Kentucky: post mortem

That was the greatest sporting event I have ever been a part of.*

Ok, ok.  Is it really?  I don't know.  It's worth admitting that I don't attend a ton of live sporting events:  the older I get, the more comfortable the couch becomes.  However, this one had all the ingredients:

1. Unbeaten juggernaut.  Is Kentucky the best college basketball team ever?  No.  Are they one of the greatest collections of individual talents ever seen on a single bench?  Yes.
2. National primetime audience.  Athens, Georgia was the center of the sporting world on Tuesday night.  Best slot.  Best network.  Best crew.
3. Electric arena.  It's going to be hard not to blather on about just how great the atmosphere in Stegeman really was.  I got goosebumps over and over all night long.  It was amazing to be a part of that.
4. Worthy opponent.  For one night at least, our Bulldogs went toe-to-toe with a team that should never be beaten.  A team that beat Kansas by 32, UNC by 15, UCLA by 39, Arkansas by 17, Louisville by 8, etc, etc.
5. Star power.  Charles Barkley and Ashley Judd?  Sure.  But when Bill Belichick makes time for a college basketball game, you know it's a good one.

So maybe it's just the afterglow, I don't know, but it may be a long time before I have that much fun in Stegeman again - and Georgia didn't even win:

•  I'm normally not big on the "color-out" concept, but the blackout was perfect.  On a Saturday at noon it might have looked silly, but Tuesday night at 9 it was positively menacing.
• The lightning fast 7-point run put on by Andrew Harrison (aided by that terrible flagrant call) was a huge moment in the game.  It could have been the beginning of the end.  When Georgia finished the half with 5 straight points to tie it up, you just knew they were in it to win it.
• What really blew me away was the work Georgia was able to do in the paint.  The Bulldogs shot 65.8% inside the 3-point line!  On the season, Kentucky's opponents (including Georgia both times) are averaging just a hair under 38% in that area.
• Georgia also did a decent job limiting turnovers.  Unfortunately, Kentucky was better.  They didn't turn the ball over until the second half which is...unheard of.
• Kentucky trotted out seven 5* recruits and two 4* recruits last night.  Georgia has zero of both.  It's fair to criticize Fox's recruiting, but it's harder and harder to fault him as a gameday coach.  Georgia did pretty much exactly what they wanted to do against the best defensive team in the nation.  They got a dunk on a beautiful out of bounds play.  They contested almost every shot.  If Fox can continue to upgrade the talent in Athens, we could see more games like this in the future.
• During the game, I told my wife that playing Kentucky was like trying to hold back a horde of zombies (we are fans of The Walking Dead).  You fight, and fight, and fight, but eventually they just overwhelm you.  That's what happened.  Much has been made of Georgia's late game performance:  they were tired, they were wide-eyed, they played tight.  All of those things are true.  What ultimately ended that game, though, was Karl-Anthony Towns.
• There is a reason Towns will be a millionaire a year from now and you and I will still be workaday guys and gals.  Down the stretch, Georgia simply couldn't guard him, and that's no slam against Thornton or Maten.  There probably isn't a player in college basketball who can guard Towns when he gets going.  When you trot in talent the way Calipari does, eventually you're going to find someone who is hot.
• What a way for our seniors to go out.  Of course I wish it had been a win, but Thornton and Djurisic both deserved a full Stegeman in their last home game, and they both delivered on the court.  I'm glad Kentucky fans got to see what a senior night celebration looks like, too.  They don't get much of that in Lexington.
• Speaking of Kentucky fans, I'm endlessly bemused by the pretentiousness of the "Big Blue Nation."  They love to brag about the size of the fanbase and how well they travel.  To that I say, being a Kentucky basketball fan is about the easiest thing in the world.  I am 33 years old, and in my entire life, Kentucky has missed the postseason 3 times - and 2 of those were due to postseason bans.  Since 1930, when Adolph Rupp arrived, Kentucky has finished under .500 one time.  So continue congratulating yourselves and hope you never have to deal with a little adversity.  If you do, you know what you'll be?  Every other fanbase in America.
• With that said, every UK fan I ran into was delightful and gracious.  Even the gentleman who was berated for standing moments after the tipoff by the crotchety old Dawg in front of me (not a good look, sir).

There's so much more to talk about.  The valiant effort on the boards.  Gaines' dunk.  The middle-aged white guy next to me jumping up and down during a timeout singing "All the Way Turnt Up."

It's time to move on, though.  I'm sure that's been the message from Fox.  You know what a close loss to one of the best college basketball teams of all time gets you?  Nothing.  There are no moral victories, and a loss to Auburn on Saturday will effectively stamp out any goodwill garnered on Tuesday night.

If Georgia plays with the fire and intensity they showed against Kentucky, they'll be playing a week from Sunday.  If they don't, we may yet see them back in Stegeman - as a host in the NIT.

*Maybe.