Dream for No. 9 ends in National Championship loss
Players and fans yell after the ball is overturned during the NCAA National Championship vs. UConn at the AT&T in Arlington, Texas, on Monday, April 7, 2014. Photo by Eleanor Hasken
April 8, 2014
By David Schuh | Men’s basketball columnist
ARLINGTON, Texas — At some point, UK’s luck had to run out.
The Cats were playing with house money, and it finally caught up to them.
When the buzzer sounded on Monday night, UConn was the team dancing around in confetti while the Cats slowly walked down the tunnel with their heads down, tears in their eyes, wondering how they let their miracle story fall one step short.
A ninth National Championship, so close to reality, would not come home to Lexington.
It seemed so indicative of UK’s recent wins. The Cats came out slow, this time to a 15-point first-half deficit (their biggest of the tournament).
But like they always do, the Cats fought. Young, inexperienced, immature — these freshmen kept pace.
However, they ran into a team just as hot. A big underdog in their own right, the Huskies wouldn’t give up the lead.
UK got within one point, but not once did it have a lead. Those magic runs — 10-0, 12-0, 15-0 — that had fueled tournament comebacks never came.
The Cats got close, but just couldn’t get over the hump.
Maybe it was inexperience. UK head coach John Calipari said his team didn’t match UConn’s energy. He said his players were anxious on such a massive stage, 18-year-olds so close to their ultimate goal.
Maybe it was because UK wasn’t the underdog.
For the first time in almost three weeks, the Cats were the favorite to win.
Calipari said on Saturday that his team plays better from behind, that they don’t thrive when they are ahead.
So playing an upstart underdog making a similarly surprising run could have altered UK’s mentality.
Those expectations, a shadow of those that surrounded seven freshmen before a game was played, may have become the Cats’ downfall.
“We had our chances to win,” Calipari told his players after the loss. “Keep your head up.”
The difference on Monday was that those chances went the other way. The momentum-swinging 3-pointers, the crucial rebounds up for grabs — those 50/50 plays didn’t go the Cats way.
And maybe that’s just the law of averages. Maybe three game-winning shots to capture three crazy wins were all they could muster.
Even for a team as talented as UK, if you play with fire for too long, it’ll eventually burn you.
For three weeks this team lived dangerously. Just once, the Cats needed an easy win, something to show them that they could pull away, that they were the best team on the court.
Maybe then they would have brought home championship No. 9.
Instead, Monday night ended in heartbreak.
At some point, the dream had to end.
