COLLEGE STATION, Texas _ I don't know about you, but I'm ready for March. Bring on college basketball's postseason. Right here, right now. Never mind the three games remaining on Kentucky's regular-season schedule. Hard games, cautions UK Coach John Calipari. We know. They're all hard games.
Still, bring on Selection Sunday. That's what ultimately matters, right? Everyone's playing for March, which as it happens starts Sunday. March matters. The NCAA Tournament matters. It's the only thing that matters.
"They say we're a four seed and moving down," Calipari said Tuesday night, forever playing the "UK-against-the-world" card in which the Cats are sure to be handed the most difficult road imaginable to the Final Four in Atlanta.
Bracketology aside, we pretty much know what this Kentucky team is all about. We know the strengths, the potential weaknesses. The starters, the bench. We know the rotations, the fits, the personality, the chemistry.
"Our chemistry started in the summer," sophomore guard Immanuel Quickley _ make that star sophomore guard Immanuel Quickley said Tuesday after scoring a career-high 30 points in UK's 69-60 win over a scrappy Texas A&M.
Calipari's club is now 23-5 overall, including 13-2 in the SEC and eighth in the latest AP Top 25. A UK win over Auburn at Rupp Arena on Saturday (3:45 p.m., CBS) clinches the league title and the No. 1 seed in the conference tournament, which begins March 12 in Nashville.
Matters become more muddled should Kentucky lose to Bruce Pearl's team, however. UK's league lead would be down to one game with two to play. By virtue of Auburn's earlier home win over the Wildcats (75-66) back on Feb. 1, the Tigers would steal the No. 1 SEC seed should they win out _ Texas A&M at home March 4; at Tennessee on March 7 _ and Kentucky lose to either Tennessee at home March 3 or at Florida on March 7.
I don't see that happening. Not the way this team is playing now. Yes, I know, the Cats turn the ball over too much. And they have the frustrating ability to keep things closer than necessary whenever there is a chance to take a lead to the next level. And they have a hard time making three-point shots at home. But, as we have pointed out before, not a single one of UK's NCAA Tournament games will be at home.
Best of all, they keep winning. The current streak stands at seven. Eleven of the last 12. In mostly possession-by-possession games, they find ways to pull things out, or put things away.
Take Tuesday night when Texas A&M had cut Kentucky's lead to 57-50 with 3:52 to play. The Wildcats had suffered three empty trips on the offensive end. The third ended with a shot clock violation. The crowd at Reed Arena where they had given away "BTHO of Kentucky" T-shirts, was into it. And then along came Quickley.
As the shot clock again closed in on zero, Quickley leaned around an Aggies defender and banked a shot off the glass and in with 2:03 left. You could almost see the air leave Texas A&M Coach Buzz Williams, his vest and shirt covered in sweat. "Kentucky is really good," he said afterward.
And when EJ Montgomery plays like he did in College Station, the Cats are even better. Kentucky's X-factor scored eight points and grabbed seven rebounds in the first half. On a night when A&M's defense limited Nick Richards to just four points and six rebounds, Montgomery finished with 10 rebounds, three assists and a blocked shot. His rebounds were split evenly with five at each end.
"EJ was outstanding today," said Calipari afterward. "That's the best I've seen EJ play in a while."
The Kentucky coach was asked how good can his team be?
"I think we're OK," he said after his facetious "four seed" comment. "We'll see."
I'm ready to see. How about you?
