Does Kentucky have what it takes to win four games in the SEC tourney? (SEC Photo)
There’s been a lot written and discussed recently by many college basketball analysts and writers about the University of Kentucky’s chances of making the NCAA Tournament field after a horrendous 9-15 regular season. The first talk began to surface after UK reeled off three straight victories in February against a mostly weak slate of opponents — a last place in the SEC Vanderbilt team and an equally as weak No. 11 in the SEC Auburn team to go with a quality win against No. 4 Tennessee. Then additional conversations bubbled up more recently after UK won a 28-point blowout game against SEC cellar-dweller South Carolina.
In between those wins, a lot of the talk had died down after Kentucky’s inexplicable and painful 71-67 loss to Florida on Senior Day in Rupp Arena. A loss that John Calipari would later explain in the post-game press conference by saying, “We had some bad play, individual bad play today, and that happens. They are not machines. They are not robots.”
That is not an unfamiliar quote from John Calipari. He has said it after other losses, but keep it in mind as we discuss the Wildcats’ real chances of winning four games in a row in the SEC Tournament and receiving the SEC’s automatic bid to the NCAA Tournament.
Going forward does UK really have a meaningful chance at winning the SEC Tournament? I mean, could it really happen? Could these Wildcats go on a tear and win back-to-back-to-back-to-back games against SEC opponents? If they were playing the caliber of a lineup similar to, say, South Carolina, Vanderbilt, Auburn, and Georgia I would say maybe. But they’re not.
The teams they have to beat, starting with Mississippi State, are all tough outs for this year’s Cats.
Take Mississippi State, the least difficult opponent on Kentucky’s potential SEC Tournament pathway to victory. The Wildcats needed a career night from Dontaie Allen with seven 3-pointers, a John Calipari ejection, and double overtime to beat the Dogs by 5 in Starkville. It also took assistant coach Bruiser Flint, in his fill-in role as head coach, playing the guys that were hot down the stretch and leaving BJ Boston on the bench to create the win. That would be SEC Tournament game one for the Wildcats.
If they get by the Great Cowbell Nation they would then play the No. 1 seed, Alabama. You know, the Alabama that has beaten UK by 20 in Tuscaloosa and by 11 at Rupp Arena. Alabama that is projected to be a 2-seed in the NCAA Tournament. The likelihood of a win against the Crimson Tide is in my opinion nil but just for discussion sake let’s say it happens. Let’s say Kentucky finds a way to limit open drives to the basket and slows down Alabama’s 3-point offense without getting into foul trouble and comes up with a win.
In the third game of the tournament, UK would most likely play either Tennessee or Florida. My money would be on Tennessee to win that Florida/Tennessee matchup but either way the Wildcats would be meeting either of those teams for the third time and although UK does own a win against each team it would seem highly unlikely that Kentucky, playing its third game in three days, could come up with a second win against two squads that are slated to be a 4-seed (UT) and a 7-seed (UF) in the upcoming NCAA Tournament.
Also, keep in mind that both of those teams are veteran squads that can play equally as well in an up-tempo game as they can in a half-court slowdown affair and both have better in-game tacticians for coaches than John Calipari.
Now, if UK were to win three games in a row (that would tie their longest win streak of the season) they would most likely play Arkansas in the championship game. Arkansas is a projected 3-seed in the NCAA Tournament and probably playing the best basketball of anyone in the SEC right now. And yes, Kentucky does own a 1-point loss to the Hogs in Rupp Arena in early February. That was a game where the Cats hit 54 percent from 3-point range, had a season-high 18 assists and only 11 turnovers, scored 80 points, and still lost 81-80. I’m not sure the Kentucky offense can play any better than it did that day against Arkansas.
So there you have it. For those that are saying that Kentucky has a real chance to win the SEC Tournament, I have another John Calipari quote, “Stop it! Just stop it!” In a season where the Wildcats are backed into a corner, with a team that has no go-to player on offense, no consistent point guard that can drive this team, and no ability to consistently score in the paint I just don’t see any way these Cats can win four games in a row against talented, high-quality teams that have better tactical coaches than UK does.
And if you don’t believe that, then think about this. Remember the quote from John Calipari concerning the players after the Florida loss, “They are not machines. They are not robots.” That is a fact and because they aren’t machines, in fact, far from it, they will struggle to string together four consistent, high-level offensive and defensive outings in four days.
That will spell the doom of this year’s Wildcat team; the thing that has defeated them all year long — themselves.
— Keith Peel, Contributing Writer
