West Virginia vs Kentucky 3/27/10

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The SEC and Big East collide for the right to head to the Final 4.

College Basketball 3/27/10 NCAA Elite 8
West Virginia Mountaineers (30-6) (Big East)-Kentucky Wildcats (35-2) (SEC)

By Mark-Saturday, March 27th 2010 7 PM EST
Line-Kentucky-4

West Virginia's strong second half carried them to 69-56 win over Washington setting up a meeting with Kentucky. This wasn't a game for the record books as it was punctuated by poor shooting and sloppy ball handling. Both teams connected at about 40% and combined for a whopping 44 turnovers. With those departments relatively equal it was the muscle of the Mountaineers that came to the rescue on the glass. WVU schooled the Huskies on the boards 49-29 including 23 offensive pulls which decided the game. With so many second chance opportunities West Virginia cashed in often to explain the lopsided score. Kevin Jones led the way with 18 points to lead two others that cracked the ten point barrier but their starting five did most of the damage combining for 56 points and 30 rebounds.

Kentucky put an end to Cornell's season with a decisive 62-45 win in a Sweet 16 match up. The Wildcats dominated the opening half taking a 16 point lead in to the locker room and for all intents and purposes ending any doubt about an upset. UK was an average 44% from the floor which was over kill in this one as Cornell found iron most of the time, making just a third of their attempts. The Big Red couldn't find the range and soon found they couldn't hang with Kentucky on the glass with the Wildcats claiming a 41-28 margin. Cornell finally got their feet under them coming out of the locker room but the game had been decided and UK merely held them at arms length. DeMarcus Cousins led the Wildcats with 18 points and a game high four blocks, but it looked as if UK had chip on their shoulders with all the talk focusing on Cornell coming in.

West Virginia offense: 73 ppg 16 apg 39 rpg 43%
West Virginia defense: 63 ppg 11 apg 32 rpg 42%
UK offense: 80 ppg 15 apg 41 rpg 48%
UK defense: 65 ppg 11 apg 34 rpg 38%

West Virginia is the lone Big East representative left dancing and if they intend to move on they'll have to do it with defense and rebounding. Kentucky is no slouch in either department and also has a very good offense to lean on. With no decided edge defensively, I think the ability to score weighs in favor of the Wildcats and I'll lay the points.