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Kentucky Wildcats’ season ends with loss to North Carolina

Thanks for the ride guys.

USA Today

It’s been a fun season for Kentucky Basketball that just came to an unfortunate end.

The Wildcats fell to North Carolina in the Elite Eight, ending what’s been another fun and special season for the best program in college basketball.

Just as they have all year, the Cats fought tooth and nail to the bitter end, but they came up just short this time. Despite a furious second-half rally that gave the Cats a brief lead, the Tar Heels were just too much to handle this time around.

It was fun another fun and memorable game that came right down to the final buzzer, but the Cats fell just one basket short thanks to a jumper by Luke Maye with under a second left, lifting North Carolina to a 75-73 win.

Alas, it was a fun ride while it lasted, and kind of odd one as well.

We saw Kentucky go from fun-and-gun to defensive-minded as the season wore on, almost as though two different teams played in one season.

But rather it was a 103-100 shootout with UNC or a 73-67 grinder with Vandy, these Cats were fun to watch all year in more ways than one.

Perhaps the best part of this season was watching the Kentucky boys go from bench-warmer to become what amounted to starters as big as their roles grew. Dominique Hawkins and Derek Willis were truly a joy to watch grow from their freshman years to what they became this season.

It was also great seeing Hawkins go out in style and give it his all to try and carry Kentucky through today’s struggles. Kentucky doesn’t make it past the first weekend without him.

But their time is up, and so to is this team’s. Enjoy the memories made this season, and don’t let them be overshadowed by how it ended.