Kenny Brooks and the Wildcats secured a massive, emotional victory over No. 14 Ole Miss yesterday.
It was the absolute perfect way to start our push toward the close of the season. But if you look at the calendar, the upcoming stretch run is no joke. There are only three regular-season games left, and every single one of them is an absolute battle.
The Cats travel to Nashville for a revenge game against top-10 Vanderbilt this Sunday (Feb. 22), head down to Auburn on the 26th, and then finish the season at home against an absolute juggernaut in South Carolina on March 1st.
That is a ridiculously tough schedule for a team desperately looking to finish strong and secure a top-four seed in the NCAA Tournament.
And before we even get to the Big Dance, we have to survive the SEC Tournament in Greenville.
The 'brutal' SEC grind
Winning a conference tournament trophy is great for the resume. It gets you used to the rhythm of playing high-stakes games with quick turnarounds, which is important in March. But when you ask Kenny Brooks about the upcoming trip to Greenville, he is incredibly honest about what it takes out of the players.
"It's brutal. It really is. It is brutal," Brooks admitted. "But it also gives the champion something to really understand that that was an accomplishment. To go to that tournament and to have to win five games in five days or four games in four days... It's tough. You have to be built for it."
Just like Mark Pope has said on the men's side, Brooks understands the tournament is ultimately for Big Blue Nation.
"I don't think it's ever going to go away because I think it's such a wonderful time for the fans," Brooks said. "I think it's probably more enjoyable for the fans than it is for us coaches because we know just what we're going to endure during that weekend."
"It's going to be physical basketball, and you don't get two or three days to recover. It's the next night, and then it's the next night, and then it's the next night. And then, all the while you're trying to make sure that you're really in tip-top shape physically, health-wise, to go into what's the most important, and that's the NCAA Tournament."
The ultimate prize is the NCAA Tournament
That balance between chasing an SEC trophy and resting up for the NCAA Tournament is the toughest tightrope to walk in college basketball. You always want to win, but you always want to balance what is coming next, too.
But there is a very specific reason Kentucky needs to keep their foot on the gas this season.
If you get a top-four seed in the NCAA Tournament, you get to host the first two rounds on your home floor. That is an incredible, almost unfair advantage to help you punch a ticket to the Sweet 16. Kentucky is right on the verge of that 4-seed line right now.
The Cats are currently 12-2 at home this season. One of those losses came when we were missing Teonni Key, and the other was a brutal one-point loss to Vanderbilt, where we simply self-destructed. Kentucky is nearly unbeatable inside Historic Memorial Coliseum.
If Kentucky can win two of these last three regular-season games, plus snag one win in the SEC Tournament, that top-four seed is probably locked up.
The Lady Cats have a week off before heading to Nashville to try and exact our revenge on Vandy. Let the girls rest up. The most important stretch of the season is officially here.