Is Calipari Protecting His Home Court Winning Streak? Kentucky’s 12-13 Schedule Says So
Posted by EJacoby on July 10th, 2012John Calipari has yet to lose a home game as Kentucky’s head coach, and Tuesday’s release of the Wildcats’ non-conference home schedule suggests that he’s looking to keep it that way. Since Coach Cal became the Kentucky coach prior to the 2009-10 season, his team is 51-0 in Rupp Arena – the only team in the country not to have lost at home during that period. It’s a special distinction to have the nation’s most dominant home court, but do we need to keep praising the pristine record when his team is scheduling cupcakes specifically to uphold the winning streak? Not only has Calipari publicly clamored to avoid difficult road games against a resurgent program such as Indiana, but he’s also now starving the Big Blue Nation of any meaningful non-conference home competition. It’s no secret that the coach’s bottom line is to give his team the best chance at a #1 NCAA Tournament seed, but an undefeated home record won’t seem as special if it’s extended without much in the way of legitimate resistance. A home game or two against an elite non-conference foe wouldn’t hurt the bottom line and would also give UK fans a deserving treat, but they’ll have to wait at least another year before that happens.
Look for Kentucky to pile up easy wins next year to extend the home winning streak (AP Photo)
UK’s schedule includes snooze-fests against opponents like Lafayette, Samford, Lipscomb, and Eastern Michigan, all of which finished with sub-.500 records last season in poor conferences. These teams have no chance to give the Wildcats a contest on any floor, let alone at home (remember: Billy Gillispie now coaches at Texas Tech). The same goes for the Portland Pilots of the WCC, they of a 7-24 overall record last season. Morehead State loses three starters from an 18-15 team, so don’t expect the Eagles to put up any kind of fight, either. Long Island? The Blackbirds made the NCAA Tournament last year – but as a #16-seed after winning the NEC, a conference ranked 24th in RPI. Marshall showcases a talented player in DeAndre Kane but not much else with a team that finished 9-7 in Conference USA last season. That leaves Baylor – the squad that UK defeated handily in last year’s Elite Eight and the one team that can at least provide a watchable contest. Still, the Bears lost three forwards to the NBA Draft this year and will struggle to replace that size next season. It’ll be a surprise if Baylor is less than a double-digit underdog in Rupp Arena against the defending National Champions.
Kentucky does travel to Notre Dame and Louisville in the non-conference slate, and the ‘Cats also play Duke and Maryland on neutral floors. These headliner games can at least merit hype and test the team before SEC play, and the non-conference slate isn’t as much of a joke in context with those names also on the docket. But the overall strength of schedule is still weak, considering the gift-wrapped victories provided by some of the ugly names at home. This year was supposed to include a home game against either Indiana or North Carolina, but that’s no longer the case.
Calipari’s 51-0 record at Rupp is an increasingly noteworthy streak, but it’s fair to mention a qualifier when discussing the number going forward. Coach Cal has been consistent with his message: The goal is to win as many regular season games as possible in order to secure the highest NCAA Tournament seed for his team. Some coaches prefer to test their teams as much as possible prior to the conference season, but Calipari sees a better opportunity with a fresh team and an easier path to the Final Four with a top seed. While no Final Four trip is an easy task, history in fact shows that it is most common for #1 and #2 seeds to make that run. It’s all part of the Calipari way, but it’s unfortunate that the defending National Champions won’t have any true home tests next season outside of a select few SEC games.
Evan Jacoby is a regular contributor for RTC. You can find him on Twitter @evanjacoby.
Calipari scheduled two preseason Top 5 teams at Rupp for non-conference last year. Yeah… he’s so concerned about protecting that home win-streak.
ROFL! w
Who are the two preseason top five teams on the schedule for Rupp? And did you not read the article?
When Cal was at UMass his motto was anyone, anywhere, any time. He has earned the luxury of now being on the flip side of this
It’s all about making Calipari look good. It’s all about recruiting, as well. If he can pad that win streak with all those cupcakes he can tout their home win streak to the young impressionables and further the gloss that rides just over the underlying sleaze. And when the NCAA gets to looking yet again it will all come tumbling down. Again.
I almost wrote that in a tweet yesterday regarding this topic. To me, it’s not so much about earning the luxury, it’s about changing your tune once you get on the other side of it. I understand the motivation, but that doesn’t mean I have to agree with it.
UK fans will defend anything if it’s their guy (I remember the hate mail for pointing out that Gillispie’s strategy of recruiting 13-yr olds was a bad one — guess what, it was), but that doesn’t mean this is actually beneficial to their fans. I know more than a few Lexingtonians who buy season tickets who are a little miffed that their best home game all season long comes down to Florida or Baylor. That’s great if you’re Mississippi State — not if you’re Kentucky.
Last year he had an amazing team. This years’s team is weaker at every position (still lots of talent), and is much younger — they will need more time to come together.
Check out the UK sched for 2010-11. MUCH worse than this year.
Check out the UK sched for 2008-09. MUCH worse than this year.
Seriously, this is nothing new. Off years with UofL and UNC always had this “bad” slate of games in Rupp.