WKU Basketball: Tops To Tango With Utes in NIT Semifinal

The Final Four is here! Okay, so it isn’t that Final Four, but it is a Final Four, and the Tops are in it! The Runnin’ Utah Utes are the…

The Final Four is here! Okay, so it isn’t that Final Four, but it is a Final Four, and the Tops are in it! The Runnin’ Utah Utes are the foe tonight, and spoiler alert: I like the Tops this evening.

Game Info

Time: 6 p.m. CT
Location: Madison Square Garden | New York, N.Y.
TV: ESPN
Radio: The Hilltopper IMG Sports Network

On paper, I really like the Hilltoppers. WKU outscores Utah (78.8–73.8), they -outrebound them (35.7–33.6) and, while the Utes allow fewer points than the Tops do (68.2–70.4), I think the fact that Utah still allows nearly 70 points per game bodes well for the Tops.

The stats back up my thinking, more or less, too, as Kenpom has WKU leading Utah in each of the following categories:

• Adjusted efficiency margin

• Adjusted offensive efficiency

• Adjusted defensive efficiency

• Adjusted tempo

Finally, I also like how battle tested the Tops are, especially in the NIT — Utah’s wins have come against UC-Davis, LSU and a Top 25 St. Mary’s team, while the Tops have had to knock off Boston College, USC (however uninspired they were) and Oklahoma State, the latter two on the road.

Having said all that, I don’t think it’ll be a cakewalk for the Tops (what ever is?). Utah does boast four double-figure scorers, with Justin Bibbins leading the way with 14.7 points a game (David Collette, Sedrick Barefield and Tyler Rawson join suit, scoring 12.5, 11.6 and 10.8 a night, respectively) and have Rawson and Jayce Johnson as the garbage men down low, who average 6.9 (nice) and 5.4 boards a game.

But, again, on paper, I think I like the overall body of work the Tops boast over the Utes. I will say, I was damn impressed to wake up last week and see Utah erase a deficit to St. Mary’s.

Here’s to hoping it’s a trip to the title game come the night’s end.