On Sunday afternoon, the sports world stood still for a few hours, entranced by a classic college basketball game.
There wasn’t a buzzer-beater and the winner isn’t headed to the Final Four, but the mesmerizing showdown in the Midwest Regional between No. 1 Wichita State and No. 8 Kentucky had everything else that made it as memorable as it was exciting.
The Wildcats pulled the upset, winning 78-76, in front of 19,676 at the Scottrade Center in St. Louis to cap arguably the best opening weekend in NCAA Tournament history.
The storyline
It sold itself. Wichita State, the mid-major powerhouse coming off a Cinderella Final Four run last year and an undefeated regular season, against Kentucky and its seven underachieving McDonald’s All-American freshmen.
Experience against youth, a group of unsung and underrated players against highly rated ones, small conference against power conference, a team that talked about going undefeated in the preseason against one looking to be the first to actually do it since Indiana in 1975-76.
You could see Kentucky’s neophytes growing up before your eyes in this game, playing by far the best game of their careers. Wichita State brought the best out of them, forcing the Wildcats to eschew their bad habits to keep their season alive. In fact, Kentucky won this game because it mimicked Wichita State, because the Wildcats were unselfish, because of how well they protected the basket in the second half, because they never flinched even when it seemed the odds of them moving on were slim.
Drama
There were several instances it seemed one team was about to pull away, only for the other to hit a huge shot and go on a run of its own. You could feel the tension in the building with each play, the swings of emotion reverberating throughout the jam-packed arena.
Wichita State twice led by nine points, was up five with 4:11 to go. Kentucky had a seven-point lead with 42.6 seconds left. Yet, as the final horn sounded, Wichita State point guard Fred VanVleet had a shot in the air — a shot that badly missed off the side of the rim — that would decide the winner.
Talent
When it’s all said and done, there may have been up to five NBA players in this game, and not just guys who will get a cup of coffee. Kentucky bulldozing power forward Julius Randle is going to be a top-five selection in June’s draft, granted he comes out. Wichita senior forward Cleanthony Early looked like a first-round pick, scoring inside and out, pouring in 31 points as he tried to will the Shockers to win No. 36.
Kentucky’s other elite freshmen, swingman James Young and the Harrison twins, Andrew and Aaron, may need more seasoning, but their talent is through the roof. Same goes for Wichita State’s sophomore backcourt: VanVleet and Ron Baker. We may see all of these guys at the next level someday as impact players.
Mutual respect
When the two teams shook hands, Aaron Harrison told Baker, “You’re a bad, bad boy.” Baker responded in kind. It was a sign of admiration between contemporaries, and the two teams’ post-game press conferences displayed the respect they had for one another. It was a great game, both teams agreed, one that shouldn’t have been played on the opening weekend of the tournament, Kentucky coach John Calipari said. He called it an Elite Eight game. It felt better. It felt like the season could’ve ended when VanVleet’s shot hit off the rim. It’s unlikely we’ll see anything like this again the rest of the tournament.