Kentucky Reserve vs Virginia Merfolk

WEDNESDAY - 7:30 PM ET

Written by Joey Phillips

GSB S3 | Week 1

The Kentucky Reserve will host the Virginia Merfolk in a battle between two teams seeking to turn the tide on their franchise success. Last season, the Merfolk managed only one win while the Reserve finished .500 on the outside of the playoff picture. A week 1 victory for either side will go a long way in instilling confidence in two rosters trying to gain traction.

Virginia Outlook

It goes without saying, their first season in the league was pretty disappointing on all fronts, this roster is desperate to turn things around with a young core that continues to grow. Another season of development for key players like Ricky Spyder and Bryan Buckets solidifies this team's interior. Aaron Hughes and S2 rising star Kamron Kane will continue to work on improving the perimeter for the Merfolk. Their two preseason matchups were not as promising as the front office may have hoped as the Merfolk fell victim to the Martians and defending champion Otters in their first two outings. Will they be able to correct their errors and pull off a week 1 victory?

Kentucky Outlook

The Reserve found themselves at the bottom of a loaded division last season despite finishing 7-7. They picked up two highly touted draft hopefuls in Angelo Roman (Buffalo Tech) and Greatest Ever (Tucson). Expect Roman to be a bit more involved from the start of the season whereas Ever will slowly mold into a rotational piece as the season progresses. Some notable offseason transactions for the Reserve included moving on from Ethan Lederman, this could prove to be a decisive trade as the Reserve freed up some space for Ever and will transition some of the scoring load to Josh Young. Look for the Reserve to prioritize outside shooting as their team hit a collective 10/18 from beyond the arc in their last preseason matchup. If the Reserve continue to hit their three point shots at or around 50%, there is going to be very little Virginia’s defense can do to stop them. Will they continue this impressive shooting run?

Verdict

It is tough to pick against Kentucky with how they played in the preseason, knocking off Seattle and Albuquerque. They shot over 50% from beyond the arc both times and I just believe there’s too much firepower from the outside that it’ll overwhelm the Merfolk by the end of the game. 

Score Prediction: KENTUCKY 97 - VIRGINIA 81