Kentucky head coach John Calipari directs his team during the second half of an NCAA college basketball game against Florida, Saturday, March 7, 2015, in Lexington, Ky. Kentucky won 67-50. (AP Photo/James Crisp) Struggling to pick anybody other than Kentucky to win the NCAA basketball tournament in the annual office pool?
You’re not alone.
John Calipari’s enormous and deeply talented Wildcats are 34-0 entering tonight’s expected blowout against Hampton and are overwhelming favorites to become the first 40-0 team in the sport’s history. So overwhelming, in fact, that the biggest dilemma in this year’s 68-team extravaganza is whether you would take Kentucky or the rest of the field.
“I’m going with the Wildcats, because I just think they’re on a mission,” ESPN analyst Sean Farnham said. “One thing about Kentucky that doesn’t get talked about nearly enough is just how unselfish this group is. In a day and age where you’ve got guys like Kobe Bryant talking about AAU basketball and how it creates a selfish culture, you have this team filled with nine McDonald’s All-Americans who have sacrificed minutes and statistics to try to win and accomplish something as a group that will be lasting and memorable.”
Kentucky enters NCAA play having won nine of its last 10 games by double figures, with the exception being the 72-64 comeback triumph at Georgia. The Wildcats have 28 double-digit wins in all, including a 72-40 nonconference lambasting of Kansas, which is the No. 2 seed in the Midwest Region headed by Calipari’s crew.