When my now 17 year-old son was a wee little lad, we dealt with the trials and tribulations of potty training just like every other exasperated parent. For weeks nothing worked, until one day a stroke of genius fired in the cranium — the pooping shark.
Knowing our son was obsessed with a book about the meat-eating sea killers, we purchased a soft rubber-coated Great White at the local toy store. When introduced to it, he naturally went nuts. But there was a catch. He had to do his business properly. It took two weeks. Achievement unlocked. And a little boy, in the greatest way possible, lost his damn mind.
With conference tournaments among high-major teams about to get underway, a number of notable schools are vying for not No. 2 — but No. 1.
SEC Tournament pick: Kentucky Wildcats (+400, DraftKings)
A byproduct of Oppenheimer’s Manhattan Project are the plutonium-packed Wildcats. No doubt nuclear in nature, they’re a scary good team, one that, when raring to guard, can blow up any bracket, particularly the exercise in Nashville.
With rock in hand, Kentucky revs the engine at a high RPM. Lambos in the open court, Rob Dillingham, Antonio Reeves and Reed Sheppard fire on-target arrow after on-target arrow. As a collective, UK ranks No. 3 in the country over the past 11 games in effective field-goal percentage offense, shooting 55.7% from two and a divine 43.4% from three while totaling 1.330 points per possession.
Simply put, John Calipari’s club, which runs quite deep, unleashes torrents. Its most glaring inadequacy is its effort on defense, which is a true box of chocolates because you never know what you’re gonna get on a per-possession basis.
[ Bracket Big Board: Brad Evans’ NCAA Tournament projections ]
When committed to applying on-ball pressure, the Wildcats can dismiss anyone. See the road triumph at Auburn (0.85 pts/poss allowed). However, they rank a horrid No. 292 in eFG D over their last five games, yielding 55.9% shooting inside the arc and 34.7% outside of it. Consistency in the category is undoubtedly key.
As discussed last week, Big Blue has slowly reached a boiling point. Now bubbling vigorously, especially after the regular-season exclamation point at Tennessee, UK is a viable contender, whether in Nashville or on the national stage. On the former front, the Wildcats are a spectacular value at +400.