One of the biggest David vs. Goliath matchups in the NCAA Tournament's second round will take place between Kentucky and Princeton. The Wildcats come into the tournament reloaded with a brand new crop of impact freshman that are following in the footsteps of last year's club that was led by John Wall and DeMarcus Cousins. Kentucky is rich in basketball tradition, a perennial tournament power that has returned to the forefront since John Calipari arrived on campus by way of Memphis.
Princeton is also rich in tournament tradition but of a different kind. The Tigers are one of those Cinderella schools. The constant underdog so to speak. When you say Princeton it automatically reminds people of Pete Carril and the team that knocked off a good UCLA team and another that put a scare in an Alonzo Mourning led Georgetown team. They are forever remembered not by tournament championships but for the offensive system that carries the Princeton name that Carril designed and many other teams now employ.
On paper this is a major mis-match and the Tigers would appear to have a hard time staying close to Kentucky. Looking at Princeton's 25-6 record, the only team that the Tigers played that is comparable to the Wildcats was then No. 1 Duke whom they lost to by 37 points. Kentucky might not be quite as good as that Duke team was but this will be the best team that Princeton has played since. The Tigers are led by senior forward Kareem Maddox who averaged 13.9 points per game this season. Princeton has won two games in a row and defeated Harvard 63-62 in a playoff to earn the trip to the tournament.
Kentucky has won six straight games including the SEC Tournament crown. The Wildcats were impressive defensively during the SEC Tournament and beat a very good Florida team rather easily in the championship game 70-54. Kentucky is led by two freshman in Brandon Knight and Terrence Jones. This game tips off at 2:45 p.m. on Thursday and can be seen on CBS.