2011 NCAA Tournament Sweet 16 – East Region
#1 Ohio State Buckeyes vs. #4 Kentucky Wildcats, Prudential Center, Newark, NJ
Friday, March 25, 2011, 9:45 pm Eastern, TV: CBS
Opening Line: Ohio State -5.5
Current Line: Ohio State -6
Opening Total: 139
Current Total: 140
Money Line: Ohio State -260 / Kentucky +220
The top-seeded Ohio State Buckeyes (34-2) will look to stay unbeaten against the fourth-seeded Kentucky Wildcats (27-8) in NCAA tournament play when they square off in this East Region Sweet 16 matchup on Friday at the Prudential Center in Newark. The Buckeyes (-6) have won all five meetings with the Wildcats in the Big Dance, although the last one came way back in 1987.
The teams have not met recently and both are unbeaten in the postseason, with Ohio State winning nine straight games including the Big Ten Conference tournament championship while Kentucky has won eight in a row and captured the Southeastern Conference tourney title. This game will also feature impact freshmen who are capable of taking over the game at any time.
The Buckeyes are led by Big Ten Freshman of the Year Jared Sullinger, who averages 17.1 points and 10 rebounds per game. Sullinger totaled 18 points and eight boards in just 22 minutes of a 98-66 win over #8 George Mason in the third round last Sunday. He was challenged verbally by some of the Patriots early on before his team responded by going on a 26-4 run at the end of the first half to blow the game wide open. They are 7-2 against the spread in their last nine games.
What makes this Ohio State team even more dangerous is its 3-point shooters, arguably the best group in the country that are mostly upperclassmen. Senior guard David Lighty connected on all seven of his 3-point attempts en route to a game-high 25 points against George Mason while junior William Buford and senior Jon Diebler combined to make 8 of 15 from behind the arc.
The Wildcats rely heavily on their frosh, much like last year when they were bounced by #2 West Virginia as the top seed in the East Regional Final, 73-66. Forward Terrence Jones was named SEC Freshman of the Year and guard Brandon Knight joined him on the All-SEC first team.
Knight has been instrumental in both of the team’s tournament wins so far despite having his worst and best performances of the season in consecutive games. He scored a career-low two points in a 59-57 win over #13 Princeton in the second round but bounced back with a career-high 30 in a 71-63 victory against the Mountaineers in a rematch last Saturday. Even though he only scored one basket against the Tigers, it turned out to be the game-winning shot with two seconds remaining.
Kentucky has covered the spread in three of its last four games, and the UNDER is 5-1-1 in the team’s past seven. The Buckeyes have seen much different results with the betting total lately, as the OVER is 7-2-1 in their last 10 games overall. The OVER has also cashed in nine of their past 12 NCAA tournament games.
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