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Calipari warns Kentucky not to 'drink the poison' amid Final Four talk

Brett Davis-USA TODAY Sports

Coach John Calipari said Wednesday he has warned his players not to buy into the notion that Kentucky has a smooth path to the Final Four.

"If they drink the poison, we'll be done on Thursday," he told reporters ahead of the Sweet 16, according to Alex Scarbrough of ESPN.

The Wildcats, seeded fifth in the South Region, are the highest-seeded team still alive in their quadrant. The top four seeds, Virginia, Cincinnati, Tennessee, and Arizona, were all upset in the opening two rounds of the NCAA tournament.

After knocking off a pair of double-digit seeds - No. 12 Davidson and No. 13 Buffalo - in its first two contests, Kentucky is set to meet No. 9 Kansas State on Thursday in the Sweet 16. If Big Blue advances, it will get either No. 11 Loyola Chicago or No. 7 Nevada in the regional final.

But Calipari cautioned against looking ahead that far.

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

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