Kentucky Wildcats showed determination late in the season after losing to South Carolina in January and falling out of the NCAA Tournament field. They won six quad-one victories and are now entering the tournament as a six-seed with a good chance to make a run. However, their opening-round game is against Providence Friars, who have former Wildcat Bryce Hopkins on their roster.
John Calipari has the pressure of BBN to win an NCAA Tournament game, and he also cannot afford to lose to a former player, one that he showed little playing time while on the Wildcats squad and transferred out due to lack of playing time. Both teams are locked up in Wins/Losses with a 21-11 record and have shown inconsistencies throughout the regular season. Although Kentucky has a talent advantage and are far more athletic, Calipari said after last weekend’s loss to Vanderbilt that they can beat anybody, but they can also lose to anyone.
The biggest storyline of the game is Bryce Hopkins, who averaged just 2.1 PPG and 1.4 RPG at Kentucky last season but is having a breakout season, nearly averaging a double-double for Providence this season. At times this year Providence has been exploited when they’ve played an undersized lineup. If the Friars do continue to play small ball the Wildcats will have the advantage at nearly every position.
While Oscar Tshiebwe leads the Wildcats in rebounds, he’ll need some help on the boards as Kentucky must dominate the rebound battle and limit Providence on offensive possessions. But simply dominating the boards hasn’t always proved that the Cats can come out with the win. Vandy was out rebounded but Kentucky but the Cats still came up short and lost twice to Vandy this season.
The ball handling duties for the Wildcats have been spread out over the last few games due to injuries with Toppin, Reeves and Thiero handling the rock. Kentucky likes to push the ball in transition, and Providence prefers to get back and set their defense. Kentucky’s Chris Livingston and Sahvir Wheeler can help generate offense in the open floor by helping to push the ball when needed. Kentucky must also stay out of foul trouble since Providence can score by using their bigs to stretch the floor and putting up points with their mid-range game. The Friars shoot more than 22 free throws per game, which accounts for more than 20 percent of their scoring. Kentucky must be disciplined and defend without sending the Friars to the line, where they have excelled all year.
The Wildcats are set to play the Providence Friars in first round NCAA action on Friday at 7:10 PM.
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