10 Storylines to Follow for UConn-Kentucky NCAA Championship
Questions will be answered and a champ will be crowned.
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UConn-Kentucky to Tip-Off for National Title - This is it. All NCAA Tournament long, we have watched UConn’s Shabazz Napier lead the Huskies with sheer mettle. Similarly, Kentucky — with five freshmen starters — has captured the nation’s attention for their up against the world mentality and guard Aaron Harrison’s penchant for game-winning buckets. It all goes down tonight when No. 7 UConn clashes with eighth-seeded Kentucky in the NCAA Championship game. Here, BET.com lists 10 storylines, including Harrison’s heroics, Napier’s NBA stock and coaching/playing experience, to follow in tonight’s big game. Only one team can cut down the nets.(Photos from left: Jamie Squire/Getty Images, Ronald Martinez/Getty Images)
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Can Aaron Harrison Produce Game-Winning Heroics Again? - Already a Kentucky basketball legend after nailing back-to-back game-winning 3-pointers against Michigan in the Elite Eight and Wisconsin in the Final Four, if Aaron Harrison can once again muster some late-game heroics and lead the Wildcats to victory, his name will be put in the lore amongst college basketball’s all-time clutch shooters. Ice water Aaron! (Photo: Tom Pennington/Getty Images)
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Kevin Ollie vs. John Calipari - University of Kentucky head coach John Calipari has over three decades of college basketball coaching experience and an ever-growing reputation for being the country’s go-to coach for producing successful one-and-done players including Derrick Rose, Tyreke Evans, John Wall, DeMarcus Cousins, and Anthony Davis. On the opposite sideline stands Kevin Ollie, a former 13-year NBA guard, who is only in his second season leading the Huskies after learning from Hall of Famer Jim Calhoun. What Ollie gives up in experience, he definitely makes up for in sheer determination, something he instilled in his players this year.(Photo: Cooper Neill/Getty Images)
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Kentucky Has Up to Eight NBA Prospects - Forwards Julius Randle (#30) and James Young (#1) figure to be two of eight possible NBA prospects on the Wildcats with the others being fellow forwards Alex Poythress and Marcus Lee, centers Dakari Johnson and Willie Cauley-Stein (out Monday night due to an ankle injury) and twin guards Aaron and Andrew Harrison. Connecticut has one league prospect — guard Shabazz Napier. How will this game impact their NBA Draft status? (Photo: Andy Lyons/Getty Images)
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Who Wins Battle on the Boards? - In forwards like 6-foot-6-inch James Young (#1) and 6-foot-9inch Julius Randle (#30) and with 7-foot center Dakari Johnson (#44), Kentucky has one of the most menacing and intimidating frontcourts around. To neutralize them on the boards, UConn will need continued solid contributions from the likes of 6-foot-9-inch forward DeAndre Daniels, and 6-foot-10-inch forward Phillip Nolan. One key to the title? Go hard in the paint! (Photo: Kevin C. Cox/Getty Images)
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Will Shabazz Napier’s Stock Soar With Win? - Shabazz Napier (left) has willed the Huskies to the NCAA Championship game tonight with sheer determination. The effort is drawing comparisons to Charlotte Bobcats point guard Kemba Walker (right), who led UConn through a magical NCAA Tournament run en route to the national title victory in 2011. Napier was a freshman on that title team. Winning in such fashion will give Napier two titles to bookend his illustrious career at Storrs. The senior guard is currently projected as a late first round pick. (Photos from left: Jim McIsaac/Getty Images, Streeter Lecka/Getty Images)
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Which Backcourt Will Play Big? - UConn’s backcourt of Shabazz Napier and Ryan Boatright downright stifled Florida’s backcourt with their perimeter D in the Final Four. Locking up the Wildcats’ Harrison twins will be an entirely different challenge. If the Harrison twins live behind the 3-point line early on, Boatright and Napier will have to make it hard for them to breathe quick, especially late in the game. (Photo: Elsa/Getty Images)
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The Experience Factor - Kentucky’s five fearless freshmen will be up against UConn’s experience, which includes senior leadership in Shabazz Napier (r.) and swingman Niels Giffey and no freshmen in its starting five. While some would argue that the Wildcats freshmen, including Aaron Harrison (l.), are battle-tested via this Tournament, can the Huskies flex some seniority over their younger counterparts?(Photos from left: Andy Lyons/Getty Images, Joe Murphy/Getty Images)
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Don't Pay Attention to the Seeding - Kentucky coach John Calipari thinks so. Not only has the veteran coach quipped about his team’s eighth seed, but he has also stated that the NCAA unfairly set up the Tournament so that No. 1 Wichita State met the Wildcats in the third round and that fourth-seeded Louisville would meet them in the Sweet 16. UConn also felt better than its No. 7 seeding. Does any of this matter tonight? Probably not. But moving forward, the NCAA better keep it 100 with these brackets.(Photos from left: UCONN Athletics, Kentucky University Athletics)
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Unsung Heroes - All the pregame talk has been about Kentucky’s Aaron Harrison and UConn’s Shabazz Napier, but don’t sleep on the Huskies DeAndre Daniels (pictured). The 6-foot-9-inch junior forward put up 20 points and 10 rebounds in UConn’s Final Four victory over No. 1 Florida and will be counted on to produce against Kentucky’s frontcourt. For the Wildcats, keep an eye on 6-foot-8-inch sophomore forward Alex Poythress, who posted eight points and seven rebounds in Kentucky’s Final Four win over second-seeded Wisconsin. (Photo: Ronald Martinez/Getty Images)