Dream Season Ends

If you took my advice and set your DVR for yesterday's game, I'm sorry. You can go ahead and delete it and save some space because it was a game that you will never want to watch ever again.

Of all the Elite 8 losses the Cats have suffered over the years, this one was the worst and hardest to watch. Even the infamous Duke game in 1992 was one of the greatest college basketball games ever played, and there's no shame in losing a game like that. In 2003 it felt awful at the time losing to Marquette, but Dwayne Wade has since established himself as one of the best point guards in the NBA. The Michigan State loss in 2005 was also a tough one, but it at least gave us one of the most memorable and exciting moments in UK history when Sparks made the shot to bring it into overtime.

There was hardily any positive moment in an ugly and freezing cold shooting night for the Cats last night. Everything that had happened all season long, did not happen last night. It was almost an entirely different team out there. They were stunned, frustrated, and lost more and more confidence with each wide open missed shot behind the arc. The 1-3-1 zone prevented them from doing what they did best, but for whatever reason, the Cats couldn't knock down routine shots that they had made throughout most of the season. Two days earlier, the Cats shut down Cornell, the best 3 point shooting team in the nation. Against West Virginia, the focus was no longer defending the three. In fact, the Cats did just what the scouting report told them to do in the first half. They didn't allow the Mountaineers to make a single 2 point field goal in 20 minutes and they crushed the offensive boards the entire game, grabbing almost 30 more than West Virginia

West Virginia, a very poor three point shooting team, made 8 three's in the first half from even the most unlikely shooters, one of whom made his first of the entire season. Three point shooting ended up giving the Mountaineers about a thirty point advantage. Rebounding and talent kept the Cats in it even in the worse performance of the year, but it just was not the Cats day. It just wasn't meant to be on that given day. After dominating performances in the first three rounds where shots went in with ease, the Cats were facing their first deficit of the NCAA Tournament. Perhaps, youth and inexperience caught up to them and they didn't know how to respond. They did not quit. They played hard and made it interesting, but in the end, poor three point shooting and free throw shooting doomed the Cats. When DeAndre Liggins made the Cats first three of the game it sparked some life and confidence into them-but it was just too little, too late.

Big Blue Nation, however, shall never forget the 2010 Cats. They brought our program back to the national level that it should always be at. They brought excitement and swagger back to Lexington that will never be forgotten. The incredible turnaround of the 2010 season was one of the most fun Kentucky basketball teams in history and they will be remembered someday when the Cats do bring home #8. We needed this coach (no one else- we got the perfect fit) and these incredible players in order to move forward and generate enough excitement after just one season to be among the top programs, once again, on the lists of every top recruit in the nation. Despite not winning it all, this group exceeded most everyone's expectations (which were pretty high of a freshman led team). The season ended in disappointment, but when you look at where we were a year ago and even early in the season, it's really remarkable that this young team was even in a position to reach the Final Four and make a run at the National Championship.

As bad as yesterday's game was, it could have been worse (just ask Kansas, Syracuse, and Georgetown), and the Cats will be back and better than expected next season. Sure, Wall and Cousins are likely gone. Patterson's post game comments, however, seemed to indicate that he was not happy with this ending and that there's more unfinished business for him to accomplish here in a return next season. If Patterson, Bledsoe, and Orton come back for another year to join juniors Darius Miller and DeAndre Liggins with potentially another top 5 recruiting class- a more experienced team that has now been deep into the NCAA Tournament may have a better chance at cutting down some nets in 2011. Stay tuned, as Wildcat Wrap will keep you updated on who will join Enes Canter and Stacy Poole in the 2010 recruiting class and which current Wildcats will join them in the next quest to #8.

The Elite 8 is set.

Two SEC teams remain and one Big East team is left. The Cats have their chance to take down that final team from the nation's most overrated conference. It's Calipari vs. Huggins. It's Patrick Patterson against his home state team. It's the chance for the nation's winningest team to get back to the Final Four for the first time in 12 years, which is nearly an eternity in Big Blue Nation. It's a chance for a potential matchup with Duke. This game, simply put, means everything.

The double digit wins are likely over, but these last three games are the type of games that you will want to be sure to record on your DVR. Each one of them are games that you will want to watch again, and again, and again...for the next twenty or thirty years (that is, if the Cats end up as the last team standing).

Just think of the potential matchups in these last three games:

• West Virginia: arguably the best team remaining in the Cats' hunt for #8. They're the last team from the Big East remaining, the same conference that Kentucky fans have to listen about all year from Louisville fans. With this win, the SEC could have two teams in the Final Four with every Big East team sitting at home. This would be bitter sweet for UK fans.

• Duke: Do I even have to say anything? When these two teams play in the tournament, it's ALWAYS a classic. The Blue Devils will have a tough game with Baylor to win before this is a possibility.

• Tennessee: Could you imagine how great it would be for an All-SEC National Championship? This would really make a lot of Louisville fans (and sportswriters from the Northeast) have to eat their words! But even more sweet would be a chance to beat Bruce Pearl in his orange jacket for the third time this year to bring home the 8th National Championship to Lexington!

That, my friends, would be the ultimate best case scenario for the most fun ride Kentucky fans have maybe ever ridden towards a National Title. It would be a string of games that would rival the 1998 team's comeback wins over Duke, Stanford, and Utah to bring home our seventh title. To this point, for sure, I think it can be said that the remarkable turnaround under Calipari has been the most fun season ever had in Lexington.

But for now, let's just land the plane. Survive, and advance.

Cornell vs. Kentucky: Much more than David vs. Goliath.

In its first two NCAA Tournament games, Kentucky scored a total of 190 points and won by the greatest amount of points of any team in the NCAA Tournament in two straight games since the 1996 Wildcats, who were considered by many to be the greatest college basketball team of all time. The Wildcats are heavy favorites over 12th seeded Cornell. It's not only a David vs. Goliath story. That is just the beginning of the dominating storylines for this matchup.

"They're saying smart kids versus the dumb guys," said John Wall. "I just think it's Kentucky basketball versus Cornell." Demarcus Cousins explained that "We're not out there reading books," Cousins said. "We're playing basketball." Cousins was wearing glasses as he spoke. When asked if it's a "Cornell look," Cousins joked that he would need a piece of tape on the nose bridge for that look.

It's the Ivy League vs. SEC, it's dumb kids against smart kids, it's also black vs. white.

Yesterday's Boston Globe column by Dan Shaughnessy was elitist and even a bit racist. It raises the question, would articles like this pop up all over the web by elitist Northeastern sportswriters if Cornell was playing Kansas, who started a couple of white kids? Sure, if Kansas was matched up with Cornell, it would certainly be a David vs. Goliath matchup too, but would sportswriters bring up intelligence as much with two white kids starting for Kansas?

What about Duke? Yes, Duke is a very good school just as Cornell is, but they do not hold the same admissions standards for basketball players as they do for the rest of their student body. In a heated debate on Boston sports radio this morning, Kentucky sports blogger Matt Jones pointed out that several of UK's starters have higher ACT scores and higher GPA's than members of Duke's starting lineup of four white kids.

If Duke played Cornell in this game tonight with four white kids starting, would they be considered the dumb kids against the smart kids of Cornell? As a matter of fact, two black kids in UK's starting lineup were both recruited at Duke (John Wall and Patrick Patterson). Patterson is about to graduate in three years and Wall has a 3.5 GPA. Both players have higher ACT scores and GPA's than the starting point guard and power forward at Duke, both of whom are white.

It's also safe to say that Demarcus Cousins and Eric Bledsoe went through more struggles in their 18 year childhood than any Cornell student will most probably go through in their entire lives. Kentucky's freshman class is blessed with unbelievable talent, but they had to work and go through a lot in unstable family situations to get to where they are today. The fact that they are probably going to leave school early for the NBA to use their God given talent does not make them any less of a person than a Cornell player who stays four years and graduates.

In yesterday's open practice at the Carrier Dome, the Cats were "booed" and cursed at by thousands of fans in a way that no college athlete deserves, especially at a practice. There is no doubt that literally everyone outside of the state of Kentucky will be rooting very hard against the Cats tonight. It's Glory Road all over again at the Carrier Dome. The 1966 Kentucky vs. Texas-Western National Championship game featured a heavily favored, all-white Kentucky team against an all-black starting lineup and huge underdog team from Texas-Western. Only this time, the roles are reversed for Kentucky as a predominately black team against the smart, Cinderella, white boys that everyone wants to win. These young Cats have faced and met every challenge thrown at them to this point, and I can't wait to see them do it again tonight.

Wilmhoff's Picks

The highlights of my completed bracket include Murray State, Xavier, Richmond, and Baylor in the Sweet 16.

• I've got Murray State over Vandy
• Murray State also over Butler in Round 2
• Xavier in the Sweet 16
• Richmond over Villanova in Round 2
• Baylor over Richmond to advance to the Elite 8
• Kansas State over Syracuse to join top seeds Kansas, Kentucky, and Duke in the Final Four
• Kentucky vs. Kansas in the Championship Game with the Cats bringing home #8

My bracket generally reflects my opinion that the Big 12 is the best conference, the Big East is the most overrated conference, and the Atlantic 10 is the most underrated conference. I think the SEC is better than what my picks show, but the SEC has some bad match ups. Tennessee is capable of a big run, but will face Georgetown in the second round. Then, even if they would upset the Hoyas, they'd play Ohio State in the Sweet 16. The Vols might have the toughest drawl in the tournament and were deserving of much higher than a 6 seed. Vanderbilt is another capable team but is playing one of the scariest teams in the field- the Murray State Racers, who had the nation's longest winning streak until losing to defending OVC Champion, Morehead State, in a late regular season contest. I'm picking Florida to lose in the first round to BYU because another SEC team should have their spot (Mississippi State), and I would have likely picked that team to make a run.