Final Four Storylines: Kentucky vs. Louisville
By Adam McGill
When the tournament started earlier this month, everyone took note of the fact that the Big East Conference had the most teams in the tournament with nine teams. However, most analysts did not expect Louisville to be one of the teams to last until the Final Four. Below are some of the big storylines heading into the Final Four matchup between Kentucky and Louisville:
1. Will Louisville’s Gorgui Dieng be able to out-muscle Kentucky’s Anthony Davis in the post?
This is looking to be one of the best interior matchups of the entire tournament. Dieng has collected 25 rebounds and 11 blocks in Louisville’s three tournament games this year and is the heart of the Cardinals’ front-court. Davis on the other hand is the best player in the entire nation. The “AD” is posting 11.6 points and 10.7 rebounds per game this tournament and the freshman is a much bigger scoring threat then Dieng. Davis however is very young, so he can occasionally get in foul trouble, like last game against Baylor. Davis will wear down Dieng all game and finish with another double-double, but it could be blocks as opposed to points.
2. Which legendary coach will have the bigger impact, Louisville’s Rick Pitino or Kentucky’s John Calipari?
The two have met on 22 separate occasions in college and the NBA, ironically finishing with an identical 11 wins each. However, they both are completely different people on the sideline. Pitino is always dressed to impress and is one of the more professional coaches in the nation. He recently turned down several NBA coaching vacancies and even coaches the Puerto Rican National team. Pitino is a much more involved coach as the game goes on and is not afraid to show emotion on the court, while Calipari is much more stoic. Calipari gets to rely more on the raw talent of his superstar freshmen trio (Anthony Davis, Michael Kidd-Gilchrist, and Marquis Teague), which speaks volumes to the coach’s recruiting abilities. Calipari will be more apt to letting his stars play, while Pitino will be constantly shuffling his lineup around. This will cause Pitino to be much more involved in the game than Calipari, but it does not necessarily mean that Louisville will win.
3. Who will win the overall rebounding battle?
Both teams live and die in the paint. Louisville averages 38.2 (27) rebounds per contest, while the Kentucky Wildcats average 39.2 rebounds (15). The one thing that is always consistent come tournament time is rebounds, as scorers have streaks, but tall guys will always rebound. Whoever gets the most rebounds in this game will easily have the best chance to pull out the victory.
FEATURED PARTNERS
- Raven Symone Addresses Rumors About Her Sexual Orientation, "ANTM" Girlfriend
- They Can't Spell, But They Tweet
- What's The Oldest Photo Of You On Facebook?
- MMA fighter King Mo -- Petitions Hulk Hogan for Wrestling Advice
- Tim Tebow -- Allegedly Asks for Twitter Photo to be Taken Down
- UFC Champ Jon 'Bones' Jones -- Arrested for DUI
- Mick Jagger, ‘Lazy Sunday 2,’ Kristen Wiig Sendoff and Other Highlights of the SNL Season Finale
- Mark Zuckerberg Gets Hitched
- Calvin Johnson Can Hit Home Runs Too