Looking at 36-0 Kentucky, the NCAA tournament's No. 1 overall seed, as the Wildcats prepare for a 9:45 tip Thursday night against West Virginia in the Midwest regional semifinals at Cleveland's Quicken Loans Arena...
THE PATH: The Wildcats have had three opponents stay within single digits since mid-January. Playing last weekend in Louisville, they beat Hampton, 79-56, and pulled away from Cincinnati to win, 64-51.
THE STARS: They're everywhere. 6'11 freshman Karl Towns is likely a top-three pick in this June's NBA Draft, but he's Kentucky's third-leading scorer. 6'6 guard Aaron Harrison leads the Wildcats at 11.1 ppg; six different players average 8.5 o more. Towns averages 6.8 rebounds and 2.5 blocks per game, while Willie Cauley-Stein comes in just behind him in both categories. Kentucky plays 10 players comfortably; its shortest starter is 6'6.
THE HEAD HONCHO: John Calipari is 20-3 in the NCAA tournament as Kentucky's coach and 45-14 in the tournament overall. He's aiming for his sixth Final Four and fifth since 2008. So, he's at the top of his game and has what could be his best team yet. Calipari is just 2-8 all-time vs. West Virginia coach Bob Huggins, and we'll see Thursday if West Virginia's pressure can be a part of the formula -- if there is one -- to beating this Kentucky team.
RECENT TOURNAMENT HISTORY: Kentucky went to the championship game as a No. 8 seed a year ago, winning thrillers over Wichita State, Louisville, Michigan and Wisconsin to get there. The 2012 Kentucky team won the national title, the 2011 team lost in the Final Four and the 2010 team lost in the Elite Eight to West Virginia. Calipari isn't just a recruiter. His teams love the big stage, too.
THE NUMBERS: The stats back up Kentucky's dominance. The Wildcats lead the country in scoring margin (20.8), field goal percentage defense (.351) and points per possession allowed (.834). They're second in blocks and third in scoring defense and 3-point percentage defense. To beat Kentucky, you'd better take care of the ball, make some shots -- a bunch of 3-pointers, preferably -- and keep the Wildcats off the glass. Kentucky outrebounds opponents by 7.4 per game.
