For a March Madness that seemed ever so unpredictable, in the end the final matchup was is not living up to the excitement. I am not trying to take anything away from either of these teams. Both are extremely talented and both deserve to win. However, in the opening weekend when you see two 15 seeds knock off two 2 seeds, you start to expect a Cinderella story.
The first game had all the makings for a riot to begin. Two teams from the same state, who just happen to be rivals, met first. The Kentucky Wildcats took on the Louisville Cardinals in what was predicted to be a win for Kentucky. However, Louisville did not go down that easily. Kentucky at one time had a thirteen point lead, but in the second half Louisville came back to tie up the game. Kentucky did not get much help from Kidd-Gilchrist in the first half who did not score, but racked up two fouls. He did pick it up in the second half when he made back-to-back shots. However, this team is just too talented it did not matter. Superstar freshman, Anthony Davis, made up for Kidd-Gilcrist’s sluggish first half and finished the game with a double- double. Credit is definitely given to Louisville. This Kentucky team is a freakishly athletic bunch that could probably take out a few NBA teams.
It was called “The Other Game”. Ouch. However, that is not to say that both of these teams are not talented. Kansas was able to knock off a tournament favorite, UNC, and Ohio State did the same with Syracuse. Kansas may have been able to take the win because of how well they kept Jared Sullinger in check. They allowed the star to only score 11 points, going 5 for 19. Kansas star Thomas Robinson finished the game with 19 points and eight rebounds, however, Tyshawn Taylor’s late free throw shots won the game. This game looked like it favored Ohio State the whole way. Kansas only took the lead from the Buckeyes for less than four minutes. The Buckeyes, similar to Kentucky, led the Jayawks by as many as 13 at one point. The only difference here is that Kansas was able to claw their way back to the top. Kansas is now going for its second title in five years.
Kansas is clearly the underdog in this matchup. Kentucky is expected to take this one easily and have half of its team go straight into the draft. However, I am sure that Kansas is going to use this as motivation and come out with a fire to prove everyone wrong who counted them out from the beginning. Even though Kansas kept Buckeyes’ star under control, how do you control a whole team of superstars? Do you try to shut down Anthony Davis? Kentucky has shown they can still win when Davis does not have a good game. Kansas will gain a lot of respect if they can overpower this Kentucky team, I just do not know if they can contain all that talent.
