38-0 Kentucky game over the top celebration winning the Elite 8 game

[FastCat42]

After watching the NBA finals and seeing the Knicks win the NBA championship. It got me thinking about how the Spurs celebrated game 7 like they won the championship and they didn’t take the Knicks seriously, everyone thought it was a forgone conclusion that the Spurs were going to beat the Knicks. The Knicks players used it as motivation.

Thinking how similar it was for the 38-0 Kentucky team and how they celebrated like they won the championship against Notre Dame in the Elite 8. I remember watching KAT almost in tears. I still to this day UK did not take Wisconsin seriously and Wisconsin was already motivated in wanted to get payback.

 

[ComebackCats98]

I think they just barely won a hard fought game against a really good Notre Dame team and we’re excited to make the final four. I think they had a ton of pressure on them with an undefeated season hanging over their head and they were probably thrilled they survived and get to go another week. I don’t think for a second the celebration was indicative of thinking they’d easily beat Wisconsin. The 2015 team had the unfortunate reality of Notre Dame, Wisconsin, Arizona and Duke all being really good teams that season. Put any of those teams or UK in the 2014 season instead and they probably win the title. That’s how good I believe those teams were

 

[ComebackCats98]

In fact Wisconsin and Kentucky played back to back in different arenas. I’d question if Kentucky even knew who they’d be playing since Wisconsin’s game ended not long before Kentucky's started

 

[MdWIldcat55]

Thinking how similar it was for the 38-0 Kentucky team and how they celebrated like they won the championship against Notre Dame in the Elite 8. I remember watching KAT almost in tears. I still to this day UK did not take Wisconsin seriously and Wisconsin was already motivated in wanted to get payback.

Literally none of that is true, in my opinion.
1. The celebration after Notre Dame win was no greater than the win over Massachusetts in 1996, and less exuberant than over Duke in 1998, or the Final Four win over Louisville in 2012. That didn't keep those teams from winning it all.

2. Didn't take Wisconsin seriously? They had played the previous year in the Final Four, and Kentucky only won by a miraculous last second shot. And Wisconsin had the Player if the Year in Frank Kaminsky, a team that included several other NBA players, and the highest rated offense in college basketball.

3. If anything, a very close win over Notre Dame should have been a wake up call that Kentucky was hardly head and shoulders abbove the other teams in the FInal Four.

4. Kentucky was a favorite in that game -- but not the overwhelming favorite people seem to think. I believe the spread was 4.5 points. There have been many, many bigger upsets than that in the NCAA tournament. That wisconsin team, as I mentioned, had one of the highest rated offenses in a few years in college basketball. Kentucky didn't need to be overconfident, or to have "over-celebrated" against Notre Dame.

5. Calipari tightened up near the end of that game, as he always did. Cal's choking was a far bigger factor than the players being overconfident after barely beating Notre Dame.

6. Finally, the 38-0 record was a bit of an illusion after Poythress was hurt. Kentucky was still very good but not really historically good. The SEC was incredibly down —no other team in the top 20 and only one -Arkansas -in the Top 40! And still Kentucky could have lost three conference games -an overtime to Ole Miss, a double OT to I think Texas A&M and Hornsby missed a buzzer shot for a win at LSU. If that team had been 36-2 going into the Wisconsin game, it’d have been seen as almost a toss-up between well-matched Top 3 teams.

 

[CELTICAT]

I said to a buddy after game 1 that Spurs slayed their dragon in OKC. We were Wisconsin’s dragon that year. The pressure of the streak, on the other hand, loomed over that entire March stretch. I thought they looked weird against Florida and Cincinnati. You could see the WVU drubbing coming, and then they basically stole it late from a good Notre dame team. That whole week leading up to Wisconsin felt off.

 

[mjj_2K]

A few things here. One is that UK fans consistently dismiss the opposition and act like any and every loss is UK coach incompetence. A classic example would be the prior season to the one in question, when UK lost to UConn in the final and that was some kind of definitive proof that John Calipari sucked, because how could you possibly lose to 7 seed UConn?

7 seed UConn that had just beaten Villanova (Jay Wright), Iowa State (Fred Hoiberg), Michigan State (Izzo), and Florida (Billy Donovan, with a 36-2 #1 overall seed).

A related thing is that UK fans act like Wisconsin 2015 was a gimme that got blown. That Wisconsin team was in its 2nd consecutive FF and a much better version of the team that had made it the year before.

I think Notre Dame, in that 2015 Elite 8 game, exposed how Cal's defensive style was vulnerable to 5 out. That UK team was historically great on defense, but I don't think Cal has had a great defense since then. And Wisconsin was uniquely equipped to play against that UK team, because they were the only team in country with similar size all over the court and because they had frontcourt guys with perimeter skills.

All of that still doesn't excuse Cal's butt puckering milk-clocking with 5:00 left in the game that led to disaster. But I don't think Wisconsin needed any extra motivation based on how UK reacted to beating someone else. If they got anything extra, it was from Notre Dame giving them ideas on how to attack UK's D.

 

[BookofMormon]

Meh - what about UConn this year pulling off the improbable against Duke and then surgically beating Illinois in the F4? If ever the let down situation - it's one of the reasons Illinois was favored.

That Spurs team simply ran into a bad matchup and a fresh team. They weren't designed to beat the Knicks, no answer for OG. The NBA is all about matchups.

Cal was never a great in-game coach.

That 2014 UConn team had a crazy good backcourt with Napier and Boatright, surrounded by really good role players. It was the epitome of you win with guards in March.

 

[Dward13]

The spurs just werent as good as they looked versus OKC. they had a lot of help in that series. And the Knicks wete the best team during the playoffs from like the 3rd game on. they clearly figured something out and the other teams couldnt adjust in time to stop them.

League even tried to help them again. Never seen a team get away with some of the **** the Spurs did in these playoffs. An elbow to the throat, targeting other teams stars with cheap, dangerous and dirty plays repeatedly and zero suspensions during the entire run. Trying to force Wemby on us as the face of the league. No thanks. Hes good and unique but he’s not a Lebron or Jordan level talent imo.

I have to agree with the others on 2015 UK. I do not think they over celebrated or were too happy about the E8 win and overlooked wisconsin. I think they just had a ton of pressure on them and it eventually got to them. Either Aaron or Andrew even said after the game while they were upset and disappointed by the lost there was also a sense of relief that it was over.

 

[UKWildcats1987]

People always seem to ignore the egregious missed shot clock violation on Wisconsin when evaluating that game. One of the worst missed calls ive seen and non UK fans agree.

 

[CGBlue1.0]

That was a DAMN GOOD ND team. That doesn't help this thread any I know, but they could have won the NC if not for WCS.

 

[Son_Of_Saul]

People always seem to ignore the egregious missed shot clock violation on Wisconsin when evaluating that game. One of the worst missed calls ive seen and non UK fans agree.

That was the difference in the game. If Wisconsin doesn't get that, it's tied with with mere seconds left, instead of UK being down two and having to foul to put themselves down four.

 

[UKWildcats1987]

That was the difference in the game. If Wisconsin doesn't get that, it's tied with with mere seconds left, instead of UK being down two and having to foul to put themselves down four.

Or maybe if they call it UK is up 2 at that point and Harrison regrow a pair and hits a 3 to put us up 5 and we are able to hang on that way. We needed one break to go our way and that call would have stemmed the tide a bit.

 

[paulcalhoun_rivals397471]

People always seem to ignore the egregious missed shot clock violation on Wisconsin when evaluating that game. One of the worst missed calls ive seen and non UK fans agree.

FT's were 22-10 as well. The rooferee may have cost us at least a couple more titles in just a few seasons.

 

[CB3UK]

I was at that Elite 8 game and didn't come away with that impression at all OP. This is a reach.

 

[FactsOrOpinions]

All I know is that was the peak UK basketball of my life at that moment. Hasn't been the same since we lost that game. I can talk about that team the way my dad talks about 96.

 

[Vek96]

I was at the game against Notre Dame. In fact I sat three rows behind the Irish bench. Uh, we ere extremely lucky to win. We caught some breaks late in that game.

 

[CB3UK]

We ere extremely lucky to win.

Exactly.

I don't think anyone there, fans or players, felt like "OMG it's all over, the title is a foregone conclusion!!!!" when that game ended. It felt like we were lucky to escape with the win and we were relieved, not arrogant and cocky like OP is implying. That's nonsense.

 

[KyWideWes]

ND picked us apart on switches and we made zero adjustments for UW who was a better version of ND.

 

[BluWildcatz]