Arkansas forward Hunter Mickelson (21) steals an inbound pass intended for Kentucky forward Willie Cauley-Stein (15) during the first half of Arkansas' win Saturday at Bud Walton Arena. (Photo: Beth Hall, USA TODAY Sports) FAYETTEVILLE, Ark. --- If Kentucky manages to eke its way into the NCAA tournament, it will require a two-week grind all the way until Selection Sunday for the defending national champions, who now find themselves sitting squarely on the cut line. There is no shame in losing at Arkansas – Florida was blown out here Feb. 5 – but today's 73-60 loss here only reaffirmed how small Kentucky's margin for error is heading into the final week of the regular season. And it may require a victory over Florida in the regular season finale or in the SEC tournament to squeeze the Wildcats into the NCAA tournament. BUBBLE WATCH: Borderline team could make history HIGHLIGHTS: How the top 25 fared Saturday The Wildcats were barely an NCAA tournament team when Nerlens Noel, the projected No. 1 NBA draft pick, suffered a season-ending knee injury Feb. 12 at Florida. Since having to re-prove itself to the NCAA tournament selection committee, Kentucky has been nothing if not uneven, which is at least better than some thought they'd be in Noel's absence. A 30-point loss at Tennessee. A season-stabilizing victory against likely NCAA tournament team Missouri. And now another setback against a team that has won all but one game at home all season. The Wildcats (20-9, 11-5 SEC) need to avoid a loss at Georgia on March 7 before they get another chance at SEC-leading Florida, which remains in contention for a No. 1 seed in the NCAA tournament. After that looms the SEC tournament in Nashville, where opportunities for quality victories will be few and far between. No season at Kentucky is ever devoid of pressure. Almost every game serves as a referendum on players and the coach. But there has been less than usual for John Calipari this season because of two accomplishments: last season's national championship and the historically strong recruiting class that he is assembling for next season. If this group of freshmen (minus Noel) can't carry the Wildcats into the NCAA tournament, a new crop that includes touted guards Aaron and Andrew Harrison from Texas and wing James Young from Michigan, among others, will be expected to do so as soon as they arrive on campus in the fall. Kentucky forward Alex Poythress reacts after fouling out of a game against Arkansas on Saturday. Arkansas defeated Kentucky 73-60. (Photo: Beth Hall, USA TODAY Sports) For the past three seasons, the formula has worked nearly perfectly for Calipari: Recruit the best players in the country, win a slew of games and then bid most of them farewell and best wishes in the NBA. And repeat. The lone season in his Kentucky tenure when he did not reach the Final Four was his first, when the Wildcats could not make a three-point shot in a loss to West Virginia in the Elite Eight. Though this regular season has been uneven, Calipari was in good spirits Friday night, saying overall that it has been a "fun" season. In a season as volatile as this one, how it concludes is anyone's guess. But as usual, Kentucky stands as one of the nation's more compelling story lines as the season nears its climax. The Wildcats possess one of the most fascinating tournament profiles in the country. Though they are short on quality victories – Missouri (37 in the RPI) still counts as one – they are one of the few tournament-caliber teams that lacks a dreadful loss RPI-wise. Though the defeat at Tennessee was difficult for Big Blue Nation to stomach, the Volunteers have an RPI ranking hovering just north of 50. And the NCAA tournament selection committee tries not to consider margin of victory or defeat in large part because of potential gambling implications. Kentucky's bland NCAA tournament résumé may be better than a flawed one, as plenty of other bubble teams possess. The problem today was evident from the start: The Wildcats struggled mightily taking care of the ball against Arkansas' athletic and at times stifling defense. It was not hard to see why Arkansas entered the game with a 16-1 record at Bud Walton Arena while having won just one of 11 games in road or neutral court contests. The student section was rocking, stirring memories of Arkansas' glory years nearly two decades ago. One student sitting front row even dressed up as Calipari and displayed a sign that read "Archie I can't coach you," in reference to Archie Goodwin, a native of Little Rock, and Calipari calling some players "not real coachable" after the 30-point loss at Tennessee. Calipari then backpedaled on those comments the next day on his personal Web site. The first half featured several dubious distinctions for the Wildcats. Point guard Ryan Harrow committed three turnovers in 30 seconds. And the Wildcats as a team turned the ball over four times in less than three minutes to spearhead Arkansas' 9-1 run. The Razorbacks led by three points at halftime despite shooting 30.8 percent from the field. Kentucky helped them out with 11 turnovers. The Wildcats had 15 fewer field goal attempts than Arkansas and were outscored 13-0 in points off turnovers. The first 10 minutes of the second half turned into a game of runs, and Kentucky had little chance keeping pace. If there was a way to get routed by a team shooting under 40 percent from the floor, Kentucky found it. Now it must walk a narrow path the next two weeks in order to become one of the final at-large teams in the 68-team NCAA tournament. PHOTOS: ALL THE ACTION ON SATURDAY Story Highlights
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Source : http://www.usatoday.com/story/sports/ncaab/sec/2013/03/02/kentucky-wildcats-arkansas-razorbacks/1959351/