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THE UNIVERSITY DAILY KANSAN
WEDNESDAY, APRIL 1, 2015
PAGE 7B
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THE DAILY DEBATE
Which team will win the NCAA Tournament, Kentucky or the field?
THE FIELD
The Kentucky Wildcats are on a quest to become
college basketball's first undefeated national champion since former coach Bob Knight's Indiana Hoosiers of 1976. Kentucky is the prohibitive favorite to cut down the nets next Monday, but with three other elite coaches in Tom Izzo, Mike Krzyzewski and Bo Ryan possibly waiting for them, I'm taking the field.
In the Elite Eight, Notre Dame came very close to knocking off Kentucky, despite shooting below their season average. Wisconsin and Duke are both similar to Notre Dame, because they spread the floor and shoot a high percentage.
Even though Zach Auguste is a solid player for Notre Dame, he is not on the same level as Frank Kaminsky or Jahlil Okafor.
Kentucky's semifinal opponent, Wisconsin, proved in the Elite Eight against Arizona that it is capable of heating up from
three for a long period of time. In the second half, Kentucky went from three to 10-12. If Wisconsin gets hot, the team will be tough to beat because they have a consistent inside threat with Kaminsky, and another elite talent in Sam Dekker.
Karl-Anthony Towns' foul trouble is one of Kentucky's biggest issues this season. Kaminsky will present a big challenge for Towns down low, which may get him in trouble.
If Duke were to advance, it would be a formidable foe for Kentucky. Okafor, is a magnificent talent on offense, and would be able to score on Kentucky's big guys better than anybody has all season. Duke has plenty of shooters: Quinn Cook, Tyus Jones and Justise Winslow, that could get hot and make it tough on Kentucky.
since winning his only championship in 2000, so they're definitely due. Guard play has been a big factor in a lot of championship runs recently, and they certainly have a guy capable of that in Travis Trice Jr.
Wisconsin has been waiting for this game a year after Kentucky's Aaron Harrison beat Wisconsin with a three pointer in the final seconds in last year's Final Four.
The calendar may as well read "January, February, Izzo, April," because they have been unbelievable for the last decade. The only game Michigan State lost in March this season was in overtime to Wisconsin, another Final Four team in the Big 10 Championship.
This is Izzo's seventh Final Four, and fifth
"THE CALENDAR MAY AS WELL READ 'JANUARY, FEBRUARY, IZZO, APRIL,' BECAUSE THEY HAVE BEEN UNBELIEVABLE FOR THE LAST DECADE."
Kentucky will be challenged in a way they haven't yet this season. Duke and Wisconsin will be able to challenge them on the interior, and have perimeter shooters to surround their big guys. Michigan State is the weakest of the bunch, but they can't be counted out. With great coaches like Ryan, Kryzyzewski and Izzo, I'm taking the field.
Edited by Vicky Diaz Camacho
KENTUCKY
3 8-0. That is the mark of the Kentucky Wildcats, who have already set a record, being the first team in NCAA history to start with 38-straight victories. It hasn't been a cakewalk either, as Kentucky has defeated numerous top-tier teams throughout the year with a strength of schedule that ranks in the top 15-percent of all college teams.
"THE WILDCATS HAVE BEEN TESTED AND PASSED WITH FLYING COLORS JUST ABOUT EVERY TIME. THERE'S NO REASON TO THINK THEY'RE FINISHED YET."
Already this year, the Wildcats beat Kansas, Louisville, North Carolina, Arkansas (twice), West Virginia and Notre Dame, all of which ended up being
top-five seeds in the NCAA Tournament. And perhaps most impressively, five of their seven wins against those top-five seeds came by 14 or more points.
The Wildcats have been tested and passed with flying colors just about every time. There's no reason to think they're finished yet, especially as they have been selected as the unanimous number one in the AP Top 25 in each of the last seven polls.
Kentucky boasts the nation's top defense, according to kenpom.com, with the fifth most efficient offense in the nation. That, coupled with the fact that the team is nine deep, makes the Wildcats nearly unbeatable on any given night, and even when they do appear beatable, the Wildcats have managed to pull out victories in the end.
Unfazed by pressure, the Wildcats have been complimented as having the same demeanor in just about every situation, which quite frankly is why they haven't found themselves in very many close games.
In fact, Kentucky has won games by point margins of 58,49,47,40,39(twice), 35,34,33,and 32(twice), while winning five more games by 20-or-more points, and it's all due to team effort.
The team hasn't relied on one player, or even a couple of players, as six Wildcats average at least 8.5 points per game and four Wildcats average at least 4.5 rebounds.
Kentucky has players that
can hit threes, with Devin Booker, Tyler Ulis and Andrew Harrison all shooting better than 37.5-percent from three, and has a massive inside presence, in Karl-Anthony Towns and Willie Cauley-Stein, both of whom were selected on the AP's All-America first and second teams.
The Wildcats have players with tournament experience in multiple returning players from last year's team, which finished as the national runner up, combined with the youth and talent of what was deemed the nation's second best recruiting class by ESPN in 2014. They also have one of the most clutch players in the game in Aaron Harrison, and perhaps the best defender in the nation, in the aforementioned Cauley-Stein.
Simply put, there is no weakness. There is no soft spot. There is nothing to exploit.
The more you look at this Kentucky team, the more there is to like. While Wisconsin and Duke should be able to pose solid challenges, the Wildcats have reached the point where it would be simply foolish to pick against them.
Even if Kentucky does lose, they will go down as far-and-away the best college basketball team this year, which is the true mark of an elite team. And they should be the clear favorite to win the National Championship at this juncture, even against the field.
The odds are just too good to say otherwise.
Edited by Vicky Diaz Camacho
Spurs remain hot, pull away from Heat for 95-81 win
ALAN ESKEW
Associated Press
MIAMI — Kawhi Leonard scored 22 points, Tony Parker added 16 in his 1,000th NBA game, and the San Antonio Spurs added more steam to their playoff push by beating the Miami Heat 95-81 on Tuesday night.
Tim Duncan had 12 points and 11 rebounds for San Antonio, which went 12-3 in March — the league's second-best record during the month behind only Golden State. Boris Diaw scored 11 points.
Goran Dragic had 19 points and Dwyane Wade added 15 for Miami. Hassan Whiteside and Mario Chalmers each had 10 points, and Chris Andersen grabbed 10 rebounds.
San Antonio stayed No. 6 in the West, and could clinch a playoff berth Wednesday in Orlando.
The Heat remained in the No. 7 spot in the Eastern Conference race but now are two losses behind No. 6 Milwaukee (which also owns the tiebreaker over Miami if necessary) and only a half-game up on Brooklyn, which climbed into the No. 8 spot with a win over Indiana
San Antonio Spurs guard Manu Ginobili passes over Miami Heat guard Goran Dragic in Tuesday night's game in Miami.
earlier Tuesday.
It was still a game at the half, with Miami down just 47-42. But the Spurs pulled away after the break, going up by as many as 15 in the third and then stretching it out to 21 in the fourth.
JOE SKIPPER/ASSOCIATED PRESS
Miami closed to 85-75 on a putback by Andersen with 3:32 left, but Parker hit a floater from the right baseline on the ensuing San Antonio possession and the rally try was quickly snuffed out.
San Antonio is now two wins away from its 16th consecutive 50-win season, with eight games remaining. The last time the Spurs didn't win 50 was 1998-99, when they had a good excuse — that was only a 50-game season.
The Heat used only nine players, with their roster still depleted by illness and injury and forcing Miami into a team-record-tying 30th starting lineup of the season. Whiteside returned after missing three games
Miami started cold but scored 12 points in the final 4:16 of the opening quarter to take a 20-19 lead going into the second, the first time the Spurs trailed after the first period in seven games.
with a hand laceration and, wearing a brace of sorts to protect the still-healing wound, shot 5 for 7.
TIP-INS
Spurs: Parker is now the second player in Spurs history with 1,000 regular-season appearances, behind Duncan (1,323). Among those in the 1,000-NBAGame club, Parker has the highest career winning percentage — .718, just ahead of Duncan (.714). ... Duncan needed the ring finger on his right hand taped after the third quarter, but returned for part of the fourth. ... Manu Ginobili had plenty of Argentinian-flag-waving fans, some chanting "Ole!"
Heat: The Heat lost for only their second time in their last 10 home games, and now are back under .500 in Miami this season (18-19). ... Chalmers beat the halftime buzzer with a 53-foot heave. ... Udonis Haslem (flu), Shabazz Napier (hip) and Luol Deng (knee) were sidelined. ... The Heat haven't led by more than two points in any of their last three home games against the Spurs, going back to last year's NBA Finals.
ROLLING SPURS
Since losing to the Knicks eight games ago, the Spurs have been rolling. Out of 384 game minutes since that defeat, the Spurs have led for 334 minutes and 11 seconds — 87 percent of the time. They've trailed for 35:14 (9.2 percent)
and been tied for 14:35 (3.8 percent). On Tuesday, they led for 44:21, trailing for only 1:20.
COLD HEAT
Miami went 6:34 without a field goal to open the game, its longest such stretch of the Wade era in Miami. Before
Tuesday, the longest drought on that list was 5:35 against Dallas on Dec. 11, 2009.
UP NEXT
UP NEXT
Spurs: At Orlando on
Wednesday.
Heat: At Cleveland on
Thursday.
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