John Calipari laments Kentucky's March Madness exit in 2022: 'I wish it was best of three'

The Kentucky Wildcats entered March Madness ranked as the No. 2 seed in the East Region of the 2022 NCAA Men's Basketball Tournament.

Facing No. 15 seed St. Peters, the Wildcats were upset in the first round, losing to the Peacocks, 85-79, and ruining a season that saw John Calipari's team go 27-6.

The Wildcats left March Madness in the opening weekend, empty-handed. Meanwhile, the Peacocks also left empty-handed, but they at the very least made a Cinderella-worthy run to the Elite Eight before losing to North Carolina.

Speaking recently at SEC basketball media day, Calipari was clearly still feeling the heartbreak of that opening-round loss. In fact, the sting must be terrible, because the Kentucky basketball coach went as far as hoping for a different format for March Madness.

"We did have a good year; we had a bad finish," Calipari said, via 247Sports. "I would say we're all judged by how you do in that tournament. I'll give you an example. We went to Kansas and beat them pretty good. And they won the whole thing. We were like, what's happened? This is crazy. Attack me, attack my kids and all this. It's a one-game shot. I wish it was best of three; can we change it? But it's not best of three; it's a one-game shot. So yes, we will be judged."

Calipari is right. College basketball teams are judged not by what they do in the regular season, but rather by what they're able to do in March Madness. That's part of what makes the NCAA Tournament special, right? No matter what happens in the regular season, each team is just vying for a chance to make the big dance. From there, you can create your own legacy...no matter how you got there.

It would be interesting, but don't expect the one-and-done format to leave March Madness anytime soon. If anything, be on the lookout for potential expansion of the sports world's favorite tournament.