Kentucky's Upset Victory Could Mean Big Win for Wildcats!
An NCAA Tournament Sweet 16 berth for Pat Kelsey's Louisville Cardinals and Mark Pope's Kentucky Wildcats would help them redeem their seasons.
Louisville basketball coach Pat Kelsey and Kentucky coach Mark Pope need this NCAA Tournament . They need a good showing. They need this season to end on a positive note.
Because the alternative — the unthinkable event of a first-round exit — would create a very uncomfortable offseason for both programs. Kelsey and Pope don’t know, nor do they want to find out, what it’s like to live in the Commonwealth when the mob is restless and has possibly turned against them. A win in the first round is expected, but won’t be easy.
Louisville takes on South Florida on Thursday in Buffalo in the East region. The Bulls enter the Big Dance with the nation’s third-longest active winning streak of 11 games. Kentucky takes on Santa Clara on Friday in St.
Louis in the Midwest region. The Broncos lost to Gonzaga three times by a combined total of 31 points, which is still a smaller margin of defeat than the Wildcats' 94-59 loss to the Zags in December. Kelsey and Pope are unwittingly paired together as rivals because they were both hired in the same year.