NCAA Tournament 2011: Kemba Walker, UConn Meet Kentucky In Final Four
Matchup: No. 3 seed Connecticut (39-9) faces No. 4 seed Kentucky (36-8) in the second of two Final Four games in the 2011 NCAA Tournament.
Date/Time: Saturday, April 2, 2011 - 8:49 p.m. EDT.
Broadcast Information: Both of the 2011 Final Four games on Saturday will be broadcast on CBS. Jim Nantz, Clark Kellogg, Steve Kerr and Tracy Wolfson will serve as the broadcast team for both games.
Location: Reliant Stadium, Houston, TX (76,500 capacity). The home of the NFL's Houston Texans will be transformed to host the 2011 Final Four and the 2011 NCAA national championship game.
Odds: Kentucky opened up
as a 2.5-point favorite. 5Dimes.com has the Wildcats as a 2.5-point favorite while Bodog.com gives a two-point advantage to Kentucky.
Series History: Connecticut leads the all-time series 2-1 against Kentucky. The last time the Huskies and Wildcats met on November 24, 2010 in the Maui Invitational title game, and UConn posted an 84-67 win behind Kemba Walker's 29-point performance.
Fun Facts: This is the first time in NCAA Tournament history that there has not been a top or second seed playing in the Final Four. In addition, this is the first team that a team with a dog mascot (UConn) and a cat mascot (Kentucky) are playing each other in the national semifinals.
Connecticut In The 2011 NCAA Tournament: After winning five game in five days to win the 2011 Big East Tournament title, UConn has won its first four games in the 2011 NCAA Tournament. The Huskies defeated Bucknell (81-52) in the second round, Cincinnati (69-58) in the Round of 32, San Diego State (74-67) in the Sweet 16 and Arizona (65-63) in the Elite Eight.
Kentucky In The 2011 NCAA Tournament: The Wildcats defeated Princeton, 59-57, in the second round before topping West Virginia, 71-63, in the Round of 32. After that, Kentucky bested Ohio State (62-60) in the Sweet 16 and North Carolina (76-69) in the Elite Eight.
The Play
Hold your bets until just before tip tonight. The line that started at Kentucky -2.5 is down to -2 and falling. Try to lock in at -1.5 or better as this is going to be a tight one. Take Kentucky late at the lowest spread you can get and hang on for a roller coaster win tonight!
Kentucky -1.5
Jason Hart
Writer/Editor for Swami's Picks
Look for Devon's Final 4 predictions later tonight!