UK faces daunting road to Final Four
March 16, 2014
By David Schuh | Men’s basketball columnist
The NCAA Tournament selection committee clearly didn’t watch the SEC Championship on Sunday. And even if they did, they must have been unimpressed by UK’s one-point loss to the No. 1 team in the country.
The Cats got an 8-seed in the NCAA Tournament and will start play on Friday in St. Louis against Kansas State University.
UK head coach John Calipari was passive when asked whether he felt his team’s seed was fair. His boss was a bit more forthcoming.
“We took the No. 1 seed in the country to a one-point game, but clearly the brackets were made up before it gets to the selection show. We weren’t hardly finished with the game,” UK Athletic Director Mitch Barnhart said. “I would have been curious how they would have justified that if we would have won the game.”
The seed is one thing. But UK should be more concerned with the path laid out ahead.
The Cats could potentially play Wichita State University, the University of Louisville, Duke University and the University of Michigan on their way to the Final Four.
It’s by far the toughest region in the bracket, with three teams that made last year’s Final Four.
“The only way you can prove them wrong is you have to go play ball,” Calipari said. “We’ll go to St. Louis and play.”
It was subdued, but Calipari subtly mentioned on Saturday that his team deserved better than an 8-seed.
Regardless, in the event they win on Friday and then beat Wichita State on Sunday, the Cats would take the 1-seed’s path heading to the regional semifinals in Indianapolis.
It sounds cushy, but Duke, Michigan and Louisville are there waiting.
UK couldn’t really have imagined a tougher road. The Cats may be playing their best basketball of the season, but they beat just one team seeded higher than 11 this year.
They’ll have to beat four to get out of the Midwest Region.
