From the awkward to applause, a peek inside the Calipari house on Selection Sunday
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NCAA Selection Sunday: Brackets, analysis, predictions and more
Click below for more of the Herald-Leader’s and Kentucky.com’s coverage of Selection Sunday as brackets are revealed for the men’s and women’s NCAA basketball tournaments.
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A few minutes before the NCAA Tournament Selection Show was officially scheduled to begin, the television was on in the Calipari home, and Kentucky’s players, coaches and support staff were gathered around, watching intently.
The CBS studio crew was talking about the bracket they were getting ready to unveil, and there it came — out of that TV and into John Calipari’s living room: a Saint Peter’s reference.
There were some smirks, some shaking of heads and an overwhelming silence. Senior guard CJ Fredrick turned to one of his teammates and whispered: “Awwwkward.”
Kentucky’s head coach sat in an armchair, eyes on the television, and he didn’t even flinch.
About 40 minutes later, after three full regionals had already been revealed, the Wildcats finally heard their name. And a round of applause went up when it was announced that Kentucky would be a 6 seed, playing its first game in Greensboro, N.C. on Friday — part of the New York City Regional.
Those cheers lasted only a few moments before UK’s opening-round opponent flashed onto the bracket. Providence. Laughter ensued.
“B-Hop!” someone in the Kentucky watch party yelled above the clamor.
That was a reference to Bryce Hopkins, who went from little-used freshman at Kentucky last season to undeniable star at Providence during this one.
Saint Peter’s — the 15-seeded Cinderella that bounced UK from the NCAA Tournament a year ago — will likely be mentioned during March Madness coverage for years to come. Hopkins vs. Kentucky was and will be a talking point all the way until the final buzzer Friday night.
This tournament won’t lack for storylines. But there are always plenty surrounding UK basketball this time of year.
Following as topsy-turvy a season as the program has seen in a long while, the remainder of the Wildcats’ path has now been presented. First, a matchup with the Providence Friars (21-11, 13-7 Big East) at 7:10 p.m. Friday on CBS.
If the Cats make it past Providence, they’d face either 3-seeded Kansas State or 14-seeded Montana State in the second round. Win two in Greensboro, and it’ll be on to Madison Square Garden, where 2-seed Marquette, 7-seeded Michigan State or 10-seeded Southern Cal would be the most likely Sweet 16 opponents. The top half of that East bracket features 1-seeded Purdue, 4-seeded Tennessee and 5-seeded Duke, among others.
Get out of MSG, and the Final Four in Houston awaits. That’s a long road, however. And these Cats have already traveled one.
A month ago, it wasn’t clear that this night was even going to happen. Instead of a packed Calipari house on Selection Sunday, it could have been a near-empty one. When Kentucky lost at Georgia on Feb. 11 to drop to 16-9 on the season, many bracketologists put the Wildcats on the wrong side of the bubble. And then UK ran off four straight victories — three against fellow NCAA Tournament teams — to surge back into the conversation.
“Obviously, we heard ‘NIT, blah, blah, blah.’ But we never lost belief in ourselves. We never lost belief in the team,” Fredrick said Sunday night. “We knew that we had a stretch of games where — if we took care of business — we’d be right where we wanted to. So it’s just the same mindset going into this. … You don’t look ahead. And, right now, it’s Providence.”
The Friars started the season with a 14-3 record and early victories over Marquette and UConn — a 2 and 4 seed, respectively — before starting to stumble a bit themselves, ultimately losing four of their final five games and three straight going into the NCAA Tournament opener.
Coach Ed Cooley’s bunch is led by Hopkins, a 6-foot-7 sophomore forward from the Chicago area who’s averaging 16.1 points and 8.5 rebounds per game after playing just 6.4 minutes per game as a Wildcat last season.
Calipari spoke highly of Cooley and Hopkins after Sunday’s draw. He also spoke on the recent past of Kentucky basketball, which hasn’t won an NCAA Tournament game since 2019 and looked like it might not even make this March Madness field just a few weeks ago.
This UK team is hobbled going into the NCAA Tournament, but that’s been the case all season. The Cats are also coming off an upset loss to Vanderbilt in the league tournament, but defeats like that one are nothing new either.
“We have played well when everybody said, ‘They’re done. Stick a fork in ’em,’” Calipari said. “This is a team that, if we’re focused and we’re gritty, and we’re prepared physically and in the mindset we need to be in … you don’t know where this goes. But all I can tell you is if we’re in the right mindset and we’re ready to go, I’m coaching the team I want to coach.”
Calipari announced Sunday that he had named Jacob Toppin and Lance Ware the team’s captains heading into the tournament, noting that he doesn’t typically name captains but wanted to in this case. Ware, he said, is a veteran that teammates listen to and respect, despite the fact that he’s eighth on the squad in minutes played. Calipari has talked about Toppin’s personal growth this season, and he hasn’t been shy about how much the senior forward means to the team.
“I’m putting this on Jacob because we need him to be more,” he said. “And when he’s more, we’re pretty good. … This is going to fall on enabling them to lead each other and to hold each other accountable.”
But Calipari also knows who’s at the top in Kentucky’s program. He knows that for all of his early success in Lexington — four Final Fours and a national title in the first six seasons — there hasn’t been nearly as much of it in March as of late. The Cats haven’t been back to the Final Four since Wisconsin ended their perfect season in 2015. There were Elite Eight defeats that came down to one possession in 2017 and 2019.
And then the past three years.
In 2020, UK probably would have been a 3 seed but the NCAA Tournament was canceled due to the COVID-19 pandemic. Calipari still claims that team from three years ago could have won the national title, a line he repeated Sunday night.
“That ain’t a hundred years,” he declared. “Three.”
And then the dreadful 9-16 record amid the COVID-19 shutdown.
And then an enviable season ending with the unthinkable, a loss to 15-seeded Saint Peter’s in the first round of last year’s NCAA Tournament.
Calipari recapped that one Sunday night, too, referring to that defeat as a “first time in my career” occurrence. It was the Hall of Fame coach’s 21st NCAA Tournament, and it was actually the second time he’d been bounced in the first round. But the other opening-round loss came when his 7-seeded Memphis team lost to 10-seeded Arizona State two decades ago. That wasn’t exactly an upset for the ages. The Saint Peter’s loss still looms.
“And you know what? Hurt like hell,” Calipari said. “But you move on, and you move to the next. For me, this has gotta be a ball. Because they are gonna feed off of me. … They gotta see me (and say), ‘He is loose and ready to go.’ Because they’re gonna feed off of me. And I’m excited about it.”
His players are, too.
Fredrick is dealing with two cracked ribs, but he had plenty of smiles Sunday night. Cason Wallace and Toppin missed multiple days of practice with injuries last week. Sahvir Wheeler is still sidelined, but Calipari implied he might be able to make a return this week.
Whatever happens, whoever’s healthy, this Kentucky team has already been through a lot. These Wildcats have dealt with adversity and disappointment, and they’re still playing.
“I think that’s something that we can use as our strength,” Ware said. “Not a lot of teams can drop two games and then go on a winning streak. Or lose a tough game and then turn it around and go on a winning streak. I think that this team is resilient. And with tough times, we always seem to bounce back.”
Kentucky’s tournament opener
No. 6 seed Kentucky vs. No. 11 seed Providence
What: NCAA Tournament East Regional
When: 7:10 p.m. Friday
Where: Greensboro, N.C.
TV: CBS-27
Records: Kentucky 21-11, Providence 21-11
ABOUT PROVIDENCE
Location: Providence, R.I.
Enrollment: 4,245
Nickname: Friars
School colors: Black, White and Silver
Head coach: Ed Cooley (242-152 in 12 seasons at Providence and 334-221 in 17 seasons overall)
Conference: Big East
NCAA berth: At-large (Providence finished fifth in the Big East regular season and lost to No. 4 seed Connecticut in the quarterfinals of the conference tournament)
All-time series: Kentucky leads 3-0
Last meeting: Kentucky won 58-38 on Nov. 30, 2014, in Lexington
Common opponents with Kentucky this season: None
Notable games this season: Providence defeated NCAA Tournament teams Marquette, Connecticut and Creighton and lost to Miami (Fla.), TCU, Creighton, Marquette, Connecticut and Xavier.
This story was originally published March 12, 2023 at 9:45 PM.
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