College Basketball: Holiday Hoops Preview

Mark Zerof-USA TODAY Sports

Dec. 27 – Kentucky at Louisville (2pm on ESPN2)

Let’s be serious for a moment. This is Kentucky’s last shot to lose a game between today and the Elite Eight. No one in the SEC is beating these guys. Coach Cal has been squelching all the undefeated season talk, but it’s a legit conversation that needs to happen the moment this game ends — that is, if the Wildcats win.

Kentucky isn’t unbeatable, and Louisville is definitely a team that can beat them. Whether it happens or not will depend on the play of Louisville’s prized thoroughbred Montrezl Harrell. Louisville’s big man won’t be able to negate the waves of size, height, and athleticism that Kentucky will throw at the Cards, but he will give the Wildcats an experience they’ve yet to face.

When these two teams meet, Harrell will be the best player on the floor. He’s only one man; there isn’t a Harrell for each of UK’s five bigs. Still, this particular Wildcat team has yet to face an individual player that is capable of dominating a game. Perry Ellis and Marcus Paige are extremely talented, but neither deserve the circle, star, and underline that Harrell’s name gets on a scouting report.

Despite Harrell’s presence, Louisville is still far from a one-man show. The backcourt of Terry Rozier and Chris Jones may not tickle the fancy of NBA scouts the way the Harrison twins do, but you could easily make the case that they’re the better backcourt today. On the wing, the Cards have Wayne Blackshear, one of the few athletic specimens in college basketball built to go toe-to-toe with Kentucky’s size. Without Alex Poythress around to neutralize his size and length, he stands out as a potential x-factor.

KEY TO THE GAME: Neither of the Harrison twins are true point guards. Coach Cal may have to abandon the platoon system and turn to his diminutive freshman Tyler Ulis to escape the KFC Yum Center without getting fried in Louisville’s pressure cooker of a defense.