Kentucky and Indiana have met every year since 1970. Thus, this pairing is nothing new or unique ... except that it features a matchup of Ralph Beard vs. Isiah Thomas. Put another way, it's a man who ran his career into the ground by taking part in a point-shaving scandal (Beard) against a man who ran the Knicks into the ground by offering bad contracts (Thomas). Or a man whose life ended in 2007 (Beard) against a man whose career ended in 2008 (Thomas).
May they both rest in peace. Except Isiah. He should be booed by New York fans forever.
| |||||||||||||||||||
Anyway, I'm a little concerned about UK's roster, and for three reasons.
1. Beard and Alex Groza were both involved in a point-shaving scandal at Kentucky that got them banned from the NBA. That means it's possible they could throw this game and that would really be disappointing to have the CBSSports.com National Champions All-Stars Bracket mired in controversy.
2. Tony Delk and Jack Givens are, um, not white. That could be a problem for Adolph Rupp, who did not coach a black player at Kentucky until 1969, nearly 40 years after he took the job. (The Adolph-Rupp-was-not-a-racist e-mails should be arriving in 3...2...1...)
3. Kentucky fans are guaranteed to complain about the roster. That's why I went over this with several people, including an official at Kentucky, a writer from Kentucky and a diehard Kentucky fan. And yes, I know Groza was technically a center. But he was only 6-feet-7. So for these purposes he's a power forward trying to handle Scott May (and his afro).
Either way, it's up to you to decide which school wins. So think about it, pick your winner and vote.
Voting closes July 22 at 3 p.m. ET.
| The Bracket | ||||||||||||||||||
| Opening round | Semifinals | Championship | ||||||||||||||||
| Voting closed July 15 | Voting closed July 22 | Voting closed July 29 | ||||||||||||||||
|
|
|
||||||||||||||||
|
|
|||||||||||||||||
| Kentucky Wildcats (7 national championships -- 1948, 1949, 1951, 1958, 1978, 1996, 1998) | ||||||
 |  |  |  |  |  | |
| Guard Ralph Beard | Guard Tony Delk | Forward Jack Givens | Forward Alex Groza | Center Bill Spivey | Sixth Man Cliff Hagan | |
| Years | 1946-1949 | 1993-1996 | 1975-1978 | 1945, 47-49 | 1950-1951 | 1951-1952, 54 |
| Games | 139 | 133 | 132 | 120 | 63 | 77 |
| PPG | 10.9 | 14.2 | 15.4 | 14.5 | 19.3 | 19.2 |
| FG% | N/A | .474 | .515 | N/A | .381 | .425 |
| 3PT% | N/A | .397 | N/A | N/A | N/A | N/A |
| FT% | .624 | .709 | .798 | .678 | .669 | .700 |
| RPG | N/A | 3.5 | 6.0 | N/A | N/A | 13.4 |
| APG | N/A | 1.6 | 2.0 | N/A | N/A | N/A |
| SPG | N/A | 1.5 | N/A | N/A | N/A | N/A |
| Misc. | 2 titles (1948-49); 2 Final Fours | 1 title (1996); 2 Final Fours; 1996 Tournament MOP | 1 title (1978); 2 Final Fours; 1978 Tournament MOP | 2 titles (1948-49); 2 Final Fours; 1948-49 Tournament MOP | 1 title (1951); 1951 Tournament MOP; 1951 POY | 1 title (1951) |
| Coach: Adolph Rupp, 876-190, 41 seasons, 6 Final Fours, 4 titles (1948, 1949, 1951, 1958) | ||||||
| Indiana Hoosiers (5 national championships -- 1940, 1953, 1976, 1981, 1987) | ||||||
 |  |  |  |  |  | |
| Guard Isiah Thomas | Guard Steve Alford | Forward Kent Benson | Forward Scott May | Center Don Schlundt | Sixth Man Quinn Buckner | |
| Years | 1980-1981 | 1984-1987 | 1974-1977 | 1974-1976 | 1952-1955 | 1973-1976 |
| Games | 63 | 125 | 114 | 90 | 94 | 120 |
| PPG | 15.4 | 19.5 | 15.3 | 17.7 | 23.3 | 10.0 |
| FG% | .534 | .532 | .536 | .513 | .456 | .432 |
| 3PT% | N/A | .530 | N/A | N/A | N/A | N/A |
| FT% | .756 | .898 | .715 | .774 | .768 | .554 |
| RPG | 3.5 | 3.6 | 9.0 | 6.6 | 9.1 | 3.8 |
| APG | 5.7 | 3.1 | 1.3 | 1.8 | N/A | 4.5 |
| SPG | 2.2 | 1.4 | N/A | N/A | N/A | N/A |
| Misc. | 1 title (1981); 1981 Tournament MOP | 1 title (1987) | 1 title (1976); 1976 Tournament MOP | 1 title (1976); 1976 Naismith award winner | 1 title (1953) | 1 title (1976) |
| Coach: Bob Knight, 661-240, 29 seasons, 5 Final Fours, 3 titles (1976, '81, '87) | ||||||
