March Madness - LIVE BREATHE BLUE - Just Like Old Times

Kentucky Basketball has something to prove. For the first time in a while, the Wildcats enter the SEC Tournament with a specific mission in mind. Coach Mark Pope has pulled no punches. There’s no hemming, hawing, or beating around the bush. The Cats are in it to win it.

“This SEC Tournament matters,” Pope said in a recent press conference. “It’s the best league maybe that’s ever been in any year of college basketball, and this SEC matters. So, we’re heading to Nashville with all of our successes and confidence and warts and holes that we got to plug and we’re going there with one goal, which is to go win.”

That’s music to Big Blue Nation’s ears…and where better than Music City to exorcise the demons of failures past. Realize that the program with the greatest tradition in the history of college basketball hasn’t won the tournament since 2018. Not only that, but they’re 1 – 5 since then. Many still blame former Coach John Calipari for those recent failures—he who often treated the postseason conference gathering as a mere irritant to be tolerated rather than an opportunity to be grasped. 

Not so with Mark Pope. The former captain of the 1996 National Champions knows what’s at stake. Where others are thinking of resting their players, avoiding further injury risk, and keeping their teams fresh, Pope’s pulling out all stops to survive and advance, to run the gauntlet, and plant the flag in its rightful place. The man gets it.

What really is at stake then? 

First is momentum. You always want to enter the NCAA Tournament on an uptick. What better way to gather a full head of steam than to knock off the Alabama(s), the Florida(s), and the Auburn(s) of the world—the three teams in Kentucky’s potential bracket path who also happen to be ranked third, fourth, and fifth in the latest AP college basketball poll.

For the first time since early in the season, Kentucky has a remarkably stable lineup. Andrew Carr is fully healthy and is playing like the force we all expected. Lamont Butler’s shoulder looks as if it can withstand the rigors of a tournament grind. Collin Chandler is coming on like gangbusters. Otega Oweh has shown he can be the go-to guy. Koby Brea is knocking down threes, and Amari Williams is…well…doing Amari Williams things. A couple more solid wins over additional Quad I opponents can do wonders for everyone’s confidence and momentum.

In addition to momentum, the second thing at stake is NCAA Tournament seeding. If Kentucky wins their first-round game versus the winner of Oklahoma/Georgia, they should be in line for a No. 3 seed. Knock off Alabama in the quarterfinals and Florida in the semifinals, and they could move up to No. 2 if a team like Texas Tech slips up.

Even more importantly, with a higher seed, Kentucky improves their chances of playing closer to home. Wouldn’t a day’s drive to Cleveland or Milwaukee be far more convenient for fans willing to travel than trying to coordinate flights up to Providence or out to Denver? 

But perhaps the most important reason for winning the SEC Tournament has more to do with the psyche of the Kentucky fanbase than anything else. Historically, Kentucky has dominated the conference with its 31 previous tournament championships. Alabama, the school in second place, has a mere eight tournament titles. 

With their early-round exits the past few years, Kentucky fans have forgotten what it’s like to be king of the hill—to have the Blue Mist blow through Bridgestone Arena and take over the honky-tonks on Broadway. The days of saving up all your beer and cigarette money, putting up a second mortgage on the house, and blowing it all on four wild days of cheering on the Cats feel like a distant memory.

Here’s the exact mindset this year, then, as we head down to Nashville. No more one-and-dones. It’s championship or bust. Tilt the world back on its rightful axis. Just like old times.

Dr. John Huang is a retired orthodontist, military veteran, and award-winning author. Currently serving as a columnist for Nolan Group Media, he invites readers to follow him on social media @KYHuangs. Explore his debut novel— “Name, Image, and Murder”—and all his books at https://www.Amazon.com/stores/Dr.-John-Huang/author/B092RKJBRD