Will Saturday’s fantastic finish be the turning point of the Kentucky Wildcat’s season?

Mandatory Credit: Mark Zerof-USA TODAY Sports

Saturday’s win over LSU was a big one for the Kentucky Wildcats basketball team. To be honest, they had no business winning the game on quite a few occasions in regulation and overtime, the game seemed like a certain loss for UK. For the first time this season, Kentucky truly had their backs up against the wall, with the prospect of a two game losing streak at Rupp seeming very certain.

And in that scenario, UK delivered. Their defense smothered Anthony Hickey and forced a desperation shot in regulation and after falling behind again in overtime, Kentucky responded. Is this ending the start of a new beginning for Kentucky basketball?

"Down by one with 12 seconds left in overtime, Harrison raced the ball up the court. After freshman guard James Young lost the ball going up for the game-winning layup, the game hung in the balance. But freshman forward Julius Randle, who had again struggled mightily against LSU’s athletic front line, snatched the ball out of the air and put it in. With just three seconds left, UK had dug deep to make one final winning play, sending Rupp Arena into euphoria and starting the pileup on the game’s hero. “You’re not going to play great every night out. We missed a bunch of shots,” head coach John Calipari said. “Yet you still fight. And the game is never over until the horn sounds.” His words sound horribly cliché, but the truth is in Saturday’s result. A team that has been so inconsistent, that has lost so many close games and has struggled so much despite its immense talent, found a way to win when it couldn’t afford to lose. “A game like that is tough,” Randle said. “There were plenty of times where we could put our head down … and just said forget it. But we kept fighting.” Now winners of six of their last seven games, the Cats will carry that confidence forward, knowing they’ve been through the gauntlet and delivered. The smile on Randle’s face as he was hugged by his teammates said it all. Finally, UK had won when the odds were against them. Whatever happens in the next six weeks, remember what happened on Saturday. It will tell a lot about the team that finishes this season."

Mandatory Credit: Mark Zerof-USA TODAY Sports

Despite the progress, you do have to consider that LSU should not have even been in the game at that point. UK should have stretched their lead to double digits in the first half, but hopefully UK can learn from this game. Regardless, the season gets very real after three games when UK faces Florida again. There are some things this team has to do in the next few games before then.

"Yes, there was progress. But the progress this team is making right now — winning games at the end against SEC competition — is not the progress ideally it should be making. It should be graduating to putting the hammer down. That should be the emphasis the next three games — and it’s an attainable goal. Arkansas, South Carolina and Alabama should be opportunities for convincing wins, and the Wildcats should go to Florida on a roll and with a feeling of nothing to lose. It’s setting up well for UK. But as fun as it is to win on a last-second put-back, the win isn’t quite the sure-fire sign of progress that Calipari wants to make it. He’s saying the right thing, of course. He needs to give his team the feeling of building momentum. This group might be behind schedule, but it still can beat its NCAA Tournament deadline. I’d call them the Fiddlin’ Five, but that name already has been taken. They’re the Freshman Five. And anyone who thinks this can’t be a dangerous tournament team is mistaken. But they’ve played with fire quite a bit. Remember this: The youngest team in the NCAA Tournament field has made the title game each of the past two seasons (UK in 2012, Michigan in 2013). And this young group at UK will be the youngest in the field this year."

Mandatory Credit: Mark Zerof-USA TODAY Sports

Regardless of whether Andrew Harrison returns to Kentucky next year, Tyler Ulis is ready. Ulis has zoomed to the top ten of some recruit rankings and seems ready to take over at Kentucky. Ulis scored 42 points over the weekend and says that he really does not worry about whether Andrew Harrison stays or goes and his playing time at Kentucky.  

"With highly regarded Kentucky freshmen guards Andrew and Aaron Harrison no longer shoo-ins to go high in June’s NBA draft, there’s been talk of one or both of the twins remaining in school for their sophomore seasons. That would likely put a dent in any plans for Ulis to start right away. “I haven’t really thought about that,” said Ulis, who added that he hasn’t spoken to either Harrison regarding their plans. “I’m just focusing on my senior year. Coach [John Calipari] told me from the beginning I’d have to come in and earn my spot, he’s not giving anyone anything. It’s Kentucky, so you have to come in and work hard regardless.” He’s grown tight with the other players in the Wildcats’ incoming class, however, and the group are counting down the minutes until they arrive on campus. Kentucky will undoubtedly be a run watch when Ulis, an extremely gifted passer, takes the reins. He’ll have plenty of weapons at his disposal whenever that happens."

“I’m really excited,” he said. “Me and Devin [Booker] are really close. We talk with Trey [Lyles] and Karl [Towns] a lot. They’re great guys and great players, and I can’t wait to get out there.”