The Kentucky Wildcats, the No. 1 overall seed in the NCAA Tournament, have done nothing to dispel the notion that they're the team to beat now that the Final Four is set. Their four games in the tournament so far — wins over Western Kentucky, Iowa State, Indiana and Baylor — have all been decided by double digits, and their core of freshmen Anthony Davis, Michael Kidd-Gilchrist, Marquis Teague and sophomores Terrence Jones and Doron Lamb, along with senior Darius Miller, has been absolutely superb. It helps that they've been completely healthy, too.
2012 Final Four, Kentucky: How The Wildcats Got To New Orleans
What's been terrifying about the Wildcats is how balanced they are. Only Kansas' Jeff Withey has blocked more shots than Davis in the tournament, but the scoring comes from everywhere — four different Wildcats are averaging more than 13 points in their four games (Davis, Teague, Kidd-Gilchrist and Jones) — and they're superb in transition.
In the regular season, the Wildcats lost just one game, to Indiana, when Davis was less than healthy. They didn’t lose again until they faced a red-hot Vanderbilt team in the SEC Tournament finals. They’ve been the No. 1 team in the country for most of the season, and still appear to be just that.
SB Nation's college basketball editor, Mike Rutherford, said anything less than a national championship for Kentucky would be a colossal failure for head coach John Calipari, and he's right. In terms of pure talent, no team can even hold a candle to this team, and they're playing at a completely different level than anyone else heading into their game against the in-state rival Louisville Cardinals.
For more on the Wildcats, check out A Sea Of Blue. For news and updates on their opponent in the Final Four, head to Card Chronicle.
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