Kentucky will be the favorite. There's no doubt about that. They were the preseason favorite. They were the postseason favorite. Now that they are standing waiting for the Kansas Jayhawks like some guard in front of the national title door, most will expect Bill Self's team to finally fall at the hands of John Calipari's NBA-talent laden roster. But ESPN's Eamonn Brennan admits that while no team can match up perfectly with Kentucky, Kansas isn't as far off as others.
Brennan writes, "In so far as anyone can match up with Kentucky -- and really, no one can -- Self's team actually matches up pretty well. Withey isn't nearly as mobile as Davis (obviously), and it's hard to figure who will guard Kidd-Gilchrist or how a good-but-not-great offense will find its buckets against a still very good Kentucky defense. But in terms of sheer strength-on-strength matchups -- Kentucky's strength is offense, Kansas' defense -- Self's team isn't that far off the mark."
If nothing else, the end-of-game performance by the Jayhawks against so many other top ranked opponents should show what they are capable of match-ups aside. It's impossible to break things down once the 40 minutes on the floor begins and all eyes will be watching to see if Kentucky can live up to their potential or whether Self can pull off another miracle.
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