Four real, it’s Cats vs. Cards
ATLANTA — It feels like 1978 all over again for the Kentucky basketball team. The Wildcats had the best team that season with stars such as Rick Robey, Michael Phillips, Kyle Macy and Jack Givens and marched to the national championship.
This Kentucky team, which has six potential NBA first-round picks, is under a similar amount of pressure to win it all.
The top-seeded ’Cats (36-2) cruised to an 82-70 victory over thirdseeded Baylor (30-8) Sunday to win the NCAA South Region at the Georgia Dome and earn a rematch against bitter rival Louisville on Saturday in the Final Four in New Orleans. When the ’Cats won the regular-season game with the Cardinals, 69-62, on Dec. 31 at Rupp Arena, they thought they had bragging rights for another year.
But that all changed when the Cardinals rallied to beat Florida in the West Region final Saturday in Phoenix.
This is the one nightmare Kentucky fans have had since the start of the tournament. The showdown could have as much or more significance as the 1983 game between these two teams when Louisville defeated Kentucky, 80-68, in the South Region final in Tampa.
“The drama of the game will be on the staff,” Calipari said. “I don’t have many Kentucky players on my team. They don’t know all that stuff. I’ll tell them, get off the message boards, don’t worry about Twitter and Facebook. Don’t buy into it.”
The Kentucky players sounded as if they had been prepped not to talk about Louisville. “It’s just another game,’’ freshman forward Michael Kidd-gilchrist said. “I’m going to play my game and they’re going to play their game. I am just focused on us and nobody else.’’
The Wildcats warmed up for what should be a bitter confrontation with an impressive weekend. They rang up 102 on Indiana, then set the tone against Baylor with a 16-0 run in the first half. KiddGilchrist from St. Patrick’s of Elizabeth, scored 19 points while 6-10 freshman center Anthony Davis contributed 18 points and 11 rebounds. The ’Cats constantly beat the Bears in transition, attacking the rim and getting to the line 44 times. Guard Pierre Jackson led Baylor with 21 points.
“Cal has done an unbelievable job with the youth that he’s had,’’ Baylor coach Scott Drew said. “I can tell you why Anthony Davis and Kidd-gilchrist are projected 1 and 2 in the draft after watching them play.”
This week i n the Commonwealth promises to be crazy especially with the contentious relationship between Calipari and Pitino.
“It’s fine,’’ Calipari said. “We don’t send each other Christmas cards but if I see him in public and I’m recruiting, I spend some time with him.’’
“Friends? Acquaintances?’’ one member of the media asked. “Friendly acquaintances,’’ he answered. Calipari tried to keep the game in perspective, but he knows that is not possible in this state.
“I tell our fans all the time: ‘We play them once a year and we’re not in the same league. Why do you guys get all worked up?’ And then they go crazy. Are you out of your mind? ”
It didn’t take long for Pitino to start playing mind games after he beat the Gators, saying the matchup would be “awesome for the state.
“The way I look at Kentucky and the way I look at their coaching staff, I marvel at excellence. I respect excellence. So I’ve got great respect for excellence.
“There will be people at Kentucky that will have a nervous breakdown if they lose to us,” Pitino added. “You’ve got to watch. They’ve got to put the fences up on bridges. There will be people consumed by Louisville.”
KENTUCKY 82
BAYLOR 70