- Conference: SEC
- Seed: Number 1 Overall
- Leading Scorer: Aaron Harrison (11.3 points per game)
- Path to the Final Four:
- Round 1 - Defeated Hampton, 79-56
- Round of 32 - Defeated Cincinnati, 64-51
- Sweet 16 - Defeated West Virginia, 78-39
- Elite 8 - Defeated Notre Dame, 68-66
Kentucky is making their 4th Final Four appearance in the last 5 years. Ironically, the only year they did not make the Final Four in the last 5 years was in 2013 when they lost to Robert Morris in the first round of the NIT. Still, Big Blue Nation cannot be very upset with the way Coach Calipari is running the program. The Wildcats won the National Championship in 2012, their first since 1998, and this year they have what may be the best team in program history. In fact, it may be one of the best teams in college basketball history.
It has been well documented, of course, that this team is undefeated. No team has finished the regular season and NCAA Tournament undefeated since Indiana under Bobby Knight in 1976. If Kentucky is able to do it this season, they would finish with a record 40 wins and Kentucky's 9th National Championship.
They have gotten here as a result of two things: depth and size. Kentucky is the tallest team in basketball - NBA teams included. Their size has resulted in shut-down defense that allows just 53.9 points per game and averages 6.9 blocks per game. They haven't give up 70 points since February 21, a game they won over Auburn by scoring 110. They're able to play all-out all the time because of the number of players they have on their bench. Aaron Harrison, Devin Booker, Karl-Anthony Towns, Andrew Harrison, Willie Cauley-Stein, Trey Lyles, Dakari Johnson, Tyler Ulis, and Marcus Lee are all significant contributors. Alex Poythress would have been, but he was injured early in the season. That is to say, this team is solidly nine deep. That's a luxury most teams just don't have. Aaron Harrison is the one who really makes them go, though. He has played nearly 200 more minutes this season than any other Wildcat. He leads the team in scoring, and, most importantly, he always seems to be the one to take the big shot for Kentucky when the game is on the line.
So how do you beat them? That's a good question. Nobody has been able to figure it out so far this season, but Notre Dame came pretty close in the Elite 8. Following the Irish's blueprint is perhaps a key to keeping Kentucky from 40-0. Notre Dame has lights out shooters and lots of them. They spread the court and open the middle for dribble drives. One of the most interesting things Notre Dame did was to attack the shot-blockers on the drive. When Kentucky went for the blocked shot, Zach Auguste crashed the boards - hard. It was a strategy that clearly worked. Auguste had several put-back dunks that electrified the Irish. Notre Dame was only out-rebounded by 1 despite being incredibly undersized compared to the huge Wildcats. On defense, Notre Dame decided not to double Karl-Anthony Towns. The NBA Lottery Pick torched Notre Dame for 25 points, but everyone else on the Wildcat roster was held in check. Notre Dame stayed at home and let Towns get his. The idea was to make Kentucky beat them with 2s, not 3s. Wisconsin could follow a similar strategy, but what could help Wisconsin is that they have bigger and better big men than Notre Dame. If someone could come up with a couple stops against Towns one-on-one, it would put more pressure on someone else to score for Kentucky. The Wildcat guards are up to that challenge, Harrison and Ulis especially, but Kentucky's other big men are not as skilled offensively. They score on put-backs and because they're huge, but they do not have the weapons Towns does. A tall team with shooters who can stretch Kentucky's defense to the perimeter could make it a game against Kentucky.
All that being said, UK is easily the favorite to win the National Championship. If they lose, it will be one of the biggest upsets in NCAA Tournament history. If they don't lose, they make history by finishing the season 40-0. No matter how you slice it, something exciting is going to happen with this team in Indianapolis.
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