This year’s NCAA tournament has been a great one with plenty of wonderful stories to tell, but there has been just one that keeps getting attention: can any team defeat Kentucky?
The latest team that will attempt to beat the seemingly unbeatable juggernauts will be the Wisconsin Badgers, who achieved a No. 1 seed this year after winning the Big Ten championship. Led by senior seven-footer Frank Kaminsky (18.7 PPG, 8.0 RPG), the team has made its mark this tournament as a scrappy squad, pulling off come-from-behind victories against North Carolina in the Sweet Sixteen and Arizona in the Elite Eight.
Like its mascot, Wisconsin are a scrappy bunch with a never-say-die attitude and if there is any team at this point in the tourney that can beat Kentucky, it’s them.
Only helping Wisconsin’s odds is the fact that Kentucky is coming off an incredible scare in the Elite Eight against Notre Dame. Though the Wildcats won 68-66, those final two points were a result of final seconds free throws.
On the whole, the team’s defense was picked apart by Notre Dame, giving up layups and dunks and only pulling down 29 rebounds.
To give a better idea, Kentucky as a team is averaging 40.5 boards per game in the big dance and has two dominating seven-footers in Willie Cauley-Stein and Karl-Anthony Towns, so the fact that its interior defense was picked apart so badly against Notre Dame showed that though undefeated, the team is vulnerable in certain areas.
Moreover, Kentucky had a hard time getting past Notre Dame’s on-ball D last weekend, committing 11 turnovers.
Wisconsin’s on-ball defense should be an easier task for Kentucky, as the Badgers have only forced seven turnovers a game for the tournament, but attacking the Wildcats in the paint could prove to be an incredible boon for head coach Bo Ryan’s boys.
You see, Wisconsin runs a swing offense, a system that relies on lots of screens and cutting hard to the basket for high-percentage shots. This has resulted in the Badgers shooting just under 50 percent as a team for the tournament, with the aforementioned Kaminsky posting a team leading 22.8 points and 8.2 rebounds per game along the way.
With help from shooter Sam Dekker and swingman Nigel Hayes, Wisconsin can definitely make a lot of noise in the Final Four.
But that doesn’t take away from the fact that Kentucky is stacked from top to bottom. Apart from Cauley-Stein and Towns, guys like forward Trey Lyles and the Harrison twins, not to mention bench guard Devin Booker, can easily turn this game into a blowout, depending on who has a hot hand and how well the defense is playing.
Keep in mind, we’re talking about a team whose average margin of victory going into this game is just shy of 21 points, so this game could easily become a blowout, and fast.
Of course, there is still the revenge factor at stake.
These two teams actually met in the Final Four in last year’s big dance, when Wisconsin was a No. 2 seed and Kentucky was a No. 8. Thanks to a final seconds three-pointer from Aaron Harrison, off a pass from twin brother Andrew, the Wildcats won 74-73 after going toe-to-toe with the Badgers for most of the game.
With both teams essentially looking the same this season, save for the additions of Towns and Lyles on Kentucky’s end, this game is sure to be a close one from tip-off to the final buzzer.
That all being said, can Wisconsin be the Brock Lesnar to Kentucky’s Undertaker and beat the streak? The numbers on paper say no, but consider this. The oddsmakers only have Kentucky as five-point favorites going into tomorrow night’s game, so even the experts see this one as being close.
If you ask this writer, it’s going to be a back-and-forth dogfight that isn’t decided until the final two minutes and if certain pieces fall into place, the Badgers could soon be cutting down another net while the Wildcats head back to Lexington without the trophy once again.
That said, be sure to tune in to TBS at 8:49 pm (ET) tomorrow night for what’s bound to be a great game!
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*Featured Photo (above) credit to USA TODAY Sports-Robert Deutsch
