With Tom Crean no longer pacing the sidelines and readjusting his dress pants, the Kentucky Wildcats cruised through the rest of their stay in Atlanta. Now it’s on to New Orleans.
Kentucky dominated Baylor 82-70 to advance to its second consecutive Final Four under John Calipari. The Wildcats lost to the eventual national champion last year, but all signs point to a different outcome this time around.
Sure, Baylor lost by only 12 points. But it felt like a massacre. This Kentucky team is clicking on such a level that perhaps it can only lose if it beats itself.
Nemesis Rick Pitino and Louisville hope not. The Cardinals will be the Wildcats’ opponent.
The Bears could not put up much of a fight on Sunday. There should be much more vitriol next time around.
Scare tactics: An audible gasp was heard around the college basketball world when Anthony Davis went down clutching his left knee in the second half of this one. It appeared that he and fellow NBA prospect Perry Jones III collided knees, but Davis got the worst of it as he collapsed in a heap on the baseline. He walked off with help, but Big Blue Nation froze with fear.
The official report was a left knee bruise, and Davis eventually returned. But it underscored the fortune that comes along with challenging for a national title. Look at North Carolina: Three of its top four guards will sit out against Kansas today, including its floor leader, Kendall Marshall.
MKG: Michael Kidd-Gilchrist will not be considered for National Player of the Year honors, but he might be the best player in the country. Not the most important, but possibly the best. The eye-opening freshman star unleashed a first-half flurry of production against the Bears, scoring 17 points with ease as his team built a 20-point halftime lead.
He finished with 19 points and five rebounds before fouling out. Not that he was needed.
Davis will receive most of the national accolades (for good reason) and is projected as the consensus No. 1 pick in the next NBA Draft, but Kidd-Gilchrist might actually be better. The young man is an unbelievable athlete with uncanny strength for his age, and in the biggest moments he shows up. Take a look at some of his best performances:
• 17 points and 11 rebounds in a win over North Carolina.• 18 points and 9 rebounds in a loss to Indiana.• 24 points and 19 rebounds in a win over Louisville.• 24 points and 10 rebounds in Sweet 16 win over Indiana.
Add this game to that group. Louisville and Pitino will be searching for an answer for him all week long.
We may never know: Can Scott Drew actually coach in the NCAA tournament? His Baylor Bears just lost in the Elite Eight for the second time in the past three years, but that question is still up in the air after another underwhelming performance. Drew has had the good fortune of advancing in the tournament at the expense of double-digit seeds in both of those runs. He is now 0-3 against single-digit seeds in the NCAA tournament.
He can recruit, no question. And it is tough to compare a coach’s true worth against a team like Kentucky. But still, this guy is 71-94 in conference play and has yet to register a respectable tournament win. How long must we wait?
“Our state is gonna burn next week.”: Well said, Kentucky fan wearing a “Want Eight” shirt. Well said. The Wildcats advance to the Final Four to face rival Louisville. Calipari’s club knocked off the Cardinals 69-62 in Rupp Arena earlier this season, but they were one of the few teams that gave the Wildcats a game this season. Expect nothing different from Pitino, the former Kentucky coach now at Louisville.
Fuel was added to the Georgia Dome fire when the Cardinals advanced to New Orleans a day before the Wildcats. Fans came out and booed any reference to their neighbors. This will be some week to run a sports radio show in the Bluegrass State.
