Avoided Duke. Take a Breath.

After an 82-78 nail-biting loss to Tennessee on Saturday, John Calipari was his swaggy self, following the Selection Show on Sunday.

As the No. 7 team overall, the Cats were selected as the two seed in the Midwest bracket. For the third time in the last four years, was paired with North Carolina as the one seed. Kentucky wasn’t given the best draw, but they weren’t given the worst draw either and Calipari seemed to be as jolly as old Saint Nicholas in his interviews.

Let’s take a look at Cal’s best comments.

Grant Williams Flops “All Over the Place”

“Throwing his [Williams] body, flopping all over the place, getting fouls called, charges were blocks but it didn’t matter because he made foul shots and he made that three in the corner.”

Cal Feels Good Going into the Tournament

“When I look at the stats, I can’t believe we lost that game. You look at that stat line, how in the world did we lose that? We had the charge call, the walk call, the step out of bounds, who stepped out? Those three turnovers put as at 11. We had eight turnovers against that team, come on. That’s why I said, I feel good going in.”

On the Team’s Transformation

“First of all, we don’t do any defense in the summer; season’s too long. Most cases, it goes till April. Even when they come back on campus, I don’t do defense until September when the season starts, October, because the season’s too long. It takes us awhile defensively. Early in the season, we were shaky. I mean Transylvania and IUPUI, Indiana of Pennsylvania, beat us on the dribble 30 times, both of them. Now we’ve become a good defensive team. People talk about players’ confidence. Until you build defensive confidence, you’re not going to be a confident offensive player. It doesn’t work that way. When Jay Bilas got dunked on and scored on and ran by, you think Jay was going to go down there and make a shot? Wasn’t happening. He was hoping to get a rebound. You have to defend first and what’s happened is as we’ve become better defensively, we’ve become better offensively because guys are more confident.”

There’s no doubt that this team has come a long way from

Cal Hoped for the Louisville Region

“It’s fine. I mean I thought that there was a chance we play in Louisville. I thought it was slim, but it was none. None! Not happening, but that’s fine.”

Similarities to the 2012 Title Team

“We use the year to prepare the guys for this tournament. The stuff that we just went through where you have your chances, a couple things happen out of your control, a couple things happen in your control and all of a sudden you drop the game. I remember 2012 being up, and then with four or five minutes to go in the game we let go of the rope and lose. Best thing that happened in 2012. So, we’ll see.”

Stay in the Moment & Don’t Worry About Other Teams

“Just keep winning games, how many can you win? Let’s try to win six. I’m telling you, what we’re trying to do is beat Abilene right now. Abilene Christian shoots 40 percent from the three-point line. Figured we’d have somebody like that that’s launching threes. Now all of a sudden, you’re going to have to play and you’re going to have to guard threes which means long rebounds, which gives them second chance opportunities. We gotta play that one. The next games, I’m not worried about. It’s about keeping these guys in the moment.”

“I told them, you don’t watch the games. Teams you’re worried about get beat. Why did you spend any time or anxiety on anyone in this tournament? Don’t watch the games. I watch Alaska: Last Frontier, Living Off the Grid, Life Below Zero and you don’t have to worry about any of the basketball. I tell my wife, Seth, I can do that. She laughs at me, like you could never.”

Mrs. Calipari’s Instagram

“What’s wrong with her? Ellen just wants to smack me around. I’m like, what are you doing? I don’t look at the stuff. [Seth: You’re a roommate] Yeah, I’m a roommate. What are you talking about, roommate? Now we sleep in different bedrooms. What’s the problem? I mean, I don’t know what the problem is.”

Cal is confident and its noticeable, which makes me feel good about our chances. This Kentucky team is fully capable of bringing home the title, but winning six straight games in a single elimination tournament is harder than it looks. March is here, let the Madness begin.

Here are the interviews below:

*Peep the NBA jerseys behind Cal ?

Calipari House Interview

ESPN Bracketology Interview