NCAA Bracket 2012 Predictions: Kentucky Cursed with Tough Road to National Title

The path to the national championship is never an easy one, but top-seed Kentucky's just so happens to be arguably the most difficult of any in the 2012 NCAA tournament.

Thursday's date with Mississippi Valley State or Western Kentucky should be easy enough for the Wildcats, especially with the game set to tip off in Louisville, of all places.

After that, there are no "gimmes," even for a squad as talented as the one that John Calipari has on his hands this season. The ninth-seed Connecticut Huskies, whom the 'Cats are likely to face in the Round of 32, have their fair share of NBA prospects—namely, freshman phenom Andre Drummond and sophomore Jeremy Lamb—and no shortage of experience returning from the team that topped Big Blue in last year's Final Four on the way to the national title.

Minus Kemba Walker, of course.

In light of all that, the Sweet 16 in Atlanta might actually be a bit of a break for UK, if such a thing exists in the realm of March Madness. A rematch with fourth-seed Indiana would seem to be a rather difficult hurdle for the Wildcats to clear, seeing as how the Hoosiers were one of two teams (along with Vanderbilt) that took them down this season.

Then again, IU owns just a record of just 5-7 away from Assembly Hall, where Kentucky first fell, and will be without senior guard Verdell Jones III, who tore his ACL during the Big Ten tournament.

As for Wichita State or VCU, they're both strong, experienced teams, though neither can quite hold a candle to what Kentucky brings to the table.

Once that's through, the 'Cats will most likely end up toe-to-toe with Duke in the Elite Eight, in a (contrived?) rematch of the classic overtime thriller that saw Christian Laettner hit the game-winning shot to beat the buzzer. Surely, the Blue Devils have the outside shooting up and down their roster to upend the Wildcats, though getting off shots against UK's incredible length and making them as consistently as they'll need to will be a challenge. You can bet Mike Krzyzewski will be poring over film from Kentucky's games against Vanderbilt this season to figure out how to knock off the 'Cats.

And then, of course, there's the Final Four, but running into roadblocks at that point is hardly something new, different or interesting for any championship contender. 

Luckily, for Coach Cal, his club should be up to the test. Big Blue boasts three-to-four NBA Draft lottery picks (Anthony Davis, Michael Kidd-Gilchrist, Terrence Jones, Marquis Teague) and two other key contributors from last year's Final Four team (Doron Lamb and Darius Miller), giving them both the talent and the experience to persevere through every challenge.

Then again, March is a whole 'nother animal, one that will require even these 'Cats to scratch and claw through if they're to bring an eighth title back to Lexington in early April.

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