Bob Lutz: Pulling for Kentucky? It won’t be easy

Somebody recently told me they were rooting for Kentucky to finish off this thing – to win two more games, get to 40 victories and be crowned as undefeated national champion of college basketball.

This person made the point that he wasn’t yet born when San Francisco went undefeated in 1956 or for North Carolina’s unbeaten run to the title a year later. He still hadn’t been born for UCLA’s four unbeaten national championship seasons in 1964, 1967, 1972 and 1973. And he is too young to remember Indiana’s 32-0 national championship team in 1976.

His point: It has been 39 years since a team pulled off an unbeaten season and that is the reason he’s behind Kentucky in this weekend’s Final Four.

To which I commented: “Kentucky? Are you serious? Nobody likes Kentucky.”

But perhaps some people do like Kentucky. Kentucky people like Kentucky. Ashley Judd really likes Kentucky. And maybe even some non-Kentucky fans are pulling for the Wildcats to go 40-0.

I’m sweet on Wisconsin, myself. And I’m pretty sure I want the Badgers to end this Kentucky run in the national semifinals Saturday. I was really sure before having the aforementioned conversation with the guy who has never experienced a perfect college basketball season.

A lot of people haven’t. No one under the age of 40, for sure. And you’d probably have to be 50 to have a clear recollection of Indiana’s championship run.

I remember that one well. And, yes, I’m significantly over 50. I also remember some of the undefeated UCLA seasons, but I was too young – man, I enjoyed typing those two words – to recall the perfect seasons for San Francisco and North Carolina.

So while I think I’ll be pulling for Wisconsin on Saturday because I like the the Badgers and Bo Ryan, I’m just not sure. A part of me feels like I should be cheering for Kentucky because of all the people out there who haven’t gotten to experience an unbeaten college basketball team.

It would be history. It would be something they could tell their grandchildren about, although I don’t recall ever sitting my granddaughter down and telling her about the great UCLA teams of the late 1960s and early 1970s. We mostly talk about all the “Frozen” merchandise she has accumulated.

Kentucky’s pretty difficult to stomach. I’m against one-and-done players in college basketball – they’ve hurt the sport. And while John Calipari has done an amazing job with the one-and-doners, I’m not a Cal fan, either.

The incredibly-big Wildcats are fun to watch, yes. But when they were on the ropes against Notre Dame in an Elite Eight game in Cleveland on Saturday, I was pulling for the Irish. And not because I necessarily care about the Irish.

Now, though, I’m torn. I do understand the significance – and coolness – of 40-0. No team in college basketball has ever gone through the grinder 40 times and come out unscathed. When Indiana finished off its unbeaten season in 1976, the Hoosiers played only 32 games.

If Wisconsin was 38-0, this would be a no-brainer. The college basketball world would be behind the Badgers.

I don’t get that sense, though, with Kentucky. Outside of Big Blue Nation, I would guess that 80 percent or so are pulling for the Badgers.

Now, if Kentucky wins Saturday and Duke beats Michigan State, then we have something.

Kentucky against Duke for the national championship. The Blue Devils as potential spoilers. A rematch of the 1978 national championship game in St. Louis in which Kentucky’s Jack Givens scored 41 points in a 94-78 Wildcats win.

A rematch of the incredible Christian Laettner game in 1992, when his turn-around jumper from the top of the key at the buzzer gave the Blue Devils a 104-103 overtime win in one of the most memorable college basketball games played.

Duke-Kentucky is mammoth.

Michigan State -Kentucky or Wisconsin-Duke or Michigan State-Wisconsin? All are OK, but not close to Duke-Kentucky with the Blue Devils having a chance to spoil one of the biggest potential parties in history.

Who wouldn’t watch that game? It would challenge, and surpass, the 1979 Michigan State-Indiana State final – Magic vs. Larry – as the most-watched NCAA game in history.

We have to get there first. And to get there means Kentucky has to beat Wisconsin in the semifinals. And Duke, of course, has to defeat Michigan State.

I’m fine with Duke winning. I’ve always been a Mike Krzyzewski fan and while I’m not out buying Christian Laettner memorabilia, I don’t hate the guy.

I thought I hated Kentucky until I started to give this some more thought. Under normal circumstances, it would be easy to pull for Wisconsin in Saturday’s game. Dang it, I like the Badgers.

But if a Kentucky victory – and a chance to mark history – is what you younger folks are pulling for, I suppose I can suck it up for the team.

No guarantees, though, for the championship game. If the Wildcats get there.

This story was originally published April 2, 2015 at 5:38 PM with the headline "Bob Lutz: Pulling for Kentucky? It won’t be easy."