John Calipari says Kentucky will play Gonzaga if cancellations present opportunity

Over the last 20-plus years, Mark Few has turned the Gonzaga Bulldogs from a cute mid-major into a legitimate national title contender every single year. Gonzaga has even come up short of two NCAA championships over the last five years by just one game (2017 and 2021).

Coach Few has successfully tapped into the one-and-done network of prospects, develops players at an impressive rate, and is widely regarded as one of the top coaches in all of college basketball.

As Gonzaga continues its ascension to the top, so does its craving to play the nation’s top teams. A few months back, Few said that he’s faced every big-name school except for Duke and Kentucky. Wildcat head coach John Calipari said on Friday afternoon following a win over Tubby Smith’s High Point team that a Kentucky-Gonzaga matchup is a lot more likely than initially thought.

Calipari says he talked to Mark Few and Gonzaga yesterday

“If anyone cancels on us, we are playing them. If anyone else cancels we are playing Michigan State”

— Matt Jones (@KySportsRadio) December 31, 2021

“I was on the phone with Mark Few yesterday, he talked about Tubby (Smith), what a great guy he was, but what we said is, if we have someone cancel, let’s go Gonzaga we’re playing,” Calipari said during his postgame radio show. “So I’m just telling you, if anyone else cancels, we’ll play Michigan State. I’m fine, I’m not that guy. The opinion can be, but you are who you are when you’ve done this 30 years. You are who you are. We’re not trying to back down.”

COVID-19 has forced the cancellations and postponements of many college basketball games in recent weeks. As the Omicron variant runs rampant in the United States, that trend doesn’t figure to turn around any time soon, although updated health and safety protocols are making it slightly easier for teams to play now.

Kentucky has already seen two games hit with postponements this season against Ohio State and Louisville. Luckily, UK was able to replace them with North Carolina and Western Kentucky on short notice. If another postponement comes around and Gonzaga is available, it sounds like the two will finally go head-to-head. If not Gonzaga, then Tom Izzo and Michigan State could fill in. Either one sounds like a pretty good option.

At this point in the season, Gonzaga is 10-2 and ranked No. 4 in the country. The Bulldogs’ two losses have come against No. 2 Duke and No. 19 Alabama. With a weak Western Athletic Confernce schedule on the horizon, there won’t be many more opportunities for Gonzaga to play an NCAA Tournament-caliber opponent. Kentucky would present that challenge if the circumstances aligned.

That next question would be where does a game between Kentucky and Gonzaga get played? Is it a home-and-home or a neutral location? That might be the final test as to whether or not Calipari is serious about playing anyone, anywhere.

We’ll have to wait and see, but Cal is speaking it into existence.

Correction: Gonzaga plays in the West Coast Conference, not the Western Athletic Conference.