Who could beat undefeated Kentucky? Dick Vitale says Gonzaga

Entering the NCAA Tournament, undefeated Kentucky is already regarded as king. But is there a team in the bracket that could dethrone the Wildcats?

There’s a couple, if you ask legendary ESPN college basketball analyst Dick Vitale, and one of those teams will be representing the state of Washington when play kicks off in Seattle’s KeyArena on Friday.

Vitale joined 710 ESPN Seattle’s “Danny, Dave and Moore” on Wednesday to preview March Madness, and while he still has Kentucky winning the ninth national title in program history in his own bracket, he sees a couple scenarios where the Wildcats could see their perfect season ruined. One would be in the Elite Eight round of their own Midwest Region against No. 3 seed Notre Dame. The other? The championship game, if Gonzaga is the opposite side.

“I think the team that really can give them big trouble are the Zags of Gonzaga. I think they have the size inside to negate the great rebounding on the second shots by Kentucky, and I think they’ve got the 3 shooters with (Kevin) Pangos and (Kyle) Wiltjer,” Vitale said. “(Gonzaga is a) very dangerous team.”

Wiltjer would bring a lot of intrigue to a matchup of John Calipari’s Wildcats and Mark Few’s Bulldogs. Wiltjer is Gonzaga’s leading scorer at 16.7 points per game, even though the junior forward is only in his first year with the team after transferring from Kentucky following his freshman season in 2012-13.

“You’ve got the extra drama, Wiltjer going against the team where he was formerly at, didn’t get enough playing time, went to Gonzaga,” Vitale said. “I’m just absolutely amazed at what a great player he has become. Inside, outside, he’s done a great job with his physical stature, building his body up.”

Vitale’s enthusiasm for Gonzaga is nothing new, as he’s been enamored with them ever since they knocked off UCLA 87-74 on Dec. 13 in a game he called as a broadcaster.

“I think the Zags are legitimate,” he said. “They really impressed me (against UCLA). Great balance … This year’s club, with (Kevin) Pangos, (Gary) Bell, Wiltjer, (Przemek) Karnowski, (Domantas) Sabonis, I think this team is gonna march on.”

Marching on has been an ongoing issue for the Zags, though. Their opening contest against North Dakota State will mark their 17th straight NCAA Tournament appearance, but they haven’t been to the Elite Eight since Year 1 of the streak. Few takes a lot of heat for that fact, something Vitale believes is undeserved.

“A lot of people scream and yell ‘Mark Few can’t win the big one at tournament time.’ Let me tell you, he doesn’t have to win the big one to prove to me what a terrific coach he is,” Vitale said.

To hear more of Vitale’s thoughts on the tournament, including what makes Kentucky so dangerous, listen to a podcast of the interview here.