Is Collin Chandler Kentucky's X-Factor for a Final Four run?

It is probably a fair assessment to say that the chances of this Kentucky team making the Final Four this year are low. While the Cats have shown the ability to play with and beat just about anybody they face, they also have shown the ability to be beaten by anybody. And that is going to be a dangerous and nerve-wracking quality to have come NCAA Tournament time. From what we’ve seen from this roster, especially now without Jaxson Robinson, the squad doesn’t seem to have enough for a standard Final Four team.

With that said, even the best Kentucky Final Four teams benefited from a player performing above his standard on the run to the Final Four. For instance:

1997: CAMERON MILLS

Before the 1997 SEC Tournament, Mills had played in 37 games as a Cat. In those games, he had scored in double digits just twice and had scored ZERO points in 18 of those 37 games. He was basically a nonfactor for Kentucky for 2.5 years in Lexington. Then, all of a sudden, Mills scored 36 points in 3 games in Memphis, a key figure in the SEC title run that year. And followed it up by scoring in double digits in 5 of the 6 NCAA Tournament games, averaging almost 12 points per game during that run to the title.

2012: MARQUIS TEAGUE

Teague is always the forgotten guy on the 2012 national championship team and one of the most forgotten freshmen of the John Calipari era. And there is some justification for that when you have Anthony Davis and MKG on your roster and are surrounded by years of All-American freshmen. Plus, Teague maybe struggled the most during the season of the star freshmen.

But I remember how his steady hand was just as important as anything on the Cats’ road to the title that year. Teague scored 13.5 ppg during that NCAA Tournament, including 24 in a second-round win over Iowa State. He was second on the team in scoring in the national title game. His assist-to-turnover ratio was 1.9-1 during that run as well. Teague absolutely played above his norm and that was a key factor in that title.

2015: TREY LYLES

Lyles averaged 8.6 points per game during that season but scored more than that in each of the five NCAA Tournament games in 2015. He also had his season high in rebounds against Cincinnati. That team was so good it’s hard to pinpoint a guy but I think Lyles was playing his best at the end of that season and had become a consistent force on that team.

That brings us to this squad. I think that Collin Chandler could be that guy if this team is to make a run to the Final Four. We’ve seen the flashes over the last couple of weeks on what Chandler can be. He giveth and he taketh away too. He too often balances really great plays with really poor ones. And he is part of that bad defense squad as well. But in the last four games, Chandler is averaging almost 6 points per game and shooting over 40% from three.

If Chandler can boost his average in March to over 10 points per game, could he be the factor that potentially pushes this team to a run? Somebody has to fill the void that Robinson has left. I think the biggest candidate is Chandler. And if he does, he might just be the x-factor to the Cats making a run to San Antonio.