NCAA Tournament Sweet 16 Preview: Kentucky Looks To Claim Midwest Region
By Nathan Giese
Kentucky-West Virginia Preview
For the third time in their last four NCAA tournament appearances, West Virginia will be attempting to knock off a Kentucky squad full of future NBA players. The Mountaineers may be lucky to get one player (Staten) to the NBA. But this is still college basketball,and all of that is meaningless in college basketball.
Quick Facts:
Kentucky, as you know, has won 36 straight games to start the season, which is already a college basketball record. They’re now four wins away from the first, and only, 40-0 season in history. The Wildcats are 7-0 in neutral-court games this season.
West Virginia has won three of its last four games and hasn’t had a game decided by more than 12 points since Feb. 7. The Mountaineers are 8-1 in neutral-court games with their only loss coming to Baylor in the Big 12 tournament.
What to look for:
While Kentucky has seen just about every different type of defense teams could throw at them to slow them down, the Wildcats haven’t faced anything like the Mountaineers press. West Virginia traps everything they possibly can, never gives up on the ball, always has their hands in passing lanes and runs the floor better than any team in the country.
The Mountaineers have forced 20 or more turnovers in 15 games this year and opponents average 20.4 turnovers in WVU’s 25 wins this season, as opposed to 15.9 in its nine losses. The most turnovers Kentucky has had in a game this season was 18 against UT-Arlington and Louisville. They’ve had 20 games this year with double-digit turnover numbers and average 10 per game.
Though the Wildcats have faced pressure before against the likes of Arkansas, nothing compares to facing the Mountaineers defense until you get on the court and play it. WVU is certainly undersized, so they use their speed and defensive awareness to force opponents into mistakes, which they turn into points for themselves.
Key to the game:
Rebounding. Even with their size, Kentucky has hauled in just 464 offensive rebounds this season, which comes to just under 13 a game. Sounds like a very impressive stat, right? Well, when compared to the Mountaineers, it’s a little lacking as they have gathered 562 in two less games.
That comes to an average of 16.5 per game. West Virginia may be undersized, but they battle for boards better than any team in the country.
Prediction:
This one does not become a blowout down the stretch. Bob Huggins is very familiar with John Calipari and vice versa, except both teams are playing completely different styles than when these two normally square off. Their history plays no factor in the game and it’s an all-out war.
West Virginia’s defense rattles the inexperienced Wildcats early and often, but missed opportunities leads to a modest five-point halftime lead.
The teams continue to trade blows with neither being able to deliver that knockout punch. Cauley-Stein destroys somebody on a dunk, as per usual. Kentucky surrenders 22 turnovers but the shooting of Booker and Aaron Harrison allow the Wildcats to escape by the skin of their teeth.
Tyler Ulis plays 35 minutes in the game when Andrew Harrison struggles to defeat the pressure. Kentucky survives, but barely, 58-57.
Next: NCAA Tournament: Day 4 Recap, Review and Analysis
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