Hey Cats, fun fact.

[bdstudent]

The last 3 championship teams have started 3 guards, 2 short pgs, and SF at PF.

Louisville 2013:
Russ Smith 6'
Peyton Silva 6'
Wayne Blackshear 6'5
Chane Behanan 6'6
Gordui Dieng 6'11

Uconn 2014:
Ryan Boatright 5'11
Shabazz Napier 6'1
Niels Giffey 6'7
DeAndre Daniels 6'9
Phillip Nolan 6'10

Duke 2015:
Tyus Jones 6'1
Quinn Cook 6'0
Matt Jones 6'5
Justice Winslow 6'6
Jahil Okafor 6'11

Height across the board is overrated.

 

[NothinButNylon]

I'll go ahead and add for reference:

UK 2016:
Tyler Ulis 5'9
Isaiah Briscoe 6'3
Jamal Murray 6'4
Marcus Lee 6'9
Skal Labssiere 6'11

 

[flacat22]

Piss off....

 

[bdstudent]

Height is overrated.

I'll go ahead and add for reference:

UK 2016:
Tyler Ulis 5'9
Isaiah Briscoe 6'3
Jamal Murray 6'4
Marcus Lee 6'9
Skal Labssiere 6'11

3 pg line-ups are pretty much invincible against college level defenses. Lots of teams press and try to disrupt the offensive and force turnovers, which will be useless with the ball handing of a 2 -3 pg lineup. Zone defense will be driven upon and shot over.

Combined with the fact that Ulis, Briscoe, and Murray all seem to be decent to excellent defenders, UK's backcourt can and should have a field day against any backcourt in the nation. Guard play is king at all levels, including the NBA. I.e. Curry and the warriors.

 

[Ron Mehico]

Thanks for the nice post. Have to admit, for whatever reason I have this sense of calm watching us play, and I think it has a lot to do with us having 3 very competent ball handlers. Haven't had that the last two years as much with the Harrisons, and for whatever reason I just feel relaxed as opposed to a nervous wreck watching this team play. Enjoying more uptempo offense as well.

 

[CatChow]

2011 UConn for reference
PG- Kemba Walker (6'1")
SG- Shabazz Napier (6'1")
SG- Jeremy Lamb (6'5")
PF- Oriakhi(6'9")
C- Okwandu (7'0")

This was their best lineup in terms of scoring at each position.

It hurt my heart to type this.

 

[Brando Mac]

I don't necessarily agree that height is overrated, but I do think that if you run a line-up with 3 really talented and skilled guards along with adequate (or in UK's case, still really good) big men that can finish when they get their opportunities, it can completely nullify the typical advantages that a bigger team might have.

And I agree with those saying that this UK team has a very similar make-up to multiple teams that have won the tournament recently, I've thought that for a while actually and that's one reason why I feel good about them moving forward.

 

[KWilt43atbuzz]

UK has it all. Size, athleticism, shooting, defense and passing skills.