Kentucky, Louisville, Ohio State, and Kansas. Yes, the Final Four has been set and March Madness is nearing its end. But, these two games should prove as a monumental challenge for all teams and will preview what should be a great NCAA Championship game.
Kentucky handily defeated Baylor and now marches on to face its in-state rival, the Louisville Cardinals. Louisville upset the No. 1 seeded Michigan State Spartans to advance to the Midwest Regional Final – where it defeated No. 7 seed Florida 72-68 – and now has a chance to knock off the daunted Wildcats, the No. 1 overall seed in the tournament as well.
These two teams faced off in the regular season in which Kentucky narrowly edged Louisville by a score of 69-62. Michael Kidd-Gilchrist provided a monster game having 24 points and 19 rebounds. It appears as if Kidd-Gilchrist could be the deciding factor again in this game.
However, Louisville’s defense behind Gorgui Dieng has stepped up lately and has caused many teams problems. The Cardinals will have a tough task defending the paint even with a dominant defender like Dieng. Kentucky has many options and a great defender of their own in Anthony Davis and Terrance Jones.
In the other matchup, Ohio State will be challenged with guarding the paint as well. Although they have one of the best forwards in the nation with Jared Sullinger, the Kansas Jayhawks have one of their own in Thomas Robinson. Jayhawks Center Jeff Withey will prove to be the X-factor in this game.
If Whitey can combine with Robinson and shut down Sullinger, then the Buckeyes will be in serious trouble.
However, if the guard play of the Buckeyes with William Buford and Lenzelle Smith, Jr. can help contain Tayshawn Taylor and make entry passes to the paint tough for the Jayhawks, then Ohio State could make this a tough game for the Jayhawks as well.
This weekend will be a great weekend of college basketball. The only downfall is the fun times of bracket and tournament games will come to an end.
However, after we crown the 2011-12 National Champion, we can begin to make predictions and look forward to the next season of NCAA Basketball.
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