Feb 25, 2012; Lexington, KY, USA; Kentucky Wildcats forward Anthony Davis (23) makes a lay up against Vanderbilt Commodores forward Lance Goulbourne (5) during the first half at Rupp Arena. Mandatory Credit: Mark Zerof-US PRESSWIRE

Across the basketball crazy Bluegrass, the debate rages as to whether the top rated Kentucky Wildcats need to take a loss before entering tournament play.  The Wildcats came into today’s game with a 19 game winning streak and are quickly approaching the time when a loss would send you home to a long, dark off season.  For Kentucky to win the national title without losing would entail a 31 game winning streak to end the season and popular thought dictates that a team “get a loss out of the way” to ready themselves for the battles of March.  The Wildcats are in arguably their toughest stretch of the season with two games against SEC rivals Florida and Vanderbilt and a tough road matchup against Mississippi State in their last seven games.  Even I thought a loss would not be bad to “reset” the Cats focus.  So far, the Wildcats are refusing to buy into that adage as they continued to win, beating Vanderbilt 83-74 today at Rupp.  And it is starting to look as if Kentucky does not “need to lose” as they rattled off their 20th straight win, their 51st straight home win, and are eying SEC perfection with a 14-0 conference mark.  Oh yea, Kentucky also wrapped up their 45th SEC Championship today.  “Refuse to Lose” has evolved from a t-shirt slogan to a way of life.

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