LEXINGTON, Ky. – Need a litmus test for how special a John Calipari-coached Kentucky team can be? There may be no better evidence than how the team responds when challenged.
When the 2014-15 squad that went 38-1 saw an opportunity for a statement in an early-season top-five matchup with Kansas, it responded with a 32-point win. Playing the only program with more national championships than Kentucky, that team held UCLA to seven points in the first half of what turned out to be a 39-point neutral-court blowout. When West Virginia’s Daxter Miles dared to question the then undefeated Wildcats before a Sweet 16 matchup, Karl-Anthony Towns and company responded by doubling up the Mountaineers’ point total in a 78-39 rout.