With Princeton set to take on Kentucky at 2:45 p.m. on CBS, we asked Penn men’s basketball assistant coach Mike Martin, who has scouted both teams, for his thoughts on the matchup.
Keys for Princeton: Rebound. “We had a really difficult time rebounding the ball [Jan. 3 at Kentucky, Penn was outrebounded 36-15]. I think that’s a huge key for Princeton. Princeton was the best rebounding team in our league.”
Get the Wildcats in foul trouble. “Princeton has been really good throughout the year at getting to the foul line because of their inside play. Are they going to be able to get Kentucky’s guys in foul trouble? Because really, Kentucky only plays six guys big minutes.”
Establish a post presence early. “A huge reason why they won our league this year is because people really had a hard time guarding Kareem Maddox and Ian Hummer … They play inside-out. If they’re able to have some success early on with their interior play, then that’s going to really open things up for Doug Davis and Dan Mavraides on the perimeter.”
Keys for Kentucky: Use the athletic advantage. “You can prepare as much as you want for what they’re going to do and how they’re going to do it and different tendencies they show, but the one thing that’s really, really hard to simulate in practice situations is the length, size and athleticism of an opponent.”
Jump out to an early lead. “If [the Wildcats] get down and Princeton has some success early, maybe their youth will creep back into their minds.”
Don’t force bad shots. “[The Tigers] really guard the three-point line and they really guard the rim very well. They want you to take and have to make tough twos. That sounds simple, but they do a really, really good job of it.”
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