It was 23 years ago this March that Christian Laettner officially became one of the most disliked players (that’s putting it mildly) in the nation after draining the miraculous, game-winning shot to beat Kentucky in what is generally regarded as the greatest NCAA tournament game ever.
The shocking, buzzer-beating turnaround jumper that capped a back-and-forth final minute vaulted defending champion Duke into its fifth straight Final Four and sixth in the last seven years so, of course, how could anyone like him or his teammates? At least that’s how most of the country, outside of Duke’s campus, seemed to “revere” them at the time.
Did they like being successful, yet unliked? Probably not, but their reign has slowly ended. The Blue Devils, who lost their NCAA tournament openers in 2007, 2012, and 2014 are no longer the ultra-successful team that everyone roots against.
That mantle has now been officially taken by Kentucky.
This year’s 38–0 Wildcats, who just reached their fourth Final Four in five years, have such an unfair talent advantage (on both the court and the sidelines) it’s like rooting for the house in Vegas.
John Calipari, the only coach to win 38 games in a season (he’s done it three times now) has a roster stocked with nine McDonald’s All-Americans plus all-everything power forward Willie Cauley-Stein. They can score, rebound, block shots, defend, and play together and, after seeing them escape against Notre Dame in the Elite Eight, can apparently sidestep even the best a very good team has to offer.
