The Purrfect Season

– By Kenneth Kaltz –

With the regular season coming to a close in NCAA basketball, one team is chasing a feat no other team has accomplished since the 1976 Indiana Hoosiers, the perfect season. The Kentucky Wildcats are a perfect 31-0 at the end of their regular season play. With nine more wins they could become SEC Tournament champions, NCAA Tournament champions, and the first team in NCAA men’s basketball history to finish the season 40-0.

The Wildcats team, coached by John Calapari, is led by twins Aaron and Adam Harrison, big man Willie Cauley-Stein, and freshmen Devin Booker, Tyler Ulis, and Karl Anthony-Towns. In pursuit of perfection, the Kentucky squad has survived tough tests against much weaker teams, yet dominated against other top competition. Some of the best wins include a dominating victory over then ranked #5 Kansas, cross town rival #4 Louisville, and perennial powers #6 Texas and #18 North Carolina. The close calls came in conference play. The Wildcats were taken to double overtime when they made the trek to College Station to take on Texas A&M, and also overtime against Ole Miss at home. Big Blue Nation, you have survived the easy part. Welcome to March Madness.

This Kentucky team has a chance to go down in history as one of the greatest teams of all time. In order to do so, they cannot slip up and fall in the SEC Tournament, or the NCAA Tournament. Nine wins separates this team and a record. Those who follow college basketball know March is mayhem. Just last season, Duke fell to a small college from Macon, Georgia, from the Southern Conference. The Mercer Bears defeated the mighty Duke Blue Devils, 78-71. Mr. Calapari and the Kentucky Wildcats, the target is on your back. Everyone wants to end your pursuit of perfection. The fun has just begun.