Parity Galore In College Basketball

Kentucky lost to UCLA. UCLA lost to Monmouth. Monmouth lost to Dayton. Dayton lost to La Salle. La Salle lost to Drexel. Drexel lost to Division II Alaska Anchorage. By the transitive property, Alaska Anchorage is better than Kentucky (yes, I took the time to plot all of that out). Maybe Mikhail Prokhorov and the Nets should consider offering Alaska Anchorage head coach Rusty Osborne a 12-year, 120 million dollar contract instead of John Calipari.

College football has been dominated by a few schools over the past couple decades. Urban Meyer and Nick Saban have won 8 of the last 13 National Championships and continue to be greedier than Meryl Streep at an award show.

However, the college basketball world has become increasingly "flat" as Tom Friedman would like to suggest. Here is a Russell Wilson level cliche: any team can truly beat any other club on a given night in college basketball. Obviously, that is not to say that powerhouse programs like Michigan St., Kansas, North Carolina, and Duke are out of the title picture. Overall, though, the top of college basketball has never been so close to the middle tier of teams in the country, as the middle class of college hoops has improved while the top teams in the country all have significant flaws.

There are anywhere from 10 to 15 teams that could win the National Championship this April in Houston, and for the life of me, I cannot remember a year with this much game-to-game uncertainty. A little less than a month ago, Clemson shot 27.1% from the field in a 23-point loss to Georgia on the road, and yet they just started ACC play with victories against Florida St., Syracuse in OT, Louisville, and Duke. How do you explain Kentucky getting totally outplayed by Ohio St. at the Barclays Center, a Buckeyes team that was so bad earlier on in non-conference play that UT-Arlington came into Columbus and beat them? Everybody was high on Virginia's prospects for a run despite losing Justin Anderson to the NBA after they beat West Virginia, Villanova, and California in consecutive games, but the Cavaliers then lost to Virginia Tech and Georgia Tech in ACC play. Teams in the top 25 losing games left and right has now become an accepted occurrence in college basketball.

The top teams in the nation are not strong enough this year to win on their off nights, and now it is just about figuring out when that evening will come for each squad. College basketball is just about as predictable and consistent as Cuba Gooding Junior's acting career because North Carolina can "show you the money" and beat Maryland behind flawless games from Marcus Paige and Brice Johnson, but they can also have a Boat Trip like performance and lose to teams like Northern Iowa.

Looking back at some of the past NCAA tournaments, the highest aggregate seeding for the four National Semifinalists was 26 during the wacky 2011 tourney. Eventual champions UConn were a 3 seed and only received that spot because they won 5 games in 5 days in the Big East Conference Tournament after going a mere 9-9 in conference play. Butler was an 8 seed, the first eight seed to get to the Final Four since North Carolina and Wisconsin in 2000 and the first eight seed to get to a title game since Villanova won it in 1985 against Georgetown. Kentucky was a 4 seed, and cinderella darlings VCU were a 11 seed, at the time joining LSU in 1986 and George Mason in 2006 as the only double digit seeds to make it to the Final Four. I think we could definitely see something wild unfold this March once again, but hopefully at the end of it we will get a better title game than the 53-41 National Championship game stinker we got back in 2011 (the worst title game I have seen since UCLA never got close to Florida back in 2006).

Why does college basketball lack a more typical top-heavy nature this season, a sort of structure that gets Bernie Sanders so upset?

One explanation is that some of the non-perennial hoops powers have not lost a lot to the NBA over the past few years and their players have continued to develop their games as upperclassmen. Whereas Duke had to replace Jahlil Okafor, Justice Winslow, and Tyus Jones, five of the seven players that get double-digit minutes for Butler are juniors and seniors. People sometimes overemphasize the role returning starters and upperclassmen play in the success of a team because if a team struggled with them as freshman or sophomores, they are not going to be better with them as juniors and seniors. However, for the Bulldogs to bring back all-conference caliber players like Roosevelt Jones and Kellen Dunham, it levels out the playing field against some of the bigger programs in the country. Seniors Fred VanVleet and Ron Baker are the reason why Wichita St. has won 7 NCAA Tournament games over the past 3 years, Buddy Hield is a scoring machine for Oklahoma and has dramatically improved as a shooter over his 4 years in Norman, and Kris Dunn came back after having late lottery potential and is now a definite top 5 pick (Providence could get back to its first Final Four since the Rick Pitino-Billy Donovan combination got them there in 1987). All three of those guys are leading experienced and upper-class heavy teams, especially Hield with Oklahoma because they have a very short bench and four of their five starters are juniors or seniors.

At the end of the day, you need talent to win games. The need for experience in college basketball to achieve success is often a media narrative (I feel like Ted Cruz when he was attacking the New York Media at the debate in Charleston last night), but it is an advantage to have a supremely gifted player with more a better feel for the game than a freshman who is still trying to figure it out (look at the difference between Brice Johnson and Skal Labissiere).

Another explanation for the parity in college basketball is that transfer rates are at an all-time high, and players at lower-level schools are now transferring to mid-level and second-tier programs. While Duke, Kentucky, and Kansas continue to go after the nation's top recruits, teams like Oregon, Pittsburgh, and even Louisville, who missed out on some of the top freshmen they were going after and ended up with just one top 30 recruit, have looked to established players from smaller schools to bolster their roster. The influx of transfers into tournament caliber teams, particularly but not limited to power conference schools, have allowed teams like Iowa St. to compete with programs like Kansas. Despite Fred Hoiberg leaving to go to the NBA and pestering Bulls fans by not being able to figure out the best big-man combination between Joakim Noah, Taj Gibson, Pau Gasol, Nikola Mirotic, and Bobby Portis, nearly 14 percent of players still transferred in college basketball in 2014 (not all of them could go to Iowa St. anyway). Damion Lee, who transferred from Drexel, and Trey Lewis, who transferred from Cleveland St., and are now far and away the two best players on a Louisville team that ranks at the top of Ken Pomeroy's adjusted defensive rankings. Lee and Lewis are both really quick and Lee is absolutely fearless, especially when he starts to get into a grove from three.

Some of the non-traditional college basketball powerhouses, like Butler and Wichita St., have been able to offer playing time and larger roles to guys at bigger schools that were never given the opportunity to shine or never quite fit in with their team. Conner Frankamp went from 8 minutes a game as the 9th or 10th guy on Kansas in 2013 to a key part of a good Wichita St. team, and has given the Shockers a 43 percent shooter from three. Tyler Lewis, a former McDonald's All-American and top 50 recruit, never found his place at North Carolina St. and is now a really productive pass-first point guard for Butler. The same kind of story goes for Kuran Iverson, who left Memphis after two years to play for Rhode Island and have a bigger role. Dylan Ennis, who averaged nearly 10 points a game for a 33 win Villanova team last year, left the school to go to Oregon to handle more of the basketball with highly touted freshman Jalen Brunson coming to play for the Wildcats in the backcourt with Ryan Arcidiacono. Unlike in the past, where many players would sit and wait for their opportunity at a big-time school because they thought they could only be recognized by NBA scouts from a few programs, players know that getting onto the floor is the most important thing for their future. As Robert Sarver would say, millennials want instant gratification or else they move on (I say that half-jokingly).

Finally, the quality of freshman that came into college basketball this season pales in comparison to the past, hurting the top programs that have continually replenished their talent each year through strong freshmen classes. LSU's Ben Simmons (a player so good he gets shout outs from Barack Obama), Duke's Brandon Ingram (his wingspan is as long as Giannis and Kawhi), Henry Ellenson from Marquette, Diamond Stone of Maryland (had a 39 point, 12 rebound game in his first ever Big Ten contest against Penn St.), Caleb Swanigan from Purdue (forms a monster front line duo with A.J. Hammons), Arizona's Allonzo Trier (unfortunately is out with a broken finger), Dedric Lawson of Memphis, and Florida State's duo of Dwayne Bacon and Malik Beasley have certainly all stood out for their respective teams. However, equally as disappointing have been Kentucky's Skal Labissiere and Isaiah Briscoe (one NBA scout way too harshly eviscerated Labissiere recently), Cheick Diallo of Kansas, Chase Jeter of Duke (Coach K has no trust in him at all), Justin Simon of Arizona, and Antonio Blakeney of LSU.

Moreover, for whatever reason, it seems as though the destinations of the top recruits were more spread out in 2015. Ben Simmons went to LSU, Cuonzo Martin and California got two top ten recruits with Jaylen Brown and Ivan Rabb, Henry Ellenson, a Wisconsin kid, stayed home and went to Marquette, and Ben Howland and his slow pace, let me control my team's entire motion offense landed Malik Newman at Mississippi State. In 2013, all but one of the top 12 recruits went to Kansas (Andrew Wiggins and Joel Embiid), Duke (Jabari Parker), Kentucky (Julius Randle, Andrew Harrison, Dakari Johnson, James Young, and Aaron Harrison), Arizona (Aaron Gordon), or Florida (Kasey Hill and the biggest college basketball disappointment in a long time with Chris Walker) according to ESPN. The next year, half of the top 18 recruits on ESPN went to either Duke, North Carolina, or Kentucky (Okafor, Jones, and Winslow went to Duke, Justin Jackson, Theo Pinson, and Joel Berry landed at North Carolina, and Trey Lyles, Karl Towns Jr., and Devin Booker went to Kentucky). This year, of the top twenty recruits according to ESPN, seven of them went to schools that did not even make the NCAA Tournament in 2014, creating a diversification of talent in college hoops.

The CTAS Podcast - Teams That Can Beat Kentucky

Looking Back - The Things That I Regret Saying About Kentucky Before The 2014 NCAA Tournament

Note: This is a post that I began to write after the brackets for the 2014 NCAA Tournament came out in March and Kentucky was placed as a 8 seed in the extraordinarily difficult Midwest Regional with Wichita St., Louisville, Duke, and Michigan. Thankfully, I did not post it and forgot about the article (kinda like how everybody in the world has forgotten about Jimmer and his shooting ability, which I am still holding onto), but it is pretty funny to look back at and see how ridiculously wrong I was about Kentucky (never become skeptical of Big Blue Nation, Kevin Love's capacity to miss out on the playoffs, Chris Bosh's three point shooting capabilities, the power of Game of Thrones to shock you, or Jack Bauer's ability to escape certain death every episode). I was making fun of the Wildcats for having such a bad season after such high expectations (they had the worst regular season for a team ranked pre-season number 1 since either the UConn team in 1999-2000 with Khalid El-Amin that finished 25-10 and lost in the second round to Tennessee or the 1979-1980 Indiana team with Isiah Thomas, Butch Carter, and Mike Woodson that is the only club other then this Kentucky squad to fall out of the top 25 after being the pre-season number 1) and then they of course made a run to their second NCAA Championship Game in the last three years and their third Final Four under John Calipari since 2009-2010. Kentucky also became just the fifth 8 seed to reach the Final Four along with North Carolina and Wisconsin in 2000 (lost in the National Semifinals to Jason Richardson, Mateen Cleaves, and Michigan St. and Mike Miller, Udonis Haslem, and Florida respectively), Butler in 2011 (lost to Kemba Walker and UConn in a very poorly played title game), and Villanova in 1985 (beat Georgetown and Patrick Ewing in the famous championship upset by Rollie Massimino). The Wildcats are also now only behind North Carolina and UCLA in terms of Final Fours by school (Tar Heels have 18, Bruins have 17, UK has 16) and are tied with the Bruins for the most National Championship game appearances in college basketball history (both teams have 12). To summarize, I couldn't have been more wrong (this is a statement that Billy King, Ernie Grunfeld, and Reggie McKenzie must have felt like saying over and over).

It seems like yesterday that the college basketball season was just about to begin and some people actually thought that Kentucky could become the first team since the 1975-1976 Indiana Hoosiers team of Scott May, Kent Benson, and Tom Abernethy to go undefeated. Across the Bluegrass state, fans everywhere outside of Louisville and the KFC Yum Center were buying 40-0 t-shirts in honor of the Wildcats (people also thought that the Falcons could finally break through and win their first Super Bowl in franchise history after three straight seasons with more than 10 wins and yet they finished 4-12 in 2013, their fewest wins since 1996, so don't ever listen to pre-season predictions). Obviously, the Wildcats had a really strong recruiting class coming into the season with the likes of Julius Randle (a mix of Zach Randolph and Chris Webber), James Young, Darkari Johnson, the Harrison twins, and Marcus Lee. In the history of college basketball, there have been a lot of really great recruiting classes that have changed the course of the game for the next couple of seasons. In 1965, UCLA brought in Lew Alcindor, Lucius Allen, Ken Heitz, and Lynn Shackelford (a class so good that they beat the varsity team that went 18-8 by 15 in a scrimmage at Pauley Pavilion when freshmen were not allowed to play in their first year in college) and in 1979, Isiah Thomas, Jim Thomas, and Randy Whittman all came to Indiana to play for Bob Knight. Cincinnati's recruiting class when they brought in Oscar Robertson in 1956 or LSU's class when they got Pete Maravich in 1967 are right up there with the best of all-time because those two guards were just that good on their own. Other great classes in the modern era include Michigan's Fab Five of Chris Webber, Jalen Rose, Juwan Howard, Jimmy King, and Ray Jackson from 1991, the 1999 Duke class of Carlos Boozer, Jay Williams, and Mike Dunleavy, Jr., the 2002 North Carolina class of Sean May, Raymond Felton, Rashad McCants, and David Noel, Florida's group of Corey Brewer, Al Horford, Taurean Green, and Joakim Noah from 2004, Ohio State's class of 2006 of Greg Oden, Mike Conley, David Lighty, and Daequan Cook, and finally Calipari's own class of Anthony Davis, Michael-Kidd Gilchrist, Marquis Teague, and Kyle Wiltjer from 2011. No matter how good Kentucky's 2013 recruiting class was made out to be by the high school recruiting experts or the pressure that would be taken off their backs by the return of the super athletic Alex Poythress and the shot-blocking Willie Cauley-Stein, to put them in that conversation without even stepping foot on the floor in Lexington was more absurd than The Plague by Albert Camus. In fact, Kentucky's pursuit of perfection lasted as long as Billy Donovan's coaching career with the Magic, or more aptly, Kim Kardashian and Kris Humphries's marriage.

(You can't even feel bad for Kris Humphries. Why didn't he look at Reggie Bush? From 2007 to 2010 when the USC Heisman Trophy winner - excuse me, the 5-year Heisman Trophy winner before he gave it back - was with Kim Kardashian, Bush never even reached 600 rushing yards in a season with the Saints despite being just the second running back along with Ronnie Brown to go in the first two picks of the NFL draft since 1996. Without the Kardashian syndrome in the last three years, Bush has finished each season with more than 975 rushing yards, one of only six running backs to do so along with Adrian Peterson, Matt Forte, Marshawn Lynch, Frank Gore, and Chris Johnson. I'm calling this the Kardashian effect, which is the adverse repercussions that an athlete can face from dating a high profile celebrity, a list that includes Tony Romo, Amar'e Stoudemire, Lleyton Hewitt, Andre Agassi, and Diego Forlan. Bush's improvement likely has more to do with the fact that he left the Saints and their group of running backs that is as big as the Spanish Armada and has gotten more than 215 carries every year since then with the Dolphins and Lions, but I refuse to believe that Kim doesn't factor into this equation. However, you can feel bad for Kris Humphries for getting completely Mozgoved by Blake Griffin earlier this season in January, which is a list that now pretty much includes Humphries, Mozgov, Gasol, Perkins, Ibaka, and is expending as fast as the NFL playoffs. The best part about watching Blake's dunk over Humphries over and over is looking at DeAndre Jordan's reaction to the dunk because he looks like he just saw Lincoln get shot by John Wilkes Booth).

Anyway, not only did Kentucky lose in their third game of the season to Michigan St. in the Champions Classic, and end their very short flirt with perfection that so many fans predicted, but they then lost 9 more times after that game in Chicago in the regular season. Their defeats included two losses to Arkansas (the first time Calipari has lost to one team twice in a season at Kentucky before the Wildcats fell three times to Florida later on in the season), once to a team in South Carolina that may have finished six games under .500 because their coach is so scary that they are probably afraid to do anything on the floor, and finally to a LSU team that the Wildcats had not lost to since they had Billy Gillispie as their head coach in 2008-2009 (any Kentucky stat that comes with the line since Billy Gillispie is just destined to not end well unless you consider their most losses in one season since 1989-1990 a step in the right direction). To make matters worse, the Wildcats were 1-6 against ranked opponents with losses to Michigan St., Baylor, North Carolina, and Florida three teams, had only one victory over a team inside the RPI top 40, which came against Louisville at Rupp Arena in December, and were a dismal 5-6 in true road games with their first loss in Columbia, South Carolina since the 2009-2010 season. Even after the Wildcats knocked off Pitino's Cardinals for the 5th time in their last 6 meetings, which is sometimes viewed as more important than the season itself (just ask Bill Curry about the importance of rivalries to a head coach, as the former Alabama coach had to leave Tuscaloosa to coach at Kentucky because despite having a 26-10 record with the Crimson Tide in three seasons and leading them to their first SEC title since Bear Bryant was the coach of the team in 1981, Curry was 0-3 against Auburn in the Iron Bowl, the worst streak against the Tigers since they lost 5 games in a row all the way back from 1954 to 1958), there was a vibe of dissatisfaction and almost sulking coming out of the Kentucky team.

You can look at so many different reasons why this Kentucky squad became just the 15th Wildcats team in the last 83 years dating back to when Adolph Rupp took over the program in 1930 to lose at least 10 regular season games in a season (just for fun, in comparison, Northwestern has had 73 regular seasons with at least 10 losses since 1930 including every year since 1958-1959. I'm not sure what is worse for the Collins family: Doug losing the Gold Medal to the USSR in that very controversial 1972 Olympic Game in Munich or Chris having to coach Northwestern).  Obviously, this season was the year of the freshmen with everybody falling in love with the standout first year players from across the nation including Andrew Wiggins, Joel Embiid, and Wayne Selden from Kansas, Jabari Parker of Duke, Aaron Gordon and Rondae-Hollis Jefferson from Arizona, Tyler Ennis at Syracuse, and Noah Vonleh from Indiana, which may have factored into people overrating just how good Kentucky's freshmen really were from the start of the season (other freshmen classes that can compete with this year include the 1979 class of Isiah Thomas, James Worthy, Ralph Sampson, Dominique Wilkins, Byron Scott, and Quintin Dailey, the 1981 class of Michael Jordan, Charles Barkley, Patrick Ewing, Chris Mullin, Ed Pinckney, and Sam Vincent and the 2007 class of Kevin Love, Derrick Rose, Blake Griffin, James Harden, Eric Gordon, DeAndre Jordan, and Michael Beasley).

Aside from Julius Randle, whose college basketball leading 24 double-doubles as a freshmen has only been surpassed by a first year player once since 1980 when Michael Beasley had a NCAA record 28 double-doubles for Kansas St. and Bob Huggins in 2007-2008, Kentucky's freshmen class was nowhere near what most people expected from it. For as much hype as the Harrisons got for being the best twin combination since the Sedins, the Barbers, or the Bryans, Andrew and Aaron played much more like the Morris or Collins twins than the Arsdale brothers with Kentucky this season. Andrew does more of the ball handling for the Wildcats at point while Aaron plays more so on the wing, but the Wildcats back-court pairing was often exploited by top guards like Keith Appling and Gary Harris from Michigan St. (scored a combined 42 points against the Wildcats), Marcus Paige from North Carolina (scored 23 points versus the Harrisons), and Scottie Wilbekin and Michael Frazier II from Florida (held the Harrisons to 18 combined points in their game in Gainesville). Andrew had the lowest assist-to-turnover ration among any player in a major college basketball conference and averaged nearly 3 turnovers per contest, and Aaron was not very assertive and refused to attack the rim in becoming purely an outside shooter, as in the 11 games where he scored 10 points or less, he shot a terrible 8-44 (18.1%) from three. Although the Harrisons both possess tremendous size for perimeters players and their 6-6 frame allows them to be disruptive defensively when they set their minds to it, they were often times not explosive enough to get by players and make plays offensively. Meanwhile, James Young is a good three point shooter for the Wildcats, but only Marshall Henderson from Ole Miss, Sean Kilpatrick from Cincinnati, Michael Frazier from Florida, Brady Heslip from Baylor, Ben Brust from Wisconsin, and Trevor Cooney from Syracuse took more threes than Young this season from teams in major conferences, which is somewhat concerning because Young morphed into solely a jump shooter, much like Aaron. Although Young does have a quick release to get his smooth looking jump shot off before defenders can close down on him, he can't really create his own shot, which hurts the Wildcats because Andrew often struggles to put his teammates into good positions to make plays. Marcus Lee dunks everything he can get his hands on off the backboard, but he has not seen a lot of action this season and Darkari Johnson is a big 7-footer that does have a basis for a good post game, but he is still developing and is only 18 years old.

It also seemed as if the Kentucky players thought that they would just roll through teams during the season and that when that didn't happen, they lost confidence because the Wildcats did not have the same fight that Calipari's 2011-2012 team so often showed and that was more reminiscent of the disaster that happened in Lexington last season with the unreliable Archie Goodwin leading the way. The thing that made the Anthony Davis team just so good, aside from the fact that they had Davis and everybody else didn't (there were some real good teams that year if you remember with Scoop Jardine, MCW, Dion Waiters, C.J. Fair, and Kris Joseph on Cuse, Kendall Marshall, John Henson, Reggie Bullock, Harrison Barnes, James McAdoo, and Tyler Zeller down in North Carolina, Aaron Craft, Deshaun Thomas, Jared Sullinger on Ohio St., and the Kansas team of Thomas Robinson, Tyshawn Taylor, and Jeff Withey), was that everybody in that UK group worked so hard defensively for one another. Whether it was defensive rotations, MKG switching onto a big man and having to guard him in the post, or Darius Miller taking on the opposing teams best player every night, that Kentucky team did whatever it had to do. However, this year's Wildcats squad has some real defensive deficiencies, as James Young is not particularly quick on the perimeter or strong enough to guard players inside at the four position and for as good as Julius Randle is offensively and in his mid-range game, he does not have real good ball awareness and he is not the best interior defender. The Wildcats rely to much on Willie-Cauley Stein and their length to block and change shots around the lane, which can work on occasion because Kentucky is just flat out more athletic than every team they play (the Wildcats are 10th in the nation in blocks per game with almost 6 each contest), but constantly letting guys into the paint is not a recipe for success no matter what. LSU is the only team in the SEC that allows more points from 2-pointers than Kentucky and despite their unmatched athleticism and size, Kentucky is 300th in the nation in forcing their opponents to turn over the ball, ahead of only Tennessee and Missouri in the SEC.

It has been an incredible college basketball season, one of the best in recent memory (I feel like I say this every year, but I actually mean it this time. Nonetheless, I guarantee you I will say the same thing next season when Coach K has his best Duke team since the days of Jay Williams and Carlos Boozer with his recruiting class of Jahlil Okafor, Tyus Jones, Justise Winslow, and Grayson Allen, Kansas brings in Cliff Alexander and Kelly Oubre to go with Wayne Selden and Perry Ellis, Kentucky reloads with whatever freshmen come back along with recruits Trey Lyles, Karl Towns, Devin Booker, and Tyler Ulis, SMU brings in a player that is better than anybody Larry Brown coached with the Bobcats from 2008-2010 with 6-5 point guard Emmanuel Mudiay, and Arizona and Wisconsin return loaded cores). We were able to see the individual greatness of players across the nation, including Doug McDermott, who now ranks behind only Pete Maravich of LSU, Freeman Williams from Portland St., La Salle's Lionel Simmons, and Alphonso Ford of Mississippi Valley State in career points in division I history, and also the outstanding play of freshmen like Jabari Parker, Andrew Wiggins, Joel Embiid, and Tyler Ennis. We were also fortunate enough to watch a team like Virginia win the ACC regular season and post-season titles and have their best year since the days of Ralph Sampson and Wichita St. become the first team since the 1990-1991 UNLV squad of Larry Johnson, Stacey Augmon, Greg Anthony, and Elmore Spencer to enter the NCAA tournament with an undefeated record. It was a great year for college basketball fans across the nation, except for in Lexington, where pre-season expectations of a 40-0 season have changed to people not being surprised if the Wildcats lose to Kansas St. in their first game of the tourney, and Calipari falling for the first time in the big dance since his Brandon Knight, Terrence Jones, and Doron Lamb squad lost in the Final Four to Kemba Walker and UConn back in 2011.

Note: After spending around 2,500 words bashing Kentucky for their disappointment of a season in going 24-10, they of course proved me wrong and taught me to never count out a team that has a starting line-up where every player is at least 6-6 and a McDonald's All-American. I should have known better then to think that Kansas St. could actually beat UK because the Wildcats have only won more than one game in the tournament once since 1989 when they made the Elite Eight with Jacob Pullen in 2010 (even the Mets, Jets, White Sox, and Michigan St. think that Kansas St. is a pretty obvious little brother to Kansas). I'm still not sure how Kentucky beat Wichita St. in their second game of the tourney in the 1-8 match-up, a game that was undoubtedly one of the best played NCAA tournament contests over the past few decades (Kentucky's win marked the fourth year out of the last five that a one seed has lost before the Sweet 16 with the others being when Northern Iowa knocked off Kansas in 2010, when Butler beat Pittsburgh in 2011, and when Gonzaga fell to Wichita St. in 2013). UK somehow knocked off the undefeated Shockers despite the fact that Wichita St. shot 55.1 percent from the floor, the 4th highest for any opponent against Calipari since he came to Lexington in 2009-2010, made 10 of 21 three pointers, averaged a ridiculously high 1.215 points per possession, the 2nd highest rate against Kentucky's defense all season long, and had Cleanthony Early score a season high 31 points on 12 of 17 shooting. Kentucky then turned to Aaron Harrison, who somehow morphed into Bryce Drew/Christian Laettner/Kenton Paulino/Drew Nicholas overnight and not once, not twice, but three times saved Kentucky with late three point clutch jump shots, all of which came from nearly the identical spot on the left side of the floor. Against Louisville in the Midwest Regional semifinals, down by one point with under a minute left, Russ Smith left Harrison open in the corner and he took a pass from Randle and knocked down the three to give UK the victory. In the elite eight against Michigan, with the game tied at 72, Aaron took a hand-off from his brother and hit a three over Caris LeVert with 2 seconds left to send the Wildcats to the Final Four. Finally, in the National Semifinals versus Wisconsin and with Kentucky down by two with 5 seconds left, Aaron hit literally the exact same three pointer to give the Wildcats the lead and the eventual win (if you want to see deja vu, don't watch the movie with Denzel Washington, but watch the final minute of Kentucky's games against Louisville, Michigan, and Wisconsin). The Wildcats run did come to an end when they were not able to get enough offense in the title game against a deserved National Champion in Shabazz Napier, Ryan Boatright, DeAndre Daniels and UConn, but they proved to never count a team out until they have been knocked out. With that knowledge in mind, I think the Pacers growing dysfunction will be the reason why they will lose in the winner-take-all game 7 against the undermatched Atlanta Hawks in the Eastern Conference first round, but there is a pretty good chance that I will be writing a piece in June with the title, "Looking Back - The Things I Regret Saying About The Indiana Pacers Before The Eastern Conference Semifinals Even Began."

Marshall Henderson Is Good For The NCAA Tournament

Sports are notorious for creating immortal legends, exalted superstars, and sublime leaders. Names like Montana, Jordan, Mays, Robinson, Orr, and Nicklaus have become glorified for their immeasurable impact in the world of sports. While these renowned and celebrated figures have become the model for legendary status, much like a movie or a book, sports are also synonymous with villains. Every fan has an envisage in their head of an athlete that just gets under their skin with their antics, attitude, and behavior. Whether it is Bill Laimbeer, Christian Laettner, Michael Vick, Barry Bonds, Alex Rodriguez, or Art Modell in Cleveland, sports certainly have their fair share of vilified characters. In fact, look no further than Marshall Henderson at Ole Miss to find college basketball's new antihero.

College basketball has provided an unprecedented amount of excitement this season due to the myriad of upsets amongst the top teams. TCU had a 2-16 record in the Big 12, but the Horn Frogs miraculous beat the Big 12 regular season and tournament champion Kansas Jayhawks. South Florida began their Big East campaign with a conference record of 1-14, but their sole win came over Big East regular season champion Georgetown. Penn St. lost their first 14 Big Ten conference games until they knocked off Michigan and put a dent in the Wolverines chances at a regular season Big Ten title. However, while the shocking results have certainly been thrilling, fans have become petulant with the lack of quality players and teams in the college game. Due to the one and done rule, teams are constantly having to recycle their squads because so many underclassmen are leaving for the NBA after just one season. In last year's draft, 5 of the top 10 picks were freshman, leaving a huge talent void at several schools. With so many young players still maturing and developing (see Perry Ellis at Kansas), the parity in college basketball is readily apparent, as many of the top teams lack real star power. Without high end superstars like in years past, college basketball is lucky to have an vivacious and sprightly player like Marshall Henderson in the big dance.

The adjectives often used to delineate Henderson may not seem to have the most positive connotations. The junior guard is often described as arrogant, audacious, insolent, and impetuous, and his on-the-court behavior is subject to much attention, as experts often vituperate the fact that he plays with such much emotion and flare. However, Henderson's in-your-face attitude and fiery playing style makes him one of the most exciting players to watch in the country. His unpredictability turns every Ole Miss game into a unique and riveting experience.

Mississippi's slim victory over Auburn at the end of January began the country's fascination with Henderson. With Ole Miss in the top 25 for the first time in nearly 3 years, their battle with the Tigers was a heated affair, which undoubtedly meant that Henderson would be at the center of the tight contest. With 6.4 seconds left and the game tied at 61, Henderson, an 88 percent free throw shooter, drained both of his foul shots and the Rebels went on to survive 63-61. Following the game, the always spontaneous Henderson ran over to the Auburn fans and began to taunt the student section. Holding his Rebels jersey out and mocking the fans, Henderson began to show his passionate, yet impulsive nature. The polarizing guard had a simple response when asked about the incident, "That was me. That was my heart just going out. Just going over there. We are Ole Miss, take that. You just came here for two-and-a-half hours just to yell and scream for no reason because you just lost the game." And thus, college basketball found a player that was so appealing, and yet so provocative at the same time.

The excitement that comes along with Henderson continued throughout SEC play. The flamboyant and theatrical guard had a game against Kentucky in which he had a heated confrontation with his head coach, and threw ice at his own student section all in the first half. There was the SEC tournament final against Florida where Henderson did the gator chomp all the way up the floor after nailing a fade away three pointer to cap off a 33-15 Ole Miss run to begin the second half. While Henderson's antics are certainly extravagant, it would not be prudent to doubt his passion for the game or his intensity.

Often times in sports, the in-your-face and over ebullient player on a team is not the star, but rather a role player that provides a spark and added intensity. However, the fact that Henderson is Mississippi's best player and is one of the most prolific shooters in the country makes his entire act that much more fascinating. The Utah transfer led the SEC in scoring at more than 20 points per game and was also second in the nation in three point makes at nearly 4 per game. With his quick release and ability to find openings on the floor off screens, Henderson shot nearly 40 percent from behind the arc in Mississippi's 5-game win streak at the end of the season. While at times Henderson's shot selection is not always the best, as evidenced by his poor game against Mississippi St., where he made just 3 of 18 threes, the sharp shooter has the ability to catch fire at any time.

Ole Miss head coach Andy Kennedy also deserves a lot of credit for allowing Henderson the freedom he needs on the court. Kennedy, who led the Rebels to their first SEC tournament title since 1981 and the program's first NCAA tournament appearance since 2002, has allowed Henderson to play with his unique passion and fervor, which makes the guard flourish and gives the team their identity. Kennedy said, "I think he's [Henderson] been readily open with the fact that if he didn't play with that edge, he wouldn't be a guy that could lead the SEC in scoring... His passion comes from a good place, it really does."

#12 Ole Miss opens up the NCAA tournament in Kansas City against the #5 Wisconsin Badgers in the west region with the winner taking on #4 Kansas St. or #13 Boise St/#13 La Salle. The stifling Wisconsin defense, which ranked 9th in the country in points allowed at just under 56 per game, will be geared to slow down Henderson and will be focused around chasing him off the three point line. However, the entertaining and compelling Henderson will certainly provide some magical tournament moments, and his radiant and resplendent personality are a must watch for college basketball fans.

Under the Radar College Basketball Teams To Watch

It doesn't take a brain surgeon or an ESPN expert to predict most of the top college basketball teams by the end of the season. As evidenced by the last few years, most, if not all of the teams that are ranked inside the preseason top 15, remain a legitimate National Championship contender throughout the college basketball campaign. Last season, all the Elite Eight teams were ranked in the preseason top 13 (North Carolina, Kentucky, Ohio St., Syracuse, Florida, Louisville, Baylor, and Kansas) and Pittsburgh, UCLA, Arizona, and Texas A&M were the only preseason top 25 teams that failed to make the Big Dance.

Although the top teams at the onset of the season are almost always in contention to make a run at the title, there are always a few teams that fly under the radar and surprise everybody during March Madness. While the common examples of the shocking NCAA tourney runs include George Mason in 2006 and VCU in 2011, there are often teams from major conferences that aren't expected to have a great season and perform well above expectations. Last year two Big East teams, Marquette and Cincinnati, were not expected to be one of the top five teams in their own league, but both made runs to the Sweet Sixteen. Xavier and North Carolina St., despite both finishing their respective seasons with 12 losses, also made surprising trips to the Regional Semifinals as double digit seeds.

In opposition to how the BCS and chaos go hand in hand, you can expect the same stability at the top of college basketball once again this year, as top clubs like Indiana, Louisville, Michigan, Duke, and Florida should all wind-up with top seeds in the tournament. However, as always, you can expect a bevy of overlooked teams to fare far better than expected.

Oklahoma St. Cowboys:

Since Eddie Sutton resigned as head coach of Oklahoma St. due to his alcohol related medical issues, the Cowboys have not been relevant in college basketball. The program, which has a storied tradition that goes back to the days of coaching legend Henry Iba, have been waiting to restore themselves in the increasingly friendly Big 12, especially with the departure of Missouri and Texas A&M. Despite getting just a handful of votes in the preseason polls, the Cowboys should be in contention for their second Big 12 title since they joined the conference 16 years ago in 1996.

The job that Cowboys head coach Travis Ford has done in recruiting has given the fans in Stillwater their biggest hope for a successful season since they reached the Sweet Sixteen in 2005. Ford, who played in college at Missouri and then Kentucky, has been able to lure two straight top ten recruits down to Stillwater. Two years ago, small forward Le'Bryan Nash, who was rated #10 by the ESPN recruiting rankings, picked Oklahoma St. over Kansas and Baylor. Last year, shooting guard Marcus Smart, who like Nash was rated #10 by ESPN, picked Oklahoma St. over Oklahoma and Texas. The combination of Nash and Smart has proved to be lethal in the early season for the Cowboys.

Le'Bryan Nash, who shared Big 12 Freshman of the Year honors with Baylor's Quincy Miller last year, is one of the most athletic players in the country and is a big time scorer, especially when he can get into the lane. Nash is complimented by the all around game of Marcus Smart. Not only is Smart a terrific shooter, but he can also see the floor exceptionally well. The two playmakers have combined for an average of nearly 34 points, 15 rebounds, and 8 assists through the team's first four wins over UC Davis, Akron, Tennessee, and North Carolina State.

Anybody who watched Oklahoma St. manhandle #6 NCST in the Puerto Rico Tipoff Final saw the threat that the Cowboys pose to any team they play. Nash and Smart are two of the best players in the country and will be the catalysts for the Cowboys very underrated squad all season long.

Maryland Terrapins:

In ESPN The Magazine's "College Hoops Tip-Off" issue, the Maryland Terps preseason ranking was 111th overall, which slotted them behind schools like North Dakota State, Middle Tennessee, Wagner, and Tennessee State. The same magazine projected Maryland to finish 9th in the ACC, only ahead of Georgia Tech, Wake Forest, and Boston College. Despite losing their top two scorers, Terrell Stoglin and Sean Mosley, the Terps will far exceed their low preseason expectations.

Not only does Maryland have a consistent distributor at point guard with Pe'Shon Howard, who is averaging nearly 8 assists through the team's first four games, but the Terps also have one of the best players in the country that very few people have even heard about. Alex Len, a 7-1 center from Ukraine, is a dominant force in the post for the Terps and he is already showing dramatic improvements from last season. The future NBA lottery pick is one of the most skilled big men in the country and he showed in his performance against #3 Kentucky, where he had 23 points and 12 rebounds in a tight 3-point Maryland loss, that he is dealing with the physicality of playing down low much better than he did last year.

The NCAA's decision to grant former Xavier small forward Dezmine Wells immediate eligibility has been a huge bonus for Mark Turgeon and his team. Wells, who was a top 50 ESPN recruit last year and has immense potential, can do everything on the floor and provides a toughness that Maryland has lacked the past couple of years. Wells, along with talented shooting guards Nick Faust and Seth Allen and highly touted freshmen Jake Layman and Shaquille Cleare, will be the key components for a Maryland team that failed to make the tourney last season.

If the Terps can get some solid contributions from their supporting cast, they have a great chance of rounding out the top 4 of the ACC behind the highly ranked Duke Blue Devils, North Carolina Tar Heels, and North Carolina State Wolfpack.

Pittsburgh Panthers:

Pitt has been a mainstay at the top of college basketball and the Big East ever since Jamie Dixon took over the program in 2003. In his first 8 years as head coach of the Panthers, Dixon led the team to at least 24 wins every season except for 2004, and the club reached the Big East tournament championship game four times. Dixon's incredible record of 214-58 in his first eight years as the program's head coach, is evidence of Pitt's ascension to the top of college basketball.

Despite being a preseason top 10 team in 2011, the Panthers had a very uncharacteristic season last year, as they finished 5-13 in the Big East, their worst conference record since 1999. Although the Panthers were unranked in the preseason polls following their disappointing 2011 campaign, Pitt should return to their dominant Big East ways this season.

While Pittsburgh will miss the three point shooting of point guard Ashton Gibbs, who led the team in scoring the last three seasons, Tray Woodall now has the opportunity to run the show for the Panthers. Woodall is a very unselfish guard and when he does decide to pull up, he is a very effective mid-range and three point shooter. Along with Woodall, veteran big men Talib Zanna and J.J. Moore will provide consistent scoring for the Panthers.

So many people, like myself, are looking at Pittsburgh as a surprise club this season due their key additions of Trey Zeigler and Steven Adams, who should fit nicely with the other veteran pieces on the team. Zeigler, who played at Central Michigan last year and averaged 15.8 points and 6.7 rebounds, chose to transfer to Pitt rather than Duke or UCLA and was granted an NCAA waiver to play right away because his dad was fired as head coach of the Chippewas in March. Although Zeigler is still fitting in with the Panthers and could improve his jump shot, he is one of the most versatile guards in the country. Adams, who was the #6 overall recruit in this year's class according to ESPN, is a big seven foot body and can rebound with the best in the country. Although it may be a little early to expect Adams to shine offensively, he will be a big presence on the defensive side of the floor for the Panthers, especially with his ability to block shots.

Despite Being Such A Young Team, Kentucky Showed Incredible Maturity All Season

There isn't a coach in college basketball that wants to get into a recruiting war with the Kentucky Wildcats because there is a consensus amongst the teams in the power 6 conferences that the blue-chip recruit is more than likely going to be taking his talents to Lexington, Kentucky. Although most coaches and especially fans dislike the rules surrounding NBA eligibility (you have to be at least 19 years old during the calendar year of the draft and have to be at least one year removed from high school), John Calipari has perfected the college basketball system.

Whether the rule should be changed or not, Calipari has built a blueprint for success in Lexington through one and done players. Coach Cal's unbelievable coaching record of 173-20 in the last five years (his last two years with Memphis and his first three years with Kentucky) has been accomplished by having a new crop of talented superstar freshmen each year.

In 2007, after leading Memphis to a 33-4 record and an elite eight appearance in 2006, Calipari was able to lure point guard Derrick Rose to Memphis from Simeon Career Academy in Chicago. Rose would become the first of a long line of super talented point guards to commit to Calipari and it would be the first of many top 10 recruiting classes for Coach Cal.

After being selected as a third team All-American, Rose left for the NBA where he was drafted number 1 overall by his hometown Chicago Bulls.

After reaching the NCAA Championship Game and falling a Dererk Rose free-throw away from winning the title in 2008 over Kansas, Tyreke Evans followed in Rose's footsteps by committing to play point guard under Calipari with the Tigers. Evans won the National Freshman of the Year award as voted on by the USBWA (United States Basketball Writers Association) and led the Tigers to a 33-4 record and a sweet 16 appearance.

Like Rose, Evans bolted for the NBA after his freshman year and was drafted with the 4th pick by the Sacramento Kings.

Since Calipari left Memphis for Kentucky in 2009, his recruiting prowess has only improved. The Wildcats have become a gold mine for highly toted recruits because it is Kentucky, the winningest program in the history of college basketball, and recruits have seen the success that Calipari has had getting his players to become high draft picks in the NBA like Rose and Evans. Coach Cal has had the top recruiting class all three years he has been at Kentucky.

We all remember the Wildcats unreal 2009 freshmen class when they landed John Wall, DeMarcus Cousins, Daniel Orton, and Eric Bledsoe. Along with a 35-3 record and an elite eight appearance, John Wall won the 2009-2010 SEC Player of the Year award and the USBWA National Freshman of the Year award, while his fellow freshman teammate DeMarcus Cousins won the 2009-2010 SEC Rookie of the Year award.

They could have just renamed the 2010 NBA draft, the 2010 Kentucky draft. John Wall was drafted first overall by the Washington Wizards, marking the second time in the past three drafts that Calipari coached the number 1 pick. DeMarcus Cousins went 5th to the Sacramento Kings, while Eric Bledsoe was drafted 18th and ended up on the Los Angeles Clippers. Finally, Daniel Orton became the fourth Kentucky freshmen to get selected in the first round when he went to the Magic 29th overall. Patrick Patterson, the only non-freshmen to get picked from Kentucky, went 14th overall to the Houston Rockets. The five players all drafted in the first round out of Kentucky set an NBA draft record.

Brandon Knight became the fourth highly rated freshmen point guard to play for Calipari, as he followed in the paths of Derrick Rose, Tyreke Evans, and John Wall by playing a year at Kentucky and then going to the NBA.

Like all three of the point guards before him, Knight was selected in the top 10, as he went number eight overall to the Detroit Pistons.

Although due to eligibility issues Turkish star center Enes Kanter was never able to play for the Cats, he was selected third overall in last year's draft by the Utah Jazz, adding on to the long line of Calipari commits to have left after one season and become a top ten NBA draft pick.

Calipari proved once again this year that he is able to get the best kids from around the country to come to the Bluegrass State and play for the Wildcats. Anthony Davis, who was a 6-2 point guard only getting looked at by Cleveland St. before he grew 8 inches between his junior and senior year, was lured to Big Blue. Davis joined Michael Kidd-Gilchrist, the number 4 ESPNU recruit, along with McDonald's All-Americans Marquis Teague and Kyle Wiltjer as the top Kentucky commits.

In next year's NBA draft, it will once again be more of the same with Kentucky freshmen getting picked left and right. There is a tremendous possibility that Anthony Davis will be the first pick and he will be followed by his teammate Michael Kidd-Gilchrist. If this were to occur, it would mark the first time teammates would go number 1 and number 2 in the same draft.

Calipari's unprecedented recruiting success has caused a tremendous amount of controversy and discussion over players going to college for a year and then entering the NBA draft, like so many Calipari players do every year.

David Stern has publicly made comments in the past few days that he would look to get rid of the one and done players. He said, "We [the NBA] would love to add a year."

Dallas Mavericks owner Mark Cuban took it a step further when he supported the idea that college kids should be three years removed from high school to enter the NBA draft.

As the debate rages on, it is important to remember that Calipari is trying to win and his main goal is to bring back championships to Lexington. By getting tons of players into the NBA, recruits want to play for Calipari, which in turn helps the Wildcats have a talented team that is going to compete for a title and this is Cal's ultimate goal.

However, the difficult part about coaching one and done players is they sometimes are more concerned about getting to the next level and showing what they can do to NBA scouts than doing whatever they can for the team. This was one of the problems with the 2009-2010 Kentucky team, which had all that incredible talent but failed to even make the Final Four.

As he has shown in the NBA, DeMarcus Counsins has always been quite a headcase and he is a difficult player both to play with and coach. Calipari said about his 2010 team before the SEC tournament, "I'm doing everything in my power to get through to my very young team... There's only one thing that can affect us in any of these tournaments. And that is us... These kids are 19. They don't know how to react as things get thrown at them." Counsins showed throughout the season his immaturity and inability to deal with adversity. He would constantly show his poor attitude and often sulked on the court and on the bench. When Cousins was upset when he wasn't getting calls from the refs during Kentucky's final SEC regular season game against Florida, he refused to warm-up with his teammates for the second half even as they tried to console him and get him to cheer up.

Kentucky's awful shooting was definitely a huge reason the Wildcats were bounced out of the NCAA tournament in the Regional Finals. The Wildcats were just 4 for 32 from three, which was a woeful 12.5 percent from behind the arc during the loss. However, Kentucky also showed their immaturity, as they appeared frazzled in the loss, especially after Joe Mazzulla began to go off for the Mountaineers.

Despite starting three freshmen (Marquis Teague, Michael Kidd-Gilchrist, and Anthony Davis) and two sophomores (Doron Lamb and Terrence Jones) and having another freshman as one of their first two men off the bench (Kyle Wiltjer), the Wildcats played like a very mature team. If you had to guess, you would never think that 6 of the 7 guys in Kentucky's rotation were freshmen and sophomores. Not only did they have incredible chemistry and played together as a terrific ball club, but they also all bought into during whatever the team needed to do in order to get a win.

Although they are most likely going to be the top 2 picks of the 2011 NBA draft, Anthony Davis and Michael Kidd-Gilchrist never were on the court just looking to get their own shot and the two freshmen superstars were never trying to make plays just to impress some scouts in attendance. In fact, Davis and Kidd-Gilchrist were 4th and 5th on the Wildcats in field goal attempts per game, as they both only took just over 8 shots per game.

Davis and Kidd-Gilchrist both understood that the game would come to them and that if they weren't feeling it offensively, they could always change the game on the defense end of the floor.

Kidd-Gilchrist was so valuable for the Wildcats because the 6-7 forward had enough athleticism to guard opposing team's best perimeter player whether it was a point guard or a shooting guard and his length would always give them a lot of trouble.

John Calipari has said that Kidd-Gilchrist will remain one of his favorite players that he has ever coached because of the tremendous will and motivation that the versatile forward plays with and the win at all cost attitude that Gilchrist exudes.

Calipari said about Gilchrist, "He's got a great heart. He wants to please everybody... He wants to make sure that everyone's happy... He's more about everybody else more than about himself." It is very rare to find a player who was recruited as heavily as Gilchrist that is such an unselfish guy and who is all about the team, but Kidd-Gilchrist was all about what the Cats needed this year and not about anything else.

He showed this attitude when he went to Coach Calipari and told him that Darius Miller should start instead of him in the SEC tournament finals because the SEC Sixth Man of the Year was scoreless in the team's first two SEC tournament games. To recognize that a teammate is struggling and make sure that he receives more playing time so he can get his confidence back, was a move that was well beyond Gilchrist's years. It was a move that eventually helped the Cats pull off the National Championship run, as Miller averaged just under 12 points per game in the tourney and Kidd-Gilchrist got his dream of a college title.

Anthony Davis's presence on the defensive end of the floor can not be understated. Davis grabbed any rebounds near him with his incredible wingspan and he was obviously one of the best shot blockers that has ever played in college basketball. Davis finished the season with 186 blocks, which surpassed Hassan Whiteside's freshmen record of 182, which he did with Marshall in 2009-2010, as well as Jarvis Varnado's SEC shot blocking record of 170, which he did with Mississippi St. in 2008-2009.

Davis showed in the NCAA tournament championship game how he has absolutely no ego and that he will do whatever it takes to get a victory. Although Davis had just 6 points, he had a tremendous affect on the outcome of the game. Davis had 16 rebounds including 4 on the offensive end to go along with 5 assists, 3 steals, and 6 blocks. The Jayhawks had a miserable time trying to finish in the lane over Davis's incredibly long outstretched arms, especially Big 12 Player of the Year and First-Team All-American Thomas Robinson, who was 6 for 17 from the field and had several shots blocked by Davis.

Marquis Teague also grew up right in front of our eyes this season. It was a fair question at the beginning of the year whether Teague would be a consistent enough point guard to led the Cats to the promise land. He looked very unsure of himself on the court, as he often struggled with his shot selection and his turnovers on the onset of the year. Teague had at least 6 turnovers in two of the Cats first four games including a very poor performance against Kansas in the Champions Classic at Madison Square Garden in November.

However, as the year went along, Calipari and the Wildcats began to trust Teague with the ball more and more. Instead of folding under the criticism and pressure from the media and Kentucky fans to step up his play, Teague was huge for UK, as he looked like a different player by the end of the year. He showed that he doesn't play as young as his age says he is. In fact, in the title game against Kansas, Teague's season came full circle, as he had 14 points and huge buckets down the stretch. Teague hit a huge three from the top of the key in the ladder stages of the second half, which ended a 8-0 Kansas run after the Jayhawks had cut the lead to 7. He also had two very important free throws with under a minute remaining, which extended the Kentucky lead to 8 points and kept the Jayhawks at least at a 3 possession distance.

With their 67-59 victory over Kansas, Kentucky has now won 8 NCAA National Championships and they are just three shy of UCLA's record 11 NCAA titles. The main cog in Kentucky's championship run this year was that all of the young Wildcats bought into winning and doing whatever it takes for the team. They all played beyond their years and showed incredible maturity for being such young kids.

Kentucky Wildcats - Louisville Cardinals Final Four In-Game Analysis

#1 Kentucky Wildcats vs #4 Louisville in the Final Four in New Orleans, Louisiana at the Superdome:


First Half Score: #1 Kentucky 35 - #4 Louisville 28

All things considered, Rick Pitino should be pleased with his teams first half performance, as the Cardinals trail by just 7 at halftime. Although throughout the first half it felt like Kentucky was controlling the game and had a commanding hold on the lead, Louisville was able to stick around and keep the game tight. The Cardinals have kept themself within striking distance of the Wildcats, which is all they could have hoped for after the first frame.

Louisville is having trouble securing the basketball, as they turned the ball over 9 times in the first half. The Cardinals turned the ball over just 6 times in their entire West Regional Final against Florida. Although the Cardinals need Peyton Siva to get into the paint to get some open looks for his teammates, Siva over penetrated during the first half. He got too deep in the lane and struggled to pass or score over the length of Kentucky's front court. Siva failed to score in the first half, while he turned the ball over 3 times.

Although Kentucky got a solid performance out of Kyle Wiltjer during the first half, as he was able to stretch Louisville's match-up zone with his three point shooting ability, the Wildcats could have really used Michael Kidd-Gilchrist. Gilchrist picked up his second foul with 13:47 remaining in the half and wasn't able to be a major factor because of his limited playing time. Gilchrist was scoreless and attempted just one shot during the half.

Finally, Louisville will have to do a much better job of stopping Kentucky's dribble penetration. The Wildcats were 15 of 25 (60%) from the field because must of their field goals were coming on layups after drives to the bucket, especially from Marquis Teague and Doron Lamb. When Louisville was able to keep Kentucky out of the lane, the Wildcats shot just 1 of 5 from behind the arc.


Final Score: #1 Kentucky 69 - #4 Louisville 61

Kentucky showed an incredible amount of resilience and grit in their victory over Louisville. After it appeared that the Wildcats were going to run away with the game as they began the half on a 11-6 run to extend their lead to 12, Louisville came roaring back to tie the game at 49 with a little over 9 minutes to play. Despite the fact that Kentucky's wasn't getting things to go their way including on the glass, which Louisville dominated in the second half, they kept making plays to keep the lead.

Although everybody rants about the outstanding freshmen and sophomores that Kentucky has, their senior Darius Miller proved to be huge in the second half. Miller had 9 points in the second frame and hit a huge three to put the Wildcats up by 7 with just over 5 minutes remaining in the game. Miller's three deflated the Cardinals, who had been fighting the entire half to get back into the game, and put an end to their comeback effort.

The Wildcats were led by their two outstanding All-American freshmen Anthony Davis and Michael Kidd-Gilchrist down the stretch. They combined for 17 of Kentucky's final 26 points and Anthony Davis's length and shot blocking ability caused Louisville all sorts of problems when they tried to score in the lane in the final 5 minutes. Davis had 3 blocks to go along with 7 rebounds in the second half, as he did a much better job of keeping Chane Behanan and especially Gorgui Dieng off the offensive glass in the final few minutes of the game. Louisville had just one offensive rebound in the final 6 minutes.

Kentucky can now say that they own the Bluegrass state after knocking off their heated rivals in their first ever Final Four meeting.

Louisville now has a record of 2-7 in the National Semifinals including 0-2 in their two appearances in the Final Four with Rick Pitino.

The Wildcats will be making their 11th appearance in the NCAA championship game and their first since Rick Pitino led them to the National Championship 14 years ago back in 1998. Kentucky's 11 NCAA title game appearances are the second most all-time and are just one behind UCLA's 12 final appearances. Kentucky is now 11-4 in school history in the National Semifinals.

The Wildcats are now just one win away from capturing their 8th NCAA Championship.

Kentucky Wildcats - Baylor Bears South Regional Finals In-Game Analysis

#1 Kentucky Wildcats vs #3 Baylor Bears in the South Regional Finals in Atlanta at the Georgia Dome:

First Half Score: #1 Kentucky 42 - #3 Baylor 22

The first 5 minutes of the game were better than Scott Drew could have imagined for his Baylor ball club. The Bears took an early 10-5 lead and they were executing very well offensively. Their length on the defensive end was causing Kentucky issues in the half-court, as Quincy Miller had two blocks on Marquis Teague, who was struggling to score with the athleticism of Baylor's frontcourt.

After John Calipari called a timeout to settle his guys down, the half totally changed course. From that timeout until the end of the half, Kentucky went on a 37-12 run. Baylor had multiple scoring droughts, which all lasted at least 3 minutes and their missed field goals as well as their carelessness with the ball lead to numerous easy buckets for the Wildcats in transition. Baylor shot 4 for 20 (20%) for the rest of the half and had 9 turnovers. Michael Kidd-Gilchrist and Anthony Davis were able to get out on the fastbreak and score easy layups and dunks in transition, as Kentucky fed off the missed shots and changes of possession. Gilchrist's ability to drive into the lane put pressure on Baylor's defense, as he had 17 first half points.

If Baylor wants to get back into the game, their star forward Perry Jones III will have to be much more effective. In the first half, Perry Jones was 1 for 5 from the field and had just 2 points and one rebound to go along with his 3 turnovers. 


Final Score: #1 Kentucky 82 - #3 Baylor 70 (Not as close as the score indicates)

Although Baylor played much better in the second half and made some runs to get back into the game, they fell way to far behind in the first half. Every time the Bears put some buckets together, the Wildcats just needed to put a few good possessions together to keep their lead in double digits. After Brady Heslip nailed a three with a little under 9 minutes remaining to get the Bears within 13 points, Baylor expanded to much energy crawling back and Kentucky needed just three quality possessions to bring their lead back up to 20.

The scariest moment of the second half came within the first few minutes when Anthony Davis was fouled by Perry Jones III and the two forwards collided. The SEC Player of the Year stayed down on the floor and appeared to have a knee injury. However, Kentucky fans were able to breathe again because Davis returned to the game just a few minutes later and played major minutes for the rest of the half.

The Wildcats will be making their 15th appearance in the Final Four and their second straight after Brandon Knight lead Kentucky to the National Semifinals last year. Kentucky is now one of only four schools along with Duke (15), North Carolina (18), and UCLA (18) to have reached at least 15 Final Fours.

The Wildcats will be looking for their 8th National Championship and close the gap between them and UCLA, which has won 11 National Championships.

John Calipari will be making his 2nd Final Four appearance (Calipari made the Final Four in 1996 as the head coach of UMass and 2008 as the head coach of Memphis, but both appearances were later vacated by the NCAA due to violations). Calipari joins Adolph Rupp (6), Joe Hall (3), Rick Pitino (3), and Tubby Smith (1) as the only Kentucky coaches to take the Wildcats to the Final Four. He will be looking to become the 5th Kentucky coach to win a National Championship.

Depth Could Be A Problem For Kentucky And North Carolina

Despite the shocking upsets sustained by Missouri and Duke at the hands of Norfolk St. and Lehigh in the first round, many of the top seeds were able to survive and advance onto the sweet 16. For the first time since 2009, all four number 1 seeds have reached the regional semifinals, as two years ago number 1 overall seed Kansas fell to Northern Iowa in the second round and last year top seeded Pittsburgh lost to Butler in the round of 32.

However, many of the top seeds may face problems in their sweet 16 match-ups because of a lack of depth.

By now everybody has seen Christian Watford's three point shot at the buzzer to knock off the top ranked Kentucky Wildcats at Assembly Hall during the regular season. Before Watford's incredible shot in the final seconds was even possible, the Hoosiers did a lot of other small things to put them in that position and one of them was exploiting Kentucky's lack of depth.

Aside from Darius Miller, who is a spectacular 6th man for the Wildcats, Kentucky doesn't play any other bench player significant minutes. In fact, only 7 Wildcats average at least 7 minutes per game. In comparison, Indiana has 10 guys who play at least 8 minutes per game.

In their loss to Indiana, Anthony Davis wasn't a huge factor on either end of the court because the Hoosiers tried to force the ball inside to Cody Zeller so that they could get the SEC player of the year into foul trouble. Davis played just 24 minutes in the loss and Kentucky severely struggled without him on the floor, as they were outscored by 12 points when Davis was on the bench. After his third foul with 17:35 remaining in the second half, Davis looked tentative because he didn't want to foul out. From the 17:35 mark until the end of the game, Davis was held scoreless and grabbed just 3 rebounds.

Although Davis can have games where he looks great offensively by grabbing offensive rebounds and getting alley-up passes from Marquis Teague and others, Kentucky can hold the fort without him on the offensive end of the floor. The Wildcats have many other offensive threats, as Doron Lamb and Darius Miller can stroke the three ball as well as slash into the lane, while Terrence Jones and Michael Kidd-Gilchrist provide scoring in the paint.

The Wildcats really miss Davis's presence on the defensive end of the floor. Davis is a terrific rebounder and he holds Kentucky's single-season shot blocking record and he will likely break Jarvis Varnado's SEC single-season shot blocking record by the end of the season. Without Davis blocking or changing shots, the Wildcats sometimes struggle to get stops defensively when Eloy Vargas, Kyle Wiltjer, or a smaller line-up is on the floor.

Indiana will try and pound the post and get Davis into early foul trouble because the Wildcats are so much less effective without him on the floor.

With North Carolina's 87-73 victory over Creighton in the third round, the Tar Heels were one step closer to reaching their ultimate goal of winning a National Championship, which would be Carolina's 6th in program history and 3rd since 2005. However, the Tar Heels actually took a step backward rather than a step forward from their victory because of the injury sustained in the second half by their phenomenal point guard Kendall Marshall. Roy Williams reiterated that point by saying, "When you go to the Sweet 16, it's supposed to be a lot more fun than this."

With a little under 11 minutes remaining in the game, Marshall was driving into the lane when he was fouled by Creighton's Ethan Wragge. Marshall hit the floor hard on his non-shooting right hand. Although Marshall stayed in the game and continued to play, Tar Heel fans got horrible news following the victory. Marshall fractured a bone in his right wrist on that play and he had surgery on the injured wrist on Monday. Roy Williams said that Carolina is preparing "100 percent" to play without their starting point guard and Bob Cousy Award finalist.

If Marshall is unable to play against Ohio, it will be a huge loss for the Tar Heels. The second-team All-ACC selection is Carolina's most important player and is the leader of their offense. Marshall, who set the ACC single season assist record this season, is the facilitator of the Tar Heels high-powered attack.

There isn't a better college basketball team at getting out on the fastbreak after a turnover or a missed field goal attempt than Carolina and that transition is always led by Marshall. He has terrific court vision and is the best point guard in the nation at getting the ball up the floor to open players. Marshall's ability to see the floor leads to easy buckets for the Tar Heels, especially for Tyler Zeller, who has formed a terrific connection with Marshall, as he runs the court incredibly well. Marshall is also terrific at dribble penetration, which opens up jump shots and three pointers for Reggie Bullock, P.J. Hairston, and Harrison Barnes. Marshall is extremely smart on the floor and is always conscious of getting Harrison Barnes and John Henson involved in the flow of the offense.

Carolina has also needed Marshall's scoring ability recently. In the Tar Heels last 6 outings, Marshall is averaging just under 15 points a game and Carolina is 5-1 in that stretch with their only loss coming in a tight ACC championship game against Florida St.. Carolina will miss the scoring threat that Marshall can pose when he is attacking the rim and his ability to get into the lane and finish.

Earlier in the year, Carolina may have been much more adept to deal with an injury to Marshall. However, Dexter Strickland, who could also run the point, suffered a season ending injury against Virginia Tech when he tore his ACL in that game. The Tar Heels lost his much-needed ball handling ability for the rest of the year. Had Strickland been available for Carolina, he would have been able to step in nicely for the injured Marshall.

Carolina now has to play without Marshall and with uncertainty in their backcourt. Marshall leads the Tar Heels in minutes and he played at least 30 minutes in every ACC game, which shows not only his importance to the team, but also the lack of playing time and experience that other Tar Heels have had at the point guard position.

Stilman White is one option for Roy Williams at the point position. However, White has played springily throughout the season and is just a freshman. White could also have some problems on the defensive end of the floor guarding Ohio's quick backcourt players like their two leading scorer D.J. Copper and Walter Offutt.

Williams could also try to move Justin Watts over from shooting guard to point guard. Watts, who is a senior, is a long 6-5 guard that could be very disruptive on the defensive end of the floor against Ohio's guards.

Williams is trying to stress to White and Watts, "One thing I'm trying to get them to understand is, you can help us by not hurting us. Don't try to be Kendall Marshall; be what you are. Secure the basketball, don't put the ball in jeopardy, and move the ball up the floor as quick as you can dribble or pass. Make the easiest play... I think it will be kind of like a quarterback in football. We've got other good players, don't you try to be the dominating factor in the game; get the ball to those other guys and let them make plays."

The Tar Heels are going to greatly miss Kendall Marshall. He is Carolina's floor general and they are not nearly the same team without him on the floor.

The SEC Is Making A Smart Move By Scrapping Its Two Divisions

Beginning in the 2011-2012 season, SEC basketball will no longer have an Eastern and Western division. Instead, the league will become one 12-team basketball league and the move makes perfect sense. SEC commissioner Mike Slive said about the league eliminating divisions, "I'm pleased that we came to this conclusion. I think it's better for SEC basketball." Florida coach Billy Donovan added, "...collectively, as a group, it's the best thing for our league." 

The SEC East has been a lot better than the SEC West since the SEC began its two-division structure 19 years ago. Since then, the SEC East has gotten 58 teams into the tourney, while the SEC West has gotten just 43 teams into the Big Dance. Last year, 5 out of the 6 teams in the SEC East got into the NCAA tournament, while not one of the teams in the SEC West got into the tournament. In the SEC West, Alabama played Mississippi State, Ole Miss, Arkansas, Auburn, and LSU twice. Those five opponents were a combined 77-82 including Auburn and LSU who were a combine 22-41. Compare Alabama's schedule with South Carolina, who had to play Florida, Kentucky, Vanderbilt, Georgia, and Tennessee twice. Those five teams had a combined record of 121-55. Many problems have arisen over the years with the unbalanced scheduling of the conference. For example, the SEC West teams complain that their RPI and SOS don't benefit like the teams in the SEC East who play each other twice. Florida athletic director Jeremy Foley said, "The perception of the league has been that if one division was playing well, the other was getting criticized. That can't be pointed out anymore. We're hoping this will have traction for us going forward.'' John Calipari added that a big reason behind getting rid of the two divisions was to try and get more teams into the tourney. He said, "...how do we get six, seven or eight teams into the NCAA Tournament? What’s the best way for us to do that? I don’t know the answer. I’ve been through this a few times now. I’ve lived what Alabama just went through... The bottom line is I would like to think everyone [in the SEC] wants to play us twice and get us in their building. Well, the only way that happens is if there is something rotating [in the schedule]."

The SEC tournament will also be tweaked as a result of the abolition of the two divisions. Instead of the two top teams from each division being given a bye, now the top four teams overall will get a bye in the first round. Last year, Mississippi St. received a bye because it finished second in the SEC West although it finished 6th overall behind the 3rd and 4th place teams in the SEC East. Georgia coach Mark Fox said about the change in the SEC tournament, “...we want to go 1 through 12. We have to come up with tiebreakers and everything else, but the seeing will be based on conference record. It wasn’t unanimous but I think everybody is confident that this was the best thing for the league.” Kentucky coach John Calipari added, "You always have to look at it and says, How do we make our league better? How do we get more teams in the tournament? How do we make sure our best teams have high seeds? You look at league’s across the country and that’s what people are doing. How do we get our best four teams to get the highest seeds they can possibly get to the win the national title? It’s not about bringing those teams back to the pack, it’s about the SEC winning national titles."

Kentucky's Recruiting Class Highlighted by Anthony Davis and Michael Gilchrist

John Calipari has done it again bringing yet another top recruiting class to the Bluegrass State. For the third year in a row he has had the best recruiting class in the country. This one though, might be his best composing of four-highly touted McDonalds All American's.

Anthony Davis leads Kentucky stellar recruiting class. If I asked you a year ago about Anthony Davis you would of said, "Who the heck is that?" When Davis was a in his sophmore year in high school, he was a 6'3 point guard and he hadn't played club basketball since junior high. He sprouted 7 inches and the 6'10 Davis is now already being called the potential first overall pick in the 2012 NBA draft. For Perspectives Charter School in Illinos, Davis averaged 32 points, 22 rebounds, and 7 blocks a game. Davis is already a star but coaches love that he has a tremendous upside. Anthony is a big threat of the defensive end of the floor. He is very versatile, as he can defend multiple positions from the quicker, speedy guard to the big men inside. Davis is great on the offensive boards and blocking shots in the paint. John Calipari said about Davis's defense, "Anthony brings a skill level, a Camby-esqueness to him where we can press more and run the lanes more. All I know is this, he probably will per minute [played] lead the nation in blocked shots. That is good for your defense. We will also probably press a lot more next year [because of Davis]. With Josh Harrelson graduating and Terrence Jones declaring for the draft (with no agent yet however), Davis will have to step up and be a huge factor for the Kentucky Wildcats is they want to get back to the final four next year. There will no doubt be a lot of pressure on Davis coming out of high school as the number 1 recruit and the last number one recruit out of the Chiacgo area since 2001. As well as a great post up game, Anthony can also shot. He said, "I get a lot of offensive rebounds and put the ball in. But I also have a good jump shot and I can shoot the 3-point shot well. I didn't have to show an outside shot a lot in high school, but I have one. I can do more than just dunk." Anthony Davis is a monster that will only continue to get better.

For the next Kentucky freshmen, we go to my hometown state of New Jersey, which is filled with tremendous high school basketball players. Michael Gilchrist is definitely one of them. He played for the national powerhouse St. Patrick high school. Gilchrist was very well been coached by Kevin Boyle and has a high basketball IQ. Gilchriist was lucky enough to play with star point guard Kyrie Irving for three years in high school. Gilchrist said, "Kyrie was a huge help for me, on the court and off the court. It was a real honor to play with such a high quality player." The best way to describe Michael Gilchrist is a WINNER. He is a fighter, competitor, and WINNER. Gilchrist was 50-4 since his junior year in high school, leading his team to top 10 finishes two years in a row. Calipari said, "When you look up the definition of 'warrior' in the dictionary, there is a picture of Michael there. No one plays harder or is more competitive. He has a tremendous burning desire to win that will drive practice and elevate everyone within the program." Gilchrist is extremely versatile and does a little bit of everything, as he average 19.4 points, 14.3 rebounds, 6.3 assists, 5.2 blocks, and 3.5 steals per game in high school as a senior. He is a consistent producer that lead his team in points, rebounds and blocked shots. What stands out about Gilchrist is his ability to rebound the ball and defend. Some superstars are content to put up big scoring numbers and leave the heavy lifting on the other end of the floor to the supporting cast. Gilchrist unbelievable athleticism helps him be a monster on the defensive end. He is so good at blocking shots and can also rebound. The only concern with Gilchrist is his unability to make the three point jump shot consistently but he will definitely continue to improve from behind the arc with hard work.

In a news release John Calipari said, "I'm jacked. These are not just terrific basketball players, but they're terrific students and terrific people, as well. Most importantly, they all have an unbelievable attitude about winning; they all wanted to play together, knowing they're going to have to sacrifice a little bit of their game for their teammates. With this group, it adds to what we already have within our program. These are four of the best, which is what we want to recruit here."

A Key to Ohio St. vs Kentucky

The Kentucky freshmen against the number one overall seed: In most peoples minds, the Ohio St. Buckeyes have been the most consistent team this season and have everything a team needs to win a national championship. They have scorers on the perimeter with William Buford and David Lightly, a deadly three point shooter with Jon Diebler, and a dominant big men with Jared Sullinger. The question that all Buckeye fans are wondering is how will the Kentucky freshman play in their third NCAA tournament game. Kentucky coach John Calipari has said, "You can't count on freshmen." The three major freshman for Kentucky (Brandon Knight, Terrence Jones, and Doron Lamb) averaged 48 of their teams 77 points during the regular season. However, aside from Knight's third round game against West Virginia, all three have really struggled to get going in the tournament. In Kentucky's second round game against Princeton the three freshmen scored a combined 19 points going 8 for 23 from the field. John Callipari said, "I think they had the jitters at their first NCAA tournament game ever that they've been watching since they're 12 and all of a sudden starting in the NCAA tournament that's on national television." Although Knight had a fantastic third round game against West Virginia, Jones and Lamb looked like they still had some jitters. Jones only had 3 buckets from the field and Lamb only played 14 minutes and had 6 points. Jones and Lamb have ben struggling with their shot in the tournament. Since Kentucky relies so much on their freshman, it will be very difficult for them to advance in the tournament without Terrence Jones and Doron Lamb playing very well.

NCAA Tournament Second Round Close Games and Buzzer Beaters

Parody is once again lurking its head in this years NCAA tournament. The second round saw 14 games decided by single digits including 10 of those games being under 5 points.

Last years national runner up Butler beat the Colonial Athletic Association tournament champion Old Dominion 60 to 58 in a southeast region 8-9 matchup. Last year Gordon Hayward's half-court three pointer for the NCAA championship at the buzzer came up short for the Bulldogs. However, this year Butler was on the right side of a buzzer beater. After two made free throws by Kent Bazemore to tie the game with 32 seconds left for Old Dominion, Butler held for the last shot. There was a scramble for a rebound and the ball landed right in Butler forward Matt Howard's hands. He finished the game with a tip-in at the buzzer. Howard said on his game winner, "I was not looking at the clock. I actually assumed there wasn't going to be enough time. I tried to shoot it as quickly as possible. It seemed bang-bang as soon as I shot it. It sounded like the horn was going off, so you never know. Fortunately we had just enough time to get that shot off." The game was incredibly close and highly contested with the largest lead in the game only being at six points. Shelvin Mack once again struggled from behind the arc going 3 for 10 but he had 5 assists and is going to be very important if Butler wants to advance to the sweet sixteen with a win over Pittsburgh.

In the biggest upset of the first round, the 13th seeded Morehead St. beat the 4th seeded Louisville Cardinals 62 to 61 in the southwest region. Kenneth Faried lived up to all the hype surrounding him with his 17 rebound performance including 5 on the offensive end of the court. The surprise of the game was the ineffectiveness of Morehead State's 16 point per game scoring guard Demonte Harper. He was just 2 of 9 from the field including 0 of 5 from three and only had 5 points going into Morehead State's final possession. Elisha Justice of Louisville had just missed a one and one to try and extend Louisville's lead by more than 2 points.  With 24 seconds left on the clock, coach Donnie Tyndall called a timeout. He told his star guard Demonte, "I know exactly who I'm going to. I'm going to put it right in your hands, Demonte. At 6 seconds, I want you to attack and pull up and hit the shot." Demonte pulled up to hit a go ahead three with four seconds remaining in the game. Kenneth Faried blocked a Mike Marra three point shot at the buzzer to secure the upset for the Eagles. Peyton Siva's foul trouble and inability to get going on the offensive end, only making one of his six shots, was key to the Eagles success in the game. The outcome may have been different if all Big-East second team performer Preston Knowles didn't have to leave the game with an ankle injury with 8:51 left in the second half. Following Knowles leaving the game, Morehead St. went on a 13 to 4 run in the next 3 minutes and 35 seconds. The Eagles will face the Richmond Spiders who pulled another upset in the southwest region over Vanderbilt.

In the battle of Pennsylvania schools, Temple knocked off Penn St. 66 to 64 in a west region 7-10 matchup. Penn St. looked to be in trouble when their star forward Jeff Brooks dislocated his shoulder a minute into the second half. However, the play of Taylor Battler kept the Nittany Lions in the game including converting an extremely deep three point jump shot to tie the game at 64 with 16 seconds left on the clock. Although Ramone Moore had went 10 for 16 from the field and had 23 points in the game, Temple coach Fran Dunphy decided to put the ball in the hands on his guard Juan Fernandez. Fernandez capped his season high 23 point game with a game winning shot with 0.4 seconds remaining. Tim Frazier, who was guarding Fernanedez commented on the final shot after the game by saying, "He [Juan] drove, picked up the ball. I closed out high end so he wouldn't be able to shoot over me. He made a great move, pivoted a couple of times and then stepped through. It was a great shot." The win is the first for Fran Dunphy in the tournament as the coach of the Owls. Temple missed out on the tournament in 06 and 07 and lost in the first round the previous three seasons. Dunphy is looking for his second tournament win with a victory over the second seeded San Diego St. Aztecs.

Brandon Knight only had one game all season where he didn't score in double digits. However, in his first game in the NCAA tournament against Princeton, the star point guard was 0 for 7 from the field with 0 points going into Kentucky's final possession. Coach John Callipari of Kentucky had said about Knight, "I have all the faith and confidence in the world in him." Callipari showed it, as he gave his young point guard the ball for Kentucky's last shot with the game tied at 57. Knight didn't disappoint his coach as he hit a running layup with 2 seconds remaining in the game. Callipari said, "He's not afraid to make a play. Guys like him aren't afraid to miss." The production from Darius Miller and Josh Harrellson continues to get better and better as they combined for 32 points and 14 rebounds. Kentucky will have to have a better game from Knight and fellow freshman Terrence Jones and Doron Lamb in order to get by the 5th seeded West Virginia Mountaineers.

On February 19th Arizona beat Washington as the Pac 10 player of the year Derrick Williams blocked Darnell Gant's attempt to win the game for Washington with 2.2 seconds left on the clock. With five seconds left in the Memphis-Arizona second round matchup, Memphis point guard Joe Jackson missed a free throw but Wesley Witherspoon picked up the rebound. However, Williams came out of nowhere to once again save his team with a late game block in the closing seconds of the game to secure the win for the Wildcats. Williams once again played an outstanding game with 22 points including hitting all 9 of his free throws to go along with 10 rebounds. He made all the big plays for Arizona when they were struggling to score in the second half. The two point win for the wildcats helps them advance to a matchup with Texas in the third round. Wildcats coach Sean Miller said,"He just has a way of making big plays and finishing the other team off. He did it here again tonight." Even Memphis's coach Josh Pastner was marveling over the play of Williams. He said, "Derrick's really good. Like I've said, I voted for him for national player of the year. My vote doesn't change after today's performance because he's really good." Williams was helped by the strong game of guard Lamont Jones who scored 18 points and hit two huge free throws with 8 seconds left in the game to extend Arizona's lead to three points.