The 2021 Final Four hits Kentucky basketball fans with one final worry
After the Kansas men’s basketball season ended with the Jayhawks still four wins behind Kentucky in the all-time wins race, Wildcats backers likely breathed a sigh of relief.
It seemed there was no more damage to UK’s historical standing to be done following the Wildcats’ dispiriting slog (9-16) through the 2020-21 season.
Alas, a former Kentucky player has had other ideas.
With ex-Cat Johnny Juzang leading the way, UCLA has made a stunning run from the First Four to the Final Four and now stands only two victories away from the Bruins’ 12th NCAA Tournament championship.
Suffice to say, if you are among the Kentucky backers who wish to see the Wildcats (eight NCAA titles) catch UCLA for most all-time championships, a 12th Bruins national crown is not a hospitable prospect.
For that segment of the UK fan base that has grown exasperated with John Calipari-era roster churn, watching ex-Cat Juzang light up the 2021 NCAA tourney must be frustrating.
The Los Angeles native scored 82 points at Kentucky all last season as a lightly used true freshman. In UCLA’s five NCAA Tournament games to date, the 6-foot-6 Juzang has scored 108 points.
In the rich history of UCLA basketball, only Kareem Abdul-Jabbar (then known as Lew Alcindor) has scored more points (134) in his first five NCAA tourney contests as a Bruin than Juzang.
From the long view, a 12th UCLA national title might make the Bruins unreachable for Kentucky.
Winning the men’s NCAA Tournament is hard, arguably the most difficult team championship to attain in major American sports.
Consider: With all the resources and emphasis that UK puts into men’s basketball, the Wildcats program has won four NCAA championships in the past 63 years.
From the perspective of the battle to claim the most national championships, the most consequential game in Kentucky basketball history was the 1975 NCAA championship game with UCLA.
After iconic Bruins Coach John Wooden announced the Sunday before the game that it would be his final contest on the Bruins bench, UCLA defeated Joe B. Hall’s Wildcats 92-85 to claim the Wizard of Westwood’s astounding 10th NCAA crown.
Since Wooden retired, UCLA has added only one NCAA title, won by Jim Harrick in 1995.
So if you flip the result of just the 1975 title game, the all-time NCAA titles race would presently stand UCLA 10, Kentucky 9.
In that case, the battle would be on.
For all the success Kentucky enjoyed in the first six seasons of the Calipari era (2009-2015) — highlighted by an unprecedented in UK basketball history four trips to the Final Four in five seasons plus the 2012 NCAA title — that period, in retrospect, also feels like a missed opportunity.
Think about how agonizingly close Kentucky came from 2011 through 2015 to possibly catching UCLA.
Connecticut essentially knocked UK out of two national championships.
In 2011, the Cats fell to UConn 56-55 in an NCAA Tournament national semifinal that was the de facto national title game.
The contest was decided at the foul line, where UK went 4-of-12 while Jim Calhoun’s Huskies made nine of 11 free throws. That disparity was why UConn, not UK, got to bury Butler in the 2011 NCAA Tournament finals.
Three years later, Kentucky and Connecticut met again, this time in the NCAA championship game. This time, UConn guards Shabazz Napier and Ryan Boatright controlled the game, leading Kevin Ollie’s Huskies to a 60-54 victory.
UK was again hurt by errant foul shooting, going 13-of-24 on free throws compared to Connecticut’s 10-of-10.
For Kentucky, the deepest cut of all came in the 2015 Final Four. The Cats (38-0) got to the national semifinals two wins from an undefeated NCAA championship.
The Wildcats were leading Wisconsin 60-56 late when three shot-clock violations, the culmination of an uncharacteristic period of UK offensive stagnation, led to a 71-64 Badgers victory.
Kentucky has not been back to the Final Four since.
Fact is, after North Carolina won its third NCAA title of the now-ending Roy Williams coaching era in 2017, the Tar Heels (six NCAA championships) are closer to UK in national championships than Kentucky is to UCLA.
Few people outside the immediate family of Bruins Coach Mick Cronin are likely to pick No. 11 seed UCLA (22-9) to beat mighty Gonzaga (30-0), the tournament’s No. 1 overall seed, in Saturday’s Final Four.
The bid of Mark Few’s Zags to complete the undefeated national championship that slipped away from UK in the 2015 national semifinals is expected to be the story of the 2021 Final Four.
Even if you wish well for Juzang (as you should), if you have any aspiration of Kentucky ever catching UCLA for the most national championships, you need the Bruins’ current magic-carpet ride through March Madness to be grounded.
Final Four
Saturday
5:14 p.m.: Baylor vs. Houston (CBS-27)
8:34 p.m.: Gonzaga vs. UCLA (CBS-27)
Monday
9 p.m.: Championship game (CBS-27)
