Watching Kentucky beat Creighton on the road in a hostile enviroment was bittersweet for Kentucky fans. The game in itself was thrilling, but the fact they were playing it excrutiating. My take is a NIT Championship would be a positive finish in a depressing season and perhaps save UK from making the mistake of firing their head coach after just two seasons.

Even if you don't like Billy Gillispie, common sense should tell you after all the badmouthing the University and its supporters took during the last coaching search the UK can not afford another black eye. The job has to be appealing for someone worthy to take it and right now it is far from it.

So why UK fans struggle with whether or not they want to see their head coach get the axe, the Lexington Herald-Leader's Mark Story offers some of tournament and post-season fodder for them to chew on:

6. Billy Donovan. If the Kentucky head coaching job were to open, the Florida coach needs to ask himself a question: Wouldn't a guy with all his passion for hoops like to try working at a school where basketball actually matters to the fan base?

5. Siena University. Has fielded a men's basketball team clearly better than Kentucky's for two straight years now.

4. President Obama's NCAA bracket. Those hating on the POTUS because he made public his tourney picks in a time of national economic crisis are being ridiculous — not even the president should be expected to adhere to all work, no fun, just because times are hard.

3. Looming Big Blue dilemma. If the national title game is Louisville vs. North Carolina, who do you root for, Cats fans?

2. The University of Kentucky. If the Kentucky administration has off-court or philosophical issues that explain why Billy Gillispie's hold on the UK coaching job seems so tenuous, so be it. They presumably are in position to know things about how Billy G. has gone about his job that are not fully apparent to the rest of us.

1. Billy Gillispie. But if it is a basketball decision being made, two years are not a fair trial upon which to render a final judgment on a coach. 

College Hoops kentucky, kentucky wildcats, uk, billy gillispie, nit