Kentucky Wildcats Basketball: No Time to Relax as the SEC Title is Up for Grabs

Feb 27, 2013; Lexington, KY, USA; Kentucky Wildcats forward Kyle Wiltjer (33) takes the ball around Mississippi State Bulldogs forward Colin Borchert (3) in the second half at Rupp Arena. Mandatory Credit: Mark Zerof-USA TODAY Sports

Imagine what this team would look like if everybody played their best basketball at the same time? One player that is struggling right now is Kyle Wiltjer. Wiltjer looked for a while like he was the offensive catalyst for the team. He was in a funk earlier this season, broke out of it and looked like a 20 point a night player, and then creeped back into the earlier funk.

Wiltjer had 18 points in the loss to Tennessee and has had 13 points combined in the three games that followed. John Calipari insists that Wiltjer is fine and that he is working hard to fix whatever the problem is. Kyle just needs to keep shooting.

Feb 27, 2013; Lexington, KY, USA; Kentucky Wildcats head coach John Calipari coaches his team against the Mississippi State Bulldogs in the second half at Rupp Arena. Mandatory Credit: Mark Zerof-USA TODAY Sports

John Calipari is pleased with the way his team is playing right now, but he knows how the season can turn on a dime, as this one has multiple times already:

"“Look, this team, what we’ve been through in the last 10 days, you think about it. What this team has been through, what we’ve had to do to adjust to all the things happening around us. We had dirt thrown on us 10 days ago. The coffin was nailed shut and the dirt was thrown on us."

Cal’s rallying cry has been “one game at a time”. He is urging his players to not think about the tournament or what happened before or what will happen after the game that is next on the schedule. All Kentucky has to do is play their game and let things happen. Willie Cauley-Stein told the team after the loss to Tennessee that he will do his job and the rest of the team need to do theirs. Willie has been a man of his word and his partners in crime have followed his lead.

Feb. 19, 2013; East Lansing, MI, USA; Indiana Hoosiers head coach Tom Crean reacts to a play against the Michigan State Spartans during the second half at Jack Breslin Students Events Center. Indiana won 72-68. Mandatory Credit: Mike Carter-USA TODAY Sports

And lastly, Tom Crean is quickly becoming college basketball’s newest villain. While Hoosier fans may adore him, the rest of college basketball fans are finding new reasons to hate him every time IU takes the court.

The latest offense came in his team’s loss to Tubby Smith’s Gophers on Tuesday night. As Minnesota maintained a lead with time dwindling in the second half, Will Sheehey took part in a blatant flop in order to try to draw a flagrant foul to send him to the free throw line. Take a look:

As you could see, Sheehey tried to draw a flagrant foul by pretending to get hit in the eye, but he wasn’t touched. Luckily, the refs saw through the antics and did not award IU the foul.

It looks as if right before that play Crean is telling his team to watch for elbows and flop if given the chance.

The Lost Letterman had this to say about Crean and his tactics:

"Crean is already on his way to becoming a college basketball coaching villain as a very sore loser. Whether he’s throwing temper tantrums on the sideline like a toddler, blowing by opposing coaches after a loss or even ripping the Big Ten over weekly awards if his players don’t win, he’s definitely caught the eye of college hoops fans. On Tuesday night, Crean hit a new low by apparently pulling a Gordon Bombay. Where’s the respect for opponents and the game as a whole? Where’s the integrity he is supposed to be instilling in college kids? After looking over video of the controversial Derrick Nix-Cody Zeller incident from last week, I don’t think Zeller flopped by initiating the groin shot there. But Sheehey’s flop was clear as day. And the way Crean instantly demanded the officials to look at the monitor makes it even more apparent he orchestrated the flop."

You see Hoosier fans, it’s not only Kentucky fans that hate your team and your coach, it’s everyone in America.