Kentucky completes 31-0 regular season

It’s not been easy – though it’s looked mostly that way from afar – for the University of Kentucky men’s basketball team to do what it’s done this season. There have been highs, certainly, but also stretches of struggling and forgettable individual performances throughout the year. Together, however, this roster chock-full of McDonald’s All-Americans sharing minutes and baskets, has been perfect. After defeating pesky Florida 67-50 on Saturday afternoon at Rupp Arena, Kentucky is 31-0. It is the first team from a power conference to complete the regular season unbeaten since Indiana did it in 1976 – en route to winning the national championship. It would take nine more wins for the Wildcats to duplicate that feat, and that remains the ultimate goal. But perfection to this point is still worth a pause, and applause. “What they’ve done may not happen again for a long, long time,” Florida coach Billy Donovan said. “It’s important that people reflect in a real positive way what they’ve accomplished this season.It’s very, very easy to have a down game, a bad game or a poor night and someone else plays well.” “What these kids have accomplished, as young as they are, is not winning every game; it’s that they shared,” Kentucky coach John Calipari said. “In this society, instead of me, me, me – it’s us, us, us.” Against Florida on Saturday, Karl-Anthony Towns and Trey Lyles were the two who stepped, combining for 27 points, 15 rebounds and six blocks, paving the way for the win. “This is record-breaking, this is history,” Towns said. “This is an accomplishment, but it’s not over. There are no nets being cut down because we went 31-0. Nets will be cut down if we win championships.” That’s the part that comes next. First up: The SEC tournament, which begins Wednesday but won’t feature Kentucky until the quarterfinals Friday. After that, the NCAA tournament and, perhaps hoops immortality.