You can always count on John Calipari to go to the mat for his team.
The Kentucky coach appeared on ESPN’s Bracketology special and displayed the usual chip on his shoulder. His primary grievance was the fact that Texas A&M were given a higher seed than Kentucky despite the fact that the Wildcats beat them in the SEC Tournament final.
“A&M got a 3-seed. Did we not play a basketball game today?” Calipari told ESPN’s Rece Davis. “I’m happy for A&M. They got a 3. I said, ‘What in the world? Are we going to get a 3 or 2?’ I’m surprised we didn’t get a 5.
“I always say this, when you misseed a team, it’s not that team you hurt. It’s the teams they play. That’s who you hurt. Ask Wichita State. There’s no reason they should have played us in the second round. They were 31-0. They were the number one team and all of a sudden they play us.
“At the end of the day, they’re not stealing my joy, that little group of ten who says this year it’s top 50 wins,” Calipari continued, turning his ire toward the selection committee. “Last year it was road wins. Two years ago it was RPI. It’s a moving target. Instead of making it, this is how we’re going to rate these teams. They’re not stealing my joy. We just won a championship.”
Calipari proceeded to joke that he would have gone to Alaska to play and even dusted off a Dick Vitale impression.
Coach Cal is right that the selection committee isn’t always consistent in its standards. It should be noted that Texas A&M finished with the same conference record as Kentucky and beat them head-to-head during the regular season, and also had solid non-conference wins over Texas, Baylor, and Iowa State. It would have made sense for the two to be on the same seed line, but the committee disagreed.
Of course, Calipari will always stump for his players, even if he’s a little off-base in doing so. No exception here.
