Well Big Blue Nation, it’s that time of year again, the time of year basketball fans dream about. That’s right, it’s March Madness time and the Cats are looking to make a deep run in the tournament once again. In order to do that though, the Cats must first make it past the upset minded Stony Brook. The Seawolves are just some random 13 seeded tournament team. They come into the game with a 26-6 record with a legitimate NBA prospect in 6’8″ 255 pound Jameel Warney.

Warney, who played for the same high school as Kentucky’s own Isaiah Briscoe, is a handful for just about anyone guarding him as he averages right at 20 points and over 10 rebounds a game. However, he is not the only threat the Seawolves have in their arsenal. Another dangerous scorer for them is Carson Puriefoy, who is averaging over 15 points per game. Ahmad Walker is Mr. Versatility for the Seawolves, averaging over 10 points, 6.7 rebounds, and 4.2 assists per game. Stony Brook will bring their A+ game and give the Cats a run for their money for the first 20-25 minutes of the game.

With the possibility of a Kentucky/Indiana matchup in the next round on Saturday, it will be huge that the Cats do not overlook the Seawolves or it may prove very costly. Kentucky’s big men must find a way to play defense without fouling with Skal, Alex, and Marcus all fighting foul troubles seemingly every single game. Both teams come into the game winning 8 of their last 10 games on the year but the Cats have been having to deal with injures with Derek Willis and Alex Poythress both missing multiple games in that time span. I personally believe the Cats will get a win but the real question is by how much.

Below you will see team stats for each team, my keys to the game, and score predictions for the CMR staff including Cameron Mills himself. The difference in this preview is I have added key matchups to watch and instead of one special guest prediction we have two this time in Larry Vaught from http://www.vaughtsviews.com and Aaron Torres from http://www.foxsports.com who gives us his prediction for the first time. We would love to hear your predictions in the comments section Big Blue Nation. Enjoy, and as always Go Cats!!!!

Team Stats

Kentucky Wildcats (28-6)                                   Stony Brook Seawolves

79.6 points (29th)                       >                 76.8 points (88th)

38.9 rebounds (53rd)                      <                  39.6 rebounds (36th)

14.5 assists (100th)                     <                   16.6 assists (20th)

68.0 points allowed (82nd)                   <                 63.4 points allowed (19th)

Key Matchups

Alex Poythress (6’8″ 230lbs)     vs     Jameel Warney (6’8″ 255lbs)

Isaiah Briscoe (6’3″ 202lbs)     vs     Ahmad Walker (6’4″ 185lbs)

Cordell’s Keys To The Game

• Cats will not be able to shut Jameel Warney down but will need to keep him from taking over the game
• Kentucky’s trio of Skal, Poythress, and Lee must find a way to stay out of foul trouble unlike games past
• The Wildcats absolutely must not look ahead to a possible matchup with the Hoosiers on Saturday