The NCAA needed Kentucky in Indianapolis. This isn’t to suggest that the Wildcats were given a nudge from above during their epic rally against Notre Dame — on the contrary, one Big Blue backer was heard to moan, “Who’s reffing this game, the Pope?” — but a Final Four without the team that has dominated the college basketball conversation would be just another Final Four.
But now, with the Wildcats safely if not serenely through the Midwest Regional, the doings in Lucas Oil Stadium will assume a heightened edge. There will be a historic coronation — the first unbeaten NCAA champ since Indiana in 1976 — or an upset for the ages.
As a Final Four, it’s a pedigreed one — three No. 1 seeds and Michigan State, making its seventh trip under Tom Izzo. The Kentucky-Wisconsin semifinal is a redo of last season, when Aaron Harrison’s third game-winning trey of the tournament subdued the Badgers, who are just as good this season. Thing is, the Wildcats are way better.
Duke-Michigan State pairs Hall of Fame coaches, but Michigan State has 11 losses — only one NCAA champ has had so many, that being Kansas in 1988 — and Duke had the softest of regionals: San Diego State in the round of 32, Utah in the Sweet 16, Gonzaga in the Elite Eight. It’s not often a game involving Izzo and Mike Krzyzewski can be deemed a preliminary, but this one is.
Folks watch the Final Four no matter what, but the sport itself is in need of a jolt. Seeing Kentucky win/lose could provide one. As an entity, the Wildcats are proof that a collection of one-and-done talents can be a real team. (Quick: Who’s Kentucky’s leading scorer?) As much as we decry the annual exodus of freshmen to the NBA, the Wildcats’ continuing success shouldn’t be a reason to hate their sport.
This is Kentucky’s fourth Final Four in five seasons. That’s the best run the nation’s winningest program has ever known. There were three consecutive Final Fours and two NCAA titles from 1996 through 1998 under Rick Pitino and then Tubby Smith, but there was also continuity: The subs on the 1996 champs were starters on the ‘98 winners.
The 21st Century Wildcats come close to starting over every year, and they’re not alone. Duke and Kansas do the same. What’s different is that these ‘Cats have dealt with something that was, for them, unusual: Too many holdovers.
There was thought that Andrew and Aaron Harrison — the latter is this team’s leading scorer, averaging 11 points — and perhaps Dakari Johnson and Willie Cauley-Stein would join Julius Randle and James Young as NBA entrants after last season. The four chose to return. And yes, there can be such a thing as too much talent.
“That should be the narrative of this team — a lot of guys sharing,” coach John Calipari said last week. “The term we use is, ‘Don’t be a hog; everybody’s trying to eat.’ If you chew a lot, you’ll be full. You don’t have to take 25 shots.”
On a team of eight active McDonald’s All-Americans — a ninth, forward Alex Poythress, was lost to a torn ACL — no Wildcat averages 10 shots. (Aaron Harrison shoots the most, averaging 9.5.) Both R.J. Hunter and Ryan Harrow averaged more than 14 shots for the Georgia State team that became the rage of this Big Dance’s first week.
Said Cauley-Stein, the 7-footer who took five shots against Notre Dame but who helped win the game with two defensive swoops in the final 40 seconds: “You’ve just got to trust what coach is saying. Coming here, he told every one of us straight up that you’re not going to be the man. You’re going to have to sacrifice. That’s why we’re able to play the way we are — because everybody bought in.”
A glorified all-star crew would have crumbled against Notre Dame. With an unbeaten season on the line, Kentucky steeled itself and sank its final nine field-goal tries. Any of the remaining teams could give the Wildcats a go, but the guess is that Kentucky’s moment of truth has come and gone. (FYI, Notre Dame was 3-1 against Duke and Michigan State.)
The Wildcats have gotten to 38-0. They should finish this drill.
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