Juwan Staten and West Virginia take on Kentucky in what will likely be their toughest matchup of the season.
West Virginia will likely play its toughest game all year in the Sweet 16 against heavily favored Kentucky, but what the Mountaineers do have on their side is history.
These two teams haven't met in the regular season since 2008. They haven't even met at each other's campuses since 1992. And yet Thursday night will be the third time they've met in six years, and their meeting in 2010 probably sticks out the most to Kentucky fans.
West Virginia ousted the Wildcats that year after Kentucky missed its first 20 three-point attempts, and the Mountaineers went on to the Final Four. A year later, Kentucky beat West Virginia by seven for a spot in the Sweet 16, but only after West Virginia went on a 22-7 run. Combine that with the fact that Bob Huggins is 8-2 all-time against John Calipari, and this contest looks to be an interesting matchup.
Like many teams, West Virginia would have to play Kentucky unintimidated. The eyes should be on how Kentucky is going to stop the duo of Juwan Staten and Gary Browne, not to mention the fact that West Virginia leads the nation in forced turnovers (19.6). But for Kentucky, it'll be about taking care of the ball, something that's landed the Wildcats in the top-25 nationally for their tidiness (10.6 turnovers per game), best in the Calipari era. It also shouldn't be overlooked that West Virginia can bang with Kentucky's bigs. The Mountaineers have a 40.5 offensive rebounding percentage, good for fourth nationally, though Kentucky isn't far behind, ranking sixth nationally.
On paper this should be one of the best games of the tournament so far. For Kentucky, it would be their 37th win and one step closer to a perfect season. For West Virginia, it would be Huggins' ninth win in 11 outings against Calipari.
Time: 9:45 p.m. ET, Thursday
Place: Quicken Loans Arena, Cleveland
TV: CBS
Online: March Madness Live
Spread: Kentucky is a 13-point favorite
Source SBNation.com - All Posts http://ift.tt/1E4r47t
No comments:
Post a Comment