Better Late than Never (NCAA Basketball)

After starting the season under new coach Billy Gillispe, Kentucky has been weathering their worst showing in recent memory. These are dark days for the Wildcat pedigree, but suddenly, there’s evidence for optimism in Lexington.

There isn’t a gag order on the Kentucky Wildcats when it comes to talking about the NCAA tournament. But the brass at UK wants mum to be the word anyway, so if no one wants to talk about it, I’m happy do it for them.

This year, it’s not just Kentucky’s season that’s at stake. According to the Official 2008 NCAA Men’s Basketball Records Book, Kentucky is the winningest team in the history of the game with 1,948 wins. North Carolina is second with 1,914, but as of this very moment, those numbers are a lot closer.

If my math is right, Kentucky has 1,978 all-time wins and North Carolina has 1,965. That’s a 13 game difference, and North Carolina has (best case scenario) 11 more games to play: three left in the season, three in the ACC tourney (if they win everything and get a first found bye) and five in the NCAA tourney (if they run the board).

If Kentucky falls completely apart and doesn’t win another game this year, North Carolina will almost certainly take the title of the winningest college team ever at some point next season. It’s one thing for Kentucky to have a bad year, but losing the title of most wins ever? That’s a hard pill to swallow.

Maybe that’s what lit a fire under the Wildcats. They aren’t “awesome” by any standard, but consider this. Kentucky has won 9 out of its last 10 games, including a 72-66 win over Tennessee on January 22. Kentucky has another shot at Tennessee on March 2, but Tennessee is at home, so it’s hard to favor the Wildcats in Knoxville.

Nonetheless, even if Kentucky loses at Tennessee but still picks up its last two games against South Carolina and Florida, the NCAA Tournament selection committee is going to have to start giving the Wildcats a thought. Of course, the committee will only have to give Kentucky half of a thought, but it’s better than nothing and I think coach Gillispe would agree.

It’s not that far fetched to think Kentucky will ruffle some feathers in the SEC tournament as well. The two biggest monsters in the SEC are No. 1 Tennessee and No. 14 Vanderbilt, but Kentucky has beaten each of those schools once before and I think we all know how unpredictable conference play can be.

The arguments against Kentucky getting an at-large bid for the NCAA Tournament still outnumber reasons why they should, and that makes sense. Kentucky gets demerits for a poor non-conference win total, and their RPI is 64th. But when it comes to at-large team bids in the tournament, it’s the selection committee’s job to find the 34 teams playing the best basketball.

It’s a numbers game, and math never lies.

So for Kentucky, it’s best that no one jinxes anything with early tournament talk. The equation is simple in Lexington. Take a deep breath and keep on winning.

By the time they come up for air, they might be inside the bubble.

–Joey Alfino, RED Editorial Staff.