If Wichita State didn’t already have Kentucky’s attention, they certainly do now.
The Shockers made headlines on Saturday ahead of their second-round NCAA Tournament game against Kentucky by saying the Wildcats were “nothing special,” among other predictions.
Wichita State forward Darral Willis Jr. said Kentucky is "nothing special" and the Shockers aren't afraid of anyone "on this planet." pic.twitter.com/oYkE9eqEXU
— Jonathan Dunn (@jdunnLEX18) March 18, 2017
Darral Willis Jr. also said Bam Adebayo’s rebounding was going to get shutdown.
Wichita State's Darral Willis Jr. on Bam Adebayo's rebounding:
"That's going to get shut down tomorrow."#BBN pic.twitter.com/N16YZ9vD0u
— KSTV (@KSTV_Sports) March 18, 2017
Adebayo is averaging a team-best 8.1 rebounds per game and had 18 against Northern Kentucky. He reportedly laughed off Willis’ prediction.
Bam laughed when told about Wichita State's comments.
"I'm just going to play hard." pic.twitter.com/j1iO1b5aTw
— KSTV (@KSTV_Sports) March 18, 2017
While it’s good that Wichita State is confident entering the match-up, expressing those thoughts to the media comes at a price. Former Kentucky players Alex Poythress, Marquis Teague and Aaron Harrison heard all about it and caution that it was a “bad idea” for Wichita State to talk big.
We asked Alex Poythress and Aaron Harrison about team's talking trash about UK in the media.
They don't think it's a good idea. #BBN pic.twitter.com/LaCJgqC39J
— KSTV (@KSTV_Sports) March 19, 2017
Marquis Teague when he heard us talking about Wichita State talking trash in the media: "Bad idea. That's a very bad idea."
— TJ Beisner (@tjbeisner) March 19, 2017
This will be a rematch of an NCAA Tournament game between the teams in 2014 when an 8th-seeded Kentucky squad beat No. 1 Wichita State and spoiled the Shockers’ perfect season. This time around, it’s Wichita State who’s under-seeded, although Kentucky won’t treat them like an underdog after hearing the trash talk.
