By JUSTIN EMERSON

Cronkite News

PHOENIX – Kentucky is rolling into the NCAA Tournament and that makes for a happy Phoenix Suns backcourt.

The Suns carry three Kentucky alumni on their roster, all guards: Eric Bledsoe, Brandon Knight and Archie Goodwin. No surprise, they think their Wildcats will run the floor, no matter who they play.

“I don’t really care, they’re going to win,” Goodwin said. “I don’t think anybody will come within 10 points of them.”

Kentucky, considered one of the most dominant college basketball teams in years, is six wins away from going 40-0, something no team has ever done. The Wildcats’ run is the reason for Goodwin’s confidence.

Goodwin shares a locker room with players who attended schools with national title dreams. Still, Goodwin isn’t scared of the Morris brothers’ No. 2 seed Kansas or Seth Curry’s top-seeded Duke. And he certainly isn’t scared of TJ Warren’s eight-seeded North Carolina State, which would not play Kentucky unless they both made the title game.

“Well, we 30-pieced Kansas already, NC State wouldn’t be a competition, Duke will be OK but we’ll beat them too,” Goodwin said. “It’s just hard for me to find a team who can compete with them, they’re too good.”

Seth Curry may have something to say about that. Curry played three years at Duke after trans-ferring from Liberty. He was named to the All-ACC first team and All-America second team after his senior year.

Like Kentucky in the Midwest region, Duke carries with it a No. 1 seed, and is a trendy pick to go toe-to-toe with the mighty Wildcats in the national title game.

“They’ve got the three-point shooting and the big that can play with their big,” Curry said. “Should be a fun game if they meet up.”

Kentucky lost in the national championship game last year, 60-54 to Connecticut. Knight said that’s what has been fueling the Wildcats this season, behind head coach John Calipari.

“Cal is definitely one of the best motivators I’ve been around, especially for kids at the college level,” Knight said. “For the guys that were there last year, I’m pretty sure he put some motiva-tional tools in there to get them to win it this year.”

Knight, Goodwin and Bledsoe never had a chance to play with each other at Kentucky. Now they’re together as Suns, and if everything goes how they think they will, they’ll have a chance to watch their alma mater win it all.

The national title game is scheduled for April 6, a Suns off day. If it’s Kentucky vs. Duke?

“I want to see the two best teams go at it on the biggest stage,” Curry said. “I think Duke has what it takes to knock them off.”