Steroids and its harmfulness

Steroids have been used to increase one’s muscle mass in order to gain brute strength. Anabolic steroids are designed to copy the traits of testosterone which means an athlete can achieve results in a shorter amount of time in order to build muscles. The debate over whether anabolic steroids should be allowed is an unnecessary argument. Steroids have been used in sports such as baseball and football; however, it is now banned for most sports.

It is obvious that these drugs are harmful to our body in many ways such as impotence for males and deepened voice for females. Anabolic steroids can cause men to experience shrinking testicles, painful urination, and to develop breasts. They can also cause serious mood swings such as roid rage where the user goes from depression to feelings of invincibility and aggression. There is also a chance of getting HIV and Hepatitis B while injecting the needle. The harmfulness of steroids is endless and therefore it is not worth risking your body’s health for simply gaining a couple of pounds.

Steroids should not be used in professional sports because it is not fair that players are put in the Hall of Fame or given the title MVP because they use drugs to enhance their performance. What about those who worked diligently to be able to play in the pros, yet they could not be named MVP because they didn’t use steroids to enhance their game? Steroids are a cheating weapon that causes great danger to one’s health, so why should it be legal? This clearly shows that steroids is nothing, but a negative influence.

Contributed by Hafizul Sarker

The long term effects of anabolic steroid use

Chris Benoit / Bbsrock

Steroids have frightening long term effects that almost always cause death. Liver cancer, liver tumors, an increase in the clotting of blood, impotency and kidney problems are all side effects of steroid use. Children who use steroids and haven’t fully matured ultimately stunt their growth.

Steroids affect the heart heavily and people who use often get strokes very early in life. Steroids enlarge the heart because of all the blood that needs to be pumped to the body. They also cause coronary artery disease which leads to heart attacks and strokes.

Anabolic steroids are not only detrimental to the physical well-being of users, but they also impact the brain in ways that cannot be reversed. It is an accepted scientific fact that steroids act in the limbic system of the brain, the part that influences one's moods and is directly involved in learning and memory. They also increase testosterone levels in the body, using a synthetic version to "help" normal testosterone growth. Alan Booth, PhD, a professor of sociology and human development, has reassured in a Medicinenet.com article that testosterone has been associated with risky behavior in many studies. "Men with high testosterone levels are more likely to be involved in criminal activity and antisocial behavior, get in trouble in school, remain single, and be unemployed." Tests on animals have shown an impairment with regards to learning and memory. Scientists also agree that steroids can cause feelings of deep depression and irritability, as well as create symptoms connected to schizophrenia, mania, and Alzheimer's Disease.

A counseling office based in Seattle Washington that deals with drug addiction and prevention has mentioned that anabolic steroid users may act mean to people they're normally nice to, like friends and family, and commonly cause outbursts of aggressive behavior, commonly known as "roid rage." Once they stop using, they can become depressed and even suicidal.

Former professional wrestler Del Wilkes said athletes use steroids to gain strength and size, which are key to success in the sports and sports-entertainment (wrestling) world. He also informed that the drugs sometimes come with moments of uncontrollable rage, normally when there is a break in the use of the steroids. "You can feel it coming on but there's nothing you can do about it, and the next thing you know, a minor argument has gone into a full-fledged rage, when you've got your hands around somebody's neck. You're in a fight and doing things you wouldn't normally do."

Many prominent and distinguished athletes have been linked brutal murders and attacks caused by "roid rage." In one case, professional wrestler Chris Benoit was taking steroids and had a large pile of anabolic steroids in his home. The 40-year-old champion then strangled his wife, Nancy Benoit, and suffocated his 7-year-old son Daniel before hanging himself on a portable weight machine. CNN Medical Correspondent Dr. Sanjay Gupta said, "The drugs said to be found in the home are a synthetic form of testosterone. A lot of people use it to build muscle mass, but there are longstanding known relationships between the steroids and roid rage. It could lead to psychosis and anti-social behavior and depression."

Steroids have dangerous side effects on both the body and the mind, which almost always lead to an earlier death. Athletes use them a lot of the time without knowing the dangerous long term effects they will feel. Players should be educated about steroids and there should be zero tolerance for them in any sport.

Contributions by: Kofi Asiedu and Julian Molina-Goni

Accountability for steroid users

In today's modern sports era, the usage of steroids by athletes has been addressed more than ever as new allegations arise. Major League Baseball players have been subject to many investigations and court trials, most recently with the case of Barry Bonds. When new breakthroughs are made in exposing the cheaters, the large issue of accountability comes to mind. One can question whether the athletes knew what they were doing or simply the victim of a coach or trainer hoping for them to exceed their potential. When indication of performance enhancing drugs are found in an athlete, news headlines have shown that they often deny the claims behind an alibi.

In 2007, Marion Jones admitted to using steroids in preparation for the 2000 Olympics in Sydney despite contradicting herself with another excuse. She reportedly said that her coach gave her a substance to take orally that she believed to be a nutritional flaxseed oil. This was a similar excuse used by Barry Bonds when testifying to a grand jury in 2004. These statements and later investigations make these athletes seem very much aware of what they were doing but tried to take the drugs in a manner that wouldn't make it evident. These sports stars readily take on the ignorant role in their trials when in reality they chose to blind themselves to all of it. It shouldn't be acceptable for them to have others inject the drugs into them but play dumb all along, even when testifying to federal agents and government officials. In light of steroid use exposure, there is a massive amount of accountability on the athletes who should not play "none the wiser."

Who will it be? Rose-tastic, The King or Superman

Basketball season is coming to an end and the playoffs are on their way. The playoff tree is 90% complete and the only thing left is to announce are the end of season awards. There have been many disputes on who deserves to be named Most Valuable Player. Such candidates are Derrick Rose, LeBron James, Dwight Howard, Kobe Bryant, Dirk Nowitziki, and Kevin Durant. However out of all these candidates, only three stand out the most; Derrick Rose, LeBron James, and Dwight Howard.

Rose has been nothing but amazing this season. He averages 25.1 PPG and 7.9 APG. Compared to last season, Rose has improved his shooting abilities to a whole new level. It is because of Rose that the Chicago Bulls are the number one seed in the East. Derrick Rose is the leader of the Bulls just as James was the leader of the Cleveland Cavaliers. When James was still a Cavalier, he won MVP twice, but he could not win the championship. With Rose, however, we cannot come to the conclusion that he will win the MVP and lose in the playoffs.

Out of these three candidates, James has the best overall statistics; he is averaging 26.6 PPG, 7.5 RPG, and 7.0 APG. Although James is a huge asset to the Miami Heat, the Heat do not need James as much as the Bulls need Rose. The Heat still have Dwyane Wade, Chris Bosh, and the winner of the 3-point contest, James Jones.

So far, Dwight Howard has also been spectacular, but his achievements aren't good enough because the Orlando Magic is the fourth seed. Howard averages 23.2 PPG and 14.2 RPG. If Howard doesn't win MVP, he will most likely win Defensive Player of the Year. According to Michael Jordan, Rose is the MVP of the season. With tons of supporters for Rose, he will most likely be named Most Valuable Player of the Year.

New York Yankees 2011 season preview

Derek Jeter / Chris Ptacek

 The 2011 Major League Baseball season is among us and the Yankees have already played three games here in New York. The "Bronx Bombers" kicked off their first series against the Detroit Tigers. They are off to a great start considering all of the speculation about their potential. In a recent article, The Detroit Press even considered the Yankees as underdogs this season. One of the main factors that could hinder the Yankee's success is the correlation between age and skill among the players they heavily rely on the most such as Derek Jeter. Last year Jeter faced troublesome contract negotiations with the Yankees; however, manager Joe Girardi said, "I really believe he's going to have a good year," when referring to this season.

Many critics argue that Jeter is losing his ability to play at peak performance as he will turn 37 this June. When playing against the Tigers recently, the shortstop showed some trouble reacting to balls hit to either side of him. Last season, Jeter's batting average sunk to .270, marking his first time going below .300 since 2004. In fact, this year he was bumped to number two on the hitting lineup after Brett Gardner took the top spot. Gardner serves well as a leadoff hitter since he has managed to yield a stable .379 on base average since 2009. It will take the right collaboration between returning stars and new talent in the Yankees roster to create an effective hitting line up this year.

On the other hand, the Yankees must also keep into account their pitching rotation since they were not able to make key acquisitions. Earlier in February 2011, we witnessed the retirement of pitcher Andy Pettitte after several months of public speculation. This event followed an earlier disappointment in December of 2010, when the Yankees failed to sign star pitcher Cliff Lee. The Yankees will have to make good use of relief pitcher Rafael Soriano and starter C.C. Sabathia. Manager Joe Girardi realizes Sabathia's worth and plans not to overwork him after Tuesday night's impressive performance against the Minnesota Twins. After seven innings, the pitcher had allowed only two hits and left the Twins scoreless until Soriano took over. Tonight's game against the Twins; however, proved to be a different story, as Soriano did not allow a single run in the eight inning. Only time will tell whether the Yankees will indeed play the underdog card or find themselves heading straight towards their 28th World Series Title.

The defensive New York Rangers can go far in the NHL playoffs

Henrik Lundqvist

The New York Rangers are trying to keep the eighth spot from the Hurricanes who are behind by four points. The Rangers are likely to make it into the playoffs and be victorious in the first round against the Capitals who they have beaten four times in the six game regular season series . They are a low scoring team but make up for it on defense. They are fifth in the NHL in goals against averaging and fourth in shot blocking. The Rangers are lead by Swedish goaltender Henrik Lundqvist who has 2.77 GAA and 1766 saves. He is a force on the team and steps up when the team needs him to.

The Rangers lack of scoring is a problem.The team presses on defense then scores on turnovers. Low scoring will give them problems in tight post season games. Also, they will struggle playing nearly every game away. They are an eighth seed which takes away their home court advantage and lead them into hostile crowds as visitors.

Center Brandon Dubinsky needs to score and pass the puck to keep the Rangers winning. They have to keep the strong defense they have played for all of the season. Their defense will be a problem for high scoring teams. Despite their troubles on offense, the Rangers have a big chance this season after their absence from last  year's playoffs.

Crossroads at the top of tennis

Roger Federer/ Wikimedia Commons

The three top ranked players in tennis Rafael Nadal, Novak Djokovic and Roger Federer have had a stranglehold on the sport for the last six years. Combined they have won a remarkable 25 of the last 27 majors. However, there seems to be a potential shift in power among the top three tennis players.

Roger Federer, who has dominated the sports in ways few others have in any sport, appears to have lost a bit of his past magic. Although he remains a very competitive player, he has been more error prone and has come up short in matches against Nadal And Djokovic. It’s not only that he has lost these matches, but he has been disposed of rather easily by his fellow elite players. Many critics believe Federer's days as the best player have come to an end, but it would be foolish to count him out based on his incredible career. Federer remains confident in his abilities saying “I don’t feel like I’m 35, like you guys make me sound I am. I’m still only 29, and I have many more years left."

Rafael Nadal/ Wikimedia Commons

Rafeal Nadal currently holds the number one ranking, which he earned by winning three straight majors, each on a different surface. Attempting to win his fourth straight major at the Austrailian Open, he suffered a leg injury which kept him out of action for several weeks. Upon return he has played well, but twice came up short against Djokovic in the finals of both Indian Wells and the Sony Ericson Open.

Although still playing at an elite level, Nadal may now have a psychological hurdle to clear to defeat Djokovic. In both matches against Djokovic, Nadal won the first set but failed to close out the match. When the stakes are higher it could cost Nadal severely if doubts creep into the back of his mind. Despite his failure to put away Djokovic, Nadal has a major advantage with the clay court season coming up, where his speed and heavy top-spin ground strokes make him almost unbeatable.

Novak Djokovic, who has been the third wheel to Federer and Nadal for so long may be finally proving himself to be their equal and potentially their superior. Djokovic’s emergence began with a run to the U.S Open final that included a five set thriller in which he defeated Federer. Relying on an improved serve and crushing ground strokes from both sides, Djokovic has continued his high level of play by starting the 2011 season on a historic run. After winning the Australian Open, he has gone on to win 26 straight matches, the longest winning streak ever to start a season.

Novak Djokovic/ Wikimedia Commons

Djokovic has overcome many of his past demons including fitness and temperament. Spectators claimed that Djokovic was the fitter man in the third set of the Sony Ericson Final against Nadal, extremely high praise considering Nadal is a player renowned for his conditioning. Endurance will be crucial for Djokovic in taking the next step in his career, which would include defeating Nadal in a major, something he has never accomplished. The knock on Djokovic remains that he is unproven on surfaces other than hard courts. Djokovic appears to have a greater chance than ever to win Wimbledon or the French Open. His serve will win him easy points on grass and his advanced conditioning will help him survive the long points of clay court tennis. Winning either of these majors will give Djokovic a legitimate claim as tennis's top player.

Each of these men have the opportunity to be the best player in tennis; however, each of these players have challenges in front of them to take hold of, or maintain the top spot in in the sport.

New York Knicks clinch playoff berth for the first time since 2004

Shawne Williams and Landry Fields /Chamber of Fear / Wikimedia Commons

For the first time since 2004, Madison Square Garden will be the site of an NBA playoff game. It will be a chance for the hometown crowd to rally behind its new and revitalized New York Knicks. The last appearance for the Knicks was in the 2004 playoffs. Led by head coach Lenny Wilkens, their showing resulted in the New Jersey Nets sweeping them in the first round. Their last conference title came in 1999 under the guidance of Hall of Fame center Patrick Ewing. Ever since the Ewing era, the Knicks have failed to impress any non-New Yorkers and those who weren't Knick fans.

That changed last summer with the arrival of Amar'e Stoudemire. For 53 games, Stoudemire, with the help of Danilo Gallinari, Raymond Felton, Toney Douglas and others turned the Knicks around and put them on the map of playoff contending teams.

In the middle of the season the Knicks took part in a groundbreaking three-team trade. This trade saw NBA veterans Carmelo Anthony and Chauncey Billups put on blue and orange jerseys for the first time, but also saw many Knicks protégés leave to play for Denver, namely Gallinari and Felton. After a brief adjustment period when they went 7-13, they are now on a four game win streak and look to become the sixth seed in the Eastern Conference for the 2011 NBA playoffs.

This time led by distinguished head coach Mike D'Antoni, the Knicks look to prove themselves as being one of the elite teams that dominate the front page news once again, as opposed to half-page articles next to the classifieds section. Anthony and Stoudemire desire to add a NBA playoff ring to their enormous collections of awards.

In order to be successful in their playoff run, the Knicks need to keep passing the ball the way they have these last four games. The confidence that they are showing on the court is key to hitting big shots in close situations, where they will find themselves in most playoff games. The three-point game has really worked for them as of late, hitting fifteen of them against the Raptors Tuesday night on 56% three-point shooting. If they continue to play tough defense as they have been since the start of April, Knicks fans will have a lot to cheer about as they see their team run deep into the playoffs.

India's World Cup cricket victory

Final Score: Sri Lanka 274-6; India 277-4

The 2011 World Cup Cricket favorite's, India, beat Sri Lanka in the finals to win the World Cup for the first time since 1983 in Mumbai, India. For Sri Lanka, this was the second World Cup in a row that they have lost after reaching the finals. The win over Sri Lanka gave Sachin Tendulkar, the world's leading batsmen, his first championship in six attempts. However, Tendulkar was 18 in 14 balls this match. India's captain ,Mahendra Singh Dhoni, had his best performance in this match with 91 runs off 79 balls and ended with the match with a 6 to take India past Sri Lanka's total. The result also made Mahela Jayawardene vice captain of the Sri Lankan team the first batsmen to score a century (one hundred runs) in a World Cup final on a losing team. Jayawardene was the only Sri Lankan batsman to pass 50 runs for his team. After facing this loss, Jayawardene and the Sri Lankan captain Kumar Sangakkara both resigned from their post. Sangakkara was the third-highest run producer in the 2011 World Cup, scoring 465 runs in 8 innings being pass only by Sri Lanka's Tillakaratne Dilshan, with 500 runs, and India's Sachin Tendulkar, with 482. When asked about his resignation during an interview, Sangakkara said, “I will be 37 by the next World Cup and I cannot therefore be sure of my place in the team. It is better that Sri Lanka is led now by a player who will be at the peak of their career in that tournament.”

Tiger Woods looks to bounce back in 2011 Masters

Tiger Woods is one of the favorites to win the 2011 Augusta Masters tournament even though his game is not at his standard level. Woods has struggled to win as of recent, not winning a major in the last few years. Yet even with his losing slump, Woods has a 10-1 favorite to win the 2011 Masters. His incredible odds of winning the Masters is evidence that he can still play with the elites like when he last won the Masters in 2005.

After turning pro in August 1996, he quickly won the 1997 Masters and manifested himself as a prodigy in golf. Woods became the youngest player to win the tournament with an impressive record score of 18 under par through 12 strokes. He was ranked the number one golfer of the world in his 42nd week as a professional, making it the quickest climb to number one ever. Woods is consider an innovator of golf because he changed the way golf is played. When he first showed up in professional golf, he was one of the few players that averaged around 300 yards in his drives. Due to his dominance, modern golf courses are created to be bigger courses. Woods attracted a lot of attention to golf, allowing new talents to be found making golf more competitive than ever.

Woods has already won in the Masters tournament on four separate occasions. Only one other person has won more in the Masters tournament, Jack Nicklaus with six victories. The Masters tournament is unique compare to other major golfing tournaments in that it is played in the same golf course every year. For Woods who worn the prized green jacket four times, he will have a major advantage. Right now Woods does not have the momentum going into the Masters and it will take more than experience to win the 2011 Masters.

VCU to take it all

VCU Rams / XJohnx/ Wikimedia Commons

The NCAA tournament this year has shocked many with its lack of #1 and #2 seeds in the Final Four. The Rams of Virginia Commonwealth hurdled tremendous obstacles to get to their current position in the tournament.

In order to get to the Final Four, the VCU Rams needed five wins, as they were required to win a play-in game to even have a spot in the round of 64. They had the tough task of defeating higher ranked teams every step of the way including Southern California, Georgetown, Purdue, Florida State and regional number one seed Kansas, which they dominated by a whopping twenty points. Despite being the lowest ranked team in the Final Four, VCU will win the NCAA tournament mainly because of its three-point scoring ability. In their last game against Kansas, VCU hit twelve three-pointers, shooting almost 50% from behind the arc.

In addition to having good shooting, the Rams show a balanced offense where four or five players do the scoring, as opposed to having their offense centered around one player. Their bench does well in supporting the starters, as 22 points were scored by the bench against Kansas. The Rams two key players, Joey Rodriguez and Jamie Skeen are the generals of the team. Rodriguez is one of the quickest point guards in the college basketball, who has great range and can hit shots from 24 feet, especially in clutch situations. Skeen is a forward who can play almost the whole game while avoiding foul trouble, and in this tournament is averaging 21 points per game on 51% field goal shooting.

The Rams are backed by an intense desire to prove to the world that VCU has a great basketball program. Head coach Shaka Smart said,."Our guys have done a phenomenal job of putting all the doubters aside, all the people that didn't believe in us, and going out to do their job." They have sold out their allotted tickets the past few games, giving them a "home-crowd" advantage no matter where they play.

Connecticut's Huskies high soaring national championship run

In this bizarre Final Four, where neither a number one or two seeded team remains, third seeded Connecticut is the favorite to win the national championship. Connecticut will rely heavily on Kemba Walker, arguably the best player reamining in the Final Four. Connecticut played their first Final Four opponent in the finals of the Maui Invitational and beat Kentucky by 17. Connecticut has won 12 straight games, dating back to the Big East tournament with five of those wins coming on five consecutive days.

The other two teams earned their spots in the Final Four even though it was unexpected. VCU had to play an extra game to even get into the NCAA Tournament, but has been victorious thus far. What VCU lacks is a star like Kemba Walker, a future pro player that is a clutch performer. Butler unexpectedly took down number one seeded-Pittsburgh and survived close games throughout the NCAA tournament. Butler has experience in the Final Four from last year but just like last year they are still consider underdogs. It was projected on March 13 that Butler only had a 1 in 2,506 chance to win the whole tournament.

The Kentucy Wildcats are going to win the NCAA tournament

The Kentucky Wildcats, the most successful team in the NCAA should be the pick to win. They are a powerful scoring team and great on the boards with Senior Josh Harrleson, who averages 8.8rpg. They have two very talented freshman in Brandon Knight who is averaging 17.3 ppg and 4.2 apg and  Terrence Jones who is averaging 15.8 ppg and 8.7 rpg.

The team averages 75.8 points a game and are tenth in field goal defense with 39%. The team lost to UConn in the Maui Invitational, but may get revenge like they did to UNC in the tournament. The team's great weakness is when Brandon Knight plays poorly. Games where he has performed poorly, Kentucky has shown difficulties scoring. They are a powerful team behind the arc and their shooting can bring them a win.

Questions linger about coach John Calipari whose last two appearances in the Final Four were vacated for breaking NCAA rules. He himself has not been indicted on any charges but players on his team have. Whatever Calipari may have done, he coaches his teams to success . The team may need help defending UCONN star Kemba Walker, who no matter what finds the shot he wants. Putting bigger guys on him have not worked for other teams, but if Calipari can put a guard with great defense on him. they can win the game.

Story of the underdogs

Wikimedia Commons

The results of the 2011 NCAA Men’s Basketball Tournament have been a shocker to everyone. All of the number one and two seeds are eliminated, but the most surprising news is that Virginia Commonwealth University (VCU) is in the Final Four. VCU was the 11th seed and had to play USC to even participate in the round of 64. After beating USC, VCU was able to eliminate sixth seeded Georgetown University. The VCU Rams went on to upset third seeded Purdue University and advance to the sweet sixteen for the first time. Their winning streak continued with the Rams defeating tenth seeded Florida State University. The biggest upset might have been the game against Kansas; the VCU Rams annihilated Kansas by 17 points.

VCU has proven that they are the underdogs that could take home the trophy. Next up, VCU prepares to play eight seeded Butler University in the Final Four. VCU has two main specialties; the ability to make three pointers and the ability to make easy fast break points. It won’t be an easy task, but with the help of their star player Jamie Skeen, the Rams might pull it off.

Final Four favorite: UConn

Kemba Walker / Wikimedia Commons

Going into the Final Four, UConn stands out as the favorite to emerge as the champions. By virtue of winning the Big East Tournament, they gained valuable experience of playing in "big game" situations. In the Big East Tournament, UConn defeated DePaul, Georgetown, Pittsburgh, Syracuse and Louisville. The Huskies accomplished that feat in five consecutive days. Their victory in the Big East Tournament is possibly even more daunting than what they will face in the NCAA tournament finals.

The Huskies are the hottest team in college basketball, winning eight straight tournament games including their Big East Championship run, giving them much needed momentum as they enter the Final Four.

UConn features the best individual player remaining in the tournament, Kemba Walker. NCAA tournament games so often come down to the last possession and Walker has proven time after time that he can come through in the clutch. Walker not only has the ability to create his own shot, he can also break down the defense and get his teammates open looks.

With a wide open Final Four and no team standing out as the most talented, UConn’s tournament experience and Kemba Walker’s star power may give them the edge needed to win the Final Four and the championship.

2011 NCAA Championship goes through VCU

On Saturday April 2nd, the NCAA Final Four contenders will match up and on that night only two teams will emerge as championship hopefuls. The Virginia Commonwealth Rams will square off against Butler, followed by UConn and Kentucky. Each team has coaches of different experience levels, as well as players who specialize in different areas of the game. VCU's own Shaka Smart is the least experienced from the pool, as he is relatively young and has never made it this far before. Despite their lack of experience, VCU has proven that they have rightfully attained their position in the Final Four.

VCU holds an impressive win over No. 1 seed Kansas, due largely in part to their coach Shaka Smart. One might have the preconception that Smart wont be able to deliver seeing as he is the second youngest coach ever to reach the final four with his team. However, it is apparent that he has what it takes to elevate the Rams to a better standing in a relatively short period of time. In 2009 after Shaka became head coach, the Rams were only one game away from reaching the final four. This year, he has led his players in the right direction after a troublesome 3-5 win/loss record in February. Smart has evidently found the right chemistry with his players, who also possess the needed strengths to win the entire tournament.

The Rams have shown exceptional shooting from behind the three-point line due to players Brandon Rozzell and Joey Rodriguez. In their win over Kansas, Rozzell sunk four 3-pointers thanks to Rodriguez's ability to locate him at the right time. Overall, this collaboration between their star players prevents the team from getting in each others way. This level of teamwork is their key to taking the 2011 NCAA Championship.

Kentucky's rise to former glory

Flickr.com

The Kentucky Wildcats have overtaken Ohio State and North Carolina to secure a spot in the Final Four of the NCAA Men's Basketball Tournament. Despite losing the core of the team to the NBA draft, including John Wall, the team has arrived with practically a new team. Being matched up against UConn this Saturday will make the semi-final match intense. The two teams met before in November which resulted in a 17-point loss for Kentucky. If Kentucky continues to drop three-ponters like they did in the previous games, they will win the championship once again.
What is the secret to their recent success? Team chemistry. This was not the case in the start of the season when the team experienced many losses. During the tournament, the team to clicked and got the chemistry down. Sure UConn has beaten Kentucky before; however, this time point guard Brandon Knight believes there might be a different result. “The difference is we’ve got a lot better,” Knight said in an interview with The Daily Cougar. “We were still learning, we were still trying to figure out what we could do. We’ve got a lot better, but they’ve grown and become a better team too.”