NCAA Tourney Remains Kentucky's to Lose

This story was written by CBSSports.com National Columnist Mike Freeman

The anticipated game between Kentucky and Cornell turned out to be the NCAA tournament equivalent of Pros versus Joes. The dream of Cornell pulling off one of the biggest upsets in tournament history ran face first into the harsh realities of big-time college basketball.

This wasn't a basketball game. It was a physics exam. This is what happens when one athletic powerhouse with gravity-defying hops meets a physically inferior opponent.

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In the end, in the very end, yes, that's what happened.

While Kentucky won 62-45 and will face West Virginia on Saturday for a trip to the Final Four, it wasn't a wholly impressive victory. The Wildcats at times looked ... well, bored, and John Calipari once again showed why he's a great recruiter but occasionally a tactically unsound coach.

The Wildcats probably have two of the first three picks in the upcoming NBA Draft. They should've obliterated this Cornell team. Instead of using that athletic ability to their greatest advantage by taking smart shots and driving to the basket, the Wildcats were content to take jumpers.

This played right into what Cornell wanted to do. At one point, Kentucky's shot went cold as the Wildcats scored only eight points in the first 10 minutes of the second half. Cornell took the missed shots, slowed the game down and kept the score low. Kentucky led only 40-34 with 5:15 left. Then came one of those patented Wildcats scoring explosions and the lead went back up to 12.

This quote from John Wall illustrates the at-times faulty mindset of the Wildcats.

"Second half, we came out at the beginning, we backed off on them," Wall explained. "We didn't come with the same intensity that we had in the first half -- offense trying to score and look for our plays. I think we backed off, and later on when they started making a run, we knew the game could get close. We started fouling and they started making shots. We knew we had to play basketball."

In effect, what Wall is saying is Kentucky turned their engine on only when it needed to.

"We got away from playing how we play," Calipari said.

"I think if you look at that 15 minutes of basketball at the start of the second half, we were outscored by the most talented team in the country 20-8," Cornell coach Steve Donahue said. "We cut it to six. I think their defense had a lot to do with it. I also think we missed shots we normally make, for whatever reason. You say Ryan [Wittman], he missed some shots. He was 2 for 7. If he's 3 for 7, it's a good night. That's how crazy basketball is.

"Obviously, we rely on making shots. That's how you're going to compete against that kind of athleticism. But I thought the guys did an unbelievable job. It's typical of this group to come out the way they did in the second half, make a run. When you're down that much against that kind of talent and just grind it out, I couldn't be more proud."

Yet this is the irony of Kentucky. Despite what was at times a lackluster effort against a drastically inferior opponent, Kentucky is still the best team left. It's not Duke or West Virginia. It's Kentucky -- the only true superpower standing.

This tournament remains UK's to lose.

When Kentucky decided to take the game seriously, the scoring came fast and furious. But that Kentucky on/off switch kept being flipped, and Calipari seemed to have little control of it.

The Kentucky scoring outbursts were mainly triggered by Cousins, and to a lesser extent, Wall. In many ways, those two players -- maybe the top two picks in the draft -- capsulated the talent gap. On one dunk, Wall jumped so high he could've stuffed the ball with one hand and still had time to wave at Ashley Judd with the other. Wall finished with eight points, eight assists and seven rebounds.

Cousins actually had one of those Patrick Ewing-like two-handed blocks on one of the Cornell players. Cousins had 16 points, seven rebounds and four steals.

It's theirs to lose. Kentucky is close. This close.

But they'd better get better. A lot better.