Kentucky’s quest for a 40-0 season is alive and kicking, but some of the biggest rivals of the Wildcats believe their current 30-0 record deserves more respect.
John Calipari’s top-ranked college basketball club attained its 30th triumph Tuesday night at Georgia, closing on a 16-2 run to beat the Bulldogs 72-64. Charles Barkley, Bill Belichick, Ashley Judd and Bubba Watson were among the stars in attendance at Stegeman Coliseum, but now the Wildcats turn their attention to Saturday afternoon’s home finale against Florida and the opportunity to close out a perfect regular season.
“I think it’s remarkable in today’s day and age where there is so much parity, and it shouldn’t be taken lightly,” Florida coach Billy Donovan said this week. “We live in a world where people want to discredit or discount what happens in the regular season, and they want to put all the emphasis on the NCAA tournament in terms of measuring success all the time. For a team like Kentucky that has done all that it has done, that shouldn’t be the case.”
Donovan’s Gators won 30 consecutive games last season, including an 18-0 run through Southeastern Conference play. Florida was 29-2 overall after the regular season, 32-2 after the league tournament, and wound up 36-3 following a Final Four semifinal loss to Connecticut, the eventual national champion.
Kentucky is on the doorstep of the first undefeated regular season by an SEC team since Adolf Rupp’s 1953-54 Wildcats went 25-0.
“It’s unbelievable, and teams and coaches shouldn’t be measured by whether or not they win the national championship,” Vanderbilt coach Kevin Stallings said. “What they’ve done already is amazing and incredibly difficult, and I don’t care how good your players are. John says this a lot, but they do get everybody’s best shot every night.
“Nobody takes the night off against Kentucky, so whether they win the national championship or not, what they’ve done is phenomenal and should be recognized as such.”
The Wildcats have been ranked No. 1 all season with a roster drenched in NBA talent. Calipari has been the game’s best in recent years in restocking rosters with players who stay just one season before bolting to the professional ranks, but he hasn’t been perfect.
Two years ago at this time, Kentucky was headed toward a first-round NIT loss at Robert Morris.
Michigan State coach Tom Izzo said earlier this week on the Big Ten teleconference that he appreciates the coaching job Calipari has done this season but that he doesn’t know what this will do “for college basketball and things like that.” Calipari has maintained that players should be required to stay a minimum of two years in college, but he believes that should not be the focus of what is transpiring.
“When you look at this team and how they’ve come together and how they share and what they do, I think that’s the narrative,” Calipari said. “How do these guys sacrifice and give up minutes and shots to each other? How do they have the team spirit they have?
“I think that should be what this is all about, not how many guys have a chance to be pros. Other teams have really good players, too.”
With a defeat of Florida, Kentucky would become the second Division I team in history to complete a 31-0 regular season. The first took place just last season, when Wichita State went 31-0 and eventually got to 35-0 before losing in the second round of the NCAA tournament to Calipari’s Wildcats.
“Nobody has been able to beat them, and the one thing I would say is that it would seem like you would have to make a bunch of 3s,” Stallings said. “You just don’t get a lot of good looks around the basket because of their length and their athleticism and how good they are out on the ball. They are very good at defending the ball and in ball-screen coverage.
“Maybe if a team can hit a bunch of 3s against them. Maybe. It’s a tall order for sure.”
Contact David Paschall at dpaschall@timesfreepress.com or 423-757-6524.