By Matt Lombardi
On Saturday night, immediately following Kentucky’s last-second victory over Notre Dame, TBS sideline reporter Lewis Johnson suggested in a live interview with UK head coach John Calipari that Notre Dame was the “toughest test” that the Wildcats had faced all season. Coach Cal emphatically disagreed, leading many to criticize him for failing to give the Irish credit. The clip went viral as a result.
Monday, Calipari addressed the situation on the Final Four teleconference. He claims that he didn’t want to lie, given Kentucky’s difficult tests against Ole Miss and Texas A&M – both of which went to overtime.
"To say that that was by far the toughest game, I could’ve lied and said oh yeah, but it wasn’t," Calipari said, via Kami Mattioli of Sporting News.
Calipari also pointed out that his Wildcats were fortunate to get to overtime against both Ole Miss and Texas A&M.
While Calipari’s interview may have rubbed many people the wrong way, he did make sure to praise Notre Dame when accepting the Midwest Region trophy afterwards. Kentucky will face Wisconsin in the Final Four Saturday night.
More from College Spun:
