John Calipari to Kentucky Team: Don't Believe 'Poison' That We Have Easy Road

The Kentucky Wildcats are the favorite to advance to the Final Four out of the South Region, considering they're the highest seed remaining after Virginia, Cincinnati, Tennessee and Arizona—the region's top four seeds—were all upset in the first two rounds. 

But head coach John Calipari considers that talk "poison."

"The poison being we have an easy road," Calipari said, per Alex Scarborough of ESPN.com. "If they drink the poison, we'll be done on Thursday."

But all that stands between Kentucky and the Final Four is Kansas State and either Nevada or Loyola Chicago. Calipari and the 5-seed Wildcats won't admit it, but it's hard to imagine winding up with a more accommodating road to San Antonio for a blue-blood program. 

The Wildcats can't think that way, of course. If this year's tournament has proven anything, it's that anything can happen in March. Just ask Virginia, the first No. 1 seed to ever be eliminated by a 16-seed in men's Division I tournament history. Or fellow No. 1 seed Xavier, which lost to ninth-seeded Florida State in the second round.

Or the No. 2 seeds (North Carolina, Cincinnati) and No. 3 seeds (Tennessee, Michigan State) already out of commission. In total, just seven of the 16 teams seeded one through four advanced to the Sweet 16, and only the East Regional has its top three seeds still alive (Villanova, Purdue and Texas Tech).

"It's a one-game thing, just play your best," Calipari said. "If you think, 'We've got this, it's easy,' you'll be done... This thing is unpredictable."

Kentucky has a few advantages in its favor, of course. The Wildcats have gotten hot at the right point in the season, winning nine of their last 10. They have future NBA talents across the roster, namely in Kevin Knox and Shai Gilgeous-Alexander, who both look like they'll be first-round picks come June.

And Calipari has no shortage of experience guiding young and inexperienced rosters on deep March runs. Part of his success, however, has been keeping those young teams from buying into the hype.