The greatest Sweet 16 there never was
No. 3 Kentucky vs. No. 14 Michigan
To be honest, I don’t have a ton of confidence in this Kentucky team. They have some fantastic players but just don’t seem up to par as a unit. Colin Cowherd offered up this take when Calipari stated that a team full of Kentucky players could win an NBA title over some of the best teams in the league.
"“Kentucky players fall into two groups: Talented but immature and talented but underwhelming. How long you gonna keep selling me Anthony Davis stock? I love John Calipari but you think your Kentucky guys are gonna beat Golden State? Kentucky guys are mostly immature, uncoachable, underwhelming, or in Anthony Davis’ case spectacular but I’m still waiting for the first playoff win. I’m not asking for multiple. How about just one?”"
Michigan offers a competitive first round matchup to get into the swing of things early. Jamal Crawford, Jalen Rose, Glen Rice, Chris Webber and Roy Tarpley match up very well with this Kentucky starting five.
As is the case with many higher seeds facing off against lower seeds, the depth that Kentucky has will be key to victory. Eric Bledsoe and Karl-Anthony Towns will be running the pick-and-roll and pick-and-pop early and often once they check into the game, spaced by shooters like Devin Booker and Brandon Knight.
Conclusion: Anthony Davis hits free-throws down the stretch to put things away, Kentucky comes away with the W.