The Georgia Bulldogs will look to rebound from their devastating loss to the Auburn Tigers last week. The Kentucky Wildcats will look to pounce and take advantage of a Bulldogs team that might come in a bit vulnerable.
Missouri may have stumbled once this season but they can still have a fantastic year if they can close out strong.
Both the Mississippi State Bulldogs and the Kentucky Wildcats will be coming off a bye when they meet up under the lights on Thursday night. Mississippi State has won each of the last four meetings between the teams, including double-digit victories in each of the last two seasons.
It has been awhile since there was any reason to be excited about Kentucky football but with the hire of Mark Stoops as head coach they may have finally found someone who can get the program back to some level of sustained success.
The Gators have already clinched the SEC but they haven’t been as sharp down the stretch as expected. They are not quite the same team on the road as they are at home which may be part of the reason they are not being talked about as a title contender the way they were a month ago.
You just knew that Kentucky was going to become a more dangerous team as the year went on. It has been a staple of Coach Cal’s teams even, if this particular version struggled a little more early on than many expected.
The Volunteers were supposed to be a sleeper team in the SEC this season. They had a good amount of talent returning and some strong teams from last year – like Kentucky and Vanderbilt – were going to make take some lumps this year.
The Kentucky Wildcats have become the epitome of a one-and-done culture for talented freshmen, but head coach John Calipari has become the master of utilizing his talent one year at a time. Talent doesn’t always win championships, but when it’s placed into the right system year after year, it’s tough to beat.
The Gamecocks have been cruising since being pushed harder than expected in the opener against Vandy.
Kentucky has gained somewhat of a reputation in recent years for being a scrappy, hard-luck program that plays the role of spoiler for the bigger bullies in the SEC. Indeed, Kentucky often plays up to its competition and is usually only a couple upsets away from a bowl game.
The field of 68 has been narrowed down to the final two teams. The Kansas Jayhawks will take on the Kentucky Wildcats Monday night in the Superdome. The winner will cut down the nets and be crowned 2012 NCAA Champions.
This rivalry is played every year but rarely twice. Back in December, Louisville’s was a 10 point underdog so all their recent successes have done is earn themselves another point of respect.
Kentucky has had a rather easy road to the Final 4, as all of their wins in the Big Dance have been by double digits. It is no surprise that the Wildcats have the best odds to win the NCAA tournament.
While Duke was knocked out by Lehigh in Round of 64, many people did have Baylor meeting Kentucky in the Elite Eight in the South Region.
Kentucky has lost two games all year long and one of them was to the Indiana Hoosiers. The Hoosiers beat the Wildcats 73-72 in Bloomington earlier this year thanks to a Christian Watford three-pointer at the buzzer.
The top overall seed in the NCAA Tournament will be on display Saturday night in Louisville. Kentucky will have a virtual home game against the upstart Iowa State Cyclones.
