NCAA East Regional Semifinal Two: Cornell vs. Kentucky

If you’re going to beat Goliath you have to know who Goliath is. What are his likes and dislikes? Candle-lit dinners or walks on the beach? Does he like metamorphic stones or prefer sedimentary?

If there’s any team still in the tournament that can solve the Kentucky puzzle it’s the Ivy Leaguers of Cornell. They’ve blown through the first two rounds of the bracket against two of the best defenses in all of college basketball–Temple and Wisconsin. Big Red dropped over 80 on both of those clubs behind the sharpshooting of Ryan Wittman and inside dominance of Jeff Foote.

Cornell runs a nice motion system on offense and they play defense with strict fundamentals that makes Pat Robertson look like Larry Flint. But in all honesty, it doesn’t matter what Cornell does. In a David vs. Goliath matchup it’s not necessary to talk about David’s weaknesses. They’re implied.

Instead let’s turn our attention to the Wildcat Goliaths.

You won’t find a more talented club anywhere in America. One through five, the Wildcats are as explosive and athletic a basketball team as there has been this decade.

John Wall is the lead guard and he’s likely going to be the number 1 pick in the draft. He does things with the dribble that would make Kenny Anderson blush. He also happens to be a plus shooter with an embarrassment of athletic riches. Forty inch vertical, explosive quickness and speed.

Inside, Demarcus Cousins is probably the toughest player in the country to matchup with. There isn’t one single post defender in college basketball today that can handle his size and strength one on one without at least some help. Cousins is a surefire lottery pick as well.

If this inside/outside combination wasn’t enough already, consider the fact that Kentucky’s supporting cast would start for 99 percent of the teams in college basketball. Hell, Eric Bledsoe and Patrick Patterson would be number 1 options on virtually every team out there.

Bledsoe is a hot shooting, lightning quick combo guard who gives UK a second creator/playmaker opposite Wall. Junior Patrick Patterson is a seasoned post scorer who’s added a 3-ball to his quiver. With an improved face-up game, Patterson can complement Demarcus Cousins from the high post or from the arc in one in, four out look if UK really wants to isolate Cousins on the block.

Point blank, the Cats are filthy.

Keys for Cornell

1) Take away easy money. Everything Cornell does in this game, offense or defense, should be predicated on taking away the easy, intuitive things that Kentucky likes to do on offense.

Take away dunks and foul shots by taking away Cousins and transition buckets. Make the Wildcats run offense, make decisions, and make extra passes. As the game tightens, Wall may become impatient and impetuous.

Kentucky, like most collections of 18 and 19 year olds lives in the moment. If they’re getting easy buckets early in the game then they will continue to get easy buckets throughout the game.

The Wildcat’s watches only have second hands. Reality is right now. Make Kentucky work for buckets and they’ll start to believe something is wrong, that prophecy will self-fulfill, and UK will play tighter.

If you can’t limit dunks and foul shots by limiting Cousins and transition, however, you’re done regardless.

2) Pace. Along the “easy money” line, Cornell has to find a way to make this a half court to half court grinder, take away easy buckets in transition, and then hold on for dear life to.

A battle of efficiency favors Big Red. A battle of streaks and runs in a high possession, full court game means Goliath is going to rip out your spine and show it to you, Mortal Combat style.

3) Demarcus Cousins. So you’ve solved the transition piece to the puzzle by slowing down pace and valuing the basketball. Next up is Demarcus Cousins, a player that looks more like the Kraken from Clash of the Titans, than a freshman center in college. Many pundits parrot the tired theory that if you stop Wall and stop Kentucky. Opposing coaches subscribe to this theory at their own peril.

Wall is prone to miss jump shots and he turns the ball over at times. Demarcus Cousins dunks on your 5 man and then screams epithets about his parentage.

Cornell is not going to stop Cousins, but keeping with the easy money theme, they can certainly make it tougher on the talented post. You do this by varying double teams. Double slow on occasions, double quick on others. Use guards to dig down on the post, but mostly use bigs.

Try to get Cousins out of his comfort zone by making him think about where the double is coming from and where he’s going to go with the basketball. If he’s thinking about this, there’s less room in his head to think about catching and dunking.

Prayer doesn’t hurt here either.

Keys for Kentucky

1) Play two games. If I’m Calipari I try to compartmentalize the game for my young guards. If we’re in the open floor attack the goal with a vengeance. If we don’t have numbers, run your stuff to ensure that Cornell has to defend Demarcus Cousins.

Kentucky can win half court to half court or full court to full court, but just remember these separately paced parts of the game will both be available at times. Attack them appropriately.

2) Don’t Settle. In deference to key number one, the worst thing the Wildcats can do is settle for uncomfortable midrange jump shots or deep perimeter shots early in the shot-clock. These shots bail out Cornell from having to defend a player that’s largely been indefensible this year–Demarcus Cousins. If Kentucky’s guards deem a possession to be half court, Cousins needs to touch the ball.

3) Make Foote and Wittman Defend. Cornell stars Jeff Foote and Ryan Wittman play nearly 40 minutes apiece and it’s almost a given they’ll have to play most of this game if they want to maintain contact with UK.

Knowing that, Coach Cal needs to make sure he gets touches for the players Foote and Wittman are guarding. It’s a good way to prevent these guys from resting on defense which will help wear them down and negatively impact Cornell’s offense. Plus if Foote or Wittman pick up two quick fouls early, that’s all she wrote.

Prediction. I think as long as Kentucky can stay off the psychiatrist’s couch in this game, they should roll. But if Cornell can get inside the heads of the young Wildcats and make the game come down to the last 5 minutes, they can win.

The problem for Cornell is that the Wildcats are not only talented but they’re well coached, and Calipari is a master psychologist in his own right.

I also think Cornell benefitted from playing two slow paced teams in the first two rounds so they didn’t need to waste energy trying to control pace. Both Temple and Wisconsin were extremely accommodating by walking the ball up the floor.

Kentucky won’t be. They’ll push and probe at a high pace, and that will force Cornell, a team with little depth, to waste energy fending off Kentucky’s furious tempo.

For those reasons I think Kentucky rolls here. I give Cornell but a shooter’s chance in this game.

Or a stone’s throw anyway.

Watch your forehead, Coach Cal.

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Kevin writes the leading college hoops blog   March To March

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