Kentucky basketball: Why can’t people just enjoy the madness?
By Drew Koch
The Kentucky basketball team advanced to the Sweet Sixteen this past weekend. The Cats made it past the second weekend for the 7th time in 9 years, yet for some reason pundits and experts alike aren’t satisfied.
My mom told me long ago that you cannot please everyone. That’s so true, and a perfect example of that statement is the reaction to the Kentucky basketball team’s run in the NCAA Tournament. After John Calipari opined earlier last week as to the difficulty of UK’s path to the Final Four, a series of surprises and upsets have Kentucky’s road to San Antonio appearing to be less of the “murder’s row” that Cal thought it was going to be.
Kentucky, the No. 5 seed in the South took care of business in their opening round game against Davidson. The Cats followed that up with a 20-point victory over Buffalo, who 2 days earlier vanquished the 4-seed Arizona Wildcats. All the experts and pundits were predicting a match up between Kentucky and Arizona. The Buffalo Bulls 89-68 victory over Arizona sent shock waves through college basketball, but hey, that’s why they call it March Madness.
For some reason, Kentucky’s quote-unquote easy path so far in the NCAA Tournament has the pundits and experts frowning. Why? Aren’t upsets why we love March Madness. Don’t we live for the Cinderella stories of teams like 2010’s Butler Bulldogs? Remember last year when South Carolina made the Final Four as a No. 7 seed?
Kentucky has beaten a 12 seed, a 13 seed and will get either an 8 or 16(!) seed in the sweet sixteen in Cat-friendly Atlanta. Anyone remember Sunday, when Cal was complaining about how hard his draw was?
— Pat Forde (@ByPatForde) March 17, 2018
Are people expecting the Kentucky basketball team to apologize for winning? Coach Cal and his Cats can only beat the teams that win. Kentucky didn’t tell Arizona to get boat-raced by 21 to the 13-seed Buffalo. They didn’t tell Virginia to lay an egg and become the first-ever No.1 seed to lose to a No. 16. UK had no control over Cincinnati blowing a 22-point lead with less than 11 minutes left against Nevada. The Cats held up their end of the bargain, their “projected opponents didn’t.
I know a Final Four run is always special, but does Kentucky really want to get there .... against this competition in the South?
— Myron Medcalf (@MedcalfByESPN) March 19, 2018
The tweet from ESPN’s Myron Medcalf might be one of the most ridiculous comments ever. No team that wins four games in their region, regardless of competition, should be ashamed of making the Final Four. C’mon.
The bottom line is, Kentucky is in the Sweet Sixteen, and based on all the upsets so far in the NCAA Tournament, they’re lucky to be there. Regardless of seeding, the teams that advanced this far defeated good teams to get there. People need to sit back and enjoy the chaos that is March Madness.