Kiz: Instead of the school fight song, when the Kentucky Wildcats take the floor at the NCAA Tournament, the band should strike up “Sweet Georgia Brown.” The Wildcats are the Globetrotters. And the rest of the tourney field is the hapless Washington Generals. Right? Call the whole thing off. Crown the Cats? Not so fast.
Hooch: Not so fast? There are only 27 teams on this continent that could beat Kentucky, and that includes a lone college pick: Duke (the Los Angeles Lakers, New York Knicks and Philadelphia 76ers could lose to the Kentucky Globetrotters). If the Wildcats didn’t have their five best players, they probably would still be an Elite Eight-level team. As if he was bored with “just” making Final Fours, John Calipari found himself a new recruiting and coaching challenge this season — going undefeated.
Kiz: Calipari is one of my favorite coaches, because he has dropped the pretense of the student-athlete charade and built the slickest NBA farm team in hoops history. Karl-Anthony Towns, Willie Cauley-Stein and Devin Booker could be among the top-15 picks in this year’s NBA draft. These Cats are intimidating athletes, but they struggle with a little basketball technique called the jump shot.
Hooch: Well, we know that Aaron Harrison can shoot it in March — the dude hit a game-winning shot last season in the Elite Eight and in the national semifinals. And even if Kentucky misses a jump shot, the “Hyphens” in the paint have a good chance at grabbing the board. Kentucky is fourth nationally in rebounds per game.
Kiz: The Wildcats are the best team in this tourney. But they aren’t the best by much. I can count at least four teams with the talent to beat Kentucky: Wisconsin, Arizona, Duke and the Nuggets. (OK, just kidding about the Nuggets; they’d tank the game.) But I’m serious about this: Kentucky won’t win the national title, because the Cats won’t play in the championship game. I smell an upset on semifinal Saturday.
Hooch: Holy moly! Yes, I say holy moly. As I mentioned, Duke is the only college team that could knock off Kentucky, and that’s maybe three out of every 10 matchups. Of course, that means both teams would have to reach the finals to begin with. I can see Coach K and his underrated stars (compared with Kentucky’s anyway) possibly putting together the perfect game to beat the perfect team. But most likely, I see UK going 40-0. Calipari’s next challenge? Winning with only four players on the court. (I’m kidding. I think I am, at least.)
