Kentucky Wildcats vs Indiana Hoosiers: Who Has The Edge?

You may or may not have been around when the Indiana and Kentucky rivalry meant something but now it’s safe to say there is no rivalry, especially after the recent demise of the program brought about by Kelvin Sampson. Since 2000 Kentucky has won 10 matchups to Indiana’s two and leads the series 30-23, that isn’t exactly a rivalry if you ask me.

But for Indiana fans there is hope since Tommy Crean is now pacing the sidelines literally, that’s all this guy does. But with the relationship Crean and John Calipari have, this rivalry could very well get heated up once more. Crean’s Hoosiers come in at 7-1 but really haven’t played anyone to sneeze at besides Boston College, who they lost to. Kentucky comes in hot after an outstanding defensive effort against Notre Dame.

The question remains, who has the edge?

Indiana’s backcourt essentially starts three point-forwards in Vendell Jones III at 6’5”, Maurice Creek at 6’5” and Jordan Hulls at 6’0”. All three are listed as guard and all three starts, or at least started the last game against the Savanna State Tigers. Jones seems to handle the ball for them a bit more since he is the second leading scorer on the team at 14 points per game and also leads in the assists just by a hair over Hulls at 3.4, Hulls is averaging 3.3 assists and 9 points per game but shoots the rock pretty well when he lets it fly.

While the guards are tall and athletic, they have not faced the talent that Kentucky has in its backcourt and you’ll hear me say that a lot this season, in DeAndre Liggins, Brandon Knight and Doron Lamb. All have the quickness to drive by the bigger guards and create space in the dribble drive, but a long and lanky zone from Indiana could give Kentucky some problems early but at 6’5” and 6’0” the guards from Indiana have the length but not the speed or quickness to keep up or run with the guards of Kentucky.

The edge in the backcourt will go to the Cats.

The frontcourt is where the plot thickens though, Indiana really hasn’t faced a team all year with the talent Kentucky has. That being said, Christian Watford is Indiana’s go-to guy at 6’9” and he has had an amazing year so far. He scores about 18 points per game and 6 rebounds. His partner in the paint is Tom Pritchard who scores about two points a game, and he’s 6’9”. While Watford has scored in double digits every game this season, Pritchard as scored five twice this season which isn’t too much to worry about.

The battle between Watford and Kentucky forward Terrence Jones could be something to watch because both players are around the same height and can do about the same things. Watford can put the ball on the floor and will also shoot the trey ball if you don’t go guard him, as will Jones.

Josh Harrellson’s numbers are a little better than Pritchard’s but nothing to make a huge difference besides the ability to rebound. Harrellson’s currently pulling down 8 boards a game while Pritchard is rather silent on the boards at 5 per game.

So who gets the edge in the frontcourt? I’m going to say push. Even though Harrellson is just slightly better stat wise than Pritchard, they will probably cancel one another out all game long, leaving Jones and Watford to be the show down to watch tomorrow evening. All eyes will be on this matchup.

Crean uses his bench as a utility belt and will literally toss players in and expect them to go out and produce. In the only big name match up played by Indiana, Crean played six players off the bench and all of them came in and contributed positive minutes with 16 points and two turnovers. In the last game, Crean played nine players off the bench, given it was almost a 20 point blowout, but still he likes to use his bench and they produce positive numbers for him, and it could be a different player every night. The player to watch for though will be Victor Oladipo, who shoots the ball at 37 percent from trey land and scores about six points a game.

Kentucky’s bench is still small but some signs of life came in the Notre Dame game, when Kentucky needed a spark, Stacy Poole and John Hood stepped in and hit two huge threes. Hood still did some things to make you pull your hair out, but it was the first positive contributions that Kentucky has gotten from the bench by somebody not named Doron Lamb. It’s still unproved weather Poole and Hood will continue to produce and we know Eloy Vargas will get minutes for Harrellson if foul trouble happens and it usually does, the Kentucky bench is still unproven.

The edge goes to Indiana, who has enough bodies to keep Kentucky on their heels and keep them working on defense.

John Calipari said that the matchup against Indiana in Rupp Arena may be a war tomorrow, he may be right.

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