The Cincinnati Bearcats narrowly got past the Purdue Boilermakers and the Kentucky Wildcats breezed by the Hampton Pirates on Thursday. These two top defensive teams will now square off on Saturday to determine who goes to the Sweet 16.
Kentucky (35-0) enters today's game as 16.5-point favorites, but Cincinnati (23-10) provides an intriguing matchup for the nation's No. 1 team. Although the Bearcats' offense is nothing to write home about, their defense is one of the best in the nation in terms of points allowed per game (6th overall) and blocks per game (13th overall). In their first round matchup against Purdue, who averages 70 points per contest, the Bearcats surrendered 65 points total and held the Boilermakers to 36.1% shooting in 45 minutes of play to earn the overtime victory.
On the other hand, Kentucky faced the No. 16 seed Hampton Pirates and won 79-56, so this matchup against Cincinnati could be their first challenge of the NCAA Tournament.
Freshman forward Karl-Anthony Towns led the way for Kentucky and compiled 21 points, 11 rebounds and 3 blocks against Hampton while guard Andrew Harrison added 14 points, 4 rebounds and 3 assists. Forwards Willie Cauley-Stein and Trey Lyles jumped in on the action too, which proves Kentucky's inside presence will provide a tough matchup for Cincinnati.
However, the Bearcats were able to contain Purdue's seven-footers A.J. Hammons (7', 261 pounds) and Isaac Haas (7'2", 297 pounds) in their first game, so the size of Towns, Cauley-Stein and Lyles will be nothing new to them. Cincinnati forwards Octavius Ellis, Gary Clark and Shaquille Thomas held Hammons and Haas to a combined 25 points and 16 rebounds and added a total of five steals and three blocks for the Bearcats on Thursday.
The Harrison Twins (Aaron and Andrew) as well as Devin Booker will face a staunch perimeter defense that features Troy Caupain, Farad Cobb and Kevin Johnson, who played a big role in limiting Purdue's guards to 8-of-37 shooting earlier in the week. Caupain and Cobb average 1.0 steals per game and Ellis and Clark combine for 3.3 blocks per game.
But Kentucky has yet to falter this season and won 10 of their past 11 contests by at least 15 points. The Harrison twins combine for an average of 2.2 steals per game while Towns and Cauley-Stein add a total of 4.1 blocks per game. We can expect a defensive brawl in this matchup.
Here are some key stats to keep in mind before tip-off at 2:40 p.m. ET in Louisville, KY.
Kentucky | Cincinnati |
RPI - .6731 (1st overall) | RPI - .5784 (41st overall) |
SOS - 45 | SOS - 56 |
Points Per Game - 74.9 (29th overall) | Points Per Game 62.4 (294th overall) |
FG% - .469 (40th overall) | FG% - .453 (85th overall) |
Points Allowed Per Game - 54.0 (3rd overall) | Points Allowed Per Game - 55.3 (6th overall) |
Turnovers Per Game - 10.6 (24th overall) | Turnovers Per Game - 12.8 (201st overall) |
Season Rank - 1 | Season Rank - 37 |
Check out the live stream of today's game here as well as the live radio broadcast here. The event will be televised on CBS.
