Preview: 1 Kentucky vs 8 Cincinnati

#1 – Kentucky Wildcats

On a day full of upsets, the Wildcats looked every bit like the favorites they were pegged as coming into the big dance, toppling the outmatched Hampton Pirates 79-56. The Wildcats have the ability to exploit every position on the floor depending on the match up, and against the Pirates it was Karl-Anthony Towns who they ran things through. The talk about him as a potential No. 1 pick in the 2015 Draft only gained more steam as he went off for a game-high 21 points, 11 rebounds and three blocks in just 25 minutes of action. Overall, the Wildcats outrebounded the Pirates 51-31 and held them to 28 percent shooting from the field and 25 percent from three. They should be able to take advantage of the Cincinnati Bearcats, who were outrebounded by the Purdue Boilermakers 51-38, on the glass as well in Round of 32.

– Yannis Koutroupis

#8 – Cincinnati

The Bearcats pulled out a overtime win over Purdue on Thursday night in dramatic fashion. Overcoming a seven-point deficit in the last 48 seconds, the emotional UC team used a buzzer beating layup from Troy Caupain to tie the game at the end of regulation. The Bearcats’ defense was tremendous, holding the Boilermakers to 14 percent shooting from the three-point line. All season long UC has been tough to beat when their shot makers show up. Farad Cobb and Caupain paced the scoring with 14 and 10 respectively. A surprise performance by center Coreontae DeBerry at 13 points kept them close enough to have a chance late in the game. The next matchup against Kentucky should be interesting as the Bearcats are capable of slowing the Kentucky frontcourt of Willie Cauley-Stein and Karl-Anthony Towns. Cobb, Caupain and Kevin Johnson must attack Trey Lyles and the Harrison twins, attempting to mentally take them out of the game. Interim coach Larry Davis will have them ready as they have been in more close games than any team left in the field and must match Kentucky’s ability to have double-digit offensive runs. They must keep the game in the 50s and do a better job securing the first rebound and making free throws if they want to pull off one of the biggest upsets in basketball history.

– Dan Barto

Who Wins?

Yannis Koutroupis: Kentucky wins

Cody Toppert: Kentucky wins

Dan Barto: Kentucky wins

Dan Barto has been with the IMG Academy basketball program since 2003. Prior to becoming the Head Skills Trainer, Barto was the IMG Academy basketball program’s Developmental Head Coach. Dan has trained over 100 current or former NBA players and coached over 40 Division I players. You can follow IMG on Twitter @IMGAcademy or on Facebook here.