Ding dong. The wicked witch is dead

With apologies to the Kentucky faithful, such would seem to be the sentiment in most other areas of the country.

The coronation has been cancelled. A trip to the White House to meet the hoopster Prez just went poof. The big engine that could -- couldn't. The one and doners are -- well -- done.

Like the mighty Casey of old, there will be no joy in Calipariville. The Wildcats have done struck out.

Yep, Wisconsin knocked them off fair and square. On Wisconsin to the title game to lock horns with Duke on Monday night in what should be a terrific matchup.

In the Wizard of Oz, all it took was a little water to melt the Wicked Witch of the West. Who would have thunk it? Then again, anybody that had worn the same outfit for years and was deathly allergic to bathing would likely have been mighty ripe by the time some dopey kid from Kansas showed up with her goofball friends. So maybe that worked out for the best, but I digress.

At any rate, we now know that a den of Wildcats can be rendered harmless by feeding them too much cheese. And the Badgers smothered them with it. The Kentucky thoroughbreds were taken out of their run and gun comfort zone and reduced to trotters -- forced to play a methodical half court game that favored Wisconsin.

Though the Wildcats had an array of almost 7-footers, they were killed on the boards by the shorter Badgers. Kentucky's vaunted defense was shredded, even embarrassed, repeatedly by Wisconsin's patient offensive execution.

Instead of Kentucky's length and depth finally wearing out Wisconsin, as many, including yours truly, thought would happen -- the opposite occurred. Time and again, the Wildcats struggled to get off a decent shot against the tenacious Badger defense, and even had a few shot clock violations when they couldn't. Who would have thunk such a thing possible indeed, given Kentucky's offensive prowess and supposed invincibility?

Actually, the Wildcats played rather well offensively. They shot for a high percentage on both 2 and 3 pointers, made most of their free-throws, and committed relatively few turnovers. But the Badgers made them work hard all game long. Throughout the season, when other teams have remained close to Kentucky for most of the game, they would eventually blink under the relentless pressure and wind up on the short end. After all, Kentucky was 38-0 entering this game, so they must have been doing something right.

But not this time. It was the Wildcats that wilted in the waning minutes of the game. Too much cheese, and badgers have always been known as tenacious little varmints.

So now King Smugness and his Court, have to endure the trail of tears on their way back to Lexington. The bluegrass clan has been round-upped and killed off for another year. Good luck with the media, Mr. C. You have some 'splainin to do. Not so much for the players. They can just grunt and/or utter a semi-intelligible response to any such questions. Business as usual at Kentucky. And heck, many of them will be millionaires via the NBA in a few months anyway. You really think they're going to lose much sleep over losing a college game? Please.

The Final is definitely an intriguing game. Wisconsin vs Duke. Cheesers against bluebloods. Coach Bo matching wits with Coach K. Wisconsin hasn't won a basketball title since shortly after the attack on Pearl Harbor. The Dukies have hoisted several banners in just the last couple decades.

Pretty sure I know who the sentimental favorite will be amongst most.....