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Los Angeles Lakers – Jeremy Lin Makes Them Better But Not Good Enough
We aren’t going to see too many changes in rosters between now and the beginning of the NBA season. The Los Angeles Lakers, adding Jeremy Lin, Carlos Boozer and Julius Randle among others to the returning Kobe Bryant, might look better than they did last season, but it won’t be enough to get them into the playoffs.
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Kentucky Over Wisconsin – The Clutch Shots Don’t Stop
The same old script: Another tournament game, another dramatic win for Kentucky, this time 74-73 over Wisconsin in the Final Four thanks to a game winning three-pointer from Aaron Harrison, who isn’t new to the situation.
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Kentucky Over Michigan – History Making Freshmen
Sometimes things just click for certain teams, and there’s not much to explain. Kentucky continue knocking off last year’s Final Four teams, beating Michigan 75-72 with a game winning 3-pointer from Aaron Harrison to cap off another big performance from Julius Randle.
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Kentucky Over Louisville – Experience is Overrated
All season long it looked like talent wasn’t going to be enough for this Kentucky team, and their inexperience and coaching will mean a disappointing and early finish to the tournament. But they’re leaping over every hurdle, beating state rival Louisville 74-69 to make it into the Elite Eight with big performances from Julius Randle and Dakari Johnson.
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Kentucky Over Wichita State – One and Done Ain’t so Bad
It’s hard to say what was the more meaningful statement from Kentucky beating Wichita State and moving on to the Sweet Sixteen. That John Calipari and his players aren’t as bad as the critics loved to say, or that the undefeated run from the Shockers has ended way earlier than anyone expected it to.
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Louisville vs Kentucky – More Than Just Julius Randle
There’s still not enough cohesiveness and consistency from the Kentucky freshman, but their ability to elevate their game after their best player leaves the floor for good, resulting in a 73-66 win over Louisville, probably put one big smile on John Calipari’s face when he went to sleep after the game.
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Michigan State vs Kentucky – Don’t Need One and Done Player to be Great
Once again, John Calipari presents a team with four freshmen in the lineup who won’t be playing for Kentucky after the season is over. In their first test of the season, they ended up losing to Michigan State 78-74 in the Champions Classic, a team without a single freshman in the lineup, instead leaning on the excellent senior duo of Keith Appling and Alexander Payne.
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Kentucky Wildcats – A Nine Pro Players Team in 2014
Ranked recruiting classes by ESPN, Rivals and others don’t always pan out the way they should, but they give you a general idea of how good a freshman class is going to be. Kentucky, despite the very disappointing 2013 they’ve had, have landed another impressive one. With Julius Randle committing to the school for next season, they now have the Nos. 3, 5, 6, 7, 11 and 18 players in the ESPN 100.