UNC Basketball: Kentucky Preview
??Two of college basketballs blue bloods square off today, in the brand new T-Mobile arena in Las Vegas, as Kentucky and North Carolina prepare to do battle in the CBS Sports Classic. These two teams use to meet on a yearly basis, but conference expansion and among other things have caused the yearly matchup to go away. These are the games college basketball needs, during the non conference part of the season, while I wish it wasn't on a neutral floor, it's still fun to watch these kind of games. The Tar Heels lead the all time series 23-14 which is remarkable, considering the longest time Adolph Rupp refused to bring his Kentucky teams to Chapel Hill. One of the great Dean Smith stories is about when he took his young Tar Heel team to Lexington and guard Larry Brown broke out in hives because he was so nervous. Classic Dean told the team to act like they were playing Tennessee and Carolina upset the Wildcats.
Kentucky and Carolina enter the game with impressive 9-1 and 10-1 records respectively, but today will be both teams biggest test of the season to date. Kentucky is once again led by terrific freshman in Malik Monk, De'Aaron Fox and Bam Adebayo. Unlike most John Calipari coaches teams, this Kentucky thrives playing in the open court, and are loaded with sharp shooters on the wing. The Tar Heels get a huge boost as Joel Berry is expected to play today after missing the last two games with an ankle injury. The loss of the junior floor leader had Carolina offense all out of sorts as they managed to win 2 ugly games in his absence. The Tar Heels can only hope that time Berry misses won't affect the rhythm he had as player and the team had with him on the floor. Let's now take a look at one thing to watch on offense, defense and a player to keep an eye in today's showdown:
??1 Thing To Watch On Offense: Post Play
??While it's going to be fun watching the guard play of both teams today, the game will be won in the paint. Tony Bradley is coming off his best at UNC with a double double and a gave saving block/rebound against Tennessee last Sunday. Bam Adebayo from Kentucky has 18 blocks on the season already, so when Meeks or Hicks go up they'll need to go up strong. I expect Kentucky to double when the ball goes into the post considering how much the Tar Heel bigs have struggled in those situations. Meeks and Hicks will need to make smart decisions in a?? timely fashion or they'll turn the ball over and lead to Wildcat point in transition.
???1 Thing To Watch On Defense: Transition Defense:
?Kentucky like Carolina loves to run after a made basket. It will be imperative today that Carolina gets back on defense and try to make Kentucky play in the half court. In a game that has all the makings up of being an up and down game, the team that does the best limiting transition offense will have the best chance to win the game.
??1 Player To Watch: Joel Berry
?Even if he wasn't coming off an injury he'd still would be the player to watch on today's game. The fact that he's coming off an injury makes it even more interesting. To say Carolina missed Joel Berry would be an understatement, they looked lost at times without him. I compared his absence to that of when Ty Lawson missed games in 2009 and the offense looked dysfunctional. Don't forget that team had Tyler Hansbrough. Berry is the guy that makes everything go for this team. He sets the offense and brings the intensity on defense. They will need the Joel Berry from Maui to show up today. The matchup of Berry vs. Fox will be one the best individual matchups we may see all season. Can the junior make the freshman makes mistakes? Can he get his offense better shots? The answer to those questions lie in who may very well win the game.
??Prediction:
If you love college basketball then these are the games that get your juices flowing. ?Two of the nations best teams, coached by 2 Hall of Famers and two of the most storied programs meet on the same floor to battle. When it's all said and done I think the Tar Heels, with the return of Joe Berry will outscore Kentucky in a high scoring affair. 91-85 Tar Heels.
