Ohio State vs. Kentucky Preview

By:  Cooper Ledford

Two SWO Sports teams go at it tonight, as the Ohio State Buckeyes take on the Kentucky Wildcats in Newark, NJ.  This will be a great game, Ohio State is favored by 5.5 points, but Kentucky does not care, as Coach Cal said his guys are "only thinking about themselves" and added they seem "very confident".  But, it will take more than confidence for UK to beat OSU.

With that, I have some keys to the game for both teams.  Let's start out with the 1st seeded Ohio State Buckeyes.

In order for the Buckeyes to defeat the Wildcats, they will need to just play the kind of basketball they are good at.   The same style they have used in all of their previous games.  But, if they play like they did @ Wisconsin and @ Purdue, it will result in a big, fat, ugly "L".  But, if they play like they did when they beat Florida, beat Wisconsin, beat Michigan State, beat Purdue, they will win.  So, if you are a Bucks fan, and the game tonight is looking like a game I mentioned in which they lost, be scared.  If it is looking like a game I mentioned in which they won, be happy and prepared to win.  Okay, so there was one thing they need to do, but their is still more.  Ohio States needs to have Diebler involved.  Kentucky is a very young team that may not know how to defend such a good 3-point shooter, who knows.  Also, Jared Sullinger, David Lighty, and William Buford all need to have a good game.  They need to be involved quite a bit, if they are, the Bucks will win.

Now lets talk about the 4th seeded Kentucky Wildcats.

Kentucky has faced a lot of good teams this season like North Carolina,Connecticut, Florida, etc., but I don't think they have faced a team as good as Ohio State.  I think it will be harder for UK to win than it will be for OSU to win, but I could be wrong.  For the 'Cats to win this game, they will need to control the Buckeyes' offense.  That means defend Jon Deibler well, contain Jared Sullinger, etc.  Kentucky will also need their offense to do well.  They will need Brandon Knight to have a great game, perhaps even better than the one vs. West Virginia in the 3rd round, they will need Miller to have a good game, and they will need Josh Harrellson to continue to have a red-hot tournament.  If they do those things, the Wildcats could win it.

Now that I have each team's "keys to the game", I will have a final score prediction.  Without further ado, here it is:

Ohio State: 69  Kentucky: 67