The Kentucky Wildcats were business as usual when they defeated Hampton in the first round of the NCAA tournament. The SEC team currently sits at a perfect 35-0 as the pressure mounts to go all the way with an undefeated season. After putting on a rout of Hampton, Kentucky must get back up in order to remain perfect as they prepare to take on the Cincinnati Bearcats in the Round of 32.
Kentucky did not struggle against Hampton while Cincinnati required overtime to beat Purdue. The Wildcats won 79-56 while the Bearcats snuck away with a 66-65 victory. Kentucky's game did not end until 12:30 in the morning after a delayed start, so head coach John Calipari let players rest longer after the win. Kentucky played like they were on cruise control, not being challenged once. The same cannot be said for Cincinnati who struggled to advance.
Cincinnati is not impressed with Kentucky's star quality. Instead they intend to keep playing the way they have been and using defense to get them by. The Bearcats have only been allowing opponents to average 55.3 points against them this season something they hope is the same with Kentucky. The Bearcats will have Octavius Ellis back in the mix after he was ejected for throwing an elbow against Purdue's center. The physical player says despite the ejection he will still continue to be aggressive,e specially against Kentucky.
If the Bearcats are going to win with their defense, they must stop Kentucky's nine-man rotation that gets a lot of scoring chances in the game. The Bearcats have the sixth-ranked defense overall, but it might not be enough to get past the team who is perfect on the year. Cincinnati has held opponents to under 70 points per game which might be critical against Kentucky's offense. However, the Bearcats were outrebounded by Purdue 51-38 which might hurt them in the long run.
Kentucky does not intend to change anything when it comes to their style of play. The only issue is getting off to a faster start. The Wildcats started out sluggish after the delayed start, training Hampton once before getting control of the game. They cannot afford that same type of style again.
