Indiana vs. Kentucky
South Region Preview
3/22/12
The top-seeded Kentucky Wildcats will get the chance to avenge one of their two losses this season when they battle the Fourth-seeded Indiana Hoosiers in Friday’s Sweet 16 matchup at the Georgia Dome in Atlanta. The Wildcats (34-2) suffered their first setback of the year at Indiana (27-8) back on December 10 and hope a victory in the rematch will get them to the Elite Eight in the South Region.
Kentucky (-9) lost as a 5.5-point road favorite in the first meeting when junior forward Christian Watford hit the Game-winning 3-pointer at the buzzer to give the Hoosiers the upset win, 73-72. One of the keys to the Game was star freshman Anthony Davis getting into foul trouble for the Wildcats, limiting him to just six points in 24 minutes of action. Davis also missed the front end of a one-and-one while teammate Doron LAmb split a pair of free throws late, giving Watford the opportunity to be a hero.
The only other loss for Kentucky came in the SEC Tournament title Game against Vanderbilt on March 11, 71-64. Foul trouble again doomed the Wildcats in that Game, with LAmb finishing with Four, Davis, Terrence Jones and Marquis Teague each picking up three and Michael Kidd-Gilchrist fouling out after playing just 16 minutes. Some have argued the toughest opponent Kentucky has in the Big Dance is Kentucky itself, and that could very well be the case. So far, the Wildcats have won their first two Games by an average of 15.5 points.
Indiana was tested in a 63-61 victory against No. 12 VCU last Saturday in the third round, trailing by nine points in the second half before rallying back to tie the Game and win within the final minute. Watford and Cody Zeller each scored 16 points against the Rams to help the Hoosiers make the Sweet 16 for the first time since 2002. They beat No. 12 New Mexico State 79-66 in the second round have won seven of eight overall, going 5-2 against the spread in their past seven.
As good as Kentucky has been this season, the team has been awful against the number. The Wildcats are 3-7 ATS in their past 10 Games and 13-21-1 overall. However, they have fared well recently against Indiana outside of this year’s loss. The Hoosiers had lost the previous three meetings and are still 3-9 ATS in the past 12 Games between the teams.
The UNDER is 7-2 in Indiana’s last nine Games overall and 11-5 in its past 16 against SEC opponents. The UNDER is also 8-2 in Kentucky’s last 10 against Big Ten foes.