Cats may struggle to run table
Kentucky is yet another team to get tantalizing close to matching Indiana’s perfect season in 1976.
The top-ranked Wildcats (34-0) are the fourth team to enter the NCAA Tournament without a loss since the Hoosiers, under coach Bob Knight, ran the table.
There was Indiana State, led by future Hall of Famer Larry Bird, getting all the way to the 1979 championship game — where the Sycamores lost to Michigan State and fellow future Hall of Famer Magic Johnson. That year Rutgers was also unbeaten entering the tournament and the Scarlet Knights lost to Michigan in the Final Four.
In 1991, UNLV, trying to repeat as national champion, didn’t lose until Duke beat the Runnin’ Rebels in the national semifinals.
Last season, Wichita State had the unbeaten run to the tournament only to lose to Kentucky in the third round.
Kentucky Coach John Calipari showed some empathy for the Shockers after the game, a 78-76 victory.
“I feel for their team and I feel for their coach,” Calipari said. “I’m happy we won. I’m happy for our guys. And I’m disappointed, because they had a heck of a run.”
Now, the Wildcats get the chance to chase perfection and in a real twist of fate, Wichita State is in the same regional.
There are some differences from the run Hoosiers made to the title than what faces Kentucky.
First, obviously, is that the field has increased from 32 to 68 and that means it takes six victory for a seeded team to win it all. And there were no seeds in 1976, either. That process didn’t start until the 1979 tournament.
But what has to be considered the biggest obstacle to a team getting through the NCAA Tournament is the difference in the number of atlarge teams in the field.
In 1976, there were 21 automatic qualifiers and 11 at-large teams, 34 percent of the field. The at-large teams are usually the better teams from the bigger conferences who didn’t win the league tournament.
This year, there are 32 automatic qualifiers and 36 at-large teams, 53 percent of the field.