Anyone give Wisconsin a chance to beat Kentucky?

[Hall91]

I'm really intrigued by this game. Wisconsin's big guys are a little different than Kentucky's big guys in terms of style of play, but in some respects I think it's the only team that neutralizes Kentucky's match up situation.

Should be fun.

 

[Pirate64]

I picked em as National Champs- love Frank Kaminsky. .

I also had Nova in the Final Four. So don't listen to me.

 

[hallgrad80]

I give Wisconsin a shot to beat Kentucky but how the game is called will be a large factor in the outcome. If you get a lot of ticky-tacky fouls on Wisconsin it will hurt as they don't go as deep as Ky.

 

[halltheway]

If N.D. had a shot ..why not.

 

[HallBall10]

obviously they have a chance. Kentucky is not unbeatable. They just haven't been beat. I have Wisconsin winning the national championship.

I think it's an interesting matchup. I think the two keys to the game are.

1) Kaminsky foul trouble. He usually doesn't commit fouls but against Kentucky it could be a different story. If/when he's off the court the UK bigs will have a big advantage.
2) Dekker and company vs. Harrisons. If Kaminsky stays on the court I think the bigs will neutralize each other and it will come down to whether Dekker or Harrison hit big shots down the stretch.

 

[Abbo71]

Yes, of course. Anybody can beat anybody. Especially when you get to this level.

 

[Seton75]

Originally posted by hallgrad80:
I give Wisconsin a shot to beat Kentucky but how the game is called will be a large factor in the outcome. If you get a lot of ticky-tacky fouls on Wisconsin it will hurt as they don't go as deep as Ky.

Great point 80. I pick Wisconsin.

 

[Pirate6711]

Originally posted by halltheway:
If N.D. had a shot ..why not.

ND is a tougher match-up for Kentucky than Wisconsin. Kaminsky, Hayes, and Dekker won't be any good when/if Koenig and Gasser can't get them the ball.

 

[Bobbie Solo]

absolutely they can win. I worry that Kaminksy's cutesy dipsy-doo post moves are going to get exposed by the men Kentucky has down low though. Will be interesting to see...I'm super excited to see this game. Great storyline too, as it's everything that's right about college bball vs. everything that's wrong with it.

If Dekker plays out of his mind like last game, they will probably win.

 

[Seton75]

Rothstein was with Joe and Evan, and he wondered if Cauley-Stein would guard Decker. They say he can guard 1 - 5. This would be a fun matchup to see.

 

[HALL28]

I don't see why not. Kentucky has not faced many top offensive teams. First one they faced in a long time was Notre Dame and we saw how that turned out. The line is only 5, so Vegas sees this as a pretty close game.

Watching Kentucky against Notre Dame, I didn't see an all-time great team on the floor. Maybe they'll go undefeated and if they do good for them. Regardless of how Cal runs things they appear to be good kids. That said, does anyone really think they'd be 38-0 right now after playing the ACC or Big Ten schedule? Not a chance.

 

[JIMSOULS]

Originally posted by Seton75:

Rothstein was with Joe and Evan, and he wondered if Cauley-Stein would guard Decker. They say he can guard 1 - 5. This would be a fun matchup to see.

I agree that this matchup is a key, and give the edge to Cauley-Stein's defense. After Towns and Okafor, he'll be the best big man in the NBA draft. And he carries extra motivation going into this game thanks to Chris Webber's odd assessment of his pro potential.

Kentucky also has a big edge in the backcourt. The Harrisons, Booker, and Ulis are probably the best quartet of college guards ever to be on one team. The Badgers don't have one guard as good as any of them.

After perhaps looking a little past Notre Dame last week, the Wildcats are bound to be focused and at their very best on Saturday.

 

[HALL85]

Irony...if Wisconsin beats UK (and National Championship)...remember they lost to RU...go figure. Good answer to a future trivia question.

 

[mjs428]

Can they win? Yes. Will they? No

 

[Seton75]

If CS guards Decker, the K man can take Towns away from the basket. I am confident Bo Ryan will think this out better than us and look forward to the game.

 

[garyshu71]

Shoot the three like they did against Zona and they win no question.

 

[HALL28]

Originally posted by Seton75:
If CS guards Decker, the K man can take Towns away from the basket. I am confident Bo Ryan will think this out better than us and look forward to the game.

Cal said after the ND game that Brey was calling the same play over and over and KY couldn't figure out how to stop it. It won't necessarily come down to any one matchup, but Kentucky's ability to respond to offensive sets they haven't seen before. Wisconsin is even better than ND. They also won't wilt in the final few minutes like ND did.

I am looking forward to this game so much. I think Wisc pulls this out with better execution late, but I also think Kentucky will play better than they did last Saturday with more preparation. So it'll be even harder to beat them.

 

[JIMSOULS]

Originally posted by Seton75:
If CS guards Decker, the K man can take Towns away from the basket. I am confident Bo Ryan will think this out better than us and look forward to the game.

Good point on Kaminsky possibly taking Towns away from the basket, but who's he going to guard?

 

[RU82]

The thing about Wisconsin is that they never beat themselves. A team like that, with the talent they have, is certainly capable of knocking off this Kentucky team.