Wildcat Blue Nation
Fansided

Headlines: Kentucky Wildcats’ to Play Arkansas in SEC Final

By Ethan Conger

facebooktwitterreddit
Prev
2 of 2
Next

After a win over Auburn yesterday evening, the Kentucky Wildcats will battle the Razorbacks in the SEC championship game. Although the last meeting wasn’t pretty for Arkansas, SEC player of the year Bobby Portis was reluctant to admit that he hoped he would meet the Cats’ again.

"Sunday’s Southeastern Conference Tournament championship game will have a be-careful-what-you-wish for element. After Kentucky beat Arkansas 84-67 two weeks ago, Bobby Portis said he wished the Razorbacks would play UK in Nashville. “I got my wish,” Portis said with a big smile after Arkansas beat Georgia 60-49 in the SEC Tournament semifinals Saturday. When asked why he sat in the Rupp Arena interview area on Feb. 28 and wished for another game against Kentucky, Portis said, “Because they whipped us. We were down 31 (points) at one point. That was my first time being down 30 here as a Razorback. It’s just something that we have to do. … It was hard. They whupped us on the glass. They beat us in transition. That’s something that doesn’t happen to us.”"

Kentucky will play Arkansas at 1PM this evening.

Jan 13, 2015; Knoxville, TN, USA; Arkansas Razorbacks forward Bobby Portis (10) dunks the ball against the Tennessee Volunteers during the game at Thompson-Boling Arena. Mandatory Credit: Randy Sartin-USA TODAY Sports

Although Kentucky hasn’t played their final pre-NCAA tournament game, the committee has already admitted that come selection time, the Cats’ will be the #1 overall seed. This shouldn’t come as news to anybody, but hey, it’s just so sweet to finally hear it.

Live Feed

2023 Week 4 AP Poll Top 25: Every SEC team’s highest, lowest spot on ballot
2023 Week 4 AP Poll Top 25: Every SEC team’s highest, lowest spot on ballot /

South Bound & Down

  • SEC Football: Florida, LSU rise in Week 4 2023 power rankings South Bound & Down
  • SEC Tailgating: Where should you go in each town? South Bound & Down
  • SEC football standings based on yards per play through Week 2 FanSided
  • SEC Football: Arkansas, Florida rise in Week 3 2023 power rankings South Bound & Down
  • 2023 Week 3 AP Poll Top 25: Every SEC team’s highest, lowest spot on ballot South Bound & Down

    • "This really shouldn’t come as a surprise to even casual college basketball fans. The Wildcats have won every single game this season, mostly by dominant margins, and look like an NBA team at times on the floor. What’s more, fellow No. 1 seed contenders Duke and Virginia both lost in the ACC tournament semifinals, which cleared the path even more for John Calipari’s squad. Kentucky’s resume speaks for itself, with wins over Kansas, North Carolina, Texas, UCLA, Louisville, Arkansas and every other SEC team on the schedule. With a perfect record, other potential top seeds losing and the realization that Sunday’s game will be against a quality opponent, there is simply no way Kentucky will fall off the top line."

    Read more from Scott Polacek at the Bleacher Report.

    With it being pretty much common sense that the Wildcats will be announced as the nation’s top seed in a few hours, many are pondering over who could be the 2 seed in Kentucky’s region. Joe Lunardi believed that Wisconsin would be the team forced into the daunting region with Kentucky. But due to upsets throughout conference tournament play, the Badgers could now find themselves leading a region of their own.

    "OK, someone has to be No. 2 seed in Kentucky’s region. Just like someone has to go into the jungle and catch cobras. Maybe they should get all the No. 2 seeds together and have them draw for the short straw. Popular thought predicts the Badgers. It’s the geography thing. Kentucky will most certainly be sent to the nearby Midwest Regional in Cleveland. If Wisconsin is a No. 2 seed, it’ll be the closest option. Gonzaga and Arizona are several time zones away, and Kansas is out there beyond the Mississippi River, too. Wisconsin is the handiest. Most years, this is not a big deal. Most years, all the No. 1 seeds look pretty much alike. This is not most years. The road to the Final Four would seem like a one-lane deathtrap curving along a cliff, if it goes through Kentucky. Selection Sunday is coming. Maybe the Badgers can avoid all this by grabbing off a No. 1 seed, and watching the 32-0 Wildcats on television from another region. Scenarios, scenarios. So what are they thinking in the Wisconsin camp? “It hasn’t been mentioned once, in the locker room, in any conversations with the players, with the coaches,’’ Bo Ryan said Friday after Wisconsin slipped out of a Michigan upset trap 71-60 in a Big Ten quarterfinal. “I’ve always figured that if you just take care of business, that people in the know will know what to do with your team. That’s all we can do. We can control our destiny simply by playing well on every possession, and if that’s good enough, then so be it. If it’s not, then we just ‑‑ all we know is we’re going to be playing in the NCAA tournament.’’"

    Read more over at NCAA.com

    Mar 14, 2015; Chicago, IL, USA; Wisconsin Badgers head coach Bo Ryan reacts during the first half in the semifinals of the Big Ten Tournament against the Purdue Boilermakers at United Center. Mandatory Credit: David Banks-USA TODAY Sports

    More from Wildcat Blue Nation

    Home/Kentucky Wildcats News