NCAA National Championship

Today is the final day of college basketball, and we can all say that nobody saw this matchup coming a few weeks ago. Although both programs have a lot of championship history, it's amazing these teams made it as 7 and 8 seeds respectively. Both have played great, beaten some very good teams, and have made all the plays down the stretch. Today, I'll look at each team and what they need to do to win.

Connecticut Huskies

Although this team started slow on Saturday, they were simply better than Florida in that game. Their defense was great throughout, and the offense was balanced the last 30 minutes. I can tell how well coached they are because they each know what they are capable of individually and rarely force anything on either end of the court. Boatright was the MVP defensively, and Daniels was a load on offense. Here are the keys tonight:

1. Boatright's defense on Aaron Harrison. I assume Boatright will take the twin that has dominated in the NCAA Tourney. And if he can shut him down like he did Wilbekin on Saturday, I really like their chances. The key will be late in the game, where Harrison has dominated.

2. Establish Daniels early and often. The unsung hero all season for this team has been Daniels, and he's been their clear MVP in their last two huge wins (MSU and Florida). Tonight he's so important due to his ability to stretch the floor on offense, and he'll likely be guarding Julius Randle on defense. Got to get this guy going!

3. Box out, don't just rely on athleticism. Kentucky has advanced this far due to offensive rebounding. And if Connecticut doesn't clear the boards, Kentucky will win again.

Kentucky Wildcats

People are now calling them the "Cardiac Cats" after their thrilling wins for four straight games. Aaron Harrison is not only establishing himself as a clutch player, but his draft stock continues to rise. This team continues to dominate the glass, and I thought they were terrific defensively down the stretch against Wisconsin. This is the "easiest" opponent they've faced since their first round (in terms of seed), but this will be their toughest game yet. Here are the keys:

1. Get James Young going. Randle will get his, as will Harrison (particularly late), but when Young scores it really takes them to another level. He can score inside and out, one of the reasons he's tough to guard when on. If he hadn't had played well against Wisconsin, they'd be at home right now.

2. Don't settle for outside shots. They will have the size advantage once again and must continue to pound it inside. Give touches to post guys, and definitely use the dribble drive. This gets them to the line and allows for a lot of offensive rebounding.

3. Don't assume you can win at the end again. Part of winning at the end of games is skill and execution, but it takes some luck too. Against Wisconsin, they nearly turned the ball over twice on that last possession, and Harrison caught a lot of rim on his shot. The odds are that eventually the team and Harrison will fail in those moments. Connecticut is also very good in close games. So Kentucky needs to get ahead and continue to push it.

   

What I Think will Happen:

I've picked against Kentucky for four straight games now, and they've gotten it done right at the end to win. I won't pick against them again. I think UCONN is very capable of winning this game, but Kentucky has so much talent and size in comparison. And even though I respect Kevin Ollie as a coach, Coach Cal has been here before and gotten it done. There was a reason that so many people loved the Wildcats in the preseason. It has shown here in the tourney, and it will continue tonight. So I think Kentucky wins 66 - 58.

By: The Sports Guys