The NCAA Basketball national championship game hits the TV schedule on Monday night and the matchup has a start time past 9 pm ET and the channel will be CBS with the college basketball coverage, as the UConn Huskies and the Kentucky Wildcats face off in the title game for the tournament championship.
Kentucky comes into the game after another amazing performance from Aaron Harrison and he was the one who hit the three point shot against Wisconsin to get the win on Saturday and now the team has the chance to win another tournament. The Wildcats were champions a few years ago and this was the third time in four seasons that coach John Calipari brought the team to the Final Four. Kentucky comes in with huge expectations and they are considered to be the favorites in the game against the Huskies.
Check here for the national title game schedule.
The Wildcats have the youth and the Huskies have the experience and that is how many people will frame the championship game in North Texas on Monday night. The Wildcats come in after being the preseason number one team and now they are in the championship as the number eight seed, while UConn is a number seven seed. The fan who got the UK championship tattoo for 2014 is still alive and now he has the pressure of watching his team try and win out on Monday and that would be huge since most of these players will not be with the Wildcats after this game.
The Florida Gators were the last number one seed left and they were the top overall seed in the tournament and now they are home after losing to the Huskies. Many thought the SEC was weak this season, but both Kentucky and Florida made it to the final four and while the Gators were undefeated in conference play and won the SEC tournament this year, it's UK that is left standing and now Billy Donovan and his team are out of it. Scottie Wilbekin and Patric Young played very well for the Gators, but the Huskies simply were better and once they got too far ahead, Florida could not catch up.
Kentucky is strong up front and their size will be an issue for UConn, especially with the way Julius Randle has been playing and even with Willie Cauley-Stein out, the team brings in the fifth ranked rebounding unit in the nation. The team is in the top 10 in blocks and that will also be an interesting battle, as UConn is ranked eighth in that category. The Huskies are averaging over 70 points per game and their defense was stellar against the Gators, allowing just 53 points in the Final Four matchup.
The Huskies got 20 points and 10 rebounds from DeAndre Daniels and the has been a huge boost for the team in the tournament, while star Shabazz Napier has also been clutch and he led the way with six dimes against the Gators. The Huskies were the last team to beat Florida when they started their 30-game winning streak and now they were the team to end it. The matchup of Kentucky and Connecticut holds a lot of weight for college basketball and the winner will get to push their argument of how to build programs as the new path to success.