Dancin’ At The Sweet 16: Tennessee – Louisville
March 27th, 2008 at 4:33 pmBy Chris
Tennessee/Louisville
Outlook
This might be the only regional semi-final where the two coaches outshine their respective teams. On one side, it’s Bruce Pearl and his never-ending quest of self-promotion (albeit, for the benefit of his team) and on the other, there stands Rick Pitino, the apple of the eye for all University of Kentucky fans. I’m hesitant to guess how much these two will be talked about before, during and after the game, but we should all try and remember they both coach some pretty good teams.
Louisville is loaded and is peaking at the right time, while Tennessee is also loaded but some wonder if they’ve peaked already. Both teams employ attacking defenses and love to spread the floor and attack on offense. Both teams also make a fairly liberal use of the 3-point line, again, making this game a little harder to pick.
Our call
Take your pick: Chris Lofton or David Padgett? Wayne Chism or Terrence Willams? Tyler Smith or Earl Clark? Both teams have stacked rosters, although Louisville’s is probably a little deeper. Both teams attack, attack, and attack some more (offensively and defensively). Both teams have good inside play, although Louisville probably gets the nod here because of their bench and of course, both teams can shoot the ball from outside.
However, when you look at the way both teams have played in the tournament so far, the nod has to go to Louisville. In their first two games, the Cardinals pretty much manhandled their competition while Tennessee seemed to struggle. Based on this, Rick Pitino and his group of Cardinals are the choice.
86-80, Louisville.
However, if Chris Lofton gets hot, the Vols could ride it all the way to the Final Four.
