It has been a rough stretch for our Kentucky Wildcats and the BBN as the team tries to get back on track against a very good Alabama squad at Rupp on Saturday. I won't call Saturday a MUST WIN, but they'd have to steal a road win if the don't beat Alabama. Coach Cal's young team simply hasn't responded well to the backloaded February schedule. The Cats have slipped to 8th in the SEC and have a sub .500 record in conference play with only five games remaining in the regular season. It's hard to put a positive spin on the current situation given the high standards us Kentucky fans are used to, but with the overall improvememt of SEC basketball this year a 9-9 record may be the equivalent of 11-7 or 12-6 in other years. Still not great by Kentucky standards but I try to keep reminding myself this is Cal's youngest team and the best player happens to be the youngest of the young. Kevin Knox needs to find an Alpha Dog mentality soon for this team, but that is another topic all together.
Should We Be Worried?
You won't find many in the Big Blue Nation that will tell you they have little to no concern over this current team making the NCAA tournament. Looking at some of the computer rankngs and tournament projections the Cats, as it stands now, are solidly in the field. UK fans that have watched games recently might be surprised at some of the computer rankings because this recent shaky stretch of play sure hasn't passed the eye test of team that could make a little noise in March.
Looking At The Bigger Picture
Part of what comes with being a Kentucky fan is being so intenly focused on our team that we are not only overly critical of our play, but that we sometimes need to step back and look at the bigger picture. First let me say that I have no thoughts of this team being a Final Four contender. That being said, in a year where top teams are getting knocked off frequently, there is some hope that these young guys can get it together before the tournament and be a team that could make a surprise run. Many of our close games could have gone either way, so arguments could be made for a better, or even worse, record. The improved SEC has helped with where we stand in many of the computer rankings. Let's take a look at a few examples.
RPI
While the current four game skid has knocked the Cats from the polls, the current RPI rankings have UK sitting at 19th. Since tournament expansion the highest RPI from a power conference to not make the tournament was 40th when the Cincinnati Bearcats were left out in 2006.
KenPom
I don't know how relevent the Ken Pomeroy ratings system is to making the tournament but it does provide a good measuring stick to other teams. As of this day Kentucky sits in the 34th spot. Not great, but it has us as 4th among SEC schools and many projections have 8 teams from the conference in the tournament. Kentucky's defense has improved but that offensive ranking is…offensive. Check it out here… http://kenpom.com/.
Bracketology
The latest bracketology from Joe Lunardi has Kentucky as an 8 seed in the South facing Seton Hall. While it's not the top 1 or 2 seed that we've grown used to, that's a solid seed that would indicate that the Cats are firmly in the field at this point. It's also worth noting that we made a pretty good run from that 8/9 game a few years back. Hey, without hope there's nothing..right?
Are We Good?
Are we good as a team?..are we good for the tournament? The numbers would suggest yes to both of those questions but we've all watched these last few games and the eye test might suggest otherwise. It's my belief these young Cats have been shaken by this tougher schedule and are a little bit in their own heads. The game Saturday could either be the confidence boost this team needs going forward or it could completely break a team that seems to have a fragile mindset during this stretch. I'll be there Saturday pulling for the Cats to get back on track. Either way, I'm BBN and wouldn't have it any other way. Until next time, here is video of some cats skating on thin ice. Thanks for reading…Go Cats!
