The University of Kentucky men’s basketball team continues its pursuit of perfection, and a ninth national title, Saturday afternoon.
The top-ranked and top-seeded Wildcats (35-0) will face eighth-seeded Cincinnati (23-10) at approximately 2:40 p.m. in an NCAA Tournament Midwest Region third-round game at the KFC Yum! Center.
UK is coming off a 79-56 humbling of Hampton in the second round while the Bearcats slipped past Purdue 66-65 in overtime. The Wildcats are an almost 20-point favorite to win, and here are three resounding reasons why they will do so.
#1. Cincinnati can’t score.
The Bearcats average only 62.5 points per game, which ranks 288th out of 345 Division I teams. If Cincinnati struggled to score against teams like East Carolina, which beat the Bearcats 50-46 Feb. 1, and Tulane, which downed UC 50-49 Feb. 14, what will it do against Kentucky and its roster of tall trees and future NBA players? The answer is obvious, struggle to score.
#2. Cincinnati can’t shoot from the outside.
To have any chance to knock off Kentucky a team is going to have to shoot lights out from 3-point range. Guess what? The Bearcats don’t shoot well from beyond the arc. They average only five made 3-pointers per game (which ranks 296th nationally) and have hit only 165 (which is tied for 282nd nationally) all season. If you’re looking for a team to get hot from downtown, don’t look in Cincinnati’s direction.
#3. Kentucky will be ready to play.
The Wildcats weren’t very sharp at the beginning, or the end, of their game against the Pirates.
“I didn’t like how we started the game. I didn’t quite like how we finished the game,” UK coach John Calipari said afterward. “But it is one o’clock at night, and we had an overtime game (before us) where the guys were hanging out in the locker room for an hour and a half. So I’m going to chalk it up to that and move on.”
To a man the Wildcats have vowed to play better Saturday, and there is no reason to believe that they won’t. Any time they’ve had a big game (one that’s nationally-televised, or a key Southeastern Conference contest) they’ve delivered.
Photo courtesy Kentucky Wildcats Facebook Page
