Providence upsetting Kentucky is a classy choose, however Jay Bilas is amongst a number of analysts who’ve the Wildcats making it to the second weekend of the Big Dance.
Selection Sunday has come and gone. Now, everybody is concentrated on filling out their brackets for who will minimize down the nets in Houston.
With the NCAA Tournament area now set, media members at the moment are making their picks, and the Kentucky Wildcats are a classy choose to get upset. However, some skilled pickers do have the Cats making it to the second weekend of the Big Dance.
At ESPN, Jay Bilas is choosing Kentucky to beat Providence however provides it wouldn’t be a lot of an upset to see the Friars win because of the Wildcats’ up-and-down play all season.
Bilas then picks Kentucky to upset Kansas State within the Round of 32, noting how it will be a well-recognized matchup since Keyontae Johnson confronted Kentucky a number of occasions whereas at Florida.
Then within the Sweet 16, Bilas picked Marquette to take down Kentucky.
“Marquette has better guards, and the best point guard. Kentucky is better on the glass. But, Marquette wins because of turnovers. Marquette doesn’t turn it over, and forces you to turn it over. Only a drubbing on the backboards can keep Marquette from the Elite Eight. Winner: Marquette.”
Bilas goes on to select the Duke Blue Devils to win the East Region earlier than falling within the Final Four to the Arizona Wildcats.
Elsewhere at ESPN, John Gasaway and Matt Eisenberg put out their 10 most certainly first-round upsets and as soon as once more the Friars over the Wildcats is without doubt one of the picks with their mannequin giving the upset a 40% likelihood of taking place.
Here’s an excerpt of their evaluation.
“Perhaps the formula for Providence is to follow the Peacocks. Last year, they ranked among the teams to shoot the fewest amount of 3-pointers per game, but Kentucky couldn’t stop them (9-for-17 from 3). Providence doesn’t shoot as many 3-point shots either, but in averaging 78.1 points per game, the Wildcats will need to keep up with the Friars. Keep in mind that the Friars shoot 38% from deep in their 21 wins, which would rank 21st nationally. However, they shoot 30.4% from beyond the arc in their 11 losses, a figure that would rank 340th.”
ESPN’s Jeff Borzello predicts a 75-69 win for Kentucky over Providence, a 68-66 win over Kansas State, then a 72-64 loss within the Sweet 16 to Marquette.
Seth Davis of The Athletic picked Providence to upset Kentucky in what’s been dubbed the “Bryce Hopkins Game.”
The Athletic additionally fashioned a bunch of Furman math professors to create a statistical mannequin to foretell upsets. Providence beating Kentucky is the Tenth-most probably first-round upset at 21.3%.
USA Today’s Paul Myerberg can also be becoming a member of the first-round upset crowd choosing the Friars on Friday evening.
Andy Katz believes the Cats will get previous Providence, however he has them dropping the second-round sport in opposition to Kansas State.
Sports Illustrated’s Pat Forde additionally predicts a second-round exit for the Cats shedding their matchup in opposition to Kansas State.
Mike DeCourcy of The Sporting News agrees with Borzello that the Cats will make it to the second weekend, however he additionally predicts a Sweet 16 loss to Marquette.
ESPN BPI is giving Kentucky a 62.7% likelihood of beating Providence.
TeamRankings (by way of ESPN) is projecting a 74-70 victory for Big Blue Nation.
KenPom, who has Kentucky ranked twenty eighth total, initiatives a 75-73 win over Providence, ranked forty fourth total.
Bart Torvik, rating the Wildcats twenty seventh, picks them to 75-72 over the Friars, ranked 59th.
Roger Sherman of The Ringer didn’t do particular person sport predictions however did choose Marquette to win the East Region.
In abstract, none of those pickers have Kentucky making it to the Elite Eight. Safe to say it is a 12 months Kentucky is being slept on, maybe greater than any within the John Calipari period, although it’s warranted given simply how a lot they’ve struggled at occasions all through the season to this point.
One factor that’s sure is that this Kentucky workforce is proficient sufficient to beat anybody within the nation, however as we’ve got seen, they’ll additionally lose to anybody within the nation. This March Madness is really vast open.
So, how far do you see Kentucky going? Let us know within the feedback part!
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