Who? The Wildcats of Kentucky.
What? What Kentuckians call a wildcat is also known as a bobcat, which just gives me mental images of the Cat and Scratch trying to ignore the Charlotte mascot at a family reunion.
Where? Lexington, Kentucky, which appears to find sister cities that are all related to horses.
When? Saturday the 19th, versus Hampton in Albuquerque.
Why? Finishing second in the SEC is a pretty solid reason.
How? They were an at-large selection out of the SEC.
Surprise? Not anymore.
Who's driving this thing, anyway Matthew Mitchell, since 2007. He was an assistant at Kentucky before going to Morehead State for a couple of years.
RPI: 15
SOS: 18
Record: 24-8 (11-5 SEC)
Best win: Notre Dame (H)
Worst loss: South Carolina (A)
Notable results: Georgia (L, H, 61-59), Duke (L, A, 54-48)
Senior forward Victoria Dunlap proved to be the cream of the crop in the SEC, earning the conference's Player of the Year award with her 17 points, 8.8 rebounds, and three-plus steals per game. (There's something you just have to like about a player who forces as many turnovers as she commits.) The Wildcats love to turn their opponents over, forcing more than 24 turnovers per game. They'll need sophomore forward A'dia Mathes to step up even more, and a lot of help from the supporting cast, but this Kentucky team has grown up since the first time I saw them.