2011 NCAA Tournament: Kentucky Wildcats vs. Ohio State Buckeyes Preview

What: Kentucky Wildcats vs. Ohio State Buckeyes

When: Friday, March 25th; 9:45 P.M.

Where: Prudential Center; Newark, New Jersey

Television: CBS

Wildcats' Record: (27-8, 10-6 SEC)

Opposing SB Nation Site: A Sea of Blue

Since Ohio State's pillaging of George Mason last Sunday, the Buckeyes have had four days to rest, practice, and prepare for their Sweet 16 opponent, the Kentucky Wildcats. They've also had time to absorb the words spoken by Kentucky head coach John Calipari earlier this week. Responding to a question about the difficulty of playing Ohio State, Calipari redirected the focus to Kentucky's history while brushing off Ohio State's success this season.

Understand that: They (opponents) want to be us. Not beat us. Be us. So they're coming at you, trying to say, 'You win against Kentucky, it shows that we're them.' So everybody we play is going to bring it and bring it at a high level.

I doubt that Buckeye players will perform any differently because of Calipari's words, but the comment does show quite a bit of disrespect to Ohio State's basketball history. As Kyle noted in his examination of the difficult road Ohio State could face en route to the championship game, the Buckeyes have the sixth most Final Four appearances of any NCAA program and possess a national championship of their own. Furthermore, John Calipari is facing a head coach with a better career winning percentage than him and considerably more success in March. But maybe John Calipari just wants to be Thad Matta.

For all his bravado this past week, Calipari really is a good coach, or at least one that consistently compiles the best talent in the country. He lost a host of talent to the NBA draft last season, including five first round picks, and was forced to reconfigure his roster. To do so, he went out and signed the number one recruiting class in all of college basketball.

Freshmen Brandon Knight, Terrence Jones, and Doron Lamb have all played heavily throughout the season and  grown with their minutes, and they've been joined by upperclassmen Darius Miller and Josh Harrelson as Kentucky's main five. Knight is the leading scorer for the Wildcats and played the hero against Princeton in Kentucky's first game in the tournament. He scored the game-winning bucket on a layup as time expired, saving the Wildcats from a disappointing early exit. Against West Virginia, Knight led his teammates with 30 points and an impressive 52.5% effective field goal percentage (eFG%.)

Kentucky beat West Virginia primarily because they shot more efficiently and received more free throw opportunities than the Mountaineers. Much of that success is directly attributable to Knight, who shot over half of the free throws (making 9 of them) and repeatedly drove Kentucky's offense to the rim. A talented point guard like Knight is integral to Kentucky's success as long as John Calipari runs his dribble-drive motion offense in Lexington; in fact, without Knight's development throughout the season it's doubtful that Kentucky wins the SEC and makes a trip to the Sweet 16. Calipari's offense is guard-oriented and designed to always be on the attack, and it only works if the point guard is a real offensive threat.

Aaron Craft will be guarding Knight for most of the game, barring foul trouble on either player, and that match-up will probably determine how Kentucky fares. Ohio State's excellent team defense (6th in the country) and plethora of shooters will keep them in the game even if one player stalls out, but Kentucky needs Brandon Knight to show up and score.

And scoring is really the difference between these two teams. In three of the Four Factors, the Buckeyes and Wildcats are virtually indistinguishable, but in effective field goal percentage the Buckeyes hold a 4.3% advantage over Kentucky. It isn't such a large gap that Ohio State can just show up and outscore the Wildcats, but it's significant, nonetheless.

Kentucky has the athletes to compete with Ohio State at every position, but senior forward Josh Harellson and the aforementioned Terrence Jones will have to defend the mammoth Jared Sullinger. It's well-established at this point that the Buckeyes are at their best when Sullinger is playing well, and it could change the game if Harrelson and Jones can cause Sullinger trouble. While that is an obvious observation to make, it does hold truth. Sullinger's presence in the paint gives Ohio State direct access to the basket and an easy path to controlling the game. Kentucky's big men can aid their teammates by playing well.

The Buckeyes are 5.5. point favorites in Vegas, and Ken Pomeroy predicts a 74-67 Buckeye victory. The winner of this game will move on to the Elite Eight and play the winner of North Carolina and Marquette.