Tonight is the first round games of the Lexington regional of the 2K Sports Coaches vs. Cancer Classic, between Kentucky and the University of Central Arkansas. If you need a copy of the bracket there is a pdf version available. The winner of this game will play the winner between Gardner Webb and Alabama A&M tomorrow night at 9:00. All games in the Lexington regional will be broadcast on ESPNU. Kentucky plays tonight at 7:00 PM.
This is my quick look at the University of Central Arkansas. It doesn't make much sense comparing stats at this point in the season, as few teams have any to compare. So for now, and probably for the next few games, we'll just have to settle for whatever information I can glean from their websites.
Central Arkansas
Conference: Southland
Mascot: Bears
Head Coach: Rand Chapell
Location: Conway, Arkansas
Website: UCASports.com
Record last year: 10-20
Probable starters:
| Pos. |
No. |
Player |
Ht. |
Wt. |
Yr. |
PPG |
RPG |
APG |
| F |
1 |
York Sims |
6'2" |
190 |
Jr. |
-- |
-- |
-- |
| F |
31 |
Durrell Nevels |
6'6" |
215 |
Sr. |
12.1 |
8.3 |
0.6 |
| C |
32 |
Brian Marks |
6'9" |
260 |
Jr. |
-- |
-- |
-- |
| G |
10 |
Nate Bowie |
6'0" |
165 |
Sr. |
10.8 |
2.5 |
3.0 |
| G |
22 |
Marcus Pillow |
5'11" |
170 |
So. |
11.7 |
2.4 |
2.2 |
Scouting report:
The Bears have three returning starters from last year, as you can see above. They lost their second and third leading rebounders to graduation, but this team is basically dominated by upperclassmen.
The Bears are in their second year of a four-year transition from Division I from Division II, which basically means that they aren't eligible for post-season play during the transition.
Of course, the Bears' most famous alumni would be Scottie Pippen of Chicago Bulls fame, he who played Robin to Michael Jordan's Batman through some six NBA championships.
The Bears are small and lack the talent to seriously challenge Kentucky. Their guards do have great quickness, and our ballhandlers must be alert or they will get the ball swiped away. Marcus Pillow is their leading 3-point shooter who averaged 7 attempts per game last year, at a 32% accuracy. Durrell Nevels is their main inside threat offensively, averaging about 9 attempts per game and making 51%.
Offense:
Central Arkansas plays at a very deliberate pace. They will try to control the game and get every possession deep into the shot clock before attempting a shot. Last year, they were better defensively than offensively, especially inside. They rebound relatively well as a team, particularly offensively.
Defense:
UCA is a pretty good defensive team, with a widebody center and an athletic defender in Durrell Nevels, who blocked 99 shots last year. He is also a good defensive rebounder, and this team will challenge Kentucky on the boards.
Overall:
Kentucky has size advantages at nearly every position, as well as a much more talented lineup. The main weapon of the Bears is going to be frustrating Kentucky's desire to run the floor. UCA will try to force us to shoot the ball from the perimeter and deny us easy entries to the post. You can expect a lot of zone from UCA in an attempt to neutralize Patrick Patterson's inside presence.
