The Kentucky Wildcats (1) improved to 26-0 and have therefore set a new mark for the men's basketball team's best start ever.
According to the Associated Press, that record stood at Kentucky since the Wildcats finished their 1952-1953 season at 25-0. That year, Kentucky did not play in the postseason because of an NCAA rule at the time that did not allow graduate students in the tournament.
With five games to go in the regular season, the Wildcats can be the first team since the 1975-1976 Indiana Hoosiers went 32-0 en route to an NCAA Championship.
Kentucky beat Tennessee Tuesday in true form, going into halftime close and bearing down hard on defense in the second half. Thanks to their size, great athleticism and a deep bench, Kentucky held Tennessee to 17 second-half points. Also true to form, Kentucky got at least eight points from five different players.
But the 26-0 start also matches Kentucky coach John Calipari's personal coaching best, matching his starts with Massachusetts in 1995-1996 and Memphis in 2007-2008.
"Every one of the teams was different," Calipari said in a postgame press conference. "They're all different. This team is the deepest of the three. The UMass team, I played five or six, my guards played 38 minutes. Totally different. The Memphis team, we were pretty good defensively there, too, but we didn't have the size this team has."
Like with Tennessee and other opponents they have had, the Wildcats know they are getting their opponents' absolute best. Moreover, teams without a realistic shot at the NCAA Tournament are getting their only taste of the postseason in playing Kentucky.
"It's like that whether you're the best of Kentucky or you're the worst of Kentucky," Wildcats center Willie Cauley-Stein said in a postgame press conference. "They're still trying to beat Kentucky, so you have to come out ready to play with them. If not, then they get beer muscles and they think they can play with you. You have to come out ready to swing. Otherwise you're going to get hit in the mouth."
