NCAA Tournament Schedule 2012: Kentucky Will Avenge Early-Season Loss to Indiana

Back on December 10, Indiana ruined Kentucky's 8-0 start with a 73-72 win in Bloomington. Now, just over three months later, the top-seeded Wildcats will exact revenge on the Hoosiers by sending them packing from the Sweet 16.

Since that loss to Indiana, Kentucky has lost just one game—to Vanderbilt in the SEC championship. The Wildcats have breezed by their first two opponents in this year's Big Dance, taking down Western Kentucky and Iowa State by an average of 15.5 points.

Indiana represents its toughest competition yet, but this time, the Wildcats will be ready for it.

Kentucky played better than any other team in the country from December through the first week of March, and it's because it has better players than everyone else. Anthony Davis, the Wildcats' shot-blocking freshman phenom, contributes 4.6 blocks per game to go along with 14.3 points and 10.0 rebounds. Add Michael Kidd-Gilchrist to the mix and you have another 11.8 points and 7.6 rebounds per game.

The thing that makes Kentucky so good, though, is that aside from those two superstars, they still have other players who can step up in a big spot. Take the win over Iowa State: Freshman guard Marquis Teague led the Wildcats in scoring with 24 points and seven assists to complement Davis' 15-point, 12-rebound double-double. Kentucky presents opponents with an offense that's nearly impossible to slow down, ranking 10th in the nation in field goal percentage (.487) and 20th overall in points per game (77.1).

The Hoosiers, on the other hand, are coming off a tight 63-61 second-round win against perennial bracket buster VCU. They turned the ball over 22 times in that matchup but their defense truly stepped up, limiting the Rams to just four points in the final 12:19.

Cody Zeller (Tyler's younger brother) leads the charge for Indiana, averaging 15.5 points and 6.4 rebounds per game, and the Hoosiers stack up nicely against Kentucky in terms of field goal percentage (.487, ninth in the nation) and points per game (77.3, 19th overall).

Stacking up against the Wildcats' defense, however, is where they will run into problems. The Hoosiers won't be getting away with a 9-for-15 clip from beyond the arc in this meeting, like they did in the first one. This is a Kentucky squad that has vastly improved since December, and there are just too many talented players for Indiana to cover.

If Davis stays out of foul trouble, revenge will be had, and Kentucky will be the team to come out of this matchup—and the South region—alive.