UK capped off a 31-0 regular season with a 67-50 win over Florida on Saturday. (Barry Westerman, UK Athletics)
Thirty-one up, 31 down.What started with a 40-point victory over Grand Canyon on Nov. 14 ended with a 67-50 victory over Florida on Saturday afternoon. With a roster filled with McDonald’s All-Americans, future NBA lottery picks and millionaires, it was the team that shined brightest throughout the entirety of this historic regular season.”I would tell you what these kids have accomplished, and as young as they are, it’s not winning every game; it’s that they shared,” UK head coach John Calipari said. “… This is a great story for college athletics, for society. Instead of me, me, me, it’s us, us, us.”Kentucky (31-0, 18-0 Southeastern Conference) completed the first undefeated regular season by a power-five conference team since 1975-76. In front of a sold-out Rupp Arena crowd that was buzzing well before the opening tip with anticipation of what was to come, UK shed all the pressure and attention and played the team ball that has allowed it to succeed”The first thing I want to say is congratulations to John and his team,” Florida head coach Billy Donovan said. “What they’ve done may not happen again for a long, long time. For people that have covered their team, I think it’s really important that people at least reflect in a real positive way of what they’ve accomplished this season.”When you look at a team, so much of the team is based on chemistry, how connected they are, how they play for each other, share the ball, all those kinds of things.”Prior to Saturday’s game, the Wildcats said they were not focused on 31-0 or the “pursuit of perfection.” Instead, they said they were simply focused on defeating Florida because Florida was the next game on their schedule. They’ve preached the cliche “one game at a time” throughout the 2014-15 season, but they’ve also practiced it.On Senior Day, with all of the attention and pressure of the college basketball world weighing down on them, Coach Cal decided it was more important for UK to recognize its three seniors, all walk-ons, by starting them.”What would you have done if we would have lost this game?” Coach Cal said. “How many of you would have said, ‘How could he do that, start these kids with this on the line?'”Let’s think about it. I keep telling you this is about these players, it’s about them. What about those three?”Junior Willie Cauley-Stein said their 31st win was for those seniors, Tod Lanter, Brian Long and Sam Malone.”It wasn’t even about the perfect season,” Cauley-Stein said, who scored eight points and grabbed seven rebounds. “It was about everybody else, like the seniors. That’s what it was about. We were playing for them so they could get in the game and have that moment for the rest of their life.”Following the win, the Wildcats donned blue T-shirts with “31-0” printed on the front in white, and “Not done yet” below that. Sophomore Andrew Harrison and junior Willie Cauley-Stein then took the mic and thanked the fans.”We appreciate y’all coming out and supporting us and everything, but we’re not done yet,” Cauley-Stein said to a loud, approving roar from the crowd.It’s been a wild ride for the 7-footer from Olathe, Kan. As a freshman, Cauley-Stein and the Cats went to the NIT where they were ousted in the first round by Robert Morris. Then one year later, Cauley-Stein suffered an ankle injury in the Sweet 16 and missed out on playing in the Final Four with his teammates.”The NIT thing was just bad,” Cauley-Stein said. “It was just bad. I didn’t really have any control over it. Last year was just – to see everybody else in the tournament was worse than losing.”It hasn’t really set in yet. It’s just, everything happens for a reason. … End up coming back and end up being part of history and end up doing stuff people didn’t really think you could do.”The Cats did not have their best offensive performance against the Gators, scoring just 1.063 points per possession. But as they have shown all year, there are many ways for this team to earn a win, primarily through its defense.Kentucky blocked eight shots against the Gators, including six by freshman phenom Karl-Anthony Towns – who also scored 13 points and grabbed nine rebounds – and held Florida to a season-low-tying 50 points.Now, Kentucky will head to Nashville, Tenn., home of this year’s SEC Tournament, where it says it will play for its passionate fan base that has shown its unrivaled support all season long. The Cats maintain, however, that whatever happens in the SEC Tournament, happens. They have much bigger goals on their mind.”I feel like there’s no pressure on the winning,” Cauley-Stein said. “Everybody’s like, ‘Oh, they have to go 40-0.’ That’s not what we’re playing for. If we lose, we lose. You’re just going to learn from it and have a feeling in your gut that you’re not trying to lose again. So, I mean, going a perfect season is great, but that’s not what we’re trying to do.”