Ivy vs. Bluegrass, experience vs. youth in second-round game

TAMPA, FLA. - Kentucky coach John Calipari summed up his team, maybe even his program, in one sentence Wednesday.

"You can't count on freshmen," he said.

Princeton can only hope that's the case in the NCAA tournament.

The No. 13-seeded Tigers (25-6) play the fourth-seeded Wildcats (25-8) in the tournament's second round Thursday. It's a matchup that features Princeton's seasoned upperclassmen and Kentucky's talented freshmen -- experience against youth, veterans versus rookies.

"It's our moment against Kentucky and we're not going to spoil it," Princeton coach Sydney Johnson said. "I can't tell you if we're going to be perfect out there ... but we're not going to waste this opportunity. I won't allow them to do that."

Princeton earned the Ivy League's automatic berth by edging Harvard on a buzzer-beater in a playoff game. The Tigers return to the NCAA tournament after a six-year absence.

"Princeton can beat us. They can beat just about anybody," Calipari said.

This isn't the typical, slow-everything-down system that Princeton has used to baffle and frustrate opponents over the years. The Tigers are more athletic -- led by forwards Kareem Maddox and Ian Hummer, and guards Dan Mavraides and Douglas Davis -- and more willing to run up and down and take shots early in the possession.

"It's Princeton on steroids," Calipari said.

The Tigers are averaging nearly 70 points a game, about 20 more than the program did when it established its identity two decades ago.

"Coach believed we had the talent to run a little bit and get on the open floor, and that's something that has definitely helped us up to this point this season," said Mavraides.

"It's a little variation from the traditional Princeton," he said, "but you'll see times and possessions throughout the game where we're grinding throughout the shot clock and getting a backdoor layup or an open shot with four seconds left on the shot clock."

Kentucky has six players sharing most of the minutes. But those six are really good, especially freshmen Brandon Knight and Terrence Jones.

Knight, a 6-foot-3 point guard leads the Wildcats with 17.5 points a game. Jones, a versatile forward, is averaging 16.5 points and 8.9 rebounds. Another freshman, Doron Lamb, is the team's third-leading scorer and one of the most accurate three-point shooters (47.2 percent) in the tournament.

"What I'm comfortable with is we're playing as well as we've played all season," Calipari said. "What I'm comfortable with is individual players are playing better than they have in their careers. That I'm comfortable with.

"How they'll respond to this situation, I have no idea."