An in-state rivalry takes place tonight in the NCAA Tournament Sweet 16 when the Kentucky Wildcats take on the Louisville Cardinals. The game is scheduled for a 9:45 p.m. start time and it will be televised nationally on CBS. Currently the odds for the game have Louisville favored by only a couple of points to knock off the Wildcats.
This should be a fun game to watch. Kentucky and Louisville have won the last two national championships and are separated by only 70 miles. We have two excellent coaches in John Calipari and Rick Pitino and a couple of teams loaded with talent. Yet, in this contest we will see the youngsters from Kentucky taking on the older guys from Louisville.
Kentucky knocked off Wichita State in their last game, showcasing their freshmen playing well down the stretch against an undefeated Shockers club. Four of the five Kentucky freshmen starters combined to score 65 of the team's 78 points. Wichita State shot 55 percent from the floor in that game, but weren't able to get the victory over Kentucky, who shot 54 percent themselves. Andrew Harrison tossed in 20 points while Aaron Harrison added 19 and Julius Randle had 13.
The Wildcats average better than 76 points per game and are one of the best rebounding teams in the country, hauling in better than 41 per contest. Louisville averages better than 82 points per game themselves and they're a pretty solid team at 38 boards per game. They shoot the ball well and run effectively as an offense, handing out almost 16 assists per game. Defensively they are going to pressure the youngsters from Kentucky, looking to double-team their ball handlers and force the young guys into making mistakes. Louisville ranks second best in the country at just over 10 steals per game.
We are expected big games from Russ Smith and Luke Hancock for the Cardinals. The Cardinal duo make up two of the seven Louisville players that were on the team last year, when they won the national title. Experience is huge at this time of year and Louisville is looking to use that as an advantage tonight. Hancock is averaging 18.5 points per game for the Cardinals in the tournament while Smith hasn't had his best two games, but still is arguably the best player on the floor.
And the Cardinals have a bit of in-season revenge in this one, having lost to Kentucky 73-66 back in December. Louisville has lost only once in March while Kentucky has a pair of losses to Florida and a road defeat at South Carolina this month. But the Wildcats played well in both their wins over Kansas State and Wichita State in the tournament.
The battle between Randle and Montrezl Harrell will be fun to see down on the blocks. Both guys are excellent rebounders and get second-chance opportunities around the rim that lead to points. Louisville is playing better basketball, having smoked everyone in their conference tournament and they ran away from Saint Louis in their last game.
We like this game to be close, with an up and down style of action. But in the end we're taking the experience of Louisville to win this game. But it will be a physical, in-state rivalry game with a lot of emotion. It should be the best game of the night.
Free Pick: Louisville 71, Kentucky 66
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