The two most successful programs in college basketball met Monday night in New Orleans, and the result was, well, expected. Strutting into the Superdome with the most talented roster in the coun-try and a pristine 37-2 record, John Cali-pari’s Kentucky Wildcats trounced the Kansas Jayhawks in the first half and then took their feet off the gas to cruise to a 67-59 victory.

Sure, the Jayhawks did have their moments, mainly provided by star duo Tyshawn Taylor and Thomas Robin-son. Taylor led Kansas with 19 points on 8-of-17 shooting to go along with four rebounds and three assists. Robinson contributed 18 points and 17 rebounds in what was a physically impressive per-formance. But what the stat line doesn’t tell us is how the two stars kept this game closer than it ever should have been. With less than five minutes left to play and the Jayhawks down 15, Taylor scored six straight points to shrink the lead to single digits before an official TV timeout. After the timeout, Robinson took it to the Wild-cats in the paint, drawing fouls and knock-ing down free throws. The Kentucky lead was down to five with only a minute and a half remaining, and Taylor or Robinson scored or assisted on every basket during that span. Unfortunately for Kansas fans, the Jayhawks couldn’t pull off the upset as Marquis Teague and Doron Lamb put the nail in the coffin with free throws in the final minute.

What was so unpredictable about the game was how predictable it actu-ally was. There is no denying that Ken-tucky was the best team all season long, and their NBA talent was on display in a dominating first-half performance. Still, Taylor and Robinson did their best to hold off the unstoppable attack but, in the end, most Kentucky fans probably didn’t even break a sweat. Everyone knew that the talent disparity was just too much for the overachieving Jayhawks to overcome. Look at who hit the big shots for Kentucky down the stretch. It wasn’t consensus num-ber-one NBA pick and unibrow messiah Anthony Davis, nor was it athletic forward Michael Kidd-Gilchrist. With 10 minutes left in the game, it was sophomore Doron Lamb who drilled back-to-back triples to put Kansas up against the ropes. And with three minutes left to play and Kansas making an improbable run, it was Marquis Teague who knocked down a contested three-pointer to push the lead back to dou-ble digits. That was the difference between the two teams Monday night. Kansas has two future NBA players who are capable of making plays and hitting clutch shots, but Kentucky has six. Travis Releford and Kevin Young combined for nine fouls be-cause they weren’t athletic enough to guard Kidd-Gilchrist, Lamb or Davis. Then again, how can you ask college role players to effectively shut down NBA talent? Kan-sas is a very good college basketball team, but they were competing against a team of young professionals.

Personally, I was hoping Kentucky would dismantle Kansas on Monday night, winning by 20 or even 30 points. Why? Because college basketball is broken, and something drastic is needed to fix it. The excitement of college basketball is that ev-ery team has a chance to play for the title and, usually, chemistry is more essential to success than talent. Diaper dandies are fun to watch and talk about, but experienced seniors are the ones who lead their teams in the postseason. Fans love to see nervous, young freshmen grow and develop into the faces of programs. Guys like Kyle Singler, Luke Harangody and Gerry McNamara seemed to be the Van Wilders of college basketball, and their names are synony-mous with the institutions they attended. But that era is fading very quickly in the rearview mirror, being replaced by one in which high school students are more im-portant to a team’s success than the play-ers already on the roster. Coaches are now more sought after for their recruiting skills rather than their teaching ability.

If the NCAA wants fans to think of players as student-athletes, then maybe they should start treating them that way. Now that the season is over, does it really matter if Anthony Davis, Austin Rivers or Harrison Barnes attend class? These play-ers are not interested in getting an educa-tion, but rather in exploiting the resources and exposure of a major institution to help their NBA draft stock. They are phenom-enal atheletes and that’s why they are in school, not for education.

It’s not good for college basketball or the players to require them to take a year off after high school before enter-ing the draft. If an athlete wants to enter the draft straight out of high school, then that’s a decision they should be entitled to make. However, if they choose to go to college, they should be compelled to enroll for a minimum of three years. The decision makers in the NBA and NCAA seem to have forgotten that there is a student component to “student-athlete,” and changes must be made to the system to ensure that college basketball doesn’t become the new NBA D-League.

Contact Travis Basciotta at [email protected].The two most successful programs in college basketball met Monday night in New Orleans, and the result was, well, expected. Strutting into the Superdome with the most talented roster in the coun-try and a pristine 37-2 record, John Cali-pari’s Kentucky Wildcats trounced the Kansas Jayhawks in the first half and then took their feet off the gas to cruise to a 67-59 victory.

Sure, the Jayhawks did have their moments, mainly provided by star duo Tyshawn Taylor and Thomas Robin-son. Taylor led Kansas with 19 points on 8-of-17 shooting to go along with four rebounds and three assists. Robinson contributed 18 points and 17 rebounds in what was a physically impressive per-formance. But what the stat line doesn’t tell us is how the two stars kept this game closer than it ever should have been. With less than five minutes left to play and the Jayhawks down 15, Taylor scored six straight points to shrink the lead to single digits before an official TV timeout. After the timeout, Robinson took it to the Wild-cats in the paint, drawing fouls and knock-ing down free throws. The Kentucky lead was down to five with only a minute and a half remaining, and Taylor or Robinson scored or assisted on every basket during that span. Unfortunately for Kansas fans, the Jayhawks couldn’t pull off the upset as Marquis Teague and Doron Lamb put the nail in the coffin with free throws in the final minute.

What was so unpredictable about the game was how predictable it actu-ally was. There is no denying that Ken-tucky was the best team all season long, and their NBA talent was on display in a dominating first-half performance. Still, Taylor and Robinson did their best to hold off the unstoppable attack but, in the end, most Kentucky fans probably didn’t even break a sweat. Everyone knew that the talent disparity was just too much for the overachieving Jayhawks to overcome. Look at who hit the big shots for Kentucky down the stretch. It wasn’t consensus num-ber-one NBA pick and unibrow messiah Anthony Davis, nor was it athletic forward Michael Kidd-Gilchrist. With 10 minutes left in the game, it was sophomore Doron Lamb who drilled back-to-back triples to put Kansas up against the ropes. And with three minutes left to play and Kansas making an improbable run, it was Marquis Teague who knocked down a contested three-pointer to push the lead back to dou-ble digits. That was the difference between the two teams Monday night. Kansas has two future NBA players who are capable of making plays and hitting clutch shots, but Kentucky has six. Travis Releford and Kevin Young combined for nine fouls be-cause they weren’t athletic enough to guard Kidd-Gilchrist, Lamb or Davis. Then again, how can you ask college role players to effectively shut down NBA talent? Kan-sas is a very good college basketball team, but they were competing against a team of young professionals.

Personally, I was hoping Kentucky would dismantle Kansas on Monday night, winning by 20 or even 30 points. Why? Because college basketball is broken, and something drastic is needed to fix it. The excitement of college basketball is that ev-ery team has a chance to play for the title and, usually, chemistry is more essential to success than talent. Diaper dandies are fun to watch and talk about, but experienced seniors are the ones who lead their teams in the postseason. Fans love to see nervous, young freshmen grow and develop into the faces of programs. Guys like Kyle Singler, Luke Harangody and Gerry McNamara seemed to be the Van Wilders of college basketball, and their names are synony-mous with the institutions they attended. But that era is fading very quickly in the rearview mirror, being replaced by one in which high school students are more im-portant to a team’s success than the play-ers already on the roster. Coaches are now more sought after for their recruiting skills rather than their teaching ability.

If the NCAA wants fans to think of players as student-athletes, then maybe they should start treating them that way. Now that the season is over, does it really matter if Anthony Davis, Austin Rivers or Harrison Barnes attend class? These play-ers are not interested in getting an educa-tion, but rather in exploiting the resources and exposure of a major institution to help their NBA draft stock. They are phenom-enal atheletes and that’s why they are in school, not for education.

It’s not good for college basketball or the players to require them to take a year off after high school before enter-ing the draft. If an athlete wants to enter the draft straight out of high school, then that’s a decision they should be entitled to make. However, if they choose to go to college, they should be compelled to enroll for a minimum of three years. The decision makers in the NBA and NCAA seem to have forgotten that there is a student component to “student-athlete,” and changes must be made to the system to ensure that college basketball doesn’t become the new NBA D-League.

Contact Travis Basciotta at [email protected].