With his postgame radio show almost done Saturday afternoon, Kentucky basketball coach John Calipari made this final observation after his top-ranked Wildcats’ 58-50 win over previously unbeaten, No. 4 Louisville:
“This was their first road game,” he said. “They did well.”
But can they do better than any college team ever by the end of this season? Can they not only become the first NCAA Division I school since Indiana in 1976 to finish a season unbeaten — the Hoosiers went 32-0 — but become the first ever to go 40-0?
Now that Big Blue has won its four nonconference games against ranked opponents by an average of 16.5 points, can any Southeastern Conference foe defeat UK prior to the NCAA tourney, given that no SEC team beyond the Cats is currently ranked?
“That’s a great basketball team,” said Louisville coach Rick Pitino, whose team shot 25.9 percent from the floor and recorded only one assist in losing a nonconference home game for the first time since 2010.