Kentucky Wildcats: Houston’s Gonna Have a Big Blue Problem
By Terry Brown
The Kentucky Wildcats Now Know Their Route to Their 5th Final Four in Six Seasons
The University of Kentucky men’s basketball team is a four-seed in the East Regional of the 2016 NCAA Tournament. The Wildcats will begin tournament action against 13th seeded Stony Brook on Thursday in Des Moines, IA. Lurking in the bracket for a potential second round matchup? Our neighbors to the north, the 5th seeded Indian Hoosiers. Also in the mix are top seeded North Carolina, second seeded Xavier and West Virginia as the third seed. Once again, the selection committee didn’t do head coach John Calipari and the Cats any favors as they attempt to reach their 5th Final Four in 6 seasons.
Coach Cal was on ESPN’s Bracketology show on Sunday evening and he was in full “Swaggy Cal” mode. As usual, it didn’t matter the questions Calipari was asked, he answered how he wanted to answer. And for roughly 5 minutes, Cal went all in on the NCAA selection committee. He started out with Texas A&M, a team that UK tied for the SEC regular season title and beat for the SEC tournament title, receiving a 3 seed and the Cats receiving a 4 seed. His question: “Did we not play a game today?” Cal then shifted his attention to the committee’s ever-changing criteria for how teams are seeded. From there Calipari focused on moving the SEC title game to Saturday instead of Sunday. John Calipari ended his segment by listing every slight, real or perceived, that the NCAA selection committee has committed against him over the years.
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Yes, it was Cal being Cal, but this is exactly why he’s perfect for the Big Blue Nation. For as spectacular as the Wildcat program has been over the years (and I don’t think there’s a resume’ that’s better), we have a tendency to look for slights. Sometimes there’s nothing to the conspiracy theories, but other times there’s no real explanations for how Kentucky gets treated. Right now, this year, there’s no reason at all why Texas A&M should be seeded higher than Kentucky. None. As Cal signed off on ESPN Sunday night, he said that now none of that matters. Right now it’s time to play ball.
Since Coach Cal has arrived in Lexington, he’s not had a finish worse than the Elite Eight in the NCAA tournament with a healthy team (for some reason, a lot of people forget Nerlens Noel’s injury during the 2013 season). In previous seasons where the selection committee wasn’t favorable to the Cats, the BBN has ended up with some of the most dramatic runs in school history. The 4th seeded 2010-11 team had to go through Ohio State and North Carolina to get to the Final Four. The 8th seeded 2013-14 team went through undefeated Wichita State, defending champion and rival Louisville and second seeded Michigan before reaching the Final Four and falling in the title game. No matter where you’re seeded, the key is beating whoever you play. Survive and advance.
Like 2011, this year the Final Four is in Houston, TX. And just like 2011, the Kentucky Wildcats will be there. Yes, there’s the hated Hoosiers looming. Yes, Xavier and West Virginia are two of the toughest defensive teams in the country. And, yes, top seeded North Carolina has a significant advantage along the frontline. As I’ve said back when this team was losing to UCLA and Ohio State, I can’t tell you how John Calipari and the Wildcats will pull it off. I don’t know what buttons Cal will push, but I believe that when the Final Four begins on April 2 the Wildcats will be there. And when that happens, college basketball will have a Big Blue problem.