By: LARRY VAUGHT
Kentucky can complete a rare perfect regular season Saturday if it beats Florida to go into postseason play 31-0.
But is an unbeaten regular season an even bigger accomplishment than winning a national championship? Last year UK struggled much of the season and then peaked at tournament time and almost won the national championship.
That’s why earlier this week I asked coaches Kevin Stallings of Vanderbilt and Billy Donovan of Florida how a perfect regular season should compare to a national championship.
Stallings said an unbeaten regular season is “unbelievable” for any team.
“Teams and coaches should not be measured by national championships only,” said Stallings. “First of all, what they have done already is amazing. It’s incredibly difficult (to go unbeaten). I don’t care how good your players are. John (Calipari) says it all the time, but they do get everybody’s best shot. Nobody takes a night off against Kentucky.
“Whether they win a national championship or not, this year has been phenomenal and should be recognized as such. If they go through the regular season undefeated, that is just an incredible feat to me. Very impressive. An unbelievable job as a team and coaching staff.”
Donovan, who has coached two national championship teams, said an unbeaten regular season would be “remarkable certainly in today’s age with so much parity” in college basketball.
“There are a lot of good teams out there. To do what they have done is truly remarkable and should not be taken lightly,” Donovan said. “We live in a world that people want to discredit what happens in the regular season and put all the emphasis on the NCAA Tournament when measuring success. For a team like Kentucky that has done what it has done, that shouldn’t be the case.
Donovan said coaches understand “anything can happen” in NCAA play when it is win or go home.
“So if they go undefeated (in the regular season), that is an incredible accomplishment for a team,” Donovan said. “When you are No. 1 from start to finish (in the national polls) and are getting everybody’s best shot and know everybody is playing their best against you, they have done a great job.”
Current ESPN college basketball analyst Seth Greenberg, a former college coach, says a national championship is a greater feat than a perfect regular season.
“You play for the national championship,” Greenberg said. “I would say it (unbeaten regular season) is historic. It is extremely difficult. You are playing home, road, neutral sits, made for TV events. But there is only one national champion and that’s what you play for, especially at Kentucky.
“John has said they could lose one and be 30-1 and it is no big deal. Lose one in March or April in the tournament and the season is over, and at Kentucky you play for the tournament. I would not say they did not have a remarkable season if they don’t win the national championship. The problem is how do you measure success. At Kentucky, there’s only one way to measure because the tradition is so great and why they only hang Final Four banners.”
Still, if UK beats Florida Saturday afternoon as it is heavily favored to do after winning earlier this season at Florida, the Cats deserve to celebrate this historic feat. No, don’t cut down the nets — save that for the championship game in Indianapolis if the Cats win the natioanal title. But give the players, and fans, five or 10 minutes after the game to savor 31-0 on the court at Rupp Arena. Let Calipari praise the players and thank the “crazy” fans.
None of that should take away from the national championship quest for this team that has been chasing history since the season started and is now within one win of a historic regular season that likely won’t be duplicated any time soon — or maybe never again.