Teague's Signing Keeps Kentucky Ahead Of Little Brother Louisville

UK's 2011 Class Looking Solid

By BEN JACKEY
One Great Season

Perched on a hillside along Interstate 64, a billboard reminds motorists what a rivalry is all about.

Adorned in Cardinal black and red, it reads "We're Miles Ahead." The fact cannot be argued. Travelling westbound from Lexington, the University of Louisville campus is situated about 50 miles ahead of where you encounter this sign. But, the jab at the University of Kentucky was unmistakable.

About 150 miles from that sign, at an Indianapolis high school, a 6-2 point guard effectively erected a figurative billboard that, clad in Kentucky blue, could read "Still Little Brother."

Marquis Teague, brother of NBA guard Jeff Teague, announced he will join what could be an epic 2011 recruiting class for Big Blue. Teague is widely viewed as the class' No. 1 point guard and No. 2 player overall. The nation's top junior, Michael Gilchrist, already has announced his commitment to be a Cat. The potential is mouth-watering. However, this blue-chipper's decision is a victory regardless of how many victories it yields on the court.

Adidas seemingly had the Louisville jersey with Teague's name on the back already in production ... two years ago. Many know the story by now: Rick Pitino coached Teague's father, Shawn, at Boston University. Pitino also hired Teague's former assistant coach, Shabaka Lands, as a "special assistant" last summer (and you still complain about Worldwide Wes). There was some debate over whether U of L's agreement to play a home-and-home with Butler was arranged with the Indianapolis product in mind.  This made it look like a done deal.

Enter Calipari. Late. Waaay late. Welcome, Marquis to Point Guard U.

Is Teague as good as advertised? Seems improbable. In fact, Courier-Journal columnist Rick Bozich pointed out some startling statistics about Teague's junior season:

+ He shot a puzzling 43 percent from the field
+ Shot 66 percent from the line
+ Averaged 16.3 points and 4.6 assists for a Pike High School team that went 15-7 and failed to win its sectional

The victory is the imagery. I can almost hear the sharp objects carving up the wrists of U of L fans.   This was a recruiting coup. And with every coup comes an ouster. Trust me, there are Cards fans already sitting on hold for sports talk shows that haven't started yet so they can be among the first to call for Pitino's head.

It's like a tall man holding a ball over his head and daring his young sibling to take it from him. You'll always be the little brother.  

Jackey is an Emmy Award-winning former television reporter and die-hard Kentucky basketball fan living in Louisville.

Latest Kentucky Recruiting Class Strong, But ...

New Group Of Wildcats
Has Big Shoes To Fill

By BEN JACKEY
One Great Season

Chicago, 2006. Bachelor Party. Thirteen of my closest friends travelled to the Windy City for a weekend of, well, whatever was allowable by law. We all came in on separate flights. Some of the guys didn't really know each other. Nobody was quite sure what to expect. It turned out to be a night I'd never forget. We saw a great band at the House of Blues. We travelled on to another bar and made fun of ugly people. Magic in a bottle. It was like this group had been together for years.

Then, there was Saturday night. We rocked out to a great 80s cover band. Then, we went to an "establishment" that didn't meet our expectations. We stood in line for an hour and never got into the next bar. Eventually, we all went our separate ways.

For the Kentucky Wildcats, the 2009-10 season was Friday night. A group of superstars (much like us) got together and created something special that just couldn't be duplicated. Big Blue Nation is still delirious with excitement from Wednesday's recruiting haul. The top prep point guard in America donned a blue UK hat over his braids. The No. 1 high school junior also committed to Kentucky for 2011-12. Including a Turkish man-child and other possible top-10 signings, Wildcat fans already are looking toward the future as if the West Virginia debacle is a distant memory. I've heard -- and used -- the term "reload" so much  in the last 24 hours that I'm about to unload my lunch. Saturday will not be Friday.

Brandon Knight is amazing. 31.9 points, 8.6 rebounds and 4 assists per game. A 4.0 GPA.

Enes Kanter is a man among boys. Did anyone catch the Nike Hoops Summit where he broke the game's scoring record held by Dirk Nowitzki?

And, some are comparing young Michael Gilchrist to Kobe Bryant.

But -- channeling Rick Pitino -- "John Wall is not walking through that door." Wall was a once-in-a-decade freshman. See also DeMarcus Cousins. We're talking about two All-Americans who were freshmen on the same team. The No. 2 point guard on the team might be the No. 2 point guard taken in the NBA Draft. The back-up center, Daniel Orton, who averaged 4 points per game, may have enough talent to go in the first round. It won't be fair, but this new class of 'Cats will be compared to last year's group as soon as 24,000 people pack Rupp Arena for a practice in October. The expectations will be as lofty as the banners which hang high from Rupp's rafters. Perspective is a four-letter word in Catland.

This Kentucky boy always has wanted to live in Chicago. It's a city with great history, great energy. And it would be great to travel to Wrigley Field routinely to watch the most annoying franchise in history fail miserably year after year after year. One day, I will get back to Chicago, but there will never be another Friday night.

Jackey is an Emmy Award-winning former television reporter and a die-hard Kentucky fan living in Louisville.

Kentucky's Latest Haul Strong, But How Strong?

By BEN JACKEY
One Great Season

Chicago, 2006. Bachelor Party. Thirteen of my closest friends travelled to the Windy City for a weekend of, well, whatever was allowable by law. We all came in on separate flights. Some of the guys didn't really know each other. Nobody was quite sure what to expect. It turned out to be a night I'd never forget. We saw a great band at the House of Blues. We travelled on to another bar and made fun of ugly people. Magic in a bottle. It was like this group had been together for years.

Then, there was Saturday night. We rocked out to a great 80s cover band. Then, we went to an "establishment" that didn't meet our expectations. We stood in line for an hour and never got into the next bar. Eventually, we all went our separate ways.

For the Kentucky Wildcats, the 2009-10 season was Friday night. A group of superstars (much like us) got together and created something special that just couldn't be duplicated. Big Blue Nation is still delirious with excitement from Wednesday's recruiting haul. The top prep point guard in America donned a blue UK hat over his braids. The No. 1 high school junior also committed to Kentucky for 2011-12. Including a Turkish man-child and other possible top-10 signings, Wildcat fans already are looking toward the future as if the West Virginia debacle is a distant memory. I've heard -- and used -- the term "reload" so much  in the last 24 hours that I'm about to unload my lunch. But Saturday will not be Friday.

Brandon Knight is amazing. 31.9 points, 8.6 rebounds and 4 assists per game. A 4.0 GPA.

Enes Kanter is a man among boys. Did anyone catch the Nike Hoops Summit where he broke the game's scoring record held by Dirk Nowitzki?

And, some are comparing young Michael Gilchrist to Kobe Bryant.

But -- channeling Rick Pitino --  "John Wall is not walking through that door." Wall was a once-in-a-decade freshman. See also DeMarcus Cousins. We're talking about two All-Americans who were freshmen from the same team. The No. 2 point guard on the team might be the No. 2 point guard taken in June's NBA Draft. The back-up center, Daniel Orton, who averaged 4 points per game, may have enough talent to go in the first round. It won't be fair, but this new class of 'Cats will be compared to last year's group as soon as 24,000 people pack Rupp Arena for a practice in October. The expectations will be as lofty as the banners which hang high from Rupp's rafters. Perspective is a four-letter word in Catland.

This Kentucky boy has always wanted to live in Chicago.  It's a city with great history, great energy. And it would be great to travel to Wrigley Field routinely to watch the most annoying franchise in history fail miserably year after year after year. One day, I will get back to Chicago, but there will never be another Friday night.

Jackey is an Emmy Award-winning former reporter and a die-hard Kentucky basketball fan living in Louisville.

Kentucky's Latest Recruiting Class Strong, But How Strong?

By BEN JACKEY
One Great Season

Chicago, 2006. Bachelor Party. Thirteen of my closest friends travelled to the Windy City for a weekend of, well, whatever was allowable by law. We all came in on separate flights. Some of the guys didn't really know each other. Nobody was quite sure what to expect. It turned out to be a night I'd never forget. We saw a great band at the House of Blues. We travelled on to another bar and made fun of ugly people. Magic in a bottle. It was like this group had been together for years.

Then, there was Saturday night. We rocked out to a great 80s cover band. Then, we went to an "establishment" that didn't meet our expectations. We stood in line for an hour and never got into the next bar. Eventually, we all went our separate ways.

For the Kentucky Wildcats, the 2009-10 season was Friday night. A group of superstars (much like us) got together and created something special that just couldn't be duplicated. Big Blue Nation is still delirious with excitement from Wednesday's recruiting haul. The top prep point guard in America donned a blue UK hat over his braids. The No. 1 high school junior also committed to Kentucky for 2011-12. Including a Turkish man-child and other possible top-10 signings, Wildcat fans already are looking toward the future as if the West Virginia debacle is a distant memory. I've heard -- and used -- the term "reload" so much  in the last 24 hours that I'm about to unload my lunch. Saturday will not be Friday.

Brandon Knight is amazing. 31.9 points, 8.6 rebounds and 4 assists per game. A 4.0 GPA.

Enes Kanter is a man among boys. Did anyone catch the Nike Hoops Summit where he broke the game's scoring record held by Dirk Nowitzki?

And, some are comparing young Michael Gilchrist to Kobe Bryant.

But -- channeling Rick Pitino -- "John Wall is not walking through that door." Wall was a once-in-a-decade freshman. See also DeMarcus Cousins. We're talking about two All-Americans who were freshmen on the same team. The No. 2 point guard on the team might be the No. 2 point guard taken in the NBA Draft. The back-up center, Daniel Orton, who averaged 4 points per game, may have enough talent to go in the first round. It won't be fair, but this new class of 'Cats will be compared to last year's group as soon as 24,000 people pack Rupp Arena for a practice in October. The expectations will be as lofty as the banners which hang high from Rupp's rafters. Perspective is a four-letter word in Catland.

This Kentucky boy always has wanted to live in Chicago. It's a city with great history, great energy. And it would be great to travel to Wrigley Field routinely to watch the most annoying franchise in history fail miserably year after year after year. One day, I will get back to Chicago, but there will never be another Friday night.

Jackey is an Emmy Award-winning former television reporter and a die-hard Kentucky fan living in Louisville.

Resurrected Program Is Big Blue's Silver Lining

By BEN JACKEY
Special To One Great Season

I expected nothing less. The final whistle blew and the cat calls and claps reached a crescendo. I’d taken numerous jabs from complete strangers for most of the night in multiple Indianapolis drinking establishments as my beloved Wildcats' remarkable season came to an inauspicious end. I heard a female voice I couldn't visually link with a face exclaim, "I don't care who wins, as long as it's not Kentucky." The statement was followed by a high-five that reverberated throughout the hollows of my soul.

More than 600 miles away in a Syracuse locker room, Ramon Harris refused to remove his Kentucky jersey. The senior forward's eyes were red. It was the last time the Alaska native would wear the blue and white tank top that so many little boys from Pikeville to Paducah dream of donning.

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EXTRA: Complete NCAA Tournament Coverage

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I expected nothing less from the rarely used player who, by many Big Blue faithful estimations, was not the caliber of athlete we'd expect to see in Kentucky blue. What I didn't expect was that every eye (from all accounts) was red at some point Saturday night. That includes the eyes of the young men who will voluntarily never wear a UK uniform again.

Say what you want about DeMarcus Cousins' maturity. He still gets it. Say what you want about one-and-done players like John Wall. He gets it. No one would question that Patrick Patterson gets it. They all get what Billy Clyde Gillispie did not, that there's a responsibility that comes with bearing those eight letters across your chest on a basketball court. Players told reporters they let their "brothers" down. Several also apologized for letting the fans down. 

They did not.

When many eyes finally dried in homes and bars across the Commonwealth, perspective slowly crept into the collective conscience. The fact that Wall, Eric Bledose, Darnell Dodson and others could not hit the broadside of a rural Perry County barn doesn't matter. We will neatly put aside the fact that Bobby Huggins and West Virginia took apart UK's much-vaunted defense. Few will remember that, for the first time, John Calipari's kids showed their youth. There, I said it. Because what one awful night cannot take away is what this team has done for Kentucky basketball:

+ 35-3
+ SEC champs again
+ Relevant again
+ Feared again

In 1992, after the entire state went into mourning following Christian Laettner's figurative stomp on our chests, perspective was gained. John Pelphrey, Deron Feldhaus, Richie Farmer and Sean Woods became "The Unforgettables." Four young men put aside personal goals and stayed at a program that was at its lowest point. This year, Wall, Cousins, Bledsoe and Patterson put aside ego for something greater than themselves. They resurrected a program out of the ashes. I'm sure someone will come up with a name for this fab four. They were truly unforgettable.

Shortly before 9 p.m. on Saturday, I received a text from a friend of mine. He's a Kansas fan. "Go Big Blue Nation," it read, dripping with sarcasm. The haters are back. I expected nothing less.

Jackey is a die-hard Kentucky fan who lives in Louisville and is now eagerly awaiting the World Cup.

Outclassed: Kentucky Schools Cornell In Sweet 16

By BEN JACKEY
Special To One Great Season

When I was in second grade, our math teacher challenged us to a real brain-teaser. Is 999 greater than 1,111, she asked? To a child just learning the values of numbers, it seemed plausible to me that because the 9s were bigger, then yes, 999 was greater. I proudly raised my hand with all the other ill-informed children sharing the same opinion and was crushed when the other kids were awarded Jolly Ranchers. One of my fellow morons stood up and in a whiny voice protested, "If you add it all up, 999 is greater!" That made absolutely no sense. We were dumb. We were wrong.

The same misguided principles apply to all the people who were living in the drunken acid trip that was the Cornell Kool-Aid. I'm looking at you, Northeast sportswriters. I'm looking at you, Jay Bilas. I'm looking at you, certain contributors to onegreatseason.com. That must’ve been some powerful s***.

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NCAA TOURNAMENT COVERAGE + TWITTER RECAP: Who Said What About Epic Kansas State-Xavier Game?
+ READER PARTICIPATION: Share Your Hoops Haiku
+ TV CRITIC: March Adness: Cheers To Dos Equis
+ TOURNAMENT TAKEAWAYS: What The First Weekend Taught Us
+ KANSAS COLLAPSE: Jayhawks Fans Left Speechless, Except This One
+ TOURNAMENT TAKEAWAYS: What Day 2 Taught Us
+ TOURNAMENT TAKEAWAYS: What Day 1 Taught Us
+ RECIPE: 7 Ingredients For A National Championship
+ MARCH MADNESS: Tourney No Longer Leads To April Sadness
+ COUNTDOWN: The Top 10 Title Games Since 1979
+ LIST: The Top 10 Analysts In College Basketball
+ LIST: The Top 10 Play-By-Play Men In College Basketball

---

Maybe it's the journalist in me, but I'm a big fan of facts. 

+ Fact: Cornell stacked up gaudy numbers against bad competition. Its lowest three-point percentages of the season came against Kansas and Syracuse. What's amazing to me is that every UK detractor pointed to its weak schedule as a reason the Wildcats eventually would falter. Yet, they chose to ignore this against the great white, Big Red hope.

+ Fact: Kentucky is one of the best defensive teams in the country. UK is long. UK is quick.

+ Fact: Kentucky is clearly the better team. 

Yet, the "experts" turned a blind eye to this. Not just sophomoric bloggers and their mindless followers, but real analysts and columnists at major media outlets in many parts of the country.  It was portrayed as "good vs. evil." The great white crusaders standing up for all that is right against the dark knights and that Kentucky swagger. Plus, it was perpetuated by folklore. There's the great story about UK players two years ago calling Cornell a “high school team” during the NCAA Tournament. Really? An 11th-seeded Kentucky team that barely made the tournament and lost in the first round was so arrogant about its 13-loss season that it mocked Cornell? And made sure to say it loudly enough for fans to hear? In the news business we used to say, "Never let the facts get in the way of a good story."

Then, the irony: A friend told me, "You’d better rethink your arrogant take on Cornell." I found that ironic considering all the condescending elitist attacks the entire state of Kentucky endured over the last four days. I get it. John Wall cannot solve a Rubix cube in three minutes. I get it. Cornell kids are smart. I get it, Dan Shaughnessy, some Kentucky fans can't spell. But, as DeMarcus Cousins said with his Alabama twang, "It's not a spelling bee."

Ryan Wittman, Jeff Foote and Chris Wroblewski may score a 9 out of 10 on a pop quiz, but three 9s aren’t greater than the Cats' four 1s in Wall, Cousins, Eric Bledsoe and Patrick Patterson. Consider yourself schooled by a graduate of the Kentucky edyoucashun system. Class dismissed.

Jackey is a die-hard Kentucky fan living in Louisville.

Any Given Thursday: Cornell Aims For Hollywood Ending

By SARAH SPAIN
Special To One Great Season

Thursday night when Cornell takes on Kentucky in the Sweet Sixteen of the NCAA Tournament, Hollywood better be watching.

Forget "Hoosiers," the tale of the Big Red taking on Big Blue has enough intrigue to make Oliver Stone commission the screenplay for "Any Given Thursday." Just look at the way the villain and underdog roles are already fleshed out.

A team that's won seven NCAA Championships and a team that’s only appeared in seven NCAA Tournament games. A bunch of "one-and-done" freshmen taking on a group of "one last run" seniors. A coach who's worked his way around the rules against a coach who's worked his way up the ranks. Kids playing for the scholarship money and a chance at the NBA and kids playing for the love of the game and a chance to take a break from studying.

The screenwriter won't need to create new characters, either; these Cornell heroes already boast dramatic Hollywood story lines.

There's sharp-shooter Ryan Wittman, son of former NCAA champion, NBA player and coach, Randy Wittman. With a little artist's license, Wittman's relationship with his dad could easily be played out as a "Varsity Blues" situation. "I don’t want ... your life." But some analysts already are giving Wittman a chance at just that; they think he could follow in dad's footsteps and play pro ball after graduation.

There's Mark Coury, who started 29 games at Kentucky before transferring to Cornell, where he's happy to come off the bench. With a little luck, Coury has a score to settle with a former teammate who gave him one too many swirlies in the locker room back in Lexington. Perhaps even better, the 6-9 forward, who will intern at Goldman Sachs this summer, might recognize a play from his days at UK and make the game-winning steal.

In every great sports movie, there's of course the late addition to the squad; maybe it's the team manager who reveals a cannon for an arm, a superstar from the girls' team who helps the boys win it all, or, as in the case of Jeff Foote, a transfer with all the right moves. Back in 2006, Jeff's mom Wanda, a nurse in Elmira, N.Y., treated an injured Cornell player and struck up a conversation with Coach Steve Donahue about her seven-foot tall son, playing ball at nearby St. Bonaventure. It wasn't long before Foote made the move to Cornell, giving the Big Red a key weapon in the paint to offset their deadly three-point shooting.

If "Any Given Thursday" is like your average sports flick, at some point the big, intimidating Kentucky team has to walk by the smaller, less flashy Cornell squad and hurl insults at them. Oh wait, that's already happened.

Two years ago UK and Cornell played in the same region of the tournament and a Wildcat said audibly of the Big Red team as the Wildcats passed by, "They look like a high school team." Throw that quote up on the bulletin board, have the boys slap it on their way out of the locker room before every game and you've got yourself another time-honored movie cliché.

The stage is set, the film is cast, now the only thing left to figure out is, how will it end?

Spain is a writer, reporter, TV host, die-hard Chicago sports fan and, if you can't tell, a Cornell grad. Follow her on Twitter @sarahspain.

Bracket Breakdown: Forecasting The Sweet 16 And Elite 8

By JOHN P. WISE
One Great Season

Surprises abound in the Sweet 16, and not all of them are pleasant.

Two days after Michigan State lost star point guard Kalin Lucas for the remainder of the tournament, West Virginia learned Tuesday that its own floor general, Truck Bryant, has a broken foot and also will be unable the rest of the way. I think Lucas' absence hurts the Spartans more than Bryant's hurts WVU.

But getting back to surprises, Cornell and Northern Iowa are hogging all the headlines. Let us not forget, however, about Omar Samhan and St. Mary's. Sure more unpredictable outcomes are on tap; about the only thing that won't surprise us this weekend will be that Miller Lite will show us the ad with Buster the dumb dog 15 times. Here's a preview:

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NCAA TOURNAMENT COVERAGE + WEST REGION: Xavier Fans Love Unheralded Senior Forward
+ EAST REGION: Cornell Cute, But Big Red Will Be Feeling Blue
+ TV CRITIC: March Adness: Cheers To Dos Equis
+ TOURNAMENT TAKEAWAYS: What The First Weekend Taught Us
+ KANSAS COLLAPSE: Jayhawks Fans Left Speechless, Except This One
+ TOURNAMENT TAKEAWAYS: What Day 2 Taught Us
+ TOURNAMENT TAKEAWAYS: What Day 1 Taught Us
+ RECIPE: 7 Ingredients For A National Championship
+ MARCH MADNESS: Tourney No Longer Leads To April Sadness
+ COUNTDOWN: The Top 10 Title Games Since 1979
+ LIST: The Top 10 Analysts In College Basketball
+ LIST: The Top 10 Play-By-Play Men In College Basketball

---

+ EAST -- Everybody wants to pick Cornell over Kentucky because a) if the Big Red does pull off the grand upset, they can say, "I predicted it. I'm really smart," and b) when UK wins, no one will really remember the idiots who picked Cornell. You've got brains vs. talent, experience vs. inexperience and discipline vs. the playground. Kentucky's youngsters haven't been bothered by the pressure of the single-elimination, high-stakes event. Cornell is good but Kentucky is better. UK wins and then slices past a West Virginia team that won't necessarily be troubled by Bryant's absence. The Mountaineers' real woes come from their inability to shoot the basketball, a large problem if they hope to beat a Kentucky team that averaged 95 points in its first two tournament games. UK advances to Indianapolis after a physical regional final.

+ SOUTH -- Purdue's grit has been impressive, but Duke is too versatile for the Boilermakers. The Devils are difficult to guard on the perimeter, and they're balanced on the blocks. Slow them down, speed them up, they can play either style and they can defend just as well. Duke beats Purdue and then meets Baylor, an easy winner over St. Mary's, in the regional final. The Baylor-St. Mary's game will be an excellent one, but the Bears will have a little too much firepower, even for Samhan and company. The Duke-Baylor final shall be a dandy, but the basketball gods gave Mike Krzyzewski a dangerous and balanced team this year, as well as a comfortable path to Indianapolis. Of course Duke will advance to meet Kentucky once again when the stakes are high.

+ WEST -- Syracuse, Syracuse, Syracuse. No offense to Kansas State or the Big 12, but the Orange are playing lights out and  I don't believe Arinze Onuaku's return will disrupt any rhythm Jim Boeheim's bunch found in its first two tournament games. And those were some games, eh? The Orange won each time by more than 20 points, including a surprisingly easy blowout of Gonzaga in round two. Syracuse breezes by Butler and will take a large load of confidence into the regional final against KSU. I'm still not fully convinced about Frank Martin. His glare and his overall freakish nature are well documented, and I get the connection he has with his players. But the Elite Eight is the big kid's table, and Boeheim has sat here before. Many times. And Kansas State might be a little beaten up after a nasty regional semifinal against Xavier. KSU will barely beat the Muskies in a knock-down, drag-out brawl. I can't wait to watch that game. But Syracuse advances from the West.
 
+ MIDWEST -- Northern Iowa proves it's not a one-trick pony with a defeat of a battered Michigan State team. I don't think it will require a gimmick or a heroic late shot, either. The Panthers followed up their defeat of UNLV by staying focused enough to beat top overall seed Kansas in the tournament's biggest upset so far. UNI really controlled that game from start to finish, and although it got sloppy late, it had just enough in the tank and will do the same against the tournament savvy Tom Izzo and his proud Spartans. Ohio State worries me some. Many think the Buckeyes are a lock to come out of the Midwest, but Evan Turner could struggle against Tennessee in a regional semifinal. The Vols will throw some athleticism his way, and since he's not a natural point guard, ET might struggle again with turnover problems. Perimeter assassin Jon Diebler will once again need to hit six or seven threes to keep UT's defense away from Turner some. I think Diebler will do it, and OSU will get a stronger fight in this round than against UNI in the regional final. Ohio State advances to face Syracuse in the Final Four.

Cornell Is Cute, But Big Red No Match For Big Blue

By BEN JACKEY
Special To One Great Season

I've always thought there would only be one instance in which I would turn to Flavor Flav for clarity. If for some reason I was running late to an appointment and my cell phone battery was dead and I forgot my watch at home, I’m pretty sure that, judging by the comically large timepiece adorning his neck/chest/lower abdomen, he could tell me what time it is. Well, amazingly, I turn to Flav on another subject –- Cornell basketball. Flavor’s words of widsom? Don’t believe the hype!

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It's funny to me how when America latches onto a Cinderella, it seems to forget the carriage that got her to the dance was a frickin' pumpkin. That glass slipper is really a cheap pump from Payless made by Wizards of Waverly Place (look it up) and assembled with inferior materials. Apparently, at this ball, the punch is Jonestown Kool-Aid, and we all know how that ended. Yeeah Boy!

Whenever anyone talks about Cornell, all uneducated basketball fans immediately point to its January trip to Kansas. Yes, that game was close. Yes, a mid-major held its own against the nation's best. Yes, to the other "Greatest" Ali, Kansas was beatable. This is the same Cornell that lost to Seton Hall, was pounded by Penn and squeaked by Princeton twice before beating up on a quality Temple team and an atrocious Wisconsin team so far in the NCAA Tournament. 

The pundits, novices and idiots (sometimes one in the same) have the axles wobbling on the Big Red bandwagon partly because it's being driven by a pasty-white, Ivy League, feel-good story. Plus, now the Big Red gets the chance to face Public Enemy No. 1: Kentucky. The minute they see me, fear me.

Cornell is to Kentucky what Mike and Mike are to good radio. Kentucky is just not likable outside the Commonwealth. Cue ignorant comments now:

+ John Calipari is a cheater. His two vacated Final Four appearances were due to Marcus Camby getting an agent and the NCAA Clearinghouse's botching of the Derrick Rose situation.
+ DeMarcus Cousins is a thug. How quickly we forget Chas MacFarland's attempt to behead him and Melvin Goins' attempt to de-ball him. 
+ Kentucky fans are obsessive, obnoxious and lack class. OK, I have nothing to rebut that.

Ryan Wittman is tough and Cornell is very disciplined. The Big Red screens like crazy and they can shoot the lights out. They are a very good basketball team, but they are not Kentucky. Leave it to Flav to be the voice of reason.

Ben Jackey is a die-hard Kentucky fan living in Louisville.

No. 3: Kentucky vs. Arizona, 1997

Each Monday until the national championship is played in Indianapolis on April 5, One Great Season will count down the Top 10 National Championship games since 1979, when Larry Bird and Magic Johnson squared off in Salt Lake City. Today's No. 3 is the 1997 overtime thriller between Kentucky and Arizona in Indianapolis.

By JOHN P. WISE
One Great Season

Living in Cincinnati in the 1990s, I found it easy to dislike Kentucky fans. Rick Pitino had the Wildcats on top of the college basketball world year after year it seemed.

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COUNTING DOWN THE TOP GAMES + No. 4: Syracuse vs. Indiana, 1987
+ No. 5: Kansas vs. Memphis, 2008
+ No. 6: Michigan vs. Seton Hall, 1989
+ No. 7: Syracuse vs. Kansas, 2003
+ No. 8: Georgetown vs. North Carolina, 1982
+ No. 9: Duke vs. Connecticut, 1999
+ No. 10: Indiana State vs. Michigan State, 1979

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UK fans have long been regarded as some of the most obnoxious in college sports. Sure they support their team like no other fan base, but while a game takes typically two hours to play, the boasting is around the clock all year long.

So it wasn't difficult to enjoy watching Lute Olsen get that March monkey off his back by coaching Arizona to the national championship in 1997 at the expense of Big Blue. The championship game in Indianapolis was loaded with talent; Arizona had Miles Simon, Mike Bibby and Jason Terry, while Kentucky rolled people all season long with Ron Mercer, Scott Padgett, Anthony Epps and a deep bench that accounted for 30 points in the title game.

Epps made a three-pointer late in regulation to send the game into overtime, but once Arizona earned a slight margin, it held on by making free throws. In fact, all 10 of Arizona's points in the extra session came from the stripe, including Simon's four in the final 41 seconds to seal the 84-79 victory. Simon finished with 30 points in the final en route to being named the Final Four's Most Outstanding Player.

It was an impressive March for Arizona, which became the first team to beat three No. 1 seeds in a tournament. Had the Catfight not gone Arizona's way, Kentucky might have been the first team to have won three straight titles since the UCLA dynasty of the 1960s and 70s. Pitino guided the Wildcats to the 1996 national championship and Tubby Smith led UK to the crown in 1998.

Tournament Takeaways: What The First Weekend Taught Us

By JOHN P. WISE
One Great Season

One of the best opening weekends in recent NCAA Tournament history drew to a close shortly before 8 p.m. ET Sunday, and if you're anything like me, you've already begun counting down every tenth of a second for Thursday's Sweet 16 round to get here.

What did the first two rounds show us? Besides the fact that I can't fill out a bracket with even the slightest bit of success, plenty:

+ No one is invincible. Kansas, not just a No. 1 seed, but the tournament's top overall seed and heavy favorite to win its second national championship in three years, learned that the hard way. The Jayhawks had a star or a budding star at every spot on the floor, but they might not have taken seriously enough the one thing Northern Iowa seemed to have more of: heart.

+ The Big Ten is back. Isn't that what we said in the first week of January, after the college football bowl season? It is, and the same is true on the hardwood. With No. 1 Kansas and No. 3 Georgetown out of the way, Ohio State is the logical pick to rule the Midwest, though it might need to knock off league foe Michigan State -- gimpy guards and all -- in the Elite Eight. And not enough can be said about Purdue's gutsy overtime defeat of Texas A&M, making the Big Ten the only conference to send three teams into the next round. Gritty Chris Kramer doesn't want his career to end just yet. The Purdue senior is straight ballin'.

+ Cornell is legitimate. So is Xavier. Those are two fine basketball teams. That Cornell-Kentucky matchup will be one of the most interesting Sweet 16 games in recent memory. And the Muskies are no longer a precious little mid-major. The Muskies can beat anybody. I loved that rookie coach and hometown fave Chris Mack jabbed a Minneapolis writer after XU took it to the Golden Gophers Friday.

+ Despite the Big Ten props, I do agree with most analysts -- Len Elmore and Seth Davis, in particular -- who say the best-conference debate is a waste of time. Conferences aren't playing conferences. Individual teams are playing other teams in high-pressure, single-elimination games where personnel matchups are critical. That said, what up with the Big East?

+ Looking ahead, if Kentucky and West Virginia win their third-round games in the East, they'd meet in what would no doubt be the best regional final of the tournament. If those teams do make the Elite Eight, that could very well be a de facto national championship game.

+ On the TV front, CBS once again did an outstanding job showing 48 games over 80 hours, and switching to late-game situations. One complaint I did hear came from a colleague in the Bay Area who was disappointed to have to watch the last minute of Sunday's Duke-Cal yawner instead of being switched to the thrilling Xavier-Pittsburgh and Purdue-Texas A&M finishes that unfolded simultaneously at other locations. But overall, I thought CBS got it right again and I hope The Eye continues to broadcast America's greatest sporting event for as long as I'm alive.

+ The Miller Lite commercials are still awful, the Capital One viking ads have never once been funny, the new Dos Equis spots are just as strong as last year's successes, the girl in the Palm commercial is beautiful, Rhys Darby has already jumped the shark with those bad HP ads and Southwest Airlines appears poised to annoy us with their shirt-lifting baggage handlers for two more weeks. More on that from OGS contributor Steve Susi soon.

Why Kentucky Will Win The NCAA Championship

By BEN JACKEY
Special to One Great Season

Two horses have been stablemates for years. Every time the two hit the track, the younger horse beat the older, more experienced horse. One day, as the older horse neared his inevitable fate as pet food or glue, a dog wandered up to the young horse and asked, "Why don’t you just let the old guy win one?" The young horse responded, "Would you look at that? It's a talking dog."

Experience is great when it comes to brain surgery, base jumping and intimacy. When it comes to putting synthetic laminated rubber in a hoop, however, it means squat. If it did, Chuck Barkley would still be throwing down dunks instead of Burrito Supremes.   Talent > experience. Kentucky Wildcats  > the field.

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NCAA TOURNAMENT COVERAGE + MYTH MADNESS: 3 Tournament Trends To Ignore This Year
+ FREE ADVICE: Here's How To Win Your NCAA Office Pool
+ QUOTEBOOK: Selection Chairman Dan Guerrero Explains Himself
+ NCAA TOURNAMENT: First-Round Pairings Announced
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+ LIST: The Top 10 Analysts In College Basketball
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The same analogies could apply even to Kentucky’s coach, who's certainly no Tom Izzo on the chalkboard. I once heard John Calipari say, "We don’t have scouting reports. We don’t worry about what other teams do."  Pause for astonished silence.

That guy's won 32 games this season and something like 100 in the past three seasons. Wisdom and knowledge appear to be as overrated as Big Ten sports.

John Wall might be the most talented point guard ever to wear a collegiate uniform. More importantly, he might be as clutch as any player to wear a collegiate uniform. DeMarcus Cousins is as talented as he is immature. Patrick Patterson is as talented as he is mature. No one can match Kentucky when it comes to raw ability.

However, even the most obnoxious (yes, there are varying degrees) UK fan donning blue tinsel hair while playing hooky from the unemployment office and wearing a matching off-brand UK2K shirt with their spouse would admit Championship No. 8 will not be an easy task. The Cats' success will largely depend on the answers they get from their fifth "starter." Can Darius Miller score seven or eight points? Can Darnell Dodson make three or four threes to keep a defense honest?

Also, consider that Kentucky's second-round opponent could be the most talented team the Cats will have played all year thanks to an incredibly soft schedule. If that team is Texas, in nearby New Orleans, it could prove to be a stiff test. Playing quality opposition is, perhaps, the one place where experience would help these youthful Cats.

On the first Saturday in May in Kentucky, we crown the most talented young colt. But on the first Monday in April, just up the road in Indiana, we will crown a group of young thoroughbreds. Then we will take that talking dog behind the barn and shut him up Old Yeller-style.

Ben Jackey is a die-hard Kentucky fan who lives in Louisville.

Wednesday Hoops Notebook: DeMarcus Cousins, A Trendsetter?

By JOHN P. WISE
One Great Season

If you weren't fortunate enough to be in the fine city of Starkville, Miss., Tuesday night, I hope you were at least able to watch on television the Mississippi State Bulldogs take No. 2 Kentucky to overtime before letting the Wildcats escape with the win.

And as if the pain of losing a nailbiter wasn't difficult enough, MSU suffered some national-television embarrassment after fans, already jacked about having UK star DeMarcus Cousins' cell-phone number, threw drinks on to the floor late in the game.

The bebubbled home team enjoyed a seven-point lead with less than three minutes left, but Kentucky scored the final seven points of regulation to tie the game, 67-67.

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After a Mississippi State timeout during which coach Rick Stansbury drew up a play that clearly didn't get run, Barry Stewart launched what Scott Van Pelt described on the "SportsCenter" that followed the game as "a contested double-pump that misses everything but the floor." It really was ugly.

Kentucky would call back-to-back-to-back 30-second timeouts, but they weren't enough to produce a game-winning play.

It was an easy call at that point to think the visitors would survive. First of all, they're better, and secondly, MSU was playing without its top interior player, Jarvis Varnado, who fouled out late in regulation.

It wasn't just the obnoxious student section that thought ill of a few late calls or no-calls by the officials, but the Bulldogs themselves deserve the blame for this loss. Poor shot selection on at least a pair of possessions in the last five minutes didn't help the home team's effort to protect that seven-point cushion. MSU lost this game, as well as a huge chance for a resume win.

Outside of their season finale at home against No. 18 Tennessee, the Bulldogs (18-8, 6-5 SEC) play an easy remaining schedule against four SEC foes with a combined league record of 12-30. They might want to win those games. Losing one of them will do far more harm than the good that would come with winning all four of them.

TREND WATCH: Cousins, who's earned a reputation in his freshman season as a great player with a bad attitude, had his number plastered all over the MSU student community the last couple of days. Trash-talking phone calls and text messages didn't seem to bother him, though, as he finished with 19 points and 14 rebounds in 30 minutes.

After a first-half dunk, Cousins turned toward the seats as he began to run back down the court, lifted his hand to his head and made a kind of "call me" gesture that I think just might become a new trend among the drama-craving athletes.

BIG TEN BRAWL: Purdue visits Ohio State Wednesday night and while you all know I'm an Ohio guy, an informed opinion and not home-state bias is what leads me to believe the Buckeyes will win this one. I'm not as confident about OSU's chances at Michigan State Sunday, but I think the Bucks keep pace with those Spartans with a win over the Boilermakers.

Ohio State is unbeaten in Columbus this year and hasn't lost at home to Purdue in 12 years. I don't know if there's a team -- particularly a starting five -- that's playing better than OSU is right now, and it would be irresponsible not to mention that Evan Turner might be the best player in the country.

Purdue is solid and it still might eventually earn a No. 2 seed next month, but as long as the Buckeyes are playing this way, a Michigan State team in East Lansing seems the only threat to derail OSU's current hot trend.

CINCINNATI UPDATE: ESPN's Andy Katz Tweeted Tuesday night that UC's loss at South Florida won't cause too much harm to the Bearcats' NCAA chances.

Perhaps he's of the logic that Cincinnati's closing schedule of West Virginia, Villanova and Georgetown offers ample opportunities for resume wins. True as it may be, but if Cincinnati can't beat South Florida -- or Seton Hall or St. John's -- I can't imagine it can win two of those other three, let alone all of them, against Big East powers currently ranked among the top 10 in the country.

The Bearcats are headed to the NIT. Still.

Basketball Notebook: College, Pro Tidbits

By JOHN P. WISE
One Great Season

Flipping the channels around last night, I noticed a few things about the great game of basketball:

+ If Georgetown is the 11th-best team in the country, I don't think college basketball is very good this year. The more I think about rankings, the more worthless I think they are. Not because I think the ranking of a particular team is way out of line, but because there always seems to be a disconnect between the top tier of teams and everyone else. Sometimes that top tier can be six or eight teams, but this year, I think the cut-off separates just Texas, Kentucky and Kansas from everybody else. One of these three teams will win the national championship.

+ I like what Bruce Pearl continues to do at Tennessee, but for some reason I just haven't accepted the Vols as a serious threat in the national landscape. Sure they're an SEC power, and that league is better this year than last, but I just don't think they're there yet. UT is no better than a Sweet 16 team come March.

+ Gonzaga finally appears to have developed a nasty streak. I watched some of the Zags' game against a good Saint Mary's team, and as expected, Matt Bouldin had a nice night with 22 points. But although freshmen are a hot topic this year, one youngster not getting much hype is Elias Harris, who had 31 points and 13 rebounds. But overall, Gonzaga killed St. Mary's on the boards and played with a physical edge not typically seen from Mark Few's bunch or many west-coast teams in general.

+ On to the NBA, where the Jazz and Cavaliers played the best fourth quarter I've seen in a long time. Utah's 21-2 run gave the home team a 12-point lead, but Lebron James answered by scoring 18 of Cleveland's next 20 points, ultimately leading a 25-7 run that he punctuated with a pair of long-rang threes and a pair of foul shots. Cleveland led, 91-85 with 32 seconds left. But Utah clawed back and won at the buzzer with a three-pointer from Sundiata Gaines, a Queens, N.Y., native signed from the D-League last week, making just his fifth NBA appearance. The game-winning shot was his first NBA three-pointer. The Jazz scored 12 points in the final 32 seconds, a rate of 270 points per quarter.

College Basketball Notebook: Tar Heels In Trouble

By JOHN P. WISE
One Great Season

With exactly two months left until Selection Sunday, it's about time I start posting on college basketball.

Let's do it in notebook fashion, shall we?

+ Defending champion North Carolina is in trouble this year. The Heels only lost four times last season, but already have five losses this year, three of them by double figures, including last night's 83-64 dismantling at the hands of Clemson.

+ Speaking of Clemson, don't be fooled by the Tigers' 14-3 record. It's not uncommon for them to rush out of the gate, win a bunch of games and even earn a nice national ranking. But once the February doldrums set in, for some reason, Clemson teams are rarely up to the grind and they often flame out.

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+ And speaking of flaming out, has anyone seen Cincinnati the last few games? I used to criticize Bob Huggins' teams for not being mentally strong enough to finish tight games against good teams. Late mental mistakes cost the Bearcats many close ones back then, and that seems to remain the trend under Mick Cronin, now in his fourth year there. But unlike Huggins' teams, Cronin's don't finish seasons well, missing out on the NCAA tournament with weak late-season showings the last two years.

+ Just down the road in Lexington, it's great to see John Calipari restore the tradition at Kentucky, but given his track record, you can't help but wonder what kind of trouble looms there. Nonetheless, John Wall isn't just the best freshman in the country; he's the best player. And he and DeMarcus Cousins are the best young tandem in the nation, and with Patrick Patterson manning the post, look for the Wildcats to play deep into March.

+ Back to Huggins ... As much as I wanted him out at Cincinnati long before he was fired, he's like that ex-girlfriend that I just can't get over. If West Virginia is on television, I will almost always watch. I even became a one-and-done Kansas State fan when he had a cup of coffee there. But he's got his Mountaineers playing solid basketball, and I reckon they'll get a nice tournament seed and advance to at least the second weekend.

+ The best game left on the regular-season schedule is a no-brainer. Former No. 1 Kansas visits current No. 1 Texas on Monday, Feb. 8. Each side boasts a core of veterans, a good mix of perimeter and interior players and a star freshman. Kansas' Xavier Henry is a nice scorer with three-point range and a great body for such a young guard. Texas' Avery Bradley is improving on offense, but he's a lockdown perimeter defender and a fierce competitor.

+ Don't sleep on Ohio State. Sure I'm a homer, but the earlier-than-expected return of all-everything star Evan Turner already has paid huge dividends. ET scored 23 of his career-high 32 points in the second half of a huge comeback win at No. 6 Purdue Tuesday. OSU doesn't have a great record (12-5, 2-3), but a road win like that, coupled with a healthy conference player of the  year candidate, can only boost the Buckeyes' confidence.