Dancin’ At The Sweet 16: UCLA – Western Kentucky
March 27th, 2008 at 4:15 pmBy Chris
UCLA/Western Kentucky
Outlook
I’m not sure Western Kentucky should even bother showing up, seeing how no one in the free world is giving them much of a chance. All you hear is UCLA is going to blow them out and WKU is the weakest team left in the tournament. Maybe so, but while they are the lowest-ranked when it comes to RPI, they are still ranked 38th. And considering just how close UCLA keeps their games… well, maybe the Hilltoppers chances are better than many people realize.
While it’s true Western doesn’t have anyone that can necessarily stop Kevin Love, the Hilltoppers trio of Courtney Lee, Tyrone Brazelton and Ty Rogers have been just as effective as Josh Shipp, Darren Collison and Russell Westbrook. This means while WKU has to worry about stopping Love, the Bruins have to stop the Hilltoppers three-headed monster.
Our call
Like I’ve said, everyone is expecting the Bruins to walk all over the Hilltoppers and their primary reason has to do with Kevin Love. This is where I’d like to see WKU zone the Bruins. Let’s see if Shipp and Westbrook can hit from outside because we already know the `Toppers can. Contrary to popular belief, Western Kentucky also has some fouls to use when they are trying to slow Love down (Remember, you can’t hurry Love. You just have to wait.).
People see these two teams and see a stable of athletes on one side and team from Kentucky not named UK or Louisville so they probably aren’t as good on the other. I’m not sure if that’s the fairest representation of WKU… It’s also important to remember UCLA keeps most of their games close and in a close game, good shooting teams ALWAYS have a chance. So what say we:
Western Kentucky – 65, UCLA – 62.
That’s right folks. We’re picking the upset here. I mean, where’s the fun in agreeing with the consensus all the time? 
