Joe Lunardi of ESPN has made his prediction of how far Kentucky will go in the 2019 NCAA Tournament and it is a familiar story for Kentucky fans.
Cats make it to play North Carolina but can’t get past the Tarheels in the Elite 8.
Click the image to watch the video.
Lunardi and his team also give a scouting report on the Cats with how they beat you and how you beat them.
SCOUTING REPORT
How they beat you: By bludgeoning opponents with their size and controlling the glass. If the opportunity to run the fast break isn’t available, the Wildcats are content letting the game grind to a deliberate pace because their defense improves as time on the shot clock dwindles. Hagans developed as a playmaker as the season unfolded, assisting on 27 percent of the Wildcats’ baskets.How you beat them: Catch the Wildcats on a rare poor defensive night. UK was 19-1 in the regular season when it held opponents to less than one point per possession and 7-4 when it allowed more than one PPP. The Wildcats’ intensity waned at times, which can be attributed to their youth, and it’s also no coincidence that their poor 3-point production and losing went hand-in-hand.
They also give what they think is the best and worst case scenario for the Wildcats.
HOW FAR WILL THEY GO?
Best-case scenario: Final Four
Calipari has won 78 percent of his games as a Division I coach and 75 percent in the NCAA tournament. His teams generally improve over the course of the season, and it’s easy to understand why he feels like this squad’s best basketball is still to come. These Wildcats consistently win the scoring battle at the free throw line and in the paint, two dependable areas in a team’s quest to advance through the bracket.Worst-case scenario: First weekend exit
The harsh format of March Madness has no sympathy for youthful mistakes and the teams that commit them. If UK takes an opponent lightly, starts slowly or shoots poorly from the perimeter the team plane could be headed back to Lexington before the young Cats realize they’ve been eliminated.
Read 2019 NCAA tournament bracket projection for Kentucky Wildcats (Subscription) by clicking here.
What do you think guys?
