Well, here we are. The last place most fans or anyone for that matter thought Kentucky would be. The Cats will play for their ninth National Championship Monday night. The only thing standing in their way are the Huskies of UCONN who knocked off top seeded Florida 63-53 Saturday night. This will no doubt be another tough game, but after the tournament Kentucky has had thus far, nothing else would be expected.
Kentucky defeated Wisconsin Saturday night on another last second three from Aaron Harrison. After the Badgers' final attempt to win the game clanked off the back of the rim, fans realized that title number nine was well within reach.
This game will be tough as UCONN has some of the best guard play that Kentucky will have faced all tournament long. They are strong, quick and can score in variety of ways. They have the ability to knock down the outside shot and are excellent at finding the open man off the bounce. Guard play isn't their only strength as they have a great inside presence as well, so the Cats will have to have another impressive effort Monday night if they hope to leave Dallas with the hardware.
Let's take a look at some of UCONN's season stats so we will know what the Cats will be dealing with tomorrow night...
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Now, let's talk about what the recipe for a win is for the Cats.
Let's start with the obvious... GUARD THE THREE. As a team, the Huskies shoot nearly 39% from three point range, but more impressive is the fact that they have three players that shoot 40% or better from deep, so guarding the three goes without saying. Kentucky gave up eight threes against Wisconsin on Saturday, so saying they will have to do a better job of guarding the three is an understatement.
Rebounding. Kentucky has been one of the best rebounding teams in the country all season long. They will have to continue that kind of effort on the boards come Monday. They simply can't allow easy second and third shot attempts by giving up offensive rebounds. It makes it a little harder to do with Cauley-Stien out, but Dakari, Lee, Poythress and Randle will have to step up their rebounding efforts if the want a shot at winning.
Turnovers. The Cats will have to value each and every possession and not let nerves be a factor during the course of the game. If they can stay around ten turnovers or less, then their chances of winning increase tremendously. More than ten miscues then things get that much harder. The Cats done a tremendous job of taking care of the ball Saturday against the Badgers committing only four turnovers. It will take a repeat performance of that kind of ball handling to win Monday night.
Free-throws. Kentucky went 14-21 from the line Saturday night while Wisconsin went 19-20 and still won the game. That kind of performance simply cannot happen Monday night. UCONN shoots 77% from the charity stripe so keeping them off the line would be in their best interest. It would also be in their best interest to take advantage of every opportunity they have at the line themselves. A repeat of 66% free-throw shooting could very well end any hope this team has of hanging number nine.
I know I'm not alone in saying that this tournament run has been one of the most fun and stressful in recent memory. Every single game up to this point has left fans exhausted at the final buzzer. Every game this team has played during this run has been an instant classic so there's no reason to expect anything less tomorrow night. Don't get me wrong, I like a close, competitive game as much as the next guy, but is it too much to ask for tomorrow nights game not come down to a last second shot?
No matter the outcome tomorrow, win or lose, fans should be damn proud of this team as well as John Calipari. The turnaround this team made in such a short amount of time is nothing short of spectacular. This run should also prove that Calipari doesn't just roll the balls out, this guy actually coaches and he is damn good at what he does.
GO CATS AND BELIEVE IN THE TWEAK!!!!!
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