Wednesday, March 24, 2010

Picks to run from: EAST REGION

Cornell vs. Kentucky: Can Cornell win? Yes, they can. If they shoot lights out like they're capable of, Kentucky will be limited in their ability to run in transition. I suspect Jeff Foote will be a load for Demarcus Cousins. No stats here. Kentucky can defend you inside and out and are way more athletic than what Bucky showed the Big Red. But they're careless with the ball far too often.

This'll be a fascinating game. Will Kentucky come out the aggressor like they have the first two games? If not, can they withstand an early Cornell barage? Kentucky has been taken shots throughout the year and have shown a capability of winning from behind. To me, you should know alot about this game in the first ten minutes. If Kentucky is aggressive from the tip, they win even if they fall behind early. But if they fall behind and play in a reaction mode, trouble could be brewing.

I'm picking Kentucky 84 Cornell 70 but won't be surprised either way.

Washington vs. West Virginia: As we know, Washington likes to push tempo. They also don't play much defense. Washington has been lights out offensively (Shooting well, protecting the ball) through two games and while we think of West Virgnia as a defensive team, they are 51st in scoring defense and only 91st in FG% defense. KenPom has them 23rd, just 12 spots ahead of Washington.

West Virginia has an edge on the boards, sharing the ball and committing fewer fouls. Ball control is a push. At some point, UW has to go cold and WVU has more athleticism than they've seen so far. If UW shoots well again, they can win this thing but I'm hedging my bets a trip across country and shooting in a dome slows them down and West Virginia forces them into tougher shots and sets.

West Virginia 72 Washington 64

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