For someone who annually claims he could not care less about the SEC Men’s Basketball Tournament, John Calipari has sure had a lot of success in the SEC tournament.
The Kentucky coach’s SEC tournament record: 23-4.
That’s right, 23-4.
SEC Tournament titles during his time as Kentucky coach: Six.
Everyone else: Four.
Pretty, pretty good, you’d have to say. And you’d also have to say that given the present set of circumstances, it’s a touch ironic that the man who always downplays the tournament finds himself in a position where he needs to win the tournament.
As we all know, it’s a win-or-go-home scenario for the Cats in Nashville, starting with Thursday’s noon game with Mississippi State on the SEC Network. Win four games in four days and Kentucky will miraculously find itself among the 68 teams in the NCAA Tournament. Win less than four and the Cats can put the basketballs away until next season.
What are the chances that a 9-15 team that hasn’t won more than three games in a row all season could suddenly string together four victories? Not great. BetOnline released its tourney odds this week, with Alabama the 11-5 favorite, followed by Arkansas at 3-1 and Florida, LSU and Tennessee at 5-1. Kentucky’s odds: 16-1.
And yet the Cats can count one thing in their favor when they arrive in Music City: The tournament history of the man in charge.
Did we mention John Calipari’s record in the SEC tournament is 23-4?
“That’s great numbers,” UK senior Olivier Sarr said Tuesday. “Coach is ready. I know he’ll get us prepared and we’ll be prepared to go out there and compete.”
Not just compete, but win?
“The head man, he’s been through it before,” UK sophomore Keion Brooks said Tuesday. “He’s been through these tournaments and won plenty of games and won the tournament multiple times. You know the man who’s leading you through the fire knows what he’s doing. So that gives us extreme confidence going into it.”
OK, I know what you’re thinking. You’re thinking that a huge part of Calipari’s SEC tournament success has been built on the fact that Big Blue Nation turns out for the conference tournament — especially in Nashville — like no other fan base. And the Cats will be missing that advantage this time around considering the attendance at Bridgestone Arena is limited to just 3,400 by COVID-19 restrictions.
True, four of Calipari’s half-dozen titles have come in Nashville — Atlanta in 2011 and St. Louis in 2018 being the outliers. But the guess here is that pandemic or no pandemic, a majority of the 3,400 on Thursday at noon will be wearing Blue and White. And we all know that wherever the BBN goes, it lets you know.
OK, but isn’t Kentucky the No. 8 seed for this year’s soiree? Yes, an 8-9 league mark made it so. And haven’t the Cats always been the favorite when they cut down the nets at tournament’s end? Not always. Florida won the SEC regular-season title in 2011, but Kentucky won the tournament. UK and Texas A&M tied for the 2016 regular-season title, but Kentucky won the tournament. Auburn and Tennessee tied for the 2018 regular-season title, but Kentucky won the tournament.
None of this is to suggest the Cats should be the favorite to take home the trophy come Sunday. Conference champ Alabama won 16 of its 18 league games, including a pair of double-digit victories over Kentucky. Arkansas has won 11 straight league games, including a one-point 81-80 victory over UK at Rupp Arena on Feb. 9. Personally, I’m picking Tennessee to finally figure things out.
Still, if confidence comes from demonstrated performance, then the Cats should benefit from the knowledge their head coach knows what he’s doing when tournament time rolls around. He’s won a few of these things, after all, even though he claims it doesn’t matter. Now we’ll see if he can win it when it’s all that matters.
