NEWARK, N.J. — In an NCAA Tournament filled with stunning upsets and unlikely party crashers, the East Regional has provided an oasis of sanity.
Kentucky. North Carolina.
The sport’s two winningest programs have combined for more than 4,000 victories — including 209 in the NCAA Tournament — 31 Final Four appearances and a dozen national titles.
“Yes, the names on the front: Kentucky and North Carolina, wow. The history of these programs, wow,” Kentucky coach John Calipari said. “But I don’t think (my players) are worried about that and I am certainly not.”
North Carolina (29-7) took off in January after coach Roy Williams put freshman point guard Kendall Marshall in charge of running the offense. The second-seeded Tar Heels have had 12 victories in their past 13 games, the latest an 81-63 mauling of Marquette in the regional semifinals Friday.
Kentucky (28-8) needed more time to get it together.
A season after super freshmen John Wall and DeMarcus Cousins helped Calipari revive the program, their replacements — Terrence Jones, Doron Lamb and Brandon Knight — struggled to find an identity.
At one point the Wildcats lost six straight games decided by five points or less, including a 75-73 loss in Chapel Hill in December.
Kentucky certainly looked like a title contender during a 62-60 upset of top-seeded Ohio State on Friday. The Wildcats shut down the Buckeyes’ potent attack and advanced to the regional final for the second straight year.
Now, the group that has played much of the season trying to break free from the shadow cast by Wall and company can do something last year’s group couldn’t — send the Wildcats to the Final Four for the first time since 1998.
“There are only a handful of teams that can say you are like the Mecca of basketball,” Marshall said. “It’s a tradition to have two great teams in the postseason going up against each other, so may the best team win.”
