By MARK MAYNARD - The Independent
One year after being in the college basketball purgatory known as the NIT, Kentucky is back on top.
The second-ranked Wildcats were rewarded with a No. 1 seed when the NCAA Tournament bracket was unveiled on Sunday.
Kentucky opens tournament play against East Tennessee State (20-14) in New Orleans on Thursday. UK fans hope the final destination will be nearby Indianapolis, site of the Final Four the first weekend in April.
But there’s a crowd at the top.
Kentucky is the top seed in the East and joins Kansas (Midwest), Syracuse (West) and Duke (South) as the other No. 1 seeds and the teams to beat in the 65-team field.
Coach John Calipari was hired in April and quickly went to work building a team that has a record of 32-2, won the Southeastern Conference regular-season title — the 44th in school history — and then the SEC Tournament — No. 26 all-time — in Nashville where UK fans painted the town blue and white last weekend.
Last year, Kentucky was on the outside looking in, missing the NCAA Tournament for the first time in 18 years under embattled coach Billy Gillispie.
Now they’re the talk of college basketball.
Like most of Kentucky, Joe McDavid of Ashland was on the edge of his seat during Sunday’s 75-74 overtime victory over Mississippi State in the SEC tournament championship.
“My wife (Becki) and Daniel (son) were here, (so) I tried to constrain myself a little bit,” he said. “I did let out a scream (when DeMarcus Cousins tied the game on a putback at .01 seconds).”
McDavid said Kentucky’s “will to win” has been amazing. “There’s something about this team,” he said. “You don’t feel like they’re going to lose.”
Scott Walter of South Point is a diehard UK fan that grew up in Ashland. When the Cats are on television, it’s best not to be around him, he said.
“The kids (Scott has twins) pretty much dominate the TV in the living room,” he said. “I got this TV the first time Kentucky and Mississippi State played. It’s a 37-inch flat screen with high def. When UK is on, the kids know Daddy is in the bedroom, don’t go in.”
Like most Kentucky fans, McDavid and Walter watched those final seconds as UK miraculously battled back from a five-point deficit against Mississippi State.
“It was definitely a good shot (by Cousins),” McDavid said. “They had so many angles (on television replays).
“This is what Kentucky basketball is supposed to be about.”
McDavid was especially happy for Patrick Patterson, the junior from Huntington who celebrated his 21st birthday on Sunday.
“It worked out pretty good for him and I’m glad,” McDavid said. “He’s a local kid who could have sulked and pouted when they brought in all those freshmen. He’s handled it well, been a good citizen and still had a great year. He’s seen all sides of it from whatever word you want to use to describe the Gillispie years to what’s happened this year. He’s seen both extremes of it.”
Patterson, who played at Huntington High and graduated with O.J. Mayo, is on track to graduate from UK in May. Patterson, Cousins and SEC Player of the Year and SEC Tournament MVP John Wall are almost certain to leave for the NBA after this season.
Last year when the Cats played in the NIT, McDavid said he didn’t follow the NCAA tournament like he did when UK was in it.
“My interest level went way down,” he said. “When Kentucky’s not in it, it’s just not the same. Now the interest in the office pools, bracket shows … it’s a whole different deal.”
Louisville, West Virginia, Ohio State, Ohio University and Murray State are other teams of area interest in the field.
Louisville comes in as a No. 9 seed in the South and will play California on Friday in Jacksonville, Fla.
WVU, the Big East Tournament champion, gained a No. 2 seed in the South. The Mountaineers are playing Morgan State on Friday in Buffalo, N.Y.
Big Ten champion Ohio State is a No. 2 seed in the Midwest and meets UC Santa Barbara on Friday in Milwaukee.
Ohio University was a surprise winner of the Mid-American Conference Tournament. The Bobcats were the MAC’s ninth seed. Ohio is a No. 14 seed and plays Georgetown on Friday in Providence, R.I.
Murray State is a No. 13 seed in the West plays Vanderbilt on Thursday in San Jose.
As for Kentucky, the expectation is back to where it used to be with the goal being a national championship — No. 8 if it happens.
“They’ve definitely got a shot to win it all,” Walter said, “especially if they get production out of (Eric) Bledsoe and the 3 spot with (DeAndre) Liggins, (Darius) Miller or (Darnell) Dodson. It all depends on the draw and matchups.”
As for No. 1 Kansas? “That wouldn’t be until the championship game and I think we have more talent than Kansas,” he said.
Spoken like a true Wildcat fan.
