Over the last month of the season, John Calipari has instilled into his team a “Kentucky against the world” mentality. His players have bought into the extra motivation, and it’s paying dividends on the court.
“We just try to come out and try to prove everybody wrong, and that’s what we did today. And can’t feel better about this one,” Hamidou Diallo said Saturday night. Shai Gilgeous-Alexander echoed that sentiment after the fifth-seeded Wildcats defeated 13-seed Buffalo. “We love proving people wrong, and that’s what we did today.”
Calipari players believe that nobody expects them to win, but after this weekend, everybody expects them to win.