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2015 NCAA Tournament: 3 Matchups to Watch in Wisconsin-Kentucky

By Daniel Tran

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The 2015 NCAA Tournament is coming to close.  However, with a matchup between two No. 1 seeds in the Wisconsin Badgers and Kentucky Wildcats, the tournament will end with a bang.

1. Frank Kaminsky vs. The Hydra

Much like Hercules, Frank Kaminsky has a labor that is comparable to the twelve tasks that the Greek demigod had to complete. Scratch that. Based on the fact that Wisconsin is not in some sort of storybook mythology, and is actually facing off against Kentucky on Saturday for a chance to play for a national championship, this will be infinitely more difficult.

As has been the case with most of the year, Kentucky’s oft-praised frontcourt comprised of six forwards over 6’9” has been the source of the Wildcat’s greatest strength. If one, or even two, fails, there is a seemingly limitless cache of hungry defensive players to replace the lost production.

This will not be the first time that Wisconsin faces a deep frontcourt, but it will certainly be the most difficult. Against Kennedy Meeks, Brice Johnson, and Joel James of North Carolina, Kaminsky was able to pour in 19 points. Against Arizona that sported Brandon Ashley, Kaleb Tarczewski, and Dusan Ristic, he did even better, scoring 29 points.

Kentucky will have Karl-Anthony Towns checking Kaminsky to start, but don’t be surprised if you see Dakari Johnson, Willie Cauley-Stein, or even Trey Lyles coming down to wear the big man out. If Wisconsin wants a chance to advance to the National Championship game, Kaminsky will have to find a way to fend all of those players off.

2. Sam Dekker vs. ????

Alex Poythress. Paging Alex Poythress. You are needed in the Final Four to assist the Kentucky Wildcats.

Unfortunately for Kentucky, unless Asclepius became Poythress’ rehabilitation coach (last greek mythology reference, I swear), there is no way that the 6’8” forward, and Kentucky’s best perimeter defender, will be back to help the Wildcats defend one of the hottest players coming into the national semifinal game.

Sam Dekker comes into the Final Four shooting 60.3 percent from the field and averaging 21.8 points for the 2015 NCAA Tournament. Without his production complementing Kaminsky’s inside presence, Wisconsin probably goes home against North Carolina in the Sweet Sixteen.

So who will be tasked with guarding the skilled 6’9” forward who can seemingly do everything on the court? Your guess is as good as mine. Individually speaking, there is no one that can guard him straight up.

Trey Lyles has shown the ability to guard smaller players out in the perimeter, but he does not have the lateral quickness to keep up with Dekker and he will need help from the defensive rotation if and when Dekker blows by him. Kentucky can experiment with putting the smaller Harrison twins or Devin Booker on him, but his size will allow him to shoot over them, forcing the Wildcats to double team.

More than likely, Kentucky will be playing team defense, like they have all year, which has worked out for them so far. They lead the nation in field goal percentage allowed (35.2 percent) and are third in the nation in points allowed (53.9 points per game).

If they are not careful, however, Sam Dekker can bury them.

3. Bench vs. Bench

I mean, when Kentucky has enough talent to implement a platoon system where coach John Calipari subbed in five players at a time like a hockey substitution, you would think that they would have distinct advantage over any other team right? You wouldn’t be wrong, the Wildcat bench is averaging 21.8 points per game during the 2015 NCAA Tournament.

With that kind of depth on Kentucky, Wisconsin is in all-hands-on-deck mode and needs every one of their players to produce in order to counter that kind of relentless attack. So far in the tournament, Wisconsin’s bench is averaging 7.8 points per game. Obviously, the talent of their starting line up has carried them to this point, but if they want to advance past perhaps one of the best college basketball teams of all time, they will need more.

Duje Dukan has done his best giving Kaminsky a rest every so often and Zak Showalter has had spurts of timely production, but the real key will be if Traevon Jackson, who recently returned from a fractured foot. Jackson was averaging 8.6 points before the injury occurred. Since he has returned, he has only scored four points in two games.

If he can somehow get up to speed and contribute at the same level he did before his injury, it would make things a lot more manageable for the Badgers, who need every ounce of production they can get.

Next: Off-season Transfer Market Heating Up

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