Another year, another tournament where all eyes are on John Calipari’s Kentucky Wildcats. The powerhouse program has raised quite a bit of eyebrows this season, heading into the NCAA tournament undefeated at 34-0. Moreover, this is the first time in a while that the team’s core is not made up of solely freshman.
Kentucky is easily the best team going into the tournament, at least on paper, but the question still remains: does this squad have what it takes to go completely undefeated? The last team to do so was the 1976 Indiana Hoosiers, so this would be a highly significant milestone for Kentucky if they to go all the way.
That said, let’s take a look at the ins and outs of the team and try to answer that very question.
Seasonal Profile:
With their unbelievable record this year, Kentucky not only finished as the top team in the nation, but also in the SEC. They finished five games ahead of Arkansas in the conference standings, and the theme of their season became running over any and all competition.
Granted, the SEC is not exactly a hotbed of top competition, especially with the Florida Gators entering a rebuilding year after losing so many starters after last season; but Kentucky actually had a difficult schedule with many key signature wins despite their home conference not providing much in competition.
Over the course of the year, the Wildcats defeated top teams like Kansas, Louisville and North Carolina. On top of that, the team’s average margin of victory going into the tournament is an eye-popping 23.4 points! The closest victory’s throughout the season were an overtime win against Ole Miss on January 6 (89-86), a double-overtime thriller against Texas A&M on January 10 (70-64), and nail-biter against LSU on February 10 (71-69).
That all being said, there are certainly teams that do indeed have what it takes to go toe-to-toe with Kentucky and bring them close to the brink of defeat. In fact, LSU is a No. 9 seed in the East region, though the only way the Tigers would meet Kentucky again would be in the championship game.
There’s no telling what will happen, but there’s no denying that Kentucky can indeed be beat. The question is though, will they be?
Head Coach Spotlight: John Calipari
As a head coach, John Calipari has certainly proven himself on numbers alone. He owns a lifetime record of 589-174 (wins have been vacated due to various academic sanctions leveled against his time at UMass and Memphis), has done great work wherever he has gone, and is now in a position to win his second national championship at Kentucky, the first being back in 2012.
Calipari’s coaching philosophy revolves around the use of dribble-drive offense, and the results of it with Kentucky this year speak for themselves. The Wildcats finished 29th in the nation in scoring, 21st in rebounding, 42nd in assists and 40th in field goal percentage. This is a team that is out for blood after finishing runner-up in last year’s tourney, and Calipari certainly has the tools to get them back to the championship game.
But this year is going to be a test for Calipari. For once, his team is not absolutely dominated by freshman talent. In fact, only four freshmen are on Kentucky this year, and only three play over 20 minutes per game: Karl-Anthony Towns, Trey Lyles and Devin Booker. Only Towns and Booker are starters.
The bevy of fine freshman talent Calipari has coached throughout his career is a testament to how fantastic a recruiter he is. Current NBA players coached by him include Derrick Rose, DeMarcus Cousins, John Wall, and many others. In fact, this is the first time since his championship season that he hasn’t had a squad dominated by underclassmen.
This means that this year is really a testament to how solid a coach Calipari is, and not just a great recruiter. He has accomplished more with this team than he has in his entire career (so far), and a championship seems almost inevitable. Whether or not you have them winning it all in your bracket, it’s hard to justify keeping Kentucky out of the championship game, and Calipari is a big reason why.
Team Leader: Willie Cauley-Stein
As we have established, Kentucky has a great deal of talent on this year’s team. However, though whether he is the most talented player on the roster is debatable, junior center Willie Cauley-Stein is definitely the alpha dog in the locker room.
Of excellent size at 7’0″, 240 pounds, Cauley-Stein has gone from a freshman awkwardly dominating in the paint to a player with extreme poise and absolute dominance under the basket. This season, he posted a career high 9.3 points and 6.4 rebounds per game. In the SEC Tournament, he averaged 14 points, seven boards and 2.3 blocks while shooting an excellent 61 percent from the field, proof positive that he is about to step up something fierce now that the big dance is about to begin.
On top of that, when not on the court, Cauley-Stein is constantly playing cheerleader while watching from the bench. He’s always the first to slap a player on the back in support, and it’s kind of hard to miss his enthusiasm, given his size.
He’s going to be a player to watch during the tournament, and slowing him down will be a tough task if he’s running on all cylinders.
X-Factors: Andrew and Aaron Harrison
Let’s call it like it is: both Harrison twins are GOOD. With Andrew running the point and Aaron manning the 2, plus the talent both have in general, there’s no telling which one will go off in a game.
But guard play is key in deciding the winner of the NCAA tournament, and this is where things get tricky. As talented as both Harrisons are, they are incredibly streaky shooters. Andrew averaged just 9.2 points and 3.7 assists on 38 percent shooting (39 from downtown), while Aaron posted 11.3 points on 39 percent shooting. The latter brother also tends to get a bit trigger happy from three-point range, with five of his 9.7 shot attempts per game coming from beyond the arc.
That said, while Kentucky has been the epitome of team play this year, they aren’t going to make a huge run unless the Harrisons become a bit more conservative with their shot selection. That can definitely happen, given how Aaron posted 12 points per game on 49 percent shooting during the SEC Tournament and Andrew averaged 13 points while shooting 45 percent, plus 2.6 assists. The time to step up is now, and these two have definitely answered the bell.
So long as these two play smart and can get past squads that play strong on-ball defense, Kentucky definitely has a shot at taking home the trophy.
Final Thoughts
After going through their season, their players and their coach, the question still remains: will Kentucky go undefeated? Well, it certainly seems possible. This is definitely the most balanced team that Coach Calipari has managed since arriving in Lexington back in 2009, and their absolute dominance over top competition despite being in an average conference speaks for itself.
Even when they’re on the ropes, this team always finds a way to win. I’m not going to go so far as to say that they will in fact win it all and complete a perfect season, but I will say this much:
If you’re going to keep Kentucky out of the championship game when filling out your bracket, you had better feel incredibly confident in your reasons why.
*Section Photo credit to Mark Zerof, USA Today Sports; Featured Photo (above) credit to James Crisp, AP
