NCAA Tournament Predictions – Kentucky and West Virginia in Rematch of Last Year’s Elite Eight Clash

As we make our NCAA Tournament predictions, we acknowledge that the Kentucky Wildcats may not have taken Princeton as seriously as they should have, and now they square off against the West Virginia Mountaineers in a rematch of their Elite Eight clash from last year. In the odds that have been posted and upon which we will make our NCAA Tournament predictions, Kentucky is a 3.5-point favorite.

NCAA Tournament Predictions

EAST REGIONAL

West Virginia Mountaineers (21-11 SU, 13-16 ATS) vs. Kentucky Wildcats (26-8 SU, 14-14-1 ATS)

Live at St. Pete Times Forum

Tampa, FL

Saturday, March 19 — 12:15 PM ET

Odds – NCAA Tournament Predictions:

Kentucky -3.5

West Virginia +3.5

Total 132

West Virginia advanced to the Final Four last year with a 73-66 win over Kentucky, which included an output of 45 points in the second half. The Mountaineers won that game getting four points, as those people who bet the underdog had a winning NCAA Tournament prediction.

Now they meet again, this time in the second round of play, and Kentucky, in particular, is a very different looking team. Gone are John Wall, Demarcus Cousins, and Patrick Patterson, and Brandon Knight, a freshman, is now running the show. Terrence Jones is the presence on the inside, and there are veteran leaders like Josh Harrelson and Darius Miller. Knight is steady and a good scorer, much like Wall, and the fact that he is in charge does not sway the final analysis in our NCAA Tournament prediction.

Depth is a factor. DeAndre Liggins is the only guy coming off the Wildcat bench, and he’s been useful (8.6 ppg). These kids by now are used to putting in a lot of minutes, and they have benefited from the improvisational skills they’ve learned.

West Virginia’s defense is often designed to thwart the other team’s main scorer, but that might be difficult for them to do with Knight handling the ball so much. In other words, they can’t deny him, and Jones is very capable in the paint. The Mountaineers don’t have Devin Ebanks and DeShaun Butler from last year’s team, and they could actually use more in the way of contribution from Casey Mitchell, who had only two field goals in the win over Clemson.

Bob Huggins has to be respected, without doubt, but we respect Kentucky’s talent level a little more. The Wildcats got over a rough hurdle in what was the first NCAA Tournament game for many of them, and now they are our NCAA Tournament prediction, laying 3.5 points.

JAY’S PLAY: KENTUCKY -3.5 ***

(Graded on a scale of 1-4 stars)