It pains me to write this preview considering it's about Kentucky's first game in the NIT and not the NCAA Tournament, but it is what it is. Considering the way Vanderbilt dismantled the Cats down in Nashville, Kentucky certainly got what they deserved so they may as well make the best of it and us as fans should do the same. So here's a little preview on the Colonials of Robert Morris University.
Robert Morris is located in the sleepy town of Moon Township in Pennsylvania which just happens to be the birth place of one John Calipari. I usually list "notable alumni" of the team I'm previewing at the moment, but looking through RMU's history there really wasn't any that was earth shattering so I'll skip that part. Here's a look at the highlights for RMU...
EST: 1921
LOCATION: Moon Township, Pennsylvania
Colors: Blue, Red and White
NICKNAME: Colonials
MASCOT: RoMo (I'm not entirely sure what that even means)
RMU CATS
PPG: 71 73
RPG: 32 38
APG: 14 14
SPG: 9 6
BPG: 3 7
TPG: 13 13
FG%: 43 47
FT%: 74 64
3PT%: 38 34
As you can see, Kentucky is back in another situation similar to Arkansas where their opponent averages a high number of steals while the Cats average a high number of turnovers that will be something to keep your eye on when these two tip it off tomorrow night.
I usually say "if Kentucky plays their game they should win" but I'm not going to do that here as the last few times haven't worked out so well for me so I'm just gonna say this. If Kentucky comes out flat tomorrow night they will get beat as Robert Morris has 2 guys ( Karvel Anderson and Lucky Johnson) who shoot 40 plus % from three and Kentucky hasn't shown an ability to defend the three all season long, so that is two names fans must get familiar with heading into tomorrow nights game with the Colonials. If they allow these two to get hot from deep, it could be another Vanderbilt situation in the making.
A lot of people have complained saying "Kentucky should decline the NIT invite" as if they are above taking what they earned. Well I did some digging today and found out that according to the rules, Kentucky would've had to declined the NIT invitation at the beginning of the season for that to have been an option. Not to mention, if you're Kentucky or any other team for that matter, you have no right to decline an invitation to the NIT if that is what you earned at seasons end. Take it, deal with it and make the best of it.
The Cats are a 1 seed in the NIT but will play their first game on the road as the NCAA Tournament is being played at Rupp and Kentucky doesn't have the staff to host their game at home. But, if Kentucky would happen to win, they would return to play their other game in Rupp on Sunday the 21st. The funny thing is, Kentucky will be playing at Robert Morris in a gym that seats 3,056 people and the game is already SOLD OUT as it is the biggest game to ever be played there and I'm pretty sure will the first and last game to be televised on ESPNU live from Charles L. Sewall Center.
So tune in tomorrow night and watch the Cats take on the Colonials of Robert Morris, it could be an interesting game
No comments:
Post a Comment