A look at the #4 vs. #13 Seeds
2011 NCAA Basketball Tournament Predictions
#4 Louisville Cardinals (25-9) vs #13 Morehead State (24-9)
Betting Line: Louisville -9.5 o/u 131
Cardinals truly hold all the cards in this Game. With regular season wins over UCONN (twice), Notre Dame, Pittsburgh, UNLV and Syracuse they probably should have received a higher seed. Nonetheless, Rick Pitino’s squad will do fine. The legendary HC should dispose of the Ohio Valley Champs with ease. Morehead State 12 of 13 entering this Game, but hasn’t beat anyone worth noting and lost to Austin Peay and Eastern Kentucky. However, there could be some hope as they were only beaten 6 points by the Florida Gators early on. In all fairness, Florida wasn’t playing as good then, but it is still a quality effort. Louisville would have to completely fall apart to lose this one. Pitino is master and will have his boys ready to play their best basketball.
Predicted SCore: Louisville 82 Morehead St 51
#4 Kentucky Wildcats (25-8) vs #13 Princeton Tigers (25-6)
Betting Line: Kentucky -13 o/u 131
Believe it or not Princeton has a fairly storied basketball history. They own a Final Four appearance and have made it to the Big Dance 23 times. They find themselves up against a juggernaut here though. The Wildcats of Kentucky are 7 time winners of the NCAA Tournament with the last one coming in 1998. HC Calipari isn’t the best strategist around, but with studs like Brandon Knight and Terrence Jones roaming the cOurt for Big Blue he doesn’t have to be. Kentucky is inexperienced, but immensely talented. If they play up to their potential this Game could turn into a blow out. The senior leadership of Kareem Maddox will help the Tigers. If he and his teammates play strongly and the Kentucky freshmen choke they could send one of the largest fan bases in the nation into a tizzy. Don’t think it can’t happen, because it most certainly can.
Predicted SCore: Kentucky 81 Princeton 50
#4 Connecticut Huskies (26-9) vs #13 Bucknell Bison (25-8)
Betting Line: UCONN -10 o/u 132
Winners of the Big East Conference Tournament, UCONN enters the Dance with high hopes of securing their third title and first since 2004. Junior G Kemba Walker (23.5 PPG, 4.3 APG, 5.3 RPG) is one of the most prolific scorers in all of college basketball. His shot is simply tremendous. LAte in the year he dropped 34 on Notre Dame and 33 on Syracuse. The little guy (6-1) is the type that takes over Games all on his own. Jeremy LAmb (10.3 PPG, 4.4 RPG) is almost a significant contributor. The freshman has shown flashes of brilliance like when he dropped 24 on Marquette. Sophomore Alex Oriakhi (10 PPG, 8.5 RPG) is absolutely tremendous on the boards. He had 21 rebounds in a win over Texas this year.
The Bucknell Bison are winners of 19 of 20, but the only team of consequence they took down was Atlantic 10 Tournament champion Richmond. They beat the Spiders by a point on the road. This gritty team is led by sophomore Mike Muscala (14.9 PPG, 7.4 RPG, 2 BPG). Standing tall at a mammoth 6-11 he will be tough matchup for the huskies. However, when all is said and done its tough to see the Huskies faltering in this early Game after disposing of some of the best teams in the country last week.
Predicted SCore: UCONN 81 Bucknell 53