NCAA Championship Preview

#7 Connecticut Huskies vs. #8 Kentucky Wildcats

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.

My NCAA Bracket- Regrets and Predictions for the Thursday Games of the Sweet 16

Today we are going to take a look at my NCAA bracket as the Sweet 16 schedule has been set. It has been such an amazing tournament so far with wonderful upsets and a bunch of overtimes. The great thing about the tournament is that we get to see the heart and passion of these under dogs beat the wonderfully skilled teams. We get the upsets in the early rounds and a premier brand of basketball from this point on. Enjoy!

My entry into the the ESPN Tournament challenge is currently ranked 195th out of the some 11 million entries. I have 550 points, 40 behind the leader. Below is a look at my bracket.

Looking at my bracket, I can't say I have many regrets so far. If I had to choose one, it would probably be the against the grain mindset. This may seem ironic since I picked 3 of the 4 favorites to make the final four but picks like KSU over Kentucky and GW over Memphis were selections that I chose to go against the greater population. While these were simply first round match ups, with my impeccable 20-20 vision, they were obvious picks. 

Predictions for Thursday

Stanford #10 vs. Dayton #11

Let's start with the double digit seed Sweet 16 matchup. Stanford versus Dayton deems two of the the three cinderellas remaining in the tourney. For me the selection is simple, I believe Stanford moves on based on their inability to stop Chasson Randle and Dwight Powell. The Flyers, I'm anticipating, are spent and their magic has run out. As amazing of a run as Dayton has put together my instincts tell me that Stanford's talent will overcome the heart of the Flyers. This may seem ridiculous as the Flyers have defeated Syracuse and Ohio State, two teams who arguably sport much more talent than the Cardinals but one must remember that both squads struggled a lot down the stretch. Therefore, I believe Stanford wins 70-64.

Wisconsin #2 vs. Baylor #6

The streaking Bears take on a Wisconsin team that is back in their best form. What people forget is that the Badgers began the year on a tear ranked among the top 3 teams in the country. They hit a rough stretch during the Big Ten slate of games but found themselves during the tournament. Their counterparts have struggled all year despite having NBA caliber talent and high expectations. They are finally beginning to show their true potential. Wisconsin needed a huge 2nd half to escape the 7 seed Oregon Ducks while the Bears coasted past Creighton and McDermott. Baylor's newly implemented zone has posed problems with their superior length. Wisconsin, though, has the shooters to stretch the zone and cause problems. On the other side, Baylor should be able to crush the Badgers down low. Wisconsin does have Frank Kaminsky, a 6' 11 big man, but he does not compare to both Isaiah Austin and Corey Jefferson. I believe both teams will be able to score the ball tonight and this game will come down to getting defensive stops. In the tournament, I'm going to roll with the team that is going to force their opponent to shoot 3s. This team is Baylor. Baylor takes down Wisconsin by 5 and advances to the Elite 8.  70-65 Bears.

Florida #1 vs. UCLA #4

The other game in the South region pits Florida vs. UCLA in what I believe is the one team stopping Florida from winning a National Championship. Call me crazy but if Florida beats UCLA they have a  relative cake walk into the final four. Many will argue that Michigan State and Arizona/Louisville could pose problems in Texas but I truly believe the Gators, if they surpass UCLA, win will it all. But hold on. The Bruins pose major match up problems for Florida. Everyone knows about the senior experience of the Gators especially their Point Guard, Scotty Wilbekin, but UCLA has their own 6 foot 9 point guard who is a walking triple double. Wilbekin will have trouble guarding Kyle Anderson all day long. In addition, the Bruins best wing player, Jordan Adams, is a flat out scorer who could overcome Florida's tough defense. Finally, the Wear twins, the two big men for the Bruins,   have the ability to stretch the floor with their excellent mid range game. This could pull Patric Young away from the basket opening up driving lanes for Anderson and Adams. As much as I'm touting the Bruins, I cannot pick against my Gators. They simply have the experience and coaching to counter anything the Bruins can do. I think the Gators win 70-68.

Arizona #1 vs. SDSU #4

The last game of the night touts the best defensive team in the country against the remaining power house from not one of the Power 6 conferences. SDSU's best player is a Guard, Xavier Thames. Thames is an unbelievable senior player and the Aztecs sport a tough inside game but this simply isn't a good matchup for them. SDSU goes through stretches where they struggle to score which against Arizona is not a good flaw to have. If Thames is struggling, the entire team struggles. Because of this problem, Arizona will end up reeling off a huge run that they will be able to hang on to for the game. The Wildcats match up pretty evenly down low with Kaleb Tarczeswki and freshman phenom Aaron Gordon but on the perimeter is where the Wildcats will overmatch San Diego State. Nick Johnson is a Wooden Award Candidate for player of the year in the NCAA and his back court mate T.J. McConnell will be too much for the aforementioned Thames to handle in a solid victory by the Wildcats. Arizona wins 61-52. 

NCAA Championship-Michigan Wolverines vs. Louisville Cardinals

The National Title game has been set! With that being said, Sportacular Sports will analyze and predict Monday Night's game.

Background:
CBS
9:23 PM ET
#4 Michigan Wolverines vs. #1 Louisville Cardinals

Final Four Recap:
In case you missed the two National Semi-finals, here is a quick recap.

Louisville-72
Wichita State-68

At one point in this game, the Shockers actually held a 12 point game. Unlike the Ohio State, Elite 8 game, this WSU lead slipped away. It was not the constant Louisville pressure that spurred a 15-0 crazy run (this did not happen), it was a more gradual comeback by the Cardinals. One you would expect from the Number 1 overall seed. The Shockers played a great game but the Louisville bench, led by Luke Hancock's 20 points, were the main reason the Cards play Monday night. The pivotal play of the game came after a missed Hancock free throw in which the ball was corralled by Wichita State. Unfortunately for WSU fans, Hancock clasped onto the ball and forced a jump ball. The rest is as they say history because Louisville owned the possession arrow and then the National Championship berth.

Michigan-61
Syracuse-56

The matchup between Michael Carter-Williams and Trey Burke could have been the greatest matchup of the Tourney, instead it was the role players who put on the show. Freshmen Spike Albrecht and Caris LeVert both hit important threes and the other freshmen big man Mitch McGary tallied his 3rd double double of the Tournament. With all those Freshman superstars, the MVP should truly go to Jordan Morgan. As McGary's play has improved, Morgan's minutes have diminished to the point where he didn't record a minute in their opening round game. After being a starter for most of the past two seasons, it is fitting Morgan owns MVP honors of the Semi-Final game. While it might not seem that he played a large part in the box score (3 points) it was his two charges taken that really won the game for the Wolverines. Michigan couldn't hit a Free Throw down the stretch connecting on only 3 of their Final 11 attempts but it was Morgan's charges that got them those extra possessions to save the game. He fittingly ended the game with a Monster slam to put Michigan in the Finals.

Now for the National Championship prediction!

To think that this is the National Championship matchup is a Hard Core fan's dream. The casual fan understands the Guard play matchup between Burke/Hardaway Jr. and Smith/Siva and that's a great storyline but for someone like me, sports lunatic, we see the real storyline. 

Michigan ranks #1 in Offensive efficiency while Louisville ranks #1 in Defensive efficiency. 
For a National title to have the top ranked offenses and defenses is hardly a reality. Fortunately for us that's what we have. Throw in that Louisville loves to force turnovers (2nd to VCU) and Michigan doesn't cough the ball up (2nd to none) and we have two amazing story lines. 

These two teams matchup as evenly as can be. For example, Russ Smith and Trey Burke. Both sporadic shot takers at time, can instantaneously take over and win their school a National Title. Hardaway Jr. and Peyton Siva. Both have amazing leadership and will will their to victory. Chane Behanan and Glenn Robinson Jr. Both slash the lane but have the ability to stretch the floor. 

Louisville has the edge in the experience department. Michigan has 5 Freshamn in their rotation, a Sophomore, a Junior, and a Senior (see above-Jordan Morgan). Louisville went to the Final Four last year and have plenty of Senior leadership. While people say experience doesn't really matter, check Louisville vs. Michigan's free throw shooting down the stretch. 

With the equality of both these teams, I am waffling a ton on my pick. I picked the Cardinals pre-season (I'm impressed with myself) but my favorite College Basketball team happens to be Michigan. Seeing both teams in action this weekend, I can't point out one thing that will separate one from the other.

With ALL this being said, I'm going with the...Wolverines...no Cardinals... tie?...OK

Michigan Wolverines!!!

I think the difference in the game is Mitch McGary down low and Trey Burke being the best player in the Nation. 


Wolverines-67
Cardinals-66

Who Impressed and Who did not Impress this March Madness Weekend

Today, Sportacular Sports looks at who left the Round of 32 with a positive impression versus the others who left not looking so hot. 

Impressive
1. Florida Gulf Coast Eagles 

Sherwood Brown-The Eagle's lovable Senior

This is the obvious pick for who impressed this weekend. The Eagles from Florida became the first 15 seed to ever advance to the Sweet 16 in their impressive 81-71 win over San Diego State. If you have been in a cave, FGCU also defeated Otto Porter and the #2 seeded Georgetown Hoyas on Friday. Their's not much to say about the Eagles except their so easy to love. Who doesn't love the Cinderella story and to augment to their amiable story is the fact that they are having so much fan. You constantly see the players soaking up the experience whether it be shaking hands with the Broadcast teams or dancing around in the locker room. If you aren't rooting for the Eagles, you're probably a SDSU or Georgetown fan but even in that case you've got to respect this truly unbelievable story.

Trey Burke-Sophomore Guard-Naismith Award Finalist

2. Michigan Wolverines
After I put Michigan on upset alert a few days ago, the Wolverines now find themselves on my impressed list. Michigan had a solid performance against South Dakota State on Thursday but came away as major impressers after the game against VCU. The Rams turned teams over the most in the nation at 20 times per game, while the Wolverines turned the ball over the least amount of times at 9.0. When you see this matchup, you know something's got to give. Unfortunately for Rams fans, it was their defense. The Wolverines dominated in a 78-53 win in which they only turned the ball over 12 times and were never in grave danger of losing. Even more impressive than their win, is the importance of this game. A Blue-collar Freshmen named Mitch McGary may have had his official coming out party. McGary went 10-11 for 21 points and added 14 rebounds in an excellent performance. The reason Michigan has had so many doubters is their lack of an inside presence. While this was only 1 game, if McGary plays with consistent efficiency the Wolverines have an excellent chance of knocking off the top seeded Jayhawks in the Sweet 16.

3. Close calls 

Aaron Craft's Game Winner to send the Buckeyes to the Sweet 16

While Indiana barely escaped Temple, Ohio State needed a bogus call, Miami some clutch free throw shooting, and Marquette yet another escape, what impressed me about all these teams were their ability to win tight games. In every championship run, a team must win a game they had no business in winning and I believe all of these teams may have just done that. Indiana closed out Temple on a 10-0 run in a game they could have easily lost. While people may think teams like Indiana should crush a team like this, it's the tournament and their are no easy games come the weekend. For Ohio State, even though it took a questionable call (see Bad impressions), Ohio State found away and that's what it's all about come March. While Miami got a great battle from Illinois, they showed that the pressures of the NCAA Tournament won't be getting to them down the stretch. While Illinois fell victim to a bad call as well, Miami never gave the Illini a chance to tie or take the lead in the final minute nailing all 6 of their FT attempts. Finally, my Final Four pick, Marquette, once again got my heart beating in my favorite game of the weekend. The Butler and Marquette game was just a great game that Marquette found a way to win for the second straight game. Marquette won't be able to win 6 games by less than 3 points but they've shown their ability to win in tight situations.

Considered- Louisville (Blowout performance, playing like the Number 1 overall seed) La Salle (Game winner against a feisty Ole Miss team- 13th seed to the Sweet 16)

Not Impressive 

Missed Call on Aaron Craft-But really, they're supposed to get this call?

1. I do not want to take away from both the great Ohio State-Iowa State and Miami-Illinois game but for a moment I want to talk about the refereeing. In both games, the call ultimately cost ISU and Illinois the game but to your surprise I'm more upset about the Illinois call. If you were still in your cave, Aaron Craft from Ohio State took a charge with under a minute to play which should have been an And-1 pushing the Cyclone lead to 4 or possibly 5. I am not upset at the refs for this call. The play is happening so fast and Craft is literally 2 inches over the restricted area. While the NCAA has admitted the wrong call was made, that's the toughest call of the weekend and I'd say 9 refs out of 10 call that a charge. Now for the Illinois game. This points towards the NCAA Rules Comittee. With under 30 seconds to play, Illinois trailed by 2 and missed a shot but on the rebound, a Hurricane player (Kenny Kadji) clearly knocked the ball out of bounds. While it was another bang-bang play, it was seen clearly on replay. With that being said, why can't the officials go to the monitors with under 2 minutes to play. While we all know one play doesn't determine a game, why can't we get that call right and not knock Illinois out of the tournament. Unfortunate for both teams, but I honestly believe one of these issues could be fixed. 

2. Ben McLemore-Kansas 
A projected NBA lottery pick (top 5), Big 12 player of the year, and top Freshman in the nation, Ben McLemore did not show up against North Carolina on Sunday. McLemore shot 0-9 from the field and his 2 points came from the Free Throw strike not to mention his mere 2 assists. While the Jayhawks advanced, is it possible that the Freshman superstar is afraid of the spotlights. In a poor team performance against 16th seeded Western Kentucky, McLemore shot 2-5 from the field and got most of his points from the FT line. He scored only 11, 5 points below his season average. If McLemore is the superstar that all the NBA scouts believe he is, he better put on a strong showing against an undersized Michigan size.

Considerations- MWC (only 1 of 5 teams made it to the Sweet 16), VCU (got clobbered by Michigan)