Wofford vs. Kentucky: 2019 NCAA Tournament game preview, TV schedule

Wofford looks to continue their Cinderella run into the Sweet Sixteen by taking out No. 2 Kentucky on Saturday afternoon. Whose season will come to an end?

TV Schedule: Saturday, March 23, 2:40PM ET, CBS

Arena: VyStar Veterans Memorial Arena, Jacksonville, FL

Both teams are coming off convincing wins in their opening round games, Kentucky dispatched Abilene Christian 79-44 and Wofford shot a dagger through the heart of Seton Hall with an 84-68 win. Now they face each other for a spot in the Sweet Sixteen.

While Fletcher Magee may get a lot of the ink when it comes to Wofford, and rightly so, he is the most prolific shooter in the sport, but the Terriers are more than just Magee. But as their game against Seton Hall showed, guys like Nathan Hoover, Cameron Jackson, and Storm Murphy aren’t bad either. Those three shot a combined 15-29 against the Pirates.

Kentucky was never tested in their win over Abilene Christian, leading by 26 at the half and never looked back. The Wildcats played the game without P.J. Washington, who was seen with a cast on his foot before the game, and coach John Calipari said postgame that he is unlikely to play in this one. Reid Travis and E.J. Montgomery picked up the slack in the middle 21 points and 20 rebounds and Keldon Johnson led the Cats with 25.

This game should be an interesting contrast with Wofford’s perimeter game facing a Kentucky team that likes to work inside the arc. Kentucky makes over 52% of their two-point shots, while Wofford opponents make nearly 51%. On the other end of the floor, Wofford makes 41.8% of their shots from beyond the arc, which is the 2nd best in the country and Kentucky’s 3-point defense has left something to be desired this season allowing opponents to make over 34% of their shots.

For me, this game is going to come down to a couple of key factors. First, are Wofford’s shots falling? If the Terriers hit a drought as they did in the second half against Seton Hall that could be disastrous because Kentucky is 4th in the country in rebounding margin, and missed shots could lead to easy transition points for Kentucky. The other factor will be which team can assert their strength over the other.

In the end, I think Kentucky wins a close game, using their interior game to get the Wofford forwards, Jackson and Keve Aluma most notably, into foul trouble, neutralizing the loss of Washington. Wofford has had a magical season, but unfortunately for fans of the Terriers, their season comes to an end on Saturday.