KURT VOIGT, AP Sports Writer
NCAA Division I Basketball Committee chairman Mike Bobinski said Wednesday it was too early to determine the tournament viability for No. 25 Kentucky, which lost standout freshman forward Nerlens Noel for the season with a torn ACL during Tuesday night’s loss to Florida.
The defending national champion Wildcats fell to 17-7 with the defeat, and the loss of Noel — who was leading the country in blocked shots — was a serious postseason blow.
“The reality is we have about four-and-a-half weeks of basketball left to be able to watch Kentucky and to see how they perform without him in the lineup now, and that will really tell the story, I think of how we ultimately judge and view Kentucky,” Bobinski said. “It’s way too early to consider them in, out, or in between.”
Bobinski also said Cowboys Stadium, site of a regional for this year’s tournament, will be configured this year just as it will be for next year’s Final Four, in what amounts to a trial run for the site.
4 Responses to NCAA chairman says it is too early to consider UK in, out or in between for tourney
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I love UK basketball and this team.
That being said, it is hard to look at what’s left of this team, coupled with what they have done when Nerlens has been on the bench and imagine a scenario where they are anything but a really good N.I.T. prospect. Nerlens was the heart, soul and motor of this team. It’s true that they can rally around him (and each other) and make some noise (much like the year Patterson went down), but it’s pretty hard to believe it will happen.
I know all of that sounds disloyal, but I am still really bummed.
On the plus side, it is awesome news that Nerlens will have the chance to still go top 5 in the draft and fully recover from this. THAT is all I really care about, at this point, anyway.
Jim if fans like you and me and others don’t rally behind and believe in this team to the end, it could go south on them in a hurry. They read stuff too. They still have a chance to win some games, and I believe they will. With that said, the fan base needs to suck it up and stay in there and support them through the bad times. Plus we have John Calipari. If they some how pull it off, I don’t want to say I doubted.
The record is now 17-7. Teams have got in with 19 wins and I believe that 20 wins for Uk is a lock. We have 7 games left plus the SEC tournament. Five of those wins are winable, and the Cats have Missouri at home. Florida would be a miracle. Keen in mind the great tradition of UK and the gold that UK travel brings plus the high ratings that UK brings to basketball. The NCAA wants UK. If at all possible, they will put us in.
Yes, I am happy that Noel’s injury will not hurt his draft status. I assume that he will go and reach his “dream.” There is no need to worry about the Cats next year and hope that he comes back. We have Dakari Johnson, a 6-10 manchild who is projected to be a lottery pick folllowed by the Towns kid the year after next. So the beat goes on.
If the team takes one game at a time, I have a feeling they’ll be fine. Often, it takes true adversity to bring out the best in players. The adversity is much worse than it has been for years, and I choose to believe that our players will respond. Go Cats!