No. 4 Louisville vs. No. 1 Kentucky, 6:09 p.m. CBS
Both semifinals are rematches of games played earlier in the year. The first is a battle of the Bluegrass State. Louisville lost at Kentucky on New Year's Eve 69-62. The Cardinals don't blow you away with offense but their defense has been some of the stingiest in the tournament so far. They've allowed their four opponents -- Davidson, New Mexico, Michigan State, and Florida -- to score only 57.5 points per game. What's more, the Cardinals are third in the nation in field goal percentage defense and they beat Michigan State at their own game when they held the Spartans to 44 points in the Sweet 16 -- MSU is second in the country in that category. Another thing Louisville does well is rebound -- 27th best in the country. That will be important to take away second-chance opportunities from Kentucky. Kyle Kuric leads the team in scoring at 12.7 points per game and Gorgui Dieng leads the team in rebounding, grabbing nine per game. Point guard Peyton Siva, however, is the fuel that runs the Louisville offense. He's been great throughout the Big East and NCAA tournaments. He puts up only nine points per game but dishes out 5.6 assists per game. Louisville is a solid, solid team on a great run, but I don't know if all of these good things will matter. Kentucky is that talented and good. I have not been a believer of them in recent years because I think the whole one-and-done thing coach John Calipari has going there is great for the regular season, but when it gets down to clutch time, the young guys aren't sure how to react under stress and pressure. But this team is really good. The Wildcats have clobbered all their tournament opponents by at least 12 points. In the Sweet 16, Indiana did a fine job scoring points, putting up 90 -- but UK put up 102. Kentucky has six players scoring in double figures, led by AP player of the year and freshman Anthony Davis, he of the flying unibrow. He looks like a spider out there with his long arms (roster says he is 6-foot-10, but you'd swear he looks 7-foot-4) and in addition to scoring 14 points per game, he swats almost five shots per game and collects 10 rebounds per game. They just have weapon after weapon. If Davis has a bad game, he's got Terrence Jones, Doron Lamb, and oh, two freshmen who can be lottery picks in the upcoming draft if they want to be, Marquis Teague and Michael Kidd-Gilchrist to fall back on. I like Louisville to stay close in this one for the majority of the game but Kentucky is too good. They make nearly 50 percent of their shots and even though Louisville rebounds well, the Wildcats do it better. Also, that stat about field goal percentage defense? Well, Kentucky is actually first in that category. Down the stretch, the Cardinals won't be able to keep up.
Kentucky 73, Louisville 62
No. 2 Ohio State vs. No. 2 Kansas, 8:49 p.m. CBS
This one is much tougher to call than the first game. Kansas beat Ohio State on Dec. 10 78-67 at Kansas, but the Buckeyes were without Jared Sullinger. At the same time, however, you have to figure that the Jayhawks are playing better now than then. This was supposed to be a rebuilding year for KU, but it's really turned it on. The Jayhawks are led by a pair of players scoring about 17 points per game. One is junior forward Thomas Robinson, perhaps the best player in college basketball. He's willed this team to win this year averaging 17.7 points and 11.8 rebounds per game. He's been through tragedy and always plays tough. Last year, in about the span of a month, Robinson lost his grandfather, grandmother, and mother. Point guard Tyshawn Taylor is a senior point guard averaging 16.7 points per game and about five assists. Elijah Johnson averages 10 points per game but has been a bigger force in the tournament, scoring 15, 18, 11, and 10 points in Kansas' four games. Center Jeff Withey, at 7-foot, scores about nine points per game and holds down the defense inside, blocking 3.5 shots per game. Kansas, like Louisville and Kentucky, has a great defense and excels at field goal percentage defense -- fourth in the country. Ohio State starts four sophomores and a senior. The Buckeyes are led by Jared Sullinger, the big guy down low, who puts up 17.6 points and nine rebounds per game. Both he and DeShaun Thomas are forces down low. Thomas records 16 points and collects 5.4 rebounds per game. Both shoot 53 percent from the field. William Buford is the lone senior of the starting five. He's a tall 6-foot-6 guard who scores well (14.7 ppg), rebounds well (4.9 rpg) and can dish the rock, too (2.9 apg). Aaron Craft is the calm point guard who passes wel (4.7 apg) and also plays solid defense. Both these teams rebound well, shoot well, and can score a lot of points. That's why I feel like this one is almost too close to call. I think it will be terrific game where no team has a lead bigger than six points maybe the entire game. Kentucky vs. Louisville is getting all the publicity because Louisville coach Rick Pitino use to coach Kentucky and it is a natural rivalry but I think the Jayhawks vs. the Buckeyes will be a better matchup. I actually picked Kansas to win it all but I think I might go back on that pick. I like how Ohio State is playing overall better than Kansas and the Buckeyes have had the tougher road to the Final Four in my opinion. I think having Sullinger for this game, who Ohio State didn't have in the previous meeting like I mentioned, will definitely make a big difference. I'll take Ohio State, but it wouldn't shock me at all if Kansas moved on to the final.
Ohio State 68, Kansas 66
Both semifinals are rematches of games played earlier in the year. The first is a battle of the Bluegrass State. Louisville lost at Kentucky on New Year's Eve 69-62. The Cardinals don't blow you away with offense but their defense has been some of the stingiest in the tournament so far. They've allowed their four opponents -- Davidson, New Mexico, Michigan State, and Florida -- to score only 57.5 points per game. What's more, the Cardinals are third in the nation in field goal percentage defense and they beat Michigan State at their own game when they held the Spartans to 44 points in the Sweet 16 -- MSU is second in the country in that category. Another thing Louisville does well is rebound -- 27th best in the country. That will be important to take away second-chance opportunities from Kentucky. Kyle Kuric leads the team in scoring at 12.7 points per game and Gorgui Dieng leads the team in rebounding, grabbing nine per game. Point guard Peyton Siva, however, is the fuel that runs the Louisville offense. He's been great throughout the Big East and NCAA tournaments. He puts up only nine points per game but dishes out 5.6 assists per game. Louisville is a solid, solid team on a great run, but I don't know if all of these good things will matter. Kentucky is that talented and good. I have not been a believer of them in recent years because I think the whole one-and-done thing coach John Calipari has going there is great for the regular season, but when it gets down to clutch time, the young guys aren't sure how to react under stress and pressure. But this team is really good. The Wildcats have clobbered all their tournament opponents by at least 12 points. In the Sweet 16, Indiana did a fine job scoring points, putting up 90 -- but UK put up 102. Kentucky has six players scoring in double figures, led by AP player of the year and freshman Anthony Davis, he of the flying unibrow. He looks like a spider out there with his long arms (roster says he is 6-foot-10, but you'd swear he looks 7-foot-4) and in addition to scoring 14 points per game, he swats almost five shots per game and collects 10 rebounds per game. They just have weapon after weapon. If Davis has a bad game, he's got Terrence Jones, Doron Lamb, and oh, two freshmen who can be lottery picks in the upcoming draft if they want to be, Marquis Teague and Michael Kidd-Gilchrist to fall back on. I like Louisville to stay close in this one for the majority of the game but Kentucky is too good. They make nearly 50 percent of their shots and even though Louisville rebounds well, the Wildcats do it better. Also, that stat about field goal percentage defense? Well, Kentucky is actually first in that category. Down the stretch, the Cardinals won't be able to keep up.
Kentucky 73, Louisville 62
No. 2 Ohio State vs. No. 2 Kansas, 8:49 p.m. CBS
This one is much tougher to call than the first game. Kansas beat Ohio State on Dec. 10 78-67 at Kansas, but the Buckeyes were without Jared Sullinger. At the same time, however, you have to figure that the Jayhawks are playing better now than then. This was supposed to be a rebuilding year for KU, but it's really turned it on. The Jayhawks are led by a pair of players scoring about 17 points per game. One is junior forward Thomas Robinson, perhaps the best player in college basketball. He's willed this team to win this year averaging 17.7 points and 11.8 rebounds per game. He's been through tragedy and always plays tough. Last year, in about the span of a month, Robinson lost his grandfather, grandmother, and mother. Point guard Tyshawn Taylor is a senior point guard averaging 16.7 points per game and about five assists. Elijah Johnson averages 10 points per game but has been a bigger force in the tournament, scoring 15, 18, 11, and 10 points in Kansas' four games. Center Jeff Withey, at 7-foot, scores about nine points per game and holds down the defense inside, blocking 3.5 shots per game. Kansas, like Louisville and Kentucky, has a great defense and excels at field goal percentage defense -- fourth in the country. Ohio State starts four sophomores and a senior. The Buckeyes are led by Jared Sullinger, the big guy down low, who puts up 17.6 points and nine rebounds per game. Both he and DeShaun Thomas are forces down low. Thomas records 16 points and collects 5.4 rebounds per game. Both shoot 53 percent from the field. William Buford is the lone senior of the starting five. He's a tall 6-foot-6 guard who scores well (14.7 ppg), rebounds well (4.9 rpg) and can dish the rock, too (2.9 apg). Aaron Craft is the calm point guard who passes wel (4.7 apg) and also plays solid defense. Both these teams rebound well, shoot well, and can score a lot of points. That's why I feel like this one is almost too close to call. I think it will be terrific game where no team has a lead bigger than six points maybe the entire game. Kentucky vs. Louisville is getting all the publicity because Louisville coach Rick Pitino use to coach Kentucky and it is a natural rivalry but I think the Jayhawks vs. the Buckeyes will be a better matchup. I actually picked Kansas to win it all but I think I might go back on that pick. I like how Ohio State is playing overall better than Kansas and the Buckeyes have had the tougher road to the Final Four in my opinion. I think having Sullinger for this game, who Ohio State didn't have in the previous meeting like I mentioned, will definitely make a big difference. I'll take Ohio State, but it wouldn't shock me at all if Kansas moved on to the final.
Ohio State 68, Kansas 66
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