Fun Facts:
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Kentucky is back in the NCAA Tournament for the first time since winning the Championship in 2012
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They have won 4 National Championships since 1978
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They had the #1 recruiting class this year according to ESPN
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John Calipari is coaching in his 9th* Sweet 16
Notable Alumni
Ashley Judd
Frank Vogel* (who is cheering for UL this weekend)
Tom Hammond
Road Through The Tourney:
#9 KSU 56-49 W
#1 Wichita State 78-76 W
Starting Five:
#5 Andrew Harrison, 6’6, 215 Lbs, Freshman, Guard
Andrew Harrison was widely regarded as a top 5 player in the class of 2013 with Andrew Wiggins, Jabari Parker, Julius Randle, and twin brother Aaron Harrison. In his Freshman year at uk he has put up 11 points per game, 3.8 assists and 0.5 steals per game. Had a season high 26 points vs Tennessee on January 18th. Had a season high 9 assists vs Georgia in the S.E.C. Tournament. Chose Kentucky over Maryland, SMU, Baylor, Kansas and Arizona
#2 Aaron Harrison, 6’6, 218 Lbs, Freshman, Guard
In his Freshman year at uk he put up 14.1 ppg, 2.0 assists and 1.1 steals per game. Had a season high 28 points vs Robert Morris on November 17th. Had a season high 7 assists vs Belmont on December 21st. Chose Kentucky over Maryland, SMU, Baylor, Kansas and Arizona.
#1 James Young, 6’6, 215 Lbs, Freshman, Forward
Ranked as the No. 6 prospect in his class by ESPNU Recruiting and No. 10 by both Rivals and Scout. ESPNU and Rivals ranked him as the second-best shooting guard in the country, while Scout ranked him as the third-best small forward in the nation. In his Freshman year at uk he put up 14.3 ppg, 1.8 assists and 0.8 steals per game. Scored a season high 26 twice this season vs UT-Arlington and Missisippi St. Recorded a season high 10 rebounds vs Mississippi State and Louisville. Chose Kentucky over Michigan State, Arizona State and Kansas.
#30 Julius Randle, 6’9, 250 Lbs, Freshman, Forward
In his Freshman year at uk he put up 15.1 ppg, 10.6 rebounds and 0.8 blocks per game. Scored a season high 29 on December 21st vs Belmont. Grabbed a season high 16 rebounds in the first game of the season vs UNC Ashville then again vs LSU in the S.E.C. Tournament. Chose Kentucky over Kansas, Texas and Florida.
#44 Dakari Johnson: 7’0, 265 Lbs, Freshman, Center
Dakari was rated as the #2 Center in the 2013 class coming in to uk. In his Freshman year at uk he put up 4.7 ppg, 3.8 rebounds and 0.6 blocks per game. Scored a season high 15 in a loss at LSU on January 28th. Grabbed a season high 11 rebounds vs LSU in the S.E.C. Tournament. Picked uk over Syracuse, Georgetown, Kansas, North Carolina and Ohio State.
Other contributors:
#22 Alex Poythress 6’8, 238 Lbs, Sophomore, Forward: 5.8 ppg, 4.5 rebounds
#15 Willie Cauley-Stein, 7’0, 244 Lbs, Sophomore, Forward/Center: 7.0 ppg, 6.2 rebounds & 2.9 blocks per game
Breakdown:
This Kentucky team is big and can block shots. They are not very fast but smother their opponents inside the paint. They have 4 guys that score more than 14 points per game but that’s about it. The key to beat Kentucky is to play defense on them forcing them to turn over the ball. As big as they are they are equally as slow getting back on defense. For them to win this game they must hold Louisville under 68 points. 6 times the Cards have been held to that and are 2-4 with a win in the regular season at Cincy and then in the tourney vs Saint Louis. However the Cards average 82.1 points per game and allow 60 points per game.
FAN TWEETS:
https://twitter.com/shearerboy/status/448993520721096704
It's funny how ul fans hate UK for bringing up history but Ive seen so many UL fans post stats from the past 10 years & 36 years lol #Scrubs
— Brady (@Slix_og_onttv) March 26, 2014
Not having time to be on twitter to enjoy UL hate week with my #BBNFAM <<<<<
— Lori Mills (@lori_mills) March 26, 2014
I hate random ass stats ULfans do to compare with us. It's always in the past 26 mins UL has 20 wins to Uks 17 … Compare the complete hist
— Tyler Henn (@STylerHenn) March 26, 2014
Yeah, I would hate to compare recent stats and not ones before you were alive….
Videos:
My Prediction: UL 82 uk 68
Go Cards!
#BeatKentucky
