Three things to watch when Kentucky plays Oakland in the NCAA Tournament

Three things to watch when Kentucky plays Oakland in the first round of the NCAA Men’s Basketball Tournament on Thursday at PPG Arena (7:10 p.m., CBS-27):

1. Oakland’s ‘amoeba’ defense

When Dale Brown coached the LSU Tigers to the Final Four in 1986, he did so with what he called an “amoeba defense” or a “freak defense.” Brown’s explanation was his defensive alignment was ever-changing. It might be part-man/part-zone or all zone with man principles or man-to-man with zone principles.

“We change on different clues and for different reasons,” said Brown before LSU played eventual national champion Louisville in the national semifinals. “Say, if No. 10 brings the ball across halfcourt and he goes to the right side, we play man (to man on defense). If he passes to the left wing, we might play a 2-3 zone. If he passes to the right side, we might play a 2-1-2 zone. Now, if No. 11 brings the ball upcourt, and goes to the right, we might box-and-one. If he passes left, triangle-and-two. If he passes right, diamond-and-one.”

Now comes Greg Kampe and Oakland with a defense that the Golden Grizzlies coach says opponents can’t figure out because not even the Oakland players are sure of what they’re doing.

“Our defensive style is not something you see every day,” said Oakland’s Trey Townsend on Wednesday, “so it makes it difficult for any team that we play.

“They play a funky defense,” UK coach John Calipari said on Wednesday.

That “funky defense” helped Oakland win both the Horizon League regular season and tournament titles. It will be interesting to see how it fares against one of the nation’s top offenses.

2. Kentucky’s Justin Edwards

After struggling as the top-ranked freshman prospect on the Kentucky roster, Justin Edwards appeared to have finally broken through. He made all 10 of his shots, including four from 3-point range, on the way to 28 points against Alabama. He finished the regular season with three straight double-digit games against Arkansas, Vanderbilt and Tennessee.

In the quarterfinals of the SEC Tournament, Edwards reverted, however. He missed five of his six shots. He was 0-for-3 from 3. He finished with just two points as the Cats lost 97-87 to Texas A&M.

How important is it for Edwards to play loose and be productive when the Cats open NCAA Tournament play?

“It’s really important,” Edwards said Wednesday in the UK locker room. “That’s something that Coach Cal says, “Play free and loose. When you’re playing free, you can have fun.”

Is that easier said than done?

“Yes,” answered Edwards, matter of fact.

3. Oakland’s Trey Townsend

I’m on record as saying that Kentucky not only wins Thursday, it’s the first victory in the Cats’ path to the Final Four. As the No. 3 seed, the Cats have too much talent to lose to No. 14 seed Oakland.

That said, I am interested to see Oakland’s Trey Townsend, the 6-foot-6 junior forward from Oxford, Michigan, who was the Horizon League Player of the Year and scored 38 points and grabbed 11 rebounds in the Golden Grizzlies’ 83-76 win over Milwaukee in the championship game of the league tournament.

Townsend is averaging 16.9 points, 7.8 rebounds and 3.1 assists. He leads Oakland in scoring, rebounding, assists and steals. He’s shooting 45.7 percent from the floor, 34.6 percent from three-point land and 79.5 percent from the foul line.

For Oakland to pull off the upset, Townsend has to have a monster game.

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