Grossing Over Bench Strength and Zvonimir Ivisic’s Impressive Debut, Can the Kentucky Make It to the Final Four?

“That team’s scary as hell.” That is what NCAA analyst Randolph Childress thinks of the present Kentucky Wildcats team. They have a 14-3 tally and recently decimated the Georgia Bulldogs. With the composition they have shown, and how every player has stepped up, the Wildcats are certainly a team to reckon with.

But the main question is if their recent performance had traces of a Final Four team.

How have the Kentucky Wildcats performed?

The Kentucky Wildcats decimated the Georgia Bulldogs by a 105-96 margin at the Rupp Arena. The high-scoring match was extremely thrilling for the Kentucky fans since they shot 56% three-pointers and had a 61.9% field goal percentage.

Although the match was more offensive than defensive, the Kentucky had 31 rebounds. The Kentucky are positioned at the eighth position in the AP men’s basketball rankings. And with this game, they had an addition to their already perfect team.

The Kentucky outfoxed the Bulldogs in the first half whereas in the second half, the Bulldogs edged past the Kentucky by a decent margin. However, the lead in the first half was such that the Bulldogs could not surpass it in the end despite their persistent efforts.

Read More: With Kansas Stumbling Out, Can Purdue Maintain Number 1 NCAA Status?

During the first half, the Kentucky had smashed 54 points in comparison to the Georgia’s 35 whereas in the second half the Wildcats basketed 51 points in response to the Bulldogs 61. Overall, the Kentucky had an advantage in the game. Their performance was comprehensive team effort which is difficult to match by NCAA teams on a normal day.

Which players stood out for the Kentucky?

For the Kentucky five players stood out their performance. While their forward Tre Mitchell basketed the team’s highest 23 points, he was well assisted in his rampage by their guard Antonio Reeves who besotted 21 points.

Other than that, noteworthy performances came from their guard D.J. Wagner who throttled 18 points and also provided the game’s highest 10 assists. Another guard Reed Sheppard took the baton of scoring as he soused 12 points with 5 assists. There was one more athlete who debuted in this game and proved his mettle just in his first game.

The Kentucky guard Antonio Reeves was already doing quite well since he basketed an average of 19.5 points per game along with 4.4 rebounds per match. Complementing him were players like their forward Tre Mitchell who had an exemplary 7.6 rebounds per game and 1.2 blocks per contest. In terms of playing a selfless game, the Kentucky guard Reed Sheppard supported with 4.2 assists per match. He also seized the highest steals for his team with 2.5 per outing. 

The Kentucky had an exceptional 14-3 stat and stories of their valor were already doing rounds this season. They also have a stupendous 4-1 tally in the conference and had lost a singular game to the Texas A&M Aggies. Whereas in the regular season, they handed two defeats against the Kansas Jayhawks and the UNC Wilmington.

The loss against the Kansas can be ignored because they are a top-ranked team, and it was to some extent acceptable to the fans. Overall, the Kentucky have performed quite well in this season. And in such on-court brilliance, a freshman added his name to the exemplary performances of the Kentucky squad. He is the forward Zvonimir Ivisic. It was his performance that adds a lot of credibility to an already star studded team.

How has Zvonimir Ivisic performed?

Ivisic played for only 16 minutes but had an array of skills on display. He dropped 13 points with 5 rebounds and 2 assists. Additionally, the audience also spotted his tremendous shooting skills when he smoked 75% three-pointer percentage and an exceptional 71.4% field goal percentage.

He thus exhibited that he was no less in any department of the game. He was as selfless as he was expedient in converting opportunities. And with his coming it added a glitter to the already perfect Kentucky team.

The Kentucky majorly has freshmen. Rob Dillingham, DJ Wagner, Aaron Bradshaw, and Reed Sheppard are the other major freshmen on this team. And how they have gelled together and performed as a team is just exceptional. If they continue their on-song performances and then they might just be prime contenders for the National Championship. Or is too early to say this?

Can the Kentucky make it to the Final Four?

What won critics’ hearts was the performance by Ivisic. He came off the bench and just made a point that he was no lesser than his teammates. This gives the Kentucky more options while rotating players and taking cognizance of their bench strength, they are a remarkable team. 

He looked far better than a college basketball player and with his addition, the Kentucky can be sure to make it to the Final Four. While nobody can predict if the Kentucky can win, they are surely the best team who are playing to the best of their talent and abilities.

When on a particular day some of their players don’t play well, Ivisic can come as a replacement and thrash the opponents. And going from here it can only be expected that this team will get better and will be at the zenith of their skills in March.

Other teams too would be watching them and trying to learn from them and also looking to find flaws in their game plays so as to contain them when the time comes. If the Kentucky continue their brilliant gameplay then nothing can stop and hopefully they will stand tall to their talent when the time comes.

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