Kentucky To The NCAAs?

As crazy as that sounds, it’s becoming more and more of a possibility, given the Wildcats’ recent surge. Last night’s 58-54 win over free-falling Mississippi has Kentucky up to 10-3 in the SEC, only a game behind Tennessee with a game upcoming against the Volunteers on Sunday. The Wildcats already beat the top-ranked Vols earlier this year, and a second win would give Kentucky a leg up on the SEC East title. Coach Billy Gillespie’s first season in Lexington has been met with a tremendous amount of turmoil, but credit must be given to this team for responding from its rough start to even get a sniff of a conference title.

The 2007-08 season has been highlighted by losses to average mid-majors at home, in addition to an embarrassing 41-point loss to Vanderbilt two weeks ago. Setbacks like that don’t help the resume too much, and the streak of 16 consecutive NCAA Tournament appearances looked imminent to end. After starting the season 7-9 and 1-2 in conference, Gillespie’s seat on the Kentucky’s bench looked more like a boiling red than Wildcat blue. His new methods weren’t working for a young team that was looking for stability. Gillespie accepted the brunt of the criticism, but it didn’t make the losses any easier for the players or fans. College basketball’s winningest program doesn’t often have to deal with struggles like this.

After an overtime loss to Florida dropped the Wildcats to two games under .500, it appeared that Kentucky’s season had been damaged beyond repair. In their first game following that painful loss, Kentucky finally showed some signs of life, upsetting the beast of the SEC, Tennessee. Since then, the resilient Wildcats have continued their winning ways and added meaning to their season at long last. Over the last month, Kentucky has racked up wins in nine of their last 10. The only loss in that span was the humbling loss to Vanderbilt, but Kentucky has rebounded to win four in a row, including clutch wins over fellow bubble teams Arkansas and Mississippi. It’s never been about how you start, just how you finish, and Kentucky is finishing their season the right way, while their rivals in the SEC begin to fade.

Kentucky still has a considerable amount of work to do before they can punch their ticket to the Big Dance. On the bright side, Arkansas, Mississippi, and Florida haven’t done as much as the Wildcats up late, and have opened the door for Kentucky to take advantage. Those three teams may have better overall records, but it stems from easier non-conference schedules, something the committee doesn’t award too often. Neither Arkansas nor Florida played a single top-25 team leading up to their SEC schedules; Florida’s best win is over Temple, while the Razorbacks were able to take out Baylor. Nothing overly impressive about either one of those victories. Mississippi managed to beat Clemson, but their 4-9 conference record will end up bursting their bubble. Last night’s loss to Kentucky won’t help either.

Sunday’s rematch with Tennessee could really elevate the Wildcats’ chances, but assuming they fall to the favored Vols, their last two regular season games are out there for the taking. A road game against South Carolina is winnable, but conference games away from home are never easy. The biggest game for Kentucky, though, lies on March 9th when they host the two-time defending champion Gators on Senior Day. The Wildcats will be looking for revenge, and the game with Florida will put one of these two bubble teams over the top in its case to make the field of 65. A 2-1 record in those last three regular season games, and two wins in the SEC Tournament could make things real interesting on Selection Sunday.

As bad as it’s been for Gillespie and the ‘Cats, their dreams of a bid to the NCAA Tournament would make this largely disastrous season a success. The Wildcats have a shaky RPI of 62, but a solid SOS of 14 and an impressive 9-1 mark in their last 10 have definitely made up for that. One last push is needed from Gillespie’s team in the final two weeks of the season to make their once ridiculous dream become a reality.