No. 12 Cornell Big Red vs. No. 1 Kentucky Wildcats
2010-03-24
One of this year’s Cinderella teams of this NCAA tournament, No. 12 Cornell Big Red will meet No. 1 Kentucky Wildcats this Thursday, March 25, 2010 at the Carrier Dome, Syracuse, New York.
This is a true David and Goliath type of match up. Cornell is better known for their academia and not for their hoops, but this year is all different. The Big Red has made easy work of Temple and Wisconsin and has vowed not be intimidated by Kentucky and all their future NBA stars. Cornell Big Red will see a noticeable step up in competition now, as they get ready to take on the blue blood Kentucky Wildcats. Defensively the Big Red will really be tested against the numerous lethal weapons of this team.
They will be facing off against the Kentucky Wildcats, a team that has defeated its previous two opponents by huge margins of 29 and 30 points. Led by John Wall and DeMarcus Cousins, this young but incredibly athletic squad has proven to be very dangerous.
John Calipari, the coach of the Kentucky Wildcats, continued to roll this past weekend, getting by the Wake Forest Demon Deacons 90 - 60. They're averaging 95 points a game so far in this year’s NCAA tournament. Everyone knows that John Wall, DeMarcus Cousins and Patrick Patterson are capable of leading the way for the Wildcats, however against Wake Forest it was actually Darius Miller that went nuts with a team high 20 points and 9 boards. The Kentucky Wildcats needs to keep the pace up and zone in defensively against their seniors.
Cornell has history on its side, even though it goes back almost 44 years. The Big Red won their only matchup against Kentucky, 92 - 77 on Dec. 28, 1966. The Wildcats finished the season 13 - 13, 8 - 10 in the SEC that year.
Cornell hopes playing so close to home, its campus is a only 55 miles away from Syracuse, will give it a home court advantage. Neutral fans who show up to watch the Washington West Virginia game are usually convinced into rooting for the underdog, especially against a basketball power house like Kentucky.
If Cornell is to have a chance, they'll have to keep their shooting percentages high while finding some way to avoid being out stretched by a much more athletic Kentucky Wildcat team. If they allow the Wildcats to run them up and down the court, the Cornell Big Red will be packing up for home come Friday morning and watching the rest of the tournament in their living rooms.
Cornell Big Red’s Cinderella story will end against the Kentucky Wildcats as they're too big, strong and athletic for them to stop.
With that said www.sportsbook.com has the Wildcats as favorites by 8.5 points and the over / under at 147. I’m no genius from Cornell, but 8.5 points will be nothing for Kentucky.
College Basketball News
