Yes the Mike Hartline thing is a bummer. As a UK fan I like to joke and ridicule the fact that Louisville athletes are arrested continuously for fighting over hairbrushes, being tazed, trying to eat weed, and so on. The jokes are now a little less funny with Hartline deciding to go Tony Woods all over some girl (allegedly) and getting arrested for being drunk in public. If Hartline gets suspended, which he will, I and the rest of the fan base support it 100%. There is no room for this behavior at UK.
With that being said, on to the games!
UNLV Runnin' Rebels at Louisville Cardinals: The Runnin' Rebs are coming into the Yum! (ugh, I hate typing that) boasting an 9-0 record. They will be going against the 7-0 Cards who have played one team from last year's tournament and that was Butler. Other than the extremely overrated Bull Dogs the Cards have not played one team in the top 100 of the RPI. Their schedule has been, in a word, soft.
UNLV's schedule has been somewhat tougher. They beat a traditionally tough and tournament regular Wisconsin, an up and coming Virginia Tech team, Murray State and Nevada; teams we are used to seeing in the tournament. UNLV can score, play fast and they play defense very well. Former Wildcat Derrick Jasper gave the Cards fits last year. He is not a great scoring point guard but plays tough defense. He is big, strong and athletic.
The hyped crowd will give the Ville a boost to start but I think this test will be one that the Cards will fail. There are still a ton of questions surrounding this team, something Pitino admits: Is Mike Marra for real?; is Siva that bad?; is Justice that good?; can Jennings keep this up?; is there a shot that Preston Knowles will not take?
This will be the first team that Louisville has seen with athleticism to match their own. Louisville is a 5 point favorite at the moment but I believe it will be a 5 point loss.
UNLV 75-Louisville 70
Indiana Hoosiers at Kentucky Wildcats: What used to be a heated, evenly matched rivalry has turned into a UK smack down of the Hoosiers. Gone are the days when Bobby Knight was going toe to toe with Joe B. Hall and Rick Pitino. Even when the Cats were wallowing in mediocrity they could still beat Indiana.
Now Tome Crean is at IU. The only problem is that John Calipari is at Kentucky. Kentucky is a battle tested team and, at 6-2, a team looking to be 10-2 before that big game on New Years Day.
IU was 6-0 until they ran into that Buzz Saw called Boston College. I hope you sense the sarcasm. But hey, IU beat Evansville, which in turn beat Butler, so they must be pretty good. In reality the Hoosiers are not a bad team at all. They have young but experienced players with Maurice Creek and Christian Watford. They also have senior leadership in Jeremiah Rivers. There is nobody on their roster over 6-9, so there is no size advantage for them, something that UK has had to deal with all season.
The Cats are coming off of a big win against a ranked, undefeated Big East team. John Calipari has publicly called out Junior Darius Miller, saying that he expects more from him than what he is giving. There have been times this season when Miller has flat out disappeared. His best game came in a loss against North Carolina.
In the end talent will be too much. Too much Terrence Jones, too much Brandon Knight and too much Darius Miller. Yes, Miller will have a big day. He will answer the challenge that Calipari has given him. The Cats are a 14 point favorite and I think that is a good number, but it will be a little more.
Indiana 56- Kentucky 75
With that being said, on to the games!
UNLV Runnin' Rebels at Louisville Cardinals: The Runnin' Rebs are coming into the Yum! (ugh, I hate typing that) boasting an 9-0 record. They will be going against the 7-0 Cards who have played one team from last year's tournament and that was Butler. Other than the extremely overrated Bull Dogs the Cards have not played one team in the top 100 of the RPI. Their schedule has been, in a word, soft.
UNLV's schedule has been somewhat tougher. They beat a traditionally tough and tournament regular Wisconsin, an up and coming Virginia Tech team, Murray State and Nevada; teams we are used to seeing in the tournament. UNLV can score, play fast and they play defense very well. Former Wildcat Derrick Jasper gave the Cards fits last year. He is not a great scoring point guard but plays tough defense. He is big, strong and athletic.
The hyped crowd will give the Ville a boost to start but I think this test will be one that the Cards will fail. There are still a ton of questions surrounding this team, something Pitino admits: Is Mike Marra for real?; is Siva that bad?; is Justice that good?; can Jennings keep this up?; is there a shot that Preston Knowles will not take?
This will be the first team that Louisville has seen with athleticism to match their own. Louisville is a 5 point favorite at the moment but I believe it will be a 5 point loss.
UNLV 75-Louisville 70
Indiana Hoosiers at Kentucky Wildcats: What used to be a heated, evenly matched rivalry has turned into a UK smack down of the Hoosiers. Gone are the days when Bobby Knight was going toe to toe with Joe B. Hall and Rick Pitino. Even when the Cats were wallowing in mediocrity they could still beat Indiana.
Now Tome Crean is at IU. The only problem is that John Calipari is at Kentucky. Kentucky is a battle tested team and, at 6-2, a team looking to be 10-2 before that big game on New Years Day.
IU was 6-0 until they ran into that Buzz Saw called Boston College. I hope you sense the sarcasm. But hey, IU beat Evansville, which in turn beat Butler, so they must be pretty good. In reality the Hoosiers are not a bad team at all. They have young but experienced players with Maurice Creek and Christian Watford. They also have senior leadership in Jeremiah Rivers. There is nobody on their roster over 6-9, so there is no size advantage for them, something that UK has had to deal with all season.
The Cats are coming off of a big win against a ranked, undefeated Big East team. John Calipari has publicly called out Junior Darius Miller, saying that he expects more from him than what he is giving. There have been times this season when Miller has flat out disappeared. His best game came in a loss against North Carolina.
In the end talent will be too much. Too much Terrence Jones, too much Brandon Knight and too much Darius Miller. Yes, Miller will have a big day. He will answer the challenge that Calipari has given him. The Cats are a 14 point favorite and I think that is a good number, but it will be a little more.
Indiana 56- Kentucky 75
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