Wins over Final Four candidates North Carolina, Auburn, and Alabama.
They lost to NIT hopeful LSU, mid-ranked UNC Wilmington, and bubble-era Gonzaga.
There is no more unpredictable team in the country than Kentucky. The best is to win the national championship. At worst, the program, which hasn’t had a second weekend since 2019, could fail in the NCAA Tournament again.
John Calipari’s 17th-ranked Wildcats are the most attractive team in college basketball heading into March, joining Purdue as one of only two teams in the country with three wins in the top 10 in the NET rankings. One of them. Phoenix has the ability to make the Final Four, but they also have a tendency to be upset as well. No team has more variance than this team of four McDonald’s All-Americans and future NBA players.
This week was a perfect example of that. On Wednesday, Kentucky blew a nine-point lead at LSU. Three days later, the Crimson Tide scored 117 points in an SEC-leading victory over No. 12 Alabama. This was Kentucky’s second-most points in an SEC game played at Rupp Arena. Just one week ago, No. 14 crushed Auburn on the road, handing the Tigers their only loss at home.
Calipari’s team has now won four of its past six games, as the Wildcats are showing signs of the consistency they’ve lacked thus far. This team has depth, size and elite athleticism, with guards Reed Shepard and Rob Dillingham projected to be lottery picks, and plenty of talent around them. . Alabama had no answer Saturday for the quintet of Shepard, Dillingham, Antonio Reeves, Justin Edwards and Croatian 7-footer Zvonimir Ivicic. All five can shoot from deep and can handle the ball.
“That group probably won’t play together a lot because they’re bad defensively, but if they score every time, that’s fine,” Alabama coach Nate Oats told reporters after the game.
Offense wasn’t really the problem for Kentucky. He ranks 8th in adjusted efficiency, showing how strong this group can be when it clicks. They only rank 76th in defensive efficiency, which is at the heart of the Wildcats’ instability, but they have been improving of late.
It reminds me of Connecticut this time last year. After a shaky January in which they lost five of eight games, including multiple setbacks to teams not in the tournament, the Huskies were just starting to hit their stride at the end of February.
Like Kentucky this year, Connecticut has had plenty of high-level wins, but also some inexplicable losses. It wasn’t a question of talent. It was about whether coach Dan Hurley could put it all together. Keep in mind, Hurley had lost back-to-back opening games in the NCAA Tournament, and there were doubts about his ability to win when it really mattered. There’s a similar sentiment about Calipari, who has struggled to make it in March in recent years.
Those Huskies began to join forces at this point, defeating ranked opponents Marquette and Providence. They entered the NCAA Tournament as a 4 seed, defeating all six opponents by double-digit margins and advancing to the National Championship.
A similar march could appear in Kentucky. The talent is clearly there. Auburn, North Carolina and Alabama would agree. Of course, no one would be surprised to see the Wildcats lose again early in the tournament.
One thing is for sure: Kentucky is a team to keep an eye on next month.
raging storm
Currently, two major courtroom attacks are occurring. First up is Caitlin Clark and Iowa. Kyle Filipowski, now a first-round pick at Duke, sprained his ankle after fans packed the court during Wake Forest’s win over the Blue Devils on Saturday.
It’s time for this to be resolved. What are we delaying? It’s not going to get better, it’s going to get worse. Yes, it’s a tradition. What else was tradition? College athletes do not profit from their name, image, or likeness.
In the near future, this will likely lead to a huge brawl breaking out or a player suffering a season-ending injury. The number of incidents is increasing rather than decreasing. At some point, it will have to be banned. Why wait until something really bad happens?
this week’s game
No. 5 Tennessee vs. No. 13 Alabama, Saturday, 8 p.m.
It will be a matchup between the second-ranked defense (Tennessee) in adjusted efficiency and the first-ranked offense (Alabama). All eyes will be on the two teams tied for first in the SEC rankings. Tennessee has won six of its past seven games, and Alabama has won seven of its past nine games. Tuscaloosa will be fired up in this showdown with an opposing style and a Final Four contender that could very well decide the SEC title. The Crimson Tide will be looking for revenge after losing by 20 points to Tennessee on Jan. 20.
sowing seeds
1. Houston, Purdue, Connecticut, Tennessee
2. Arizona, Kansas, North Carolina, Marquette
3. Iowa State, Alabama, Baylor, Auburn
4. Duke, San Diego, Clayton, Illinois
stock watch
Up
seton hall
It wasn’t just that the Pirates were picked by the league’s coaches to finish ninth in the Big East; that ranking seemed well deserved. Up until the second week of December, they looked like a bad team after losing to USC, Iowa, and Rutgers. Then, out of nowhere, a switch flipped. Since losing to its in-state rival, Seton Hall is 13-5, with two of those losses coming without star guard Cadary Richmond. They have lost once at home during that span, a thriller in three overtimes to No. 15 Creighton. From mid-December to now, there hasn’t been a bigger surprise in this country than Shaheen Holloway’s gritty NCAA Tournament team.
st mary’s
The nation’s longest winning streak is owned by the Gaels, who haven’t lost since Dec. 23. They mounted a 15-game winning streak, bounced back from a shaky start and qualified for the NCAA Tournament for the third straight year. Typical St. Mary’s. Defensively solid, offensively balanced, and capable of dealing damage with the right draw. With one win this week, the Gaels will clinch their first outright WCC regular season title since 2012.
under
Virginia
Although the University of Virginia once successfully qualified for the NCAA Tournament, its standing is now in jeopardy. He lost three of four games and averaged 49.2 points over that span. The Cavaliers’ resume isn’t actually all that impressive. They had three wins over at-large teams (Florida, Wake Forest, and Clemson), a NET ranking of 48, and a 6-7 record in Quad 1 and 2 games. They are being challenged offensively and going in the wrong direction. Too many bracketologists are picking them ahead of teams with much better resumes like Providence and Seton Hall. Virginia should be in the “top four” category at best.
mike woodson
In theory, Indiana had a strong offseason, acquiring five-star freshman Mackenzie Mugako as well as transfers Kelel Ware (Oregon), Peyton Sparks (Ball State) and Anthony Walker (Miami). Ta. However, Woodson’s third season has not produced results. The Hoosiers are having a losing season, ranking 108th in the NET and losing eight of their past 10 games. Only Ohio State and Michigan are below Indiana in the Big Ten standings.
