The Kentucky Wildcats largely fell out of the national consciousness following losses to Auburn and Tennessee, but head coach John Calipari's squad has been more impressive than any team in the country since, winning five of their last six games. UK won't get the top seed they're used to in the NCAA Tournament, but they are more dangerous than anyone and are capable of making another long run in March. Here are three reasons why Kentucky is the Final Four team no one is talking about right now:
3) John Calipari's greatness
Calipari's natural coaching ability often gets overlooked because of his superior recruiting prowess, but make no mistake about it - Coach Cal can "X-and-O" with the best of 'em, shown by him winning nearly 83 percent of his games since taking over the program in 2009. Yes, he has great players (and part of his job is to get those players, after all), but it's his ability to make all of those talented NBA prospects buy in to his system and play for the betterment of the team instead of for the individual.
This season is maybe his greatest coaching job yet, taking a group of fairly mismatched pieces with flaws and turning them into a well-oiled machine, winning their last five games by an average of 23 points per game.
2) Tournament dominance
Even when Kentucky doesn't look the best in the regular season (remember their 29-11 team in 2013-14?), they make deep runs in the tournament. Since Calipari took over the Wildcats in 2009, Kentucky has made the Final Four in every year but two - one of which was an Elite 8 loss to West Virginia in 2009, and the other was the NIT year in 2013.
Let that sink in for a second. That's five straight NCAA Tournament appearances resulting in Elite 8 berths, the last four of which were Final Four appearances. Calipari knows what it takes to win in the biggest games of the season, and there's no reason to think he won't have this group ready for their close-up.
1) Tyler Ulis & Jamal Murray
Say what you will about the backcourts at Villanova, Duke, Michigan State, Kansas, or Oklahoma - no team in the country has a better guard duo than Kentucky. Tyler Ulis is arguably the best point guard in the country, averaging 16.7 points and 7.0 assists per game, and has recorded at least eight assists in UK's last eight games. Murray has emerged as the team's unquestioned go-to guy on offense (19.4 ppg, 4.8 rpg) and best three-point shooter (40.3 percent), draining multiple three-pointers for 10 consecutive games.
While you can get by without it at the NBA level, backcourt play is the biggest determining factor in a team's success in the NCAA Tournament - and Kentucky has two of the best in the country. Throw in Isaiah Briscoe's contributions to this group as well, and you'll see a trio of future tournament stars that will carry the Wildcats to another Final Four.
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