This Week in Kentucky Basketball: March Madness

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Welcome to the best time of year. The Thursday through Sunday run that we will be treated to this week is the highlight of the season for college basketball junkies. All of the late weeknight games, Saturday road trips, and the grind of the conference season culminates in this end of season reward for 68 programs. For the Kentucky Basketball team this time of year is full of expectations, and now, pressure. Big Blue Nation hasn’t celebrated a March Madness victory since March 29, 2019. To say the fan base is clamoring for success would be an understatement. However, this rollercoaster of a season has left everyone with a wide dichotomy of expectations for the coming weeks.

The Wildcats were ranked #4 in the preseason AP Poll and earned a pair of first place votes. Now, the ‘Cats are entering the NCAA Tournament unranked. A 21-11 overall record, including a Friday night exit in the SEC Tournament at the hands of Vanderbilt, certainly did not satisfy preseason expectations. The up and down nature to the season kept the fanbase constantly unsure of what to expect. Kentucky seemingly hit rock bottom after a home loss to South Carolina on January 10th and a loss at Georgia on February 11th. However, both ugly losses brought on immediate four wins in a row. In March, a four game winning streak gets you to the Final Four. While it might seem hard to imagine this team making that sort of run, the ‘Cats have at least shown it is possible.

On Sunday evening, the Kentucky Basketball program earned a six seed in the East Region where they will match up with 11 seed Providence. There are obvious underlying storylines to the Wildcats and Friars first round game. However, none of those are more important than the big picture. Coach Calipari and the Wildcats are in need of some positive press. Nothing can cure a few years of disappointment like a historic run in March Madness. While this team has proven they can lose to anyone, they have also proven they can beat anyone. The ‘Cats have constantly responded to adversity and played their best with their backs on the wall. That feeling is never greater than in a win or go home situation like the NCAA Tournament.

As always, Monday brings a reset of the current status of the basketball program along with what is to come in the week ahead. We will take a look at the top storyline surrounding the Wildcats, preview the upcoming opponent(s), take a look back at the Southeastern Conference, and obviously look at the NCAA Tournament bracket. Let’s dive on in and take a look at this week in Kentucky Basketball.

Top Kentucky Basketball Storyline: Survive & Advance

Welcome to March Madness! Throw the records out of the window and get ready for everything to get a little more difficult. This Kentucky Basketball team has certainly dealt with their fair share of adversity this season and should be battle tested. Whether it be overcoming bad losses, injury issues, or negativity from the fan base this team has responded with their backs against the wall. Now, all that matters is winning the game in front of you. Do that and you get to keep on playing. However, if you lose, you have to spend the rest of March and a long offseason at home. Kentucky’s journey will begin on Friday night at 7:10 p.m. Eastern Time in Greensboro, North Carolina.

What we do know about this Wildcats team is that they can win four games in a row. They did it between late November and early December. Then, they rattled off four straight SEC games in both January and February. Replicating a run like that in March will mean the ‘Cats will be playing in Houston for the Final Four. Part of making that a possibility will be getting to full strength by Friday night. Cason Wallace and CJ Fredrick are still banged up, but at least played on Friday against Vanderbilt. Then, there is Sahvir Wheeler who is rumored to potentially be back for the NCAA Tournament run. Adding him back to the rotation for guard depth would certainly help. Regardless though we’ve seen the ‘Cats play through injuries and win at less than full strength.

A cancelled NCAA Tournament, a 9-16 season, and a first round loss to #15 seed Saint Peter’s has left Kentucky Basketball in a situation where Friday night becomes essentially a must win. Frustration has boiled over for a few years now. It is time to embrace the survive and advance attitude. This team, coaching staff, and fan base desperately need some post season success.

This Week in Kentucky Basketball: Providence Friars

The Providence Friars began this season 14-3 overall and 6-0 in Big East conference play. Their hot start, which included wins over Marquette and Connecticut, launched them to #19 in the AP Poll at the time. Eventually, the Friars would peak at #17 in the country when they were 17-5, 9-2. However, down the stretch, they went 4-6 to finish 21-11 and 13-7 in the Big East. They will be entering March Madness having lost three straight which dropped them down to a #11 seed.

Providence features a Top 20 offense per KenPom led by some excellent balance with all five starters in double-figures. What has made the Friars a little Jekyll and Hyde has been their reliance on offensive rebounding and free throw shooting along with a suspect defense. Offensively, when you need to offensive rebound and get to the foul line to score it makes you inconsistent. This is also good news for Kentucky Basketball fans because the ‘Cats are excellent on the glass and play without fouling. Defensively, they have 78.2 points per game over their last 10 games. There are certainly some signs to point to that make this a solid matchup for the Wildcats. We will have much more breading down Providence throughout the week.

Around the Southeastern Conference

After a season that showed a lot of parity, it came down to #1 versus #2 on Sunday. Alabama defeated Texas A&M 82-63 to sweep the SEC regular season and tournament championships. The Crimson Tide were then awarded with the number one overall seed in the NCAA Tournament.
Vanderbilt’s run to the semifinals got them a 20-win season, but they still came up short of making the big dance.
The Southeastern Conference ended up placing eight teams in the NCAA Tournament field. Alabama was the top overall seed heading to the South region. Tennessee earned a four seed in the East while the Kentucky Basketball program held on to a six seed in the East as well. Missouri and Texas A&M each earned seven seeds in the South and Midwest regions respectively. Arkansas (8 seed-West), Auburn (9 seed-Midwest), and Mississippi State (11 seed-Midwest) round out the SEC teams making an appearance in the tournament.