CM Newton thinks Kentucky still has work to do.

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Newton says 12-4 won't get Cats in WITHOUT PATTERSON, UK NEEDS CAT-LANTA By Mark Story HERALD-LEADER SPORTS COLUMNIST Mark Story Comments Before Patrick Patterson's season-ending ankle injury, I figured that if Kentucky could finish 12-4 in the Southeastern Conference it deserved an NCAA Tournament at-large bid. After the Wildcats' gutty near-miss in Knoxville Sunday, I still think that if UK can close the final week of the season with a win at South Carolina and a home victory over Florida it deserves (big) dancing shoes. Whether the NCAA Tournament selection committee will see it that way -- if the Cats can win out this week -- is an intriguing question. C.M. Newton, the former Kentucky athletics director and former member of the group that picks the teams that play in the NCAAs, says that he's not sure that a 12-4 conference mark would lock the Cats in the field of 65. "I think they'd have to make a run in the conference tournament," Newton said yesterday. "Obviously, in my heart, I want them to get in, but I just think they dug such a hole in December with those losses to Gardner-Webb and San Diego. Then, when you take Patterson out, that hurts the perception of them." Forgetting about tournament implications for a moment, I'm not sure I've ever seen a better one-game coaching job than what Billy Gillispie did Sunday in UK's far-closer-than-expected 63-60 loss at then-No. 1 Tennessee. For a team playing without its hub -- and UK had run almost its entire offense through or off of Patterson this season -- to take the top-rated team to the final buzzer was a boffo performance. Six feet under ground in the Lexington Cemetery, Adolph Rupp must have been rolling like a dervish at the sight of Kentucky holding the ball on a Tennessee that wanted to rip and run (back in the day, those roles were reversed). But it was absolutely the right strategy for that particular game. As for UK's ultimate NCAA fate without Patterson, Newton says player injuries play a big role both in who makes the tourney and where they get seeded. The most famous example was Cincinnati in 2000. That year, Bob Huggins' Bearcats entered the Conference-USA tourney 28-2 and ranked No. 1 in the country. In the C-USA semifinals, Cincinnati's star, Kenyon Martin, broke his right leg. When the NCAA pairings were announced, a UC team that clearly deserved a No. 1 seed based on its full season of work got a No. 2 instead. "The committee absolutely is judging teams based on the strength of that team at the end," Newton said. "Injuries play a big part, both ways. The committee would consider that Kentucky didn't have Patterson when it lost to Houston. On the other side, they'll certainly have to consider that Kentucky won't have Patterson for the rest of the season." The good news for UK is that, unlike UC after it lost Martin, there are enough games left for the Wildcats to show the selection committee they still have some bite. When Florida comes to Rupp Arena for the regular-season finale, Billy Donovan's Gators will bring a seven-game winning streak over UK. It will be Billy D.'s first visit to Lexington since he turned down the Kentucky head coaching job last spring. My guess is a raucous Rupp crowd won't let the Cats lose. Even before the Patterson injury, I thought the trap game left on the UK schedule is Wednesday night's visit to South Carolina. It will be the departing Dave Odom's last home game as head coach of the Gamecocks. Other than a maddening inability to finish out winnable games, South Carolina has played better than its 13-15 record would suggest. You also have to wonder now what UK will have in the tank after exerting so much emotional energy in Knoxville. If they need to, can the Cats again drain so many contested jump shots as the shot clock ticks down? On Friday afternoon, as word of Patterson's season-ending injury spread, most people would have thought UK's season was more over than the Macarena. After the way the Cats played in Knoxville, they have at least given themselves a chance to extend Kentucky's streak of consecutive NCAA Tournament appearances to 17 years in a row. "Based on what I saw (Sunday), if you are on the selection committee, you'd have to say Kentucky looked like a very good team with or without Patterson," Newton says. "But they have to keep on winning." Reach Mark Story at (859) 231-3230, or (800) 950-6397, Ext. 3230, or [email protected]. The Herald-Leader is pleased to provide this opportunity for readers to comment on stories and issues. However, we urge readers to avoid personal attacks or inappropriate remarks in their postings. Some of the comments may be reprinted in the newspaper. The views expressed here are not those of the Herald-Leader or its staff. Registered user names are posted for comments.

 

[Todd4State]

I think UK gets in because of their 12 SEC wins and their name. I can't imagine a 12 win SEC team in the NIT, no matter who is hurt.

That's kind of stupid when you think about it- ranking a team a certain place because a player is hurt. Their team won the games, with or without Patterson. They shouldn't be penalized with a lower seed because one player is hurt.

Could you imagine getting left out of a bowl game because your QB was hurt?

 

[RebelBruiser]

it's actually funny because I remember reading an article just before conference play started, and a fan had emailed in asking what it would take for UK to get in the tourney as an at large. At the time, they were 7-7 with two really bad home losses. The guy who wrote the article said that they would need to go 13-3 in SEC play, and he basically laughed at the guy saying there was no way that would happen. Well, 12 conference wins later, and we're talking about whether or not it's enough. Seems like the guy was about right, though I think the 12 wins will have them in. Even if we beat them in the first game of the SEC tourney, I don't think it'll matter for them. I think they're already in.