Cats are last standing

A win by one Wildcats team makes a different Wildcats team the last unbeaten team in the country.

The Cats of UK (18-0) now find themselves as the lone unbeaten team in the country after the No. 10 Kansas State Wildcats (16-2) beat No. 1 Texas (17-1) by nine on Monday night.

If UK can beat Arkansas (8-9, 1-1 Southeastern Conference) at Rupp Arena on Saturday, the Cats will find themselves as the No. 1 ranked team in the country. It would be the first time UK held that position since March 17, 2003.

The Razorbacks’ 8-9 record can be deceiving. The return of sophomore guard Courtney Fortson to Arkansas means everything. After being suspended for the first 14 games of the season, Fortson has returned to the Razorbacks and is lighting up the box score – averaging 17 points, 7.3 assists and four rebounds. Arkansas is only 1-2 in his return, but they played well against No. 1 Texas in one of the losses, and the other came on the road against SEC-West leading Mississippi State by two points.

If that wasn’t enough, fellow sophomore guard Rotnei Clarke is the leading 3-point shooter in the conference. As UK fans know all to well, 3-point defense has been a point of concern for the young Cats. Add the fact that Arkansas will come in as a severe underdog and the Cats will be playing with the added pressure of a No. 1 ranking on the line and Saturday’s game will not be easy.

Earlier on Monday, ESPN Bracketologist (yes, that is a profession) Joe Lunardi projected the Cats to be the No. 1 overall seed in the NCAA Tournament. The Cats were put in the St. Louis region and would play the winner of the tournament’s play-in game. The three other No. 1 seeds were Texas, Kansas (16-1) and Syracuse (18-1).