Kentucky’s tourney path not easy

OK, OK, so the Kentucky Wildcats are not in the same region as the Golden State Warriors. They won’t play Villanova in Philadelphia or reprise the UK- Duke “I Hate Laettner” matchup just for Coach K’s retirement sake.

Believe it or not, they actually announced the NCAA Men’s Basketball Tournament draw on Sunday night and John Calipari didn’t even complain.

“I’m telling our guys we’re playing in a pod this weekend,” said the UK coach, shedding his normal “us-against-the-world” post-selection script. “That’s all you worry about. Nothing else.”

Then again, maybe Cal could have a gripe or two. If the Big Dance is all about the matchups — and it is — troubling possibilities await deep inside UK’s East Region bracket, one that includes No. 1 seed and defending national champion Baylor, big and powerful No. 3 seed Purdue and No. 4 seed UCLA, a surprise Final Four club a year ago that has a shooting guard who once donned the blue and white. Name is Johnny Juzang. You remember him.

First things first, there’s the pod of which Calipari spoke. It starts Thursday in Indianapolis. Kentucky plays No. 15 seed Saint Peter’s in the first round. Maybe Calipari will dial up his old friend Rick Pitino for a scouting report. After all, Saint Peter’s won the Metro Atlantic Athletic Conference Tournament, the league in which Pitino’s Iona Gaels wore the regular-season crown.

Surviving Saint Peter’s would mean the Cats could next face Murray State. The Racers are not just another Kentucky state school. They’re not just a No. 7 seed. They’re a 30-2 team that went 20- 0 against OVC competition. Many hoop addicts were calling Matt McMahon’s club the most dangerous mid-major in the entire tournament, a team you don’t want in your draw.

If seedings hold, Kentucky would travel to Philadelphia for a matchup with Purdue. Matt Painter’s Boilermakers do not believe in brotherly love. In 7-foot-4 Zach Edney and 6-10, 255-pound Trevion Williams, the Boilers boast the bigs that could give UK’s Oscar Tshiebwe trouble. Then there is Purdue’s outrageously athletic Jaden Ivey, a matchup nightmare for any team.

Surprisingly, defense is Purdue’s weak link. Ken Pomeroy’s magic math ranks the Boilermakers No. 3 in adjusted offensive efficiency, but 100th in adjusted defense.

Still, the NCAA Tournament selection committee put nine Big Ten teams — deserving or not — in its field of 68. Purdue went 14-6 in that league and reached the title game of the conference tournament. The Boilers are a bona fide problem.

Even then, let’s say UK slips past Purdue. Baylor might await in the Elite Eight. The Bears know the way. Scott Drew’s program won the whole thing last year, defeating Gonzaga in the title game. Program, not team. Baylor has some different players this time around, but the same mentality. After all, they went 14-4 in a league that produced two No. 1 seeds. The NCAA NET rankings has Baylor at No. 4, Kentucky at No. 5. As Calipari would and will say, it’ll be a hard game.

Here’s a dirty little secret: These are all hard games. No easy ones. Not now. This is March. As in Madness. Everyone’s got it tough. Everyone has to play well. No exceptions. Kentucky included.

And the Cats know they must play better than they did in Saturday’s loss to a eventual SEC Tournament champ Tennessee. Kellan Grady accepted responsibility, saying his bad performance went beyond his 1-for-8 shooting. Jacob Toppin said the team wasn’t connected — “We need to stay mellow,” he said — when adversity hit. Calipari scheduled Monday player meetings to solidify roles.

If the defeat didn’t reveal chinks in the Cats’ armor, it did expose some vulnerabilities. Every team has them. Even the 68 lucky enough to start the road to New Orleans.

Bottom line: Kentucky isn’t in my Final Four to reach Bourbon Street — Gonzaga, Tennessee, Kansas and Baylor make my cut, with the Bulldogs finally cutting down the nets — but that doesn’t mean it can’t get there. The path is hard, but doable.