CBS 9:10 ET
These two basketball power houses came into the tournament ranked much lower than their former experiences but they both have found the same success as their prior teams. Neither one of these teams was even in the tournament last year but now they find themselves playing for the National Championship. This article will give you everything you need to know about the game tonight as well as a prediction of the winner.
UCONN
Starting Lineup
Shabazz Napier-G
Ryan Boatright-G
Niels Giffey-G/F
DeAndre Daniels-F
Phillip Nolan-F
Other important players:
Amida Brimah-F
Tyler Olander-F
Terrance Samuel-G
Lasan Kromah-G
The Huskies are coached by Kevin Ollie who brings an incredible amount of NBA experience and techniques to this Uconn team.
Starting from the top is the Huskies best player in Shabazz Napier. He is a do it all guard who can rebound the ball, pass very well, but most importantly score the ball. If this game comes down to a last shot situation, expect the ball to be in the senior's hands. His backcourt mate is Ryan Boatright, a junior. Boatright compliments Napier perfectly as he is a strong defender who can pick up the scoring slack if need be. Boatright doesn't do anything special but he is one of the most consistent players in the NCAA. Boatright and Napier show how much the NCAA has transformed from years past. The deadly two guard combination is what has carried the Huskies to the championship game and will be a mold for future teams looking to find success in the tournament. Niels Giffey is an international player who is a great three point shooter. With solid size, defenders must respect Giffey's ability to drive but his end game is shooting the perimeter shot. He opens up driving lanes for all the Connecticut players. DeAndre Daniels is the MVP of the tournament for the Huskies. While UCONN would be nothing without Napier, Daniels has elevated his game to a whole new level. Daniels scored 20 points and snagged 10 rebounds in a game where Napier really struggled to get it going. Daniels ability to stretch the floor, similar to that of Giffey, also opens up driving lanes. Daniels hit two huge threes in their Final Four matchup with Florida that completely changed a game that could have gotten away from them. The fifth starter is big man, Phillip Nolan. Nolan only averages around 20 minutes per game and is a defensive specialist.
The other important players for the Huskies are most notably the cavalry of Olander, Brimah, and Nolan. While Nolan starts, it really depends on the flow of the game and more importantly foul trouble. The UCONN bigs have no trouble spending their fouls. Brimah and Nolan both had 4 fouls in a combined 27 minutes and Olander grabbed 2 fouls in 5 minutes. Brimah is the most talented of the three but he struggles to stay on the floor. Kentucky's bigs should be able to get the UCONN big men in foul trouble but this doesn't usually affect Connecticut as they'll just throw in one of the 3 without foul trouble. Lasan Kromah is the Huskies guard defensive specialist as he is excellent at reading passing lanes and coming up with steals. The final man that the Huskies use and who will probably get a lot of run again tonight is Terrance Samuel. Samuel becomes the 3rd guard when Coach Kevin Ollie decides to go small. This was the effective strategy that he utilized against Florida and will probably be the similar strategy tonight against Kentucky's three guard lineup. Samuel is an average player who takes care of the ball and helps the team win.
Kentucky
Starting Lineup
Aaron Harrison-G
Andrew Harrison-G
James Young-G
Julius Randle-F
Dakari Johnson-F
Other important players:
Alex Poythress-F
Marcus Lee-F
Dominique Hawkins-G
The Wildcats are coached by John Calipari arguably the best recruiter in the country who profiles as a solid coach. Calipari won the National Championship two years ago at Kentucky and lost to Kansas back in 2008 in heartbreaking fashion.
The Wildcats starting five is all Freshmen, the first team to do so since Michgan's Fab Five. Aaron Harrison. My oh my. This kid has hit game winning 3 pointers in their past 3 games. The most recently coming against Wisconsin a mere two days ago. Harrison, not known as a great 3 point shooter, has come up huge for the Wildcats and has carried them in clutch situations. Kentucky while being ranked as the #8 seed probably should not have been overlooked. They were the pre-season #1 and have grown incredibly over the season. This includes Aaron's brother, Andrew. Both brothers use their extra size for a Guard to overpower and overmatch the backcourt counterparts. They use their size to get in the lane and make shots over their shorter defenders. Their 3rd backcourt mate is James Young. A slashing 3 point shooter who is not afraid to let it rip from outside but also isn't afraid to put it on the deck and drive to his left hand. Young probably profiles as the most "freshmen" out of the 5 starters as he can become erratic at times but nonetheless he is a great player. The Wildcats best player is their big man, Julius Randle. Randle, a projected top 5 pick, is a huge presence down low and his performance will most likely determine the game. On a night like tonight, Randle has the ability to go for 30 points. You will rarely see him take a layup with his right hand, his weak hand, but he is so strong that it doesn't even matter. To round out the starting lineup is Dakari Johnson who is filling in for the injured Willy Cauley-Stein. Cauley-Stein hurt his ankle a couple games ago and will not be playing in the Title Game. Dakari Johnson brings his 7 foot body and decent rebounding skills to the table. He can finish layups but besides that his offensive game is raw.
The other Wildcats that will have an impact on this game are Marcus Lee, Alex Poythress, and Dominique Hawkins. Hawkins is a defensive guard who will play spotty minutes to give one of the Harrisons or James Young a break. He is relied on to not turn the ball over and play defense. Hawkins will most likely find himself matched up against Boatright or Napier for a few minutes at a time. Moving on to Dakari Johnson's replacement, Marcus Lee. Marcus Lee wasn't seeing any time on the court a few weeks ago. Now he has become the greatest put back dunker in the game. A bit of hyperbole but all joking aside Lee has become a presence on both ends of the court. He cleans up the boards and is excellent at protecting the rim. In 10-15 minutes, Lee can have a huge presence in this game. Finally, the Wildcats 6th man. Alex Poythress was a highly touted Freshman coming out of High school 2 years ago. Unfortunately, he did not turn out as great as projected but he has come back with a great attitude as a Sophomore and has been invaluable for Kentucky. Poythress actually injured his knee in the post game celebration following the victory over Wisconsin but will be fine to play. Poythress is another important factor in this ball game.
X-Factor
Julius Randle vs. DeAndre Daniels
While I cannot exactly predict how both coaches will approach this matchup, I can try and predict how important this matchup will turn out. Not to confuse anyone, Randle is far and away a better player than Daniels. But in this matchup we are looking at who has more success in terms of expectations. Randle must play like Kentucky's best player tonight while Daniels must limit Randle as best he can. The fun in this matchup is the two's opposing style of game. Randle likes to bang down low while Daniels is an effective 3 point shooter. This leaves the question for both coaches as how to defend each player. Will Kevin Ollie put Daniels on the bigger Dakari Johnson and place his big men on Randle or will he let Daniels guard Randle straight up. The same goes for Calipari. Will he let the quicker Daniels exploit Randle on the wing or have Alex Poythress play the majority of the minutes as he is a better matchup for Daniels. This 2nd option would put Kentucky in a size disadvantage down low. Whatever the coaches choose to do, the performances of these two players will determine the game.
Prediction
UCONN-68
Kentucky-64
I believe the senior presence of Napier and the experience of Boatright will be too much to handle for the Kentucky guards. In my x-factor matchup, I think Daniels will continue his incredible tournament run and propel the Huskies to the 2014 National Championship.
