Calipari primed to make another Final Four

Calipari primed to make another Final Four

By Ray Parrillo

Inquirer Staff Writer
It appears Kentucky coach John Calipari, the master program-builder who seems to get out of town just before the NCAA comes snooping, has a good chance to reach the Final Four with his third different school.

Regardless of what anyone thinks of the former Massachusetts and Memphis coach, that's quite an accomplishment. Rick Pitino is the only coach to do it. But it's far from a sure thing.

The Wildcats are the No. 1 seed in the East Regional, the No. 2 seed overall in the NCAA tourney. Their path to the Final Four seems favorable, although freshman-dominated teams don't win national championships, even if one of those freshmen is spectacular guard John Wall.

Barring the biggest upset in NCAA history - Kentucky's first-round opponent is East Tennessee State - the Wildcats will get the winner between two underachievers - No. 8 Texas and No. 9 Wake Forest - in the second round.

Two months ago, Kentucky-Texas would have been considered a potential Final Four matchup. The Longhorns won their first 17 games and rose to No. 1 in the polls before fading. They lost nine of their final 16 games, including an 86-67 pasting by Baylor in the Big Twelve tourney.

Like Texas, Wake Forest goes limping into the tourney. The Demon Deacons have lost five of their six games, including an 83-62 beating by Miami in the Atlantic Coast Conference tourney. The Hurricanes are not in the field.

If anything, Texas-Wake Forest is one of the most unpredictable first-round games, one that will cause head-scratching when filling out that bracket pool.

West Virginia, the No. 2 seed in the East, built a solid case for a No. 1 seed by winning the Big East Conference tourney. Instead, Syracuse received the No. 1 seed in the West. So coach Bob Huggins can play the lack-of-respect card if he chooses.

As a result of their seeding, the Mountaineers face a potential Sweet 16 matchup against two of the region's more dangerous teams - No. 3 seed New Mexico and No. 6 seed Marquette.

The Lobos (29-4) have one loss since Jan. 9. It came Friday in the Mountain West title game against San Diego State, which handed them two defeats.

West Virginia edged Marquette, 63-62, in a Big East game Dec. 29 in Morgantown.

Temple could have a bigger gripe about its seeding than West Virginia. If the Owls get past No. 12 Cornell, they will likely meet No. 4 Wisconsin. The Badgers are well drilled under coach Bo Ryan, a native of Chester.

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