2014 NCAA Tournament Preview: No. 2 Kansas vs. No. 15 Eastern Kentucky

By Taylor Sturm
Kansas 2014 NCAA Tournament
Denny Medley-USA TODAY Sports

With a disappointing end to the 2013 -14 college basketball season, the Kansas Jayhawks fell to the Iowa State Cyclones in the semifinals of the Big 12 Tournament. The Jayhawks dominated all season long, but slipped up late in the season due to trying to mesh without Joel Embiid. Kansas sealed the No. 2 seed in the South region of the 2014 NCAA Tournament, which means they’ll face off against the Ohio Valley Conference champions, the No. 15 seeded Eastern Kentucky Colonels, on March 21 in Saint Louis, Missouri.

Eastern Kentucky upset the favorites in the OVC, the Belmont Bruins, to get to the 2014 NCAA Tournament and aren’t considered the potential Cinderella team that Belmont was going to be, but they are still a dangerous team. The Colonels have a top college basketball player in Glenn Cosey, who is averaging almost 19 points a game.

What to Watch For:

With Embiid still out, Kansas just isn’t Kansas. Before his injury, the Jayhawks along with Florida were my favorites to win the 2014 National Championship. Unfortunately, they are both in the same bracket, and Embiid is still out indefinitely. Kansas must get off to a good start against Eastern Kentucky, because they may have to ride a wave of confidence to make it out of the South region without their seven-foot freshman cleaning the glass. A huge win over the Colonels could build enough momentum to ride Andrew Wiggins to the Final Four.

Prediction:

As crazy as it sounds, Kansas is going to struggle early with Eastern Kentucky. They are a good team with upset capability. It’s a shame that they were placed with a team as strong as Kansas, because the Colonels could have been this year’s major sleeper. That being said, Eastern Kentucky won’t stand a chance against the much more talented Jayhawks.

Kansas 72, Eastern Kentucky 60

Taylor Sturm is a Columnist for www.RantSports.com. Follow him on Twitter @TSturmRS, like him on Facebook or add him to your network on Google.

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