Mark Story

The same thing keeps biting Calipari’s Cats in NCAA Tournament losses

By Mark Story
One particular area has bitten the Kentucky Wildcats in most of their NCAA Tournament losses under head coach John Calipari.
One particular area has bitten the Kentucky Wildcats in most of their NCAA Tournament losses under head coach John Calipari. Alex Slitz aslitz@herald-leader.com

Fast-break points from Sister Jean for President headquarters:

21. Kentucky NCAA Tournament losses. Herald-Leader reader Mark Liptak calls our attention to a theme that runs through most UK defeats in NCAA tourney play during the John Calipari era.

20. West Virginia, 2010. In a 73-66 loss to the Mountaineers in the round of eight, Kentucky missed 13 free throws (16-of-29).

John Wall, left, and DeMarcus Cousins sat dejectedly on the bench in the final seconds as West Virginia defeated Kentucky 73-66 in the 2010 NCAA Tournament East Region finals. The Wildcats lost by seven in a game in which they missed 13 free throws (16-of-29). Wall was 4-of-8 on foul shots, Cousins 3-of-5.
John Wall, left, and DeMarcus Cousins sat dejectedly on the bench in the final seconds as West Virginia defeated Kentucky 73-66 in the 2010 NCAA Tournament East Region finals. The Wildcats lost by seven in a game in which they missed 13 free throws (16-of-29). Wall was 4-of-8 on foul shots, Cousins 3-of-5. Lexington Herald-Leader file photo



19. Connecticut, 2011. In a 56-55 loss to the Huskies in the Final Four, Kentucky missed eight free throws (4-of-12).

18. Connecticut, 2014. In a 60-54 loss to the Huskies in the NCAA finals, Kentucky missed 11 free throws (13-of-24).

Kentucky’s Dakari Johnson walked from the court after the Wildcats lost to Connecticut 60-54 in the 2014 NCAA title game. The Cats missed 11 free throws in the game (13-of-24). Johnson was 1-of-4 from the foul line in the game.
Kentucky’s Dakari Johnson walked from the court after the Wildcats lost to Connecticut 60-54 in the 2014 NCAA title game. The Cats missed 11 free throws in the game (13-of-24). Johnson was 1-of-4 from the foul line in the game. Charles Bertram cbertram@herald-leader.com



17. North Carolina, 2017. In a 75-73 loss to the Tar Heels in the round of eight, Kentucky missed seven free throws (12-of-19).

16. Kansas State, 2018. In a 61-58 loss to the Wildcats, Kentucky missed 14 free throws (23-of-37).



15. Moral of the story. From the time you pick up a basketball in junior pro as a little kid, they tell you that inability to make free throws will cost you in the most important games.

They are right.

14. Fear the purple. Both Kentucky football — which lost to Northwestern 24-23 in the Music City Bowl — and UK men’s basketball ended their seasons this school year with losses to foes nicknamed Wildcats who wear purple.

13. Sister Jean. In a season when an FBI investigation has laid bare the seamy underbelly of major college basketball corruption, my former Herald-Leader colleague Chip Cosby says 98-year-old Sister Jean Dolores Schmidt, team chaplain and good-luck charm for Cinderella Final Four entrant Loyola, is single-handedly saving college hoops.

During Loyola’s Cinderella run to the men’s NCAA Tournament Final Four, Sister Jean Dolores Schmidt, 98, the team chaplain and good-luck charm, has become a national sensation.
During Loyola’s Cinderella run to the men’s NCAA Tournament Final Four, Sister Jean Dolores Schmidt, 98, the team chaplain and good-luck charm, has become a national sensation. David Goldman Associated Press



12. Loyola’s run. Last week in Atlanta for the South Region, I asked some Loyola players — after they had beaten Nevada in the round of 16 but before they had qualified for the national semifinals — if they believed the Ramblers’ improbable march through the 2018 NCAA Tournament was being aided by an unseen hand.

11. A team of destiny? “It looks like it,” said Loyola backup sophomore guard Bruno Skokna. “We have Sister Jean on our side.”

10. Destiny’s darlings?“If we win the national championship after hitting a buzzer beater in every game, maybe they will make a Disney movie about us,” said Loyola senior guard Ben Richardson. “Until then, I’d just say we have a gritty team.”

Loyola senior guard Ben Richardson had a piece of the net in his teeth after the No. 11 seed Ramblers beat No. 9 Kansas State 78-62 in the men’s NCAA Tournament South Region finals to advance to the Final Four.
Loyola senior guard Ben Richardson had a piece of the net in his teeth after the No. 11 seed Ramblers beat No. 9 Kansas State 78-62 in the men’s NCAA Tournament South Region finals to advance to the Final Four. Curtis Compton TNS



9. Western Kentucky. Coach Rick Stansbury’s Hilltoppers will face Utah in the NIT semifinals in Madison Square Garden on Tuesday at 7 p.m. on ESPN. If Western wins and Mississippi State beats Penn State in the other semi, Stansbury would face the school where he was head coach for 14 seasons (1998-2012) in the NIT finals Thursday at 7 p.m. on ESPN2.

8. Taveion Hollingsworth. After the former Paul Laurence Dunbar star dropped 30 points on Oklahoma State in WKU’s 92-84 road win in the NIT quarterfinals last week, the freshman guard is averaging 14.7 points a game this season in six contests against power-five conference foes.

Western Kentucky guard Taveion Hollingsworth, the former Paul Laurence Dunbar star, had 30 points to lead the Hilltoppers to a 92-84 victory at Oklahoma State in the NIT quarterfinals last week.
Western Kentucky guard Taveion Hollingsworth, the former Paul Laurence Dunbar star, had 30 points to lead the Hilltoppers to a 92-84 victory at Oklahoma State in the NIT quarterfinals last week. Austin Anthony Associated Press



7. Unintended consequences. The University of Kentucky agreed to play host to NCAA women’s basketball tournament regionals in Rupp Arena for three years, 2016-18, hoping to provide Matthew Mitchell’s UK Hoops program the boost it needed to break through to a Final Four.

The University of Kentucky agreed to serve as host to women’s NCAA Tournament regionals in Rupp Arena for 2016, ’17 and this year, hoping to provide the boost UK Hoops Coach Matthew Mitchell and his program needed to make the Final Four.
The University of Kentucky agreed to serve as host to women’s NCAA Tournament regionals in Rupp Arena for 2016, ’17 and this year, hoping to provide the boost UK Hoops Coach Matthew Mitchell and his program needed to make the Final Four. Matt Goins



6. Louisville benefits. With Mitchell’s program in major rebuilding mode by 2018 after a mass player defection following the 2015-16 season, it was instead Kentucky’s archrival, U of L, that parlayed a home-state advantage in Rupp into a Final Four trip this past weekend.

5. Jeff Walz. The U of L women’s coach has now led the Cardinals to three Final Fours — 2009, 2013 and this year. He is tied with Paul Sanderford, the ex-Western Kentucky coach (1985, ’86 and ’92), for most women’s Division I Final Four trips in state of Kentucky history.

Louisville Coach Jeff Walz held up a Rupp Arena net after the Cardinals blasted Oregon State 76-43 in the women’s NCAA Tournament round of eight in Lexington to advance to the Final Four for the third time in school history.
Louisville Coach Jeff Walz held up a Rupp Arena net after the Cardinals blasted Oregon State 76-43 in the women’s NCAA Tournament round of eight in Lexington to advance to the Final Four for the third time in school history. James Crisp Associated Press



4. Fear the maroon? In the Final Four, Louisville (36-2) will face SEC regular-season champion Mississippi State (36-1). Both U of L football and men’s basketball ended their seasons this school year by losing to Mississippi State. The Bulldogs beat Bobby Petrino’s Cardinals 31-27 in the TaxSlayer Bowl and David Padgett’s Cards 79-56 in the NIT quarterfinals.

3. NCAA Tournament champions. Kentucky.com reader David Thomas of Jackson, Tenn., has noticed a theme about who wins men’s NCAA tourney titles in the calendar years that end in eight.

2. Three schools. Since the NCAA tourney began in 1939, only three schools have won national titles in “eight years” — Kentucky (1948, 1958, 1978 and 1998), UCLA (1968) and Kansas (1988, 2008).

Kansas Coach Bill Self, left, and Jayhawks star guard Devonte Graham will try this weekend to add the 2018 NCAA championship to the ones KU won in 1988 and 2008.
Kansas Coach Bill Self, left, and Jayhawks star guard Devonte Graham will try this weekend to add the 2018 NCAA championship to the ones KU won in 1988 and 2008. Rich Sugg The Kansas City Star



1. Final Four handicappers. Would be wise to note that Kansas is the only one of those “eight-year schools” still viable to win the 2018 NCAA championship.

Mark Story: 859-231-3230, @markcstory

This story was originally published March 26, 2018 at 2:18 PM with the headline "The same thing keeps biting Calipari’s Cats in NCAA Tournament losses."

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