuesday night was Kentucky didn't rebound enough of those missed shots. Of Downey's 20 missed shots, South Carolina retained possession 11 times.

■ Here's another (intended) consequence of Downey's game. Though Calipari used different defenders on the Carolina guard, Eric Bledsoe shouldered much of the load. And after chasing Downey on defense, Bledsoe scored just four points at the offensive end, with five turnovers.

Last Saturday, Florida's Erving Walker had the primary assignment of guarding Downey. After scoring 27 points at Arkansas, Walker managed just 13 against South Carolina. Coincidence? Could be, but you would have to think that guarding Downey is a factor.

■ Calipari was coaching like a mad man during the game, but he was pretty calm and composed in the post-game press conference. This was our first up-close look at him in defeat. He didn't wag his finger and say "I told you so," but he did give the impression of someone who wasn't terribly surprised by the outcome.

■ Should have asked Cal, does this mean UK is now 10-10?

■ The national media seems ready to anoint Wall as National Player of the Year, yet right now Devan Downey has to be the SEC's Player of the Year.

■ It will be interesting to see how Kentucky responds now that the league has learned the ultra-talented but still fresh-faced Cats are not invincible.

■ Patrick Patterson's off night didn't help matters. The junior's five-point output was his lowest since his very first game as a Wildcat, back on Nov. 6, 2007, when foul trouble limited Patterson to just four points in 13 minutes against Central Arkansas.

In the first half especially, Patterson kept earning earfuls from Calipari, specifically on the defensive end.

■ That said, anyone who put anything derogatory on Patterson's Facebook page is an idiot, an idiot that perpetuates the national perception that UK fans are out of control. Some are out of control.

■ Concur with Horn's post-game statement that while John Wall will probably be the No. 1 pick in the NBA draft, it's hard not to see DeMarcus Cousins as the No. 1 pick, as well.

"He's unguardable," said Horn.