Bilas: No Texas game costs UK its ‘only chance’ for at-large NCAA bid
COVID-19 might have cost Kentucky more than a high-profile game against the fifth-ranked team in the country. It might have all but closed the door on a bid to this year’s NCAA Tournament.
That’s how ESPN college basketball analyst Jay Bilas interpreted Friday’s announcement that Saturday’s game against Texas would not be played because of a positive test for the coronavirus within the UK program.
The game against Texas will not be rescheduled, Kentucky said.
“A combination of positive testing, contact tracing and subsequent quarantining of individuals within the program” caused the cancellation, UK said in a news release. The men’s basketball program will be put on a 48-hour pause.
With a 5-10 record, Kentucky’s chances of an NCAA Tournament bid rested with defeating the Longhorns, Bilas said.
“Not just make-or-break,” he said later Friday. “It was their only chance.”
To receive a bid now (without earning an automatic bid by winning the SEC Tournament if it’s played), Kentucky would first need to raise its record over .500, he said.
“Then they’d have to have some high-value targets to make up for losses they’ve had to teams that aren’t highly rated.
“It was a long shot no matter what. Losing this opportunity hurts. It’s better than playing the game and losing it. But it’s not much better.”
Bilas, who was scheduled to be part of ESPN’s announcing team assigned to the Kentucky-Texas game, echoed something Joe Lunardi wrote on Wednesday. ESPN’s bracketologist had placed UK at No. 88 in the assessment of this year’s tournament that day. That’s 20 spots away from the last available bid.
“If that game was to somehow fall into the win column, a path remains — however narrow — for Kentucky to receive positive at-large consideration,” Lunardi wrote Wednesday of Kentucky playing Texas. “It’s a high-level, non-conference win the Cats simply must have.”
Kentucky has two games against ranked opponents next week: at No. 12 Missouri on Tuesday and at home against No. 18 Tennessee four nights later. UK also plays at Tennessee on Feb. 20.
When asked if winning all three games would put Kentucky in position to receive an NCAA Tournament bid, Bilas said, “They still have to win out. I don’t see how you could lose more games. I just don’t.”
Florida, which plays at Kentucky on Feb. 27, received votes in The Associated Press Top 25 poll this week. UK has a 2-6 record against teams either ranked or receiving votes at the time of games.
“What could Kentucky hang its hat on, now?” Bilas said. “We’re basically saying, if-if-if.”
Earlier this season, Kentucky’s games against Detroit Mercy and South Carolina were postponed. UK’s game against Detroit Mercy, which features the son of UK Coach John Calipari, as one of its players, has been called off twice. Kentucky was to open Southeastern Conference play against South Carolina on Dec. 29. Positive COVID tests within both Detroit Mercy and South Carolina resulted in those games not being played.
Kentucky (5-10) hinted at those games possibly being rescheduled by saying in Friday’s news release that makeup dates had not yet been determined.
UK ticket-holders will be sent emails about how the program plans to proceed, the news release said. It added that “for games that are canceled and not rescheduled, UK Athletics will evaluate credit and refund options … at the conclusion of the season.”
The SEC Medical Guidance Task Force labels basketball, football and volleyball “high transmission risk sports.” It recommends at least a 10-day isolation period starting with the day symptoms appear for any person that tests positive for COVID-19.
Texas (11-3) has had its season interrupted by the coronavirus multiple times. Saturday will mark the fifth game that was not played as scheduled. Earlier, Texas had games against Baylor (Dec. 13), Iowa State (Jan. 20) and TCU (Jan 23) postponed.
The Longhorns’ website lists the game at Kentucky and against Texas A&M-Corpus Christi (Nov. 29) as canceled.
Texas is scheduled to play again Tuesday against No. 2 Baylor.
The state of Texas declared a highest degree of caution because of COVID-19 the day after Christmas. Coach Shaka Smart has tested positive and was not expected to accompany the team to Kentucky. Early last week, the team had only three scholarship players available for practice.
Kentucky’s next game is scheduled to be Tuesday at Missouri.
Next game
Kentucky at Missouri
9 p.m. Tuesday (ESPN or ESPN2)
This story was originally published January 29, 2021 at 4:05 PM.
