Kentucky Basketball: The Most Impressive Players in Wildcats' Postseason so Far

The Kentucky basketball team is coming off the most impressive victory of the NCAA tournament. The Wildcats embarrassed West Virginia in the Sweet 16 on Thursday night by holding the Mountaineers to less than 40 points—the first time that's happened since 1940.

The one unique thing about this team is no one plays an absurd amount of minutes with the depth on the roster. When it comes to looking at stats, you have to look with blinders on. Imagine if someone like Trey Lyles or Karl-Anthony Towns averaged 32 minutes a game.

With the Elite Eight matchup against No. 3 Notre Dame set for Saturday night, it's time to try to recognize which individuals have put Kentucky in the position to move to yet another Final Four. These are the most impressive players in the Wildcats' postseason so far.

Willie Cauley-Stein

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Willie Cauley-Stein is a prime example of a player whose stats you have to look past. He's averaging just eight points, eight rebounds and 2.1 blocks per game, but he's been arguably the most valuable player to this team.

Cauley-Stein poses the unique ability to be the best defender in the country because of his athleticism. As anyone who has watched a Kentucky game has heard, Cauley-Stein played football in high school and shows the same footwork. He has the ability to switch onto a guard and stick with him, while also protecting the rim against a big guy.

Kentucky head coach John Calipari has shown the ability to trust Cauley-Stein in critical moments, as he played 28 minutes against Cincinnati and 30 minutes against West Virginia.

Those minute totals may not seem like a lot, but again, when talking about the platoon system, this shows where Cauley-Stein ranks among big men for Kentucky.

Andrew Harrison

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Arguably the most criticized player on the roster, Andrew Harrison is turning in one of the finest postseasons we've ever seen for a point guard.

Harrison has only turned the ball over twice in the NCAA tournament, and those two came in Thursday night's Sweet 16 thrashing of West Virginia.

On top of taking care of the ball, he's averaging 10.6 points per game in the tournament. Harrison is also getting his teammates involved, dishing out over two assists per game.

Harrison provides a tough matchup for opposing point guards. He stands 6'6" and has improved his outside shot. The sophomore also can play off the ball, something Kentucky has done bringing in freshman Tyler Ulis to play alongside Harrison. When this happens, it makes the Wildcats almost impossible to press and allows Harrison to be more creative when attacking with the ball.

His defense has improved as well, as he's averaging almost two steals per game in the NCAA tournament, including four against West Virginia.

Trey Lyles

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Trey Lyles might go down as the most forgotten-about top-10 recruit of all time. That's what happens when you're playing alongside eight other projected NBA draft picks, I guess. However, Lyles is having the best NCAA tournament for the entire team.

The 6'10" freshman is playing slightly out of position as the small forward in a lineup featuring Cauley-Stein and Karl-Anthony Towns.

However, Lyles has scored in double digits in all three games, leading Kentucky with 14 against West Virginia. In the game against Cincinnati, he snagged a double-double with 11 points and 11 rebounds.

Lyles has a smooth stroke from 15 feet and uses his size to bully opposing small forwards who try to guard him. When he slides to the 4, he's often too quick for post players to stick with him and displays a nice touch around the rim.