The Kentucky Wildcats did it again. They won yet another game in which their offense was able to continue to succeed by attacking the basket and relying on their big bodies to put back a number of missed shots. The Wildcats are still a very hard team to compete with in the air. They are now one win from winning the national championship as a number eight seed. Their opponent is the Connecticut Huskies, the first number seven seed to make the NCAA tournament’s national championship game. Which improbable champion will rise in front of nearly 80,000 fans on Monday night at AT&T Stadium in the suburbs of Dallas?
2014 Final Four – National Championship
Kentucky Wildcats vs. Connecticut Huskies (Game in Arlington, Tex.)
Monday, April 7
NCAA Basketball Odds: Kentucky -2.5
The Wildcats Will Win If…
They are continuing to win with their style and their ability to make clutch plays. Kentucky is continuing to win the same kind of game, a game with a lot of scoring and very little defense. The Wildcats fall behind in the first half but climb back into a game in the second half. They go into the final minutes tied or barely in front, and then they win a game just before the end of the line due to a three-point shot by Aaron Harrison, who has become a completely different player and shooter in the NCAA tournament. The Wildcats are not disturbed when a game doesn’t start out well for them. They do not get down on themselves. They just keep playing, and they’re doing all this without injured big man and defensive cog Willie Cauley-Stein. Kentucky is so focused on offense that it is able to get and hit the shots it wants late in games. The Wildcats also know that if they miss a shot, they can just get the rebound and put the ball back into the hoop. Just about everyone on this team is doing what he needs to do to make Kentucky the national champion. When the same basic scenario keeps repeating itself, it’s not only easy to think that a sense of fate or destiny is coming into place. It’s also easy to imagine that Kentucky’s players will only become more confident and prepared to play.
The Huskies Will Win If…
They are carving up great teams and making it look fairly easy. Connecticut hasn’t just beaten Michigan State and Florida over the past week. The Huskies won each game somewhat comfortably, and they especially wiped out Florida, the top seed in the whole NCAA tournament. Connecticut had already beaten Florida earlier in the season, so the Huskies were going up against an opponent that was intent on getting revenge. This might have made it easier to think that Florida would win this time around. Yet, Connecticut actually won this game by an even wider margin than it did on Dec. 2 against Florida. Connecticut’s defense was simply outstanding, and that’s why Florida guards Scottie Wilbekin and Michael Frazier combined for only seven points on Saturday in the semifinals. Connecticut guards Shabazz Napier and Ryan Boatright are so committed to their defense right now that Kentucky might not be able to score the way it has been scoring over the past few weeks. Kentucky could get punched in the mouth in this game, losing the winning edge it has begun to develop.
Outlook
The defense of Connecticut is something to watch, but Kentucky can still outfight the Huskies for loose balls and rebounds. Kentucky just has it all going on. It’s going to be hard to pick against the Wildcats on Monday night.
Pick: Kentucky -2.5
