Reflection on a Great Season

First of all, I need to recognize the Women's team on their upset of #1 SEED Nebraska! Matthew Mitchell's 4th seeded UK Hoops' team now will face 5th seeded Oklahoma for a trip to the Final Four in San Antonio! Pretty good for a team that was picked to finish 11th in the SEC!

It looks like the Cats could be facing nearby Xavier in the Final Four before the inevitable dreaded Championship matchup with the UConn Huskies, who are currently riding the longest winning streak in the history of Women's College Basketball.

If these ladies can make it to the Championship game and even give UConn a run for their money, it will help ease the pain (at least a little bit) of Saturday's painful loss to West Virginia.

The Elite 8 matchup with the Lady Sooners will be on ESPN Tuesday Night at 9:00. Until then, enjoy this video to commemorate an unbelievable season that...

• brought us above 2,000 wins
• the "John Wall Dance"
• state supremacy
• wins over rivals Indiana, North Carolina, and Louisville
• millions of dollars raised by our team for Haitian earthquake victims in 24 hours
• a #1 national ranking and phone call from the President of the United States
• the first ever sold out ESPN College Gameday Show
• an unbelievable SEC Championship victory
• three very impressive NCAA tournament wins
• and an amazing display of future NBA superstars

But most importantly, this season has united a fan base that has been divided since the end of the Tubby Smith era. It started with book signings and rally's throughout the summer, from Pikeville to Paducah, and everywhere in between. The Commonwealth's anticipation for this season was higher than ever before, as thousands of fans camped out for tickets to Big Blue Madness, the official start of practice for what all had hoped to be an amazing season and a return to glory for Kentucky basketball.

The campout was a beautiful scene, as the nation's most passionate fanbase finally got what they wanted and deserved- a coach that understood Kentucky basketball and embraced the program as much as all of its fans. When Coach Calipari, his son Brad, the staff, and the players camped out themselves, played cornhole, and delivered food to all those faithful fans...we knew we finally had the perfect fit. A few weeks later, Coach Calipari delivered a moving and passionate speech to the fans at Big Blue Madness and John Wall made the crowd eRUPPt with dance moves that would soon become a national phenomenon known as the "John Wall Dance". Ah, what a year it has been.

Enjoy the video!

P.S. Brandon Knight is making his college decision on April 14th! Stay tunned for all the coverage!

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.