The first round opponent for the Kentucky Wildcats is the East Tennessee State Bucs of the Atlantic Sun Conference. They are located in Johnson City, which is 2 hours south of Jenkins, KY. I have lived in Eastern Kentucky for most of my life, and that is the way you go to Gatlinburg. Anyway, I ran up on a newspaper article in the [URL=”http://www.johnsoncitypress.com/Sports/article.php?ID=74440″]Johnson City Press [/URL]and thought we would see what they are saying.
[h=2]Highly touted ‘Cats await Bucs[/h]
By Kelly Hodge
Press Managing Sports Editor
[QUOTE]
The East Tennessee State basketball team got about what it expected Sunday night — a 16-seed and another chance to make history in the NCAA tournament.
The Bucs drew Kentucky, the Southeastern Conference champion and largest team in the land, for an East Regional game Thursday night in New Orleans. Tip-off is set for 7:15 (EDT).
[/QUOTE]
Kentucky is large. Thats what she said.
[QUOTE]
A 16-seed has never won a tournament game, although the Bucs have challenged that history more than once. They lost to Oklahoma by a point back in 1989, and last season threatened Pittsburgh the whole way before falling 72-62.
The latter bears some resemblence to this assignment. The Panthers were the big, bad team from the Big East that no one was particularly eager to play.
The Bucs not only stayed close in Dayton, Ohio. They had a legitimate chance to win before last-minute free throws pushed the final margin to 10. ETSU has made eight previous appearances in the tournament and never lost by more than 16. Included are three-point losses to Iowa, Wake Forest and Cincinnati as a double-digit seed.
[/QUOTE]
The Cats will win. Tradition says the Bucs won’t lose by more than 16 in the tournament. That run will end.
[QUOTE]
“Our history helps,” said coach Murry Bartow during a gathering of fans at the Millennium Center, “but it’s a tough game regardless. There’s a reason (a 1-versus-16 upset) has never happened in the history of the tournament. Everything would have to go right.” “We’ve watched them a lot the last two days,” said Bartow. “They have some big athletes, a lot of size. We’re going to go into it like last year. We’ll scrap hard, compete hard, and let the chips fall where they may.”
[/QUOTE]
These types of teams have given the Cats trouble this year. Kentucky’s talent level is just too high to have to worry too much. This game could end up close but the Cats should be too strong.
[QUOTE]
“They have great players all around,” said Micah Williams, ETSU’s junior guard. “That being said, we’ve got a pretty good team. We look forward to showing what we can do.”
Junior forward Tommy Hubbard said he’s watched the Wildcats play a couple of times this season. “They’re not a perfect team; they have some weaknesses we need to exploit,” he said. “We’re not playing a seven-game series. It’s only one, and whoever plays the best that night will win.”
[/QUOTE]
Tommy Hubbard has just announced to the world they are playing a 2-3 zone. The Cats don’t shoot the ball very well from the perimeter. ETSU will pack the zone in and make the Cats hit shots. I look for Darius Miller to have a career game. This is the type of opponent where Darius can really shine.
[QUOTE]
Bartow has a history with Calipari. The two used to tangle a couple of times a year in Conference USA, when Bartow was at Alabama-Birmingham and Calipari at Memphis. They have also spent time off the floor, especially in recent months as Bartow’s father Gene has battled stomach cancer and Calipari has kept tabs on him.
“John is a good friend and has been to my family’s home in Birmingham,” said Bartow. “He’s been incredible to my dad during this tough time.” Bartow also says he’s “very close” with Martin Newton, Kentucky’s director of basketball operations.
[/QUOTE]
Sad to hear about Coach Bartow’s father. Shows what type of man Calipari is too.
[QUOTE]
“We thought there was a way we could slip up to 15,” said Bartow, “but everything yesterday didn’t go the way we needed them to go. We knew we were going to play a big body. We just didn’t know if would be Cole Aldrich (of Kansas) or Cousins. Unfortunately, Kentucky has two of those guys.”
Bartow noted the difference in talent between the 1-seeds and those on the lines below. Of course, being a 16 gives a team like ETSU a chance to shock the world, if nothing else. “It’s been said quite a bit, that a 16 never wins,” said Williams. “We would take a 14 or 15 any day, but anytime you get a chance to make history there’s more incentive to get out there and do it.”
[/QUOTE]
The biggest thing that I got out of this article is ETSU is ready to play. Talks of shocking the world and mentioning that Kentucky has weaknesses has me thinking the Cats better come out ready to play. Alabama comes to mind getting ready to play this game. Better not take anyone for granted. Not even teams located 2 hours south of Jenkins, KY!!
