Elite 8 Matchup Preview: Kentucky Wildcats vs. West Virginia Mountaineers

Elite 8 Matchup Preview: Kentucky Wildcats vs. West Virginia Mountaineers

2010-03-30

The No. 2 seed West Virginia Mountaineers will be facing the Kentucky Wildcats Saturday March 27, 2010 in Syracuse. www.sportsbook.com has the Kentucky Wildcats as the favorites by 4 points.

Both teams had very good games in their Sweet 16 matchups, each winning by a large margin, Kentucky 62 – Cornell 45 and West Virginia 69 – Washington 56.

The Cornell Big Red were able to limit the Kentucky Wildcats to just 62 points and 2 of 16 from three point land. The West Virginia Mountaineers, which are 11th in the country in overall defense, will probably be able to hold the Kentucky Wildcat’s offensive attack in check. And unlike the Cornell Big Red, the West Virginia Mountaineers have the physical strength to stay very close in the battle for rebounds and have a well rounded offensive attack that is far more diverse than hoping their three point shots fall in.

Unlike other top seeds, the Kentucky Wildcats have dominated their first three opponents of the NCAA tournament, winning by an average of over 20 or more points per game. Yes, this team is not perfect and they have their own issues, weak 3point shooting and way too many turnovers. But they are physically bigger than every opponent they play. The triple threat Wall, longer, Cousins, bigger, and Bledsoe, faster. The Kentucky Wildcats' defense is not given enough credit, most people just concentrate on their offense, but their defense makes up for some the noted weaknesses.

West Virginia Mountaineers Butler and Jones have played well in the tournament and present the Kentucky Wildcats with difficult match ups on defense.

If the West Virginia Mountaineer’s turnover problems show up again and Butler doesn’t come up big against the Kentucky Wildcats, then the Mountaineers are pretty much done, pack your bags and get ready to go home. However the West Virginia Mountaineers are also playing very good defense, not letting a team to score more than 60 points since the end of the regular season. The West Virginia Mountaineers are 13 - 0 this season when holding a team under 60 points. This is the fourth time a Bob Hugginscoached team has reached the Elite 8, with Bob Huggins going 1 and 2 in the previous three Elite 8 games.

Saturday’s game could well come down to which team gets the most boards. The West Virginia Mountaineers, which are 2nd in the nation grabbing offensive boards, murdered the Washington Huskies on rebounding and are 25 - 3 this year when out rebounding the other team. But with PatrickPatterson, DeMarcus Cousinsand Daniel Orton,to name a few, Kentucky is a very good rebounding team and will have the big boys on their side to give them the advantage in the frontcourt.

With the spread at 4 points and the over / under at 133.5, as listed on www.sportsbook.com, I believe the Kentucky Wildcats will be able to cover the spread, but this will be a nail biter.

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