(Sports Network) - The championship game of the Cancun Challenge will feature a matchup between the Stanford Cardinal and the fifth-ranked Kentucky Wildcats.

Stanford played tremendous team defense yesterday in a 57-52 victory over Virginia. The Cardinal is now 3-2 on the young season, but the team has yet to face a foe of Kentucky's ability. Stanford is a member of the Pac-10 Conference, and the team is expected to finish in the bottom half of that league this year.

As for Kentucky, its aspirations reach higher than the SEC title, as the club has the potential to win the national championship under the guidance of new head coach John Calipari. The Wildcats have won all five of their games this season, four coming by double digits. Last night, they crushed Cleveland State by a 73-49 final.

In regard to the all-time series between Kentucky and Stanford, the Wildcats have won both previous meetings, including the most recent in 1998.

Stanford is scoring 74.2 ppg this season, and is limiting the opposition to 66.8 ppg. The Cardinal have a true star in the fold, as Landry Fields is pouring in 23.0 ppg to go along with 9.2 rpg. While he is clearly the go-to guy at the offensive end of the court, Fields doesn't have to carry the load alone, as there are two other double-digit scorers in the mix. Jeremy Green provides 13.8 ppg, and Drew Shiller provides 10.0 ppg. Fields was sensational in the win over Virginia yesterday, as he posted 25 points and 13 rebounds while also recording three assists and three steals. Green added 10 points for Stanford, which overcame its own 38.9 percent shooting from the floor by limiting the Cavaliers to 37.8 percent field goal efficiency. The fact that the Cardinal shot just 7-of-15 from the foul line is certainly concerning.

Freshman John Wall leads a balanced Kentucky team in scoring, as he is netting 19.0 ppg to go along with 7.0 apg and two steals per contest. Patrick Patterson adds 17.0 ppg to the mix, and DeMarcus Cousins provides 15.2 ppg. Eric Bledsoe tallies 12.6 ppg for the Wildcats, and Darnell Dodson chips in 12.0 ppg. The Wildcats are generating 82.8 ppg on 52.7 percent shooting from the field, and they are holding foes to 66.6 ppg on 35.9 percent efficiency from the floor. Rebounding has been key to Kentucky's success, as it is pulling down 14.2 rpg more than the opposition. Wall posted 15 points and six assists yesterday against Cleveland State, and Cousins provided 14 points. The Wildcats overcame their high total of 20 turnovers by shooting 52.4 percent from the floor.





Copyright 2009 The Sports Network
All rights reserved

 Email To Friend