2011 NCAA Tournament Second Round – East Region
#4 Kentucky Wildcats vs. #13 Princeton Tigers, St. Pete Times Forum, Tampa, FL
Thursday, March 17, 2011, 2:45 pm Eastern, TV: CBS
Opening Line: Kentucky -14.5
Current Line: Kentucky -13.5
Opening Total: 132
Current Total: 130.5
Money Line: Kentucky -1200 / Princeton +800
There might not be a bigger contrast of styles in the second round of the NCAA tournament than in this East Region matchup between the fourth-seeded Kentucky Wildcats (25-8) and the 13th-seeded Princeton Tigers at the St. Pete Times Forum in Tampa. The Wildcats (-13.5) prefer to push the pace while averaging 76.4 points per game compared to the Tigers, who are more of a defensive-oriented team but not nearly as low-scoring as they have been in the past.
Bettors might recall the trademark Princeton offense that emphasized motion, passing and discipline under former head coach Pete Carril, who was at the school from 1967-1996. The Tigers carried that offensive scheme forward under Bill Carmody from 1996-2000 but have gotten away from it in recent years. They are averaging 69.5 points per game under fourth-year head coach Sydney Johnson and back in the Big Dance for the first time since 2004.
Johnson inherited a team that went 6-23 in his first season and returned to the postseason last year when Princeton accepted an invitation to the College Basketball Invitational. The NCAA tournament has always been his goal though, and a 63-62 win over Harvard in a one-game playoff on Saturday made that dream a reality.
The Tigers have won 15 of their last 17 games overall and tied with the Crimson for the Ivy League regular-season title at 12-2. They split two meetings during the regular season and got a last-second shot from Douglas Davis to win the game and earn the conference’s automatic bid. Harvard was attempting to advance to the Big Dance for the first time in school history.
Meanwhile, Kentucky is riding a six-game winning streak, capped by three wins in the Southeastern Conference tournament last week. The Wildcats finished three games behind East Division #1 seed Florida during the regular season but routed the Gators 70-54 in the championship game after knocking out Mississipi and Alabama in their previous two games.
Head coach John Calipari does not have the same depth of star players he had last year at Kentucky, as five of them went on to be selected in the first round of the 2010 NBA draft. Four of those players were freshmen, led by top overall pick John Wall. That squad was a #1 seed in the East Region but lost to #2 West Virginia 73-66 in the Elite Eight.
This year, Calipari has again relied on a talented group of freshmen, including Brandon Knight, Terrence Jones and Doron Lamb. The trio has combined to average 47 points, 14.9 rebounds and 7.7 assists per game. The Wildcats have beaten the line in three of their last four games after going 2-7-1 against the spread in their previous 10. The total has gone UNDER in four of their past five following five straight OVERs.
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