No. 8 Providence vs. No. 9 USC (Thursday): Flip a coin with this one, and I will select the Southern California team (21-12) that credits drinking beet juice before games to increase nitrate levels for better work on the hardwood.
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IN and Kentucky will lock horns at 5.15 p.m. EST at the Wells Fargo Arena in Des Moines, Iowa. Kentucky will play Stony… Kentucky won a national championship and has made three Final Four appearance in the past four years. It is hard to speculate with any ounce of certainty when it comes to guessing who United Kingdom will play each step of the way, if they continue to win. I wish it was later down the road. If they do make it to the lone star state it will be because guards Tyler Ulis and Jamal Murray played their tails off. Often times, advancing in the tournament is about star power and which players rise to the occasion and will their team to victory. He’s our leader. Our floor general.
Ferrell was brilliant in a 99-74 thrashing of 12th-seeded Chattanooga in the opening round, notching his first double-double of the season with 20 points and 10 assists.
Long defined by inconsistent play, Kentucky’s Alex Poythress (10.4 ppg, 6 rpg) has six straight double-figure scoring games, including 12 points and four rebounds against Stony Brook.
Wildcats coach John Calipari criticized the process after Kentucky was seeded fourth in the East Region despite beating Texas A&M – a No. 3 seed – to win the Southeastern Conference Tournament title. This has been a weakness of Kentucky all season, and could be a fatal weakness against Indiana. Indiana’s ball movement, spacing and shot-making were on full display against the Mocs, as the Hoosiers shot 65 percent, hit 10 3-pointers and had almost twice as many assists as turnovers.
“If you’re not aware in this country right now that they block shots, you’re not watching basketball”, junior forward Collin Hartman said. Either of these teams at their best could hang with Arizona in the round of 64, but both have under-performed throughout the season. “You especially can’t go in there and drive in on those bigs”.
Neither Crean nor Calipari said that the excitement surrounding Saturday’s matchup would likely change the status of their once-annual matchup. Calipari wanted only neutral site games.
They’re going to have to play their hearts out and then some in order to compete with a true major team like Kentucky.
Norelia and his silky post moves earned him MVP honors at the Atlantic Sun tournament where he averaged 17.6 points and 11.3 rebounds per game.
“I think we have a friendship that transcends basketball. But hopefully someday it will”, Crean said.
“I don’t want to get into the rivalry too much”, said Yogi Ferrell, the talented senior point guard for the Hoosiers. “I still look at that one and I see the misses more than I see the 92 points that we scored”.
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The Kentucky Wildcats defeated the Seawolves of Stony Brook 85-57 in the first round.
