Another fantastic game on November 15th during the Tip-Off Marathon features Kansas at Kentucky from Madison Square Garden. Part of a double-header that features Michigan State and Duke in the other game, Kansas and Kentucky is another match up of college basketball’s elite. Kentucky boasts of seven NCAA Tournament Championships. Kansas has won it three times including 2008.

Kentucky has 14 trips to the Final Four, including last season. Kansas has 13 trips to the Final Four. Each is the dominant program of their conference. Kansas has won 25 Conference Tournament Titles. Kentucky has won 27 SEC Tournaments. It’s KU vs UK. It doesn’t get a lot better than this in November. Who needs the NBA?

Both of the school’s fan bases expect nothing less than a Final Four trip every year. Most years they come pretty close. Kansas is coming off a disappointing trip to last year’s NCAA Tournament. They were a #1 seed, but fell victim to the upset bug when they lost to VCU in the Elite Eight. Kentucky is coming off a Final Four appearance where they lost a close one to eventual national champion UConn.

Kansas will be breaking in a lot of new talent this year. Gone are the Morris Twins, Josh Selby, Tyrel Reed and Brady Morningstar. They will have a talented back court with Travis Releford and Tyshawn Taylor returning. Taylor averaged nearly 10 points and 5 assists per game a year ago. Releford in 10 minutes per game averaged 4 points and an assist. The Jayhawks will be a bit shorthanded after losing two players to ineligibility. Ben McLemore and Jamari Traylor were ruled ineligible by the NCAA, leaving the Jayhawks with only 8 scholarship players.

The Jayhawks were still picked to win the Big 12 this season despite the few in numbers. Look for Thomas Robinson, a junior forward, to have a break out year after sitting behind the Morris twins for two seasons.

Kentucky is so loaded it is scary. Known for having a lot of one-and-done superstars, Coach Calipari did not experience much attrition from last year’s squad. Perhaps the NBA Lock Out worked to his advantage. Terrance Jones and Doron Lamb returned to school rather than deal with the labor dispute. Jones is everyone’s pick for SEC Player of the Year. Coach Cal also hauled in another mind boggling recruiting class. The Kats scored Marquis Teague, another one-and-done type point guard ala Rose, Evans, Wall and Knight to come play for Cal. Anthony Davis is a beast. He too will make many dollars in the NBA someday. Michael Gilchrist and Kyle Wiltjer are also blue chip true freshmen that figure to get a lot of minutes, maybe even start.

Look for UK to have some growing pains early on with the true freshmen on the court. They usually turn the ball over a lot in the early season. But by season’s end, these Kats will be looking at a #1 seed in the NCAA Tournament. Who knows? These two could meet again in New Orleans.