Sweet 16 Preview: Kentucky vs. Kansas State

Two wildcats go head-to-head tonight when SEC basketball team the University of Kentucky takes on Kansas State. At 9:37 pm tonight in Atlanta, or better known “Catlanta” tip-off for the sweet 16 for these two teams begins. Kentucky has the upper hand, but does that really mean anything during the month of March?

Seeds

Regardless of Kentucky’s positioning right now with seeds, we all have come to know what seeds really mean in march madness-absolutely nothing. Head coach for Kentucky John Calipari agrees. After big blue survived Boise with wins over Davidson and Buffalo, they haven’t had too much tough competition.

And Kansas State’s seed doesn’t suggest that they’ll put up a tough battle either. Sure, they beat UMBC but what does that really say?  But that’s right where we absolutely cannot get ahead of ourselves. It has been nothing but the upset city so far.

Calipari says he hopes to keep his team focused on the game and not worried about seeds.

A week ago, we were the underdog. Now we are apparently the favorite. The label — by everyone else — may have changed, but our approach has not.

Full preview ➡️ https://t.co/hWiIMMpX5Z pic.twitter.com/9n3zgw3yj5

— Kentucky Basketball (@KentuckyMBB) March 22, 2018

Staying Focused

The nine-year run Calipari has had at UK has treated him well. Only one of those years did he not make it to the sweet 16 at least and don’t forget the national championship run in 2011. However, Calipari knows that any Kansas team is no joke. It’s not a game or a team to take lightly, and he wanted to make sure that his players knew that.

Calipari warned his squad about falling into the “easier games” of march madness trap. There is no such thing. 

Kansas State is at its first regional since 2010. KSU only put up 59.5  points per game during the NCAA Tournament. They haven’t seen the final 4 since ’64… even still, this matchup could be a toss-up.

The winner of this game will take on the winners of Loyola Chicago vs. Nevada. Those teams play tonight as well at 7:07 pm at the Phillips Center as well.

Welcome To Atlanta. #KStateMBB #MarchMadness pic.twitter.com/xofrffJAgf

— K-State Men's Basketball (@KStateMBB) March 21, 2018