Charles Barkley recently had a message for Kentucky men’s basketball coach John Calipari.
Kentucky has lost in the first round of the NCAA Tournament in two of the last three years and it has Barkley wanting the program to do more.
“At some point, they’ve got to make a deep run,” Barkley said, (first transcribed by On3). “They can’t keep getting upset. I mean, they’re the University of Kentucky. They’re one of the greatest programs in history and (John Calipari) is a terrific coach and a good friend.”
Kentucky hasn’t made an Elite Eight since the 2018-19 season and hasn’t won a national title since the 2011-12 season. For a program that’s used to winning, it hasn’t done a lot of it in recent years.
The team is set up to go deep in this year’s tournament after getting a favorable draw to start. Kentucky will open as a No. 3 seed against 14th-seeded Oakland on Thursday night.
If Kentucky can win that game, it would await the winner of N.C. State and Texas Tech, which is the 6-11 game in its region.
Tip-off is set for 7:10 p.m. ET