Kentucky’s players huddle late in the game of a 61-58 loss to Kansas State in the South Region finals Thursday night in Atlanta. The Wildcats ended the season with a 26-11 record. (Kentucky Today/Tammie Brown)
ATLANTA — It was fun while it lasted.
For a team that was unsure of itself more than a month ago, Kentucky did everything it could to make up for four straight setbacks to open February that likely cost the Wildcats a regular-season title in the Southeastern Conference.
Other than a 13-point loss at Florida in the regular-season finale, the Wildcats played their best basketball of the season following those disappointing losses to Missouri, Tennessee, Texas A&M and Auburn, all who made the NCAA Tournament.
Kentucky, which finished the season at 26-11, won three straight games rather convincingly in the Southeastern Conference Tournament in Saint Louis, packed their bags, came home and departed for Boise, Idaho two days following Selection Sunday.
Out of their comfort and time zone by two hours, Kentucky quickly adjusted and knocked off Davidson and Buffalo in the first two rounds of the tournament and appeared to be on a clear path to the Final Four after overall top seed Virginia, second-seeded Cincinnati and No. 3 seed Tennessee were knocked out of the tourney on opening weekend.
Arizona, the four seed in the South Region, was considered a probable matchup in the second round for Kentucky in Boise, but that turned out to be wishful thinking following the Wildcats’ stunning loss to Buffalo in the opening round of the Big Dance at Taco Bell Arena.
The Wildcats were riding high until they faced Kansas State in the Sweet Sixteen. Although at least 20 points better than its opponent on paper, Kentucky failed to find the magic formula they discovered during the first five games of the postseason.
Foul troubles, poor shooting — inside and our — and an inability to match Kansas State’s intensity level throughout led to Kentucky’s demise. Just like that, the season came to an abrupt ending. The Cats stepped off the stage of the Cake Walk and left without the ultimate prize — a ticket to the Final Four.
In a grind-out, sluggish affair, Kentucky simply couldn’t keep pace with Kansas State. It was ugly, sloppy and a game the suited the opposing Wildcats perfectly.
“They played in a way that they had to play to win the game,” Kentucky coach John Calipari said.
Although Calipari took his first loss as coach of the Wildcats in seven tries in this stage of the tourney, it didn’t take away from the joy he experienced during a journey that proved to be worthwhile for the Kentucky coach.
“Both individually and collectively, this was a rewarding year for me,” he said. “I wish it could have ended in another week, but you know, for me to see how individual players got better, for me to see how this team came together, for me to see Jarred (Vanderbilt) in, Jarred out, all the stuff that went on with injuries, and they hung in there and played a bunch of freshmen. I thought they really performed.”
For the players, the loss was heartbreaking, but like their coach, one glance at the rear-view mirror showed the entire season was a rewarding one considering the team’s youthfulness and inexperience.
“It’s been an amazing journey,” point guard Gilgeous-Alexander said. “We’ve come so far since the beginning of the year. I think all of us, including myself, have made a lot of strides. We all got better. We’ve matured on and off the court. We’ve built a brotherhood.”
That brotherhood will be tested in the coming weeks as top players Gilgeous-Alexander, Kevin Knox, Hamidou Diallo, Vanderbilt and PJ Washington ponder their future.
For now, the coaches and the players plan on taking a break and finishing out the spring semester following the grind of a 37-game season. Sometimes the journey is the reward, and it was an indeed a trek that came to an end so unexpectedly.
It just wasn’t meant to be.
Keith Taylor is sports editor for Kentucky Today. Reach him at keith.taylor@kentuckytoday.com or twitter @keithtaylor21.
