Cats looking at favorable NCAA Tournament draw
March 19, 2013
By Alex Forkner | @AlexFork3
After falling short of accomplishing two main goals — winning both the SEC regular season and tournament titles — UK Hoops is now staring down its last chance for glory this season.
When the bracket was announced Monday night, and UK was awarded a No. 2 seed, that chance for glory looked plausible.
The Cats’ draw is a favorable one.
Waiting in the second round will be either No. 7 seed Dayton or No. 10 seed St. John’s. Dayton sports an impressive 27-2 record, but only one of those wins came against a ranked team. The Flyers beat No. 25 DePaul on Nov. 10 in the second game of the season.
St. John’s hasn’t defeated a ranked team all season, but has had narrow losses against quality teams in the Big East. The Red Storm has 3-point and 7-point losses to No. 5 seed Louisville only lost to No. 1 seed Connecticut by six points. Should St. John’s advance, they could give UK a tougher matchup, but Matthew Mitchell and company have handled teams of such caliber all season long.
They are paired with arguably the weakest No. 3 seed in North Carolina, as opposed to other No. 3 seeds Texas A&M, Penn State and UCLA, all who were ranked higher than the Tar Heels in the last poll before the bracket’s release.
A potential test for UK awaits UK if No. 6 seed Delaware upsets UNC and advances to the Sweet 16. The Blue Hens are 30-3 on the season, having won their last 25 games. All-American junior Elena Delle Donne is second in the nation in scoring at 25.3 points per game and is one of the top players in the country. Six-foot-five and versatile, she could pose matchup problems for UK. However, the Blue Hens ran through a weak Colonial Athletic Association and may not be battled-tested enough to outlast the Cats, should they even make it that far.
The real manufactured matchup is slated for the Elite Eight, where UK could face Connecticut in a rematch of last year’s Elite Eight, where the Huskies prevailed 80-65 in Kingston, R.I.
The game, should both teams advance, would again be played in UConn’s backyard, i.e. Bridgeport, Conn. But the Huskies have looked to be the most vulnerable of the No. 1 seeds, dropping four games on the year, three to fellow No. 1 seed Notre Dame.
UConn is still a daunting challenge, but UK is better suited to go toe-to-toe with Geno Auriemma’s team. Last year’s Cats didn’t have dynamic point guard Jennifer O’Neill or reliable post presence DeNesha Stallworth, who could make a difference should the teams meet once again.
Should the Cats handle their business and avenge a loss on the way, they may very well find themselves celebrating a trip to New Orleans, a locale that’s brought UK fans plenty joy within the last year.
