Tonight at 9:45, Kentucky plays Indiana for both a trip to the Elite Eight and a chance to exact revenge for the team’s only regular season loss. I assume the late start time is a preventative measure on the part of CBS to ensure Bobby Knight would already be safely asleep.
I’ve heard mixed opinions on the outcome of the game, some who say Kentucky will win and some who are nervous about losing. Me, I say Kentucky has it in the bag; it’s just a matter of what the final margin of victory is.
Here are some fors and againsts on Indiana’s chances at competing:
[B]KENTUCKY WILL WIN BIG BECAUSE[/B] this is a revenge game. While the team is saying all the right things, like “this is just another game on the road to a title”, we all know that Christian Watford’s shot has been haunting their dreams since December, and they will stop at nothing to prevent it from happening again. In fact, I’d like to thank ESPN for actually helping Kentucky for once, by replaying that shot over and over and over and over. It has only added fuel to an already intense fire, and the Hoosiers are going to be left smoldering by midnight.
[B]INDIANA CAN KEEP IT CLOSE BECAUSE[/B] Kentucky may come out too eager, and find themselves pressing, giving the Hoosiers a chance to keep it close. I can actually see this happening for the first 4-5 minutes.
[B]KENTUCKY WILL WIN BIG BECAUSE[/B] the game is in Atlanta, not Bloomington. The fans won the game for Indiana back in December, because I was at home watching, and I was intimidated sitting on my couch. I couldn’t imagine what a then-young Kentucky team felt.
[B]INDIANA CAN KEEP IT CLOSE BECAUSE[/B] Kentucky sometimes has a tendency to settle for the long jumper, and if they aren’t hitting, it gives the Cats problems. It happened at the endgame of the SEC tournament final, and could very well happen tonight.
[B]KENTUCKY WILL WIN BIG BECAUSE[/B] no way Anthony Davis misses as much first half time in this one as he did previously. He’s a much more savvy player now. It probably comes down to defensive match-ups, as far as who Davis guards. I’m guessing Kentucky puts Terrence Jones on Cody Zeller, since Jones’ defensive game has grown by leaps and bounds.
[B]INDIANA CAN KEEP IT CLOSE BECAUSE[/B] they have the ability to get hot from outside. It happened in Bloomington, but I don’t see it happening here.
[B]KENTUCKY WILL WIN BIG BECAUSE[/B] they are a much better team than they were in December. I don’t see Indiana shooting as good as they did last time, and I know the crowd won’t be as intimidating for Kentucky; in fact, it may be the other way around.
So what happens? I think Kentucky takes a big lead right off the bat, then struggles for a bit and lets Indiana hang around, before going into overdrive and closing it out. Look for the Cats to shoot a high percentage from outside, and Terrence Jones will be a man tonight. Hopefully Marquis Teague plays his game as well.
Cats by 13, 78-65.
