Kenny Brooks (Vicky Graff Photo)
When the NCAA Tournament selection committee released preliminary seeds for the upcoming tournament Sunday, Kentucky was not one of the top 16 seeds slated to be able to host NCAA games.
Kentucky has wins over No. 7 LSU, at No. 9 Louisville and No. 12 Oklahoma. It has narrow road losses to No. 4 Texas and No. 5 Vanderbilt along with a two-point home loss to Vandy. There is also an eight-point loss to No. 13 Maryland in Puerto Rico.
The Cats also fell 60-56 to No. 3 South Carolina in Memorial Coliseum Sunday.
Kentucky coach Kenny Brooks admitted after Sunday’s game that he has not been “scoreboard watching for maybe the first time is not worried about seeding” and doesn’t care if his team hosts NCAA games or not.
“I don’t care about any other team. I don’t care where we have to play. I would love to play here but if we have to go on the road, we are battle tested,” said Brooks. “We have been at Vandy with a chance to win. We have been at Texas with a chance to win. We have won at Louisville.”
Instead, Brooks is only worried about his team.
“I am just worried about getting us ready,” the Kentucky coach said. “As long as I have them ready and they feel confident we will go anywhere and play anybody.
“I don’t know if there are 16 teams better than us just from what I see and what I feel. That is how I feel.”
South Carolina coach Dawn Staley was surprised that only five SEC teams — South Carolina, Texas, Vanderbilt, LSU, and Oklahoma — were among the top 16 projected seeds that would host NCAA games.
“i know there was a (NCAA Tournament) reveal before the game. I see a lot of other conferences in there. Nothing against any other conference but what we have been through in this conference, it is hard to measure where we stack up in that top 16,” Staley said.
“I do think we could have a little bit more (representation). Kentucky has done a great job with its resume. Take some of what has happened in this league and what this league is doing it is hard to measure.
“I hope they (NCAA selection committee) take a different metric to gauge us. It is hard. I think this is unprecedented. No other year has been like this year in the SEC so we can’t use the same metric for the SEC we have bene using.”
If Kentucky had beat South Carolina Sunday, it certainly would have elevated its potential NCAA seeding. Instead, UK could not quite make it happen and several close calls late in the game did not go Kentucky’s way. Brooks vehemently protested one of the calls but was gracious when asked about the officiating after the game ended.
Brooks said he was not trying to “butter anybody up” with his comments.
“I thought they (the officials) did a good job. There were some calls maybe that didn’t go our way, but I am sure if I look back (at the game) some did. Those three (officials) were very communicative, willing to talk and listen.
“There were a few plays I would like to look at again. I do not think that was the reason we lost. We need to make layups (8 of 18), hit free throws (3 of 8), and do other things. That crew was good. They talked, they listened, they got yelled at. I am not going to hang that (the loss) on them. It was a tough, physical game.”
Staley also praised the sold-out Memorial Coliseum fans who came to pull for UK.
“It is a blessing to have as many come and support women’s basketball whether they are for or against us,” the South Carolina coach said. “Ten years ago, it was not like that. Seeing sellouts, our game is in high demand. People came and were loud and the people (fans) almost pushed them over the finish line.”
