Wildcats vs. Wildmen

Kentucky basketball has taken it's already storied history to new hight this season, running the table and finishing the regular season 31-0, sweeping the SEC Tournament Title, and have now bullied their way past just about anyone and anything in route to the Sweet Sixteen. That's where they meet a West Virginia team however who might just have the best shot at stopping what seems to be a tidal wave.

West Virginia just by the eye test doesn't stand a chance. They take to many ill-advised threes, they commit to manny fouls, and they cannot score nearly enough to keep up with a Wildcats squad that has most likely at least 8-9 future NBA players on their roster. But what they do do well is win ugly, and that is exactly what they will have to do to beat Kentucky.

Bob Huggins and his team have made a living all season eking out close wins by playing hard-nosed defense and whenever their defender does get beat, they foul them, HARD. West Virginia is number one in fouls committed in the NCAA, but there is a method to the madness. When they foul, it's on purpose and so that the offensive player does not get an easy look at the basket. It's a bold strategy, but it's taken the Mountaineers this far, so I doubt they will stop any time soon.

Another, maybe more important stat West Virginia has in their favor is offensive rebounding. Now Kentucky is no slouch in this department either, being in the top 25 in the NCAA this season, but they come nowhere near West Virginia who ranked number one in the nation in this department. Some of that has to do with the Mountaineer's offensive scheme and their love to take three point shots (threes= long rebounds = offensive rebounds) but they do have bigs who are not afraid to get in the paint and box out opponents.

 At left, in a Dec. 30, 2014, file photo, West Virginia coach Bob Huggins calls out instructions to his team during an NCAA college basketball game against Virginia Tech in Morgantown, W.Va. At right, in a March 15, 2015, file photo, Kentucky head coach John Calipari reacts to play against Arkansas during the first half of the NCAA college basketball Southeastern Conference tournament championship game in Nashville, Tenn. (AP Photo/File)

And since we are going so deep into the numbers, here's one that the media keeps on throwing around too, 8-2, as in Bob Huggin's record against John Calipari over his career. Whatever teams are on the court, be it Kentucky vs. West Virginia or Cincinnati vs. Memphis, Huggins seems to always have Calipari's number. Now I don't know if that is enough to overcome the talent gap between these two teams, but I'm sure as heck going to watch to see what happens.

Whichever team you are rooting for, once they get this far in the tournament, you know a team has accomplished something. Tomorrow however, we'll find out whether this Kentucky team has the gumption to really live up to their billing as a team of destiny.