The “Kentucky is the most dominating team since . . .” chatter could get even more pronounced after John Calipari’s team visits Louisville Saturday.
If the Wildcats bus back to Lexington with anything approaching a dominant performance over Rick Pitino’s club, their being unbeaten going into the NCAA Tournament may border on the likely.
The Wildcats are far from anything approaching an exceptional team on the offensive end of the floor right now.
But, with the way they are putting the defensive hammer to people, that hasn’t mattered in the least.
Rank (Last week’s rank) | Record | Comment |
1. Kentucky (1) | 12-0 | The Wildcats’ defense continues to treat opponents the way a high-grade paper shredder does stacks of credit card receipts. |
2. Arizona (2) | 12-0 | A second consecutive “true road game” (vs. UNLV) Tuesday should help Sean Miller fine tune his club for the Jan. 4 start of Pac 12 play against Arizona State. |
3. Duke (3) | 10-0 | The Blue Devils were able to hold off Connecticut in New Jersey on Thursday despite shooting just .375 from the field and committing 19 turnovers. |
4. Virginia (4) | 11-0 | ACC play will be a more accurate barometer but the Cavs have looked like an even better team – especially on the defensive side of the floor – than they were during their impressive run through the conference last season. |
5. Texas (5) | 10-1 | If all goes according to Coach Rick Barnes’ plans – or at least his hopes – guard Isaiah Taylor (who suffered a broken wrist on Nov. 20) could be ready to play in the team’s Big 12 opener against Texas Tech on Jan. 3. |
6. Gonzaga (6) | 11-1 | The Mark Few Crew opens WCC play with three games away from Spokane – beginning with Saturday’s clash in Provo. |
7. Wisconsin (7) | 11-1 | Other than that contest in Madison against that unbeaten squad from Durham, NC, the trip to Berkeley Monday night will provide the Badgers with their biggest challenge of the November/December portion of their schedule. |
8. Louisville (8) | 10-0 | What kind of chance would the Cardinals of had of knocking off Kentucky in Louisville Saturday without Montrezl Harrell? That’s a rhetorical question, of course. |
9. Villanova (9) | 11-0 | The y needed to overcome a hefty deficit against Syracuse Saturday but were able to escape as the third unbeaten “Wildcats” in college hoops. |
10. Wichita St. (10) | 8-1 | The Shockers open to leave Honolulu this week without any Stunners over three games in order to take an 11-1 record into their MVC opener with Drake on New Year’s Eve. |
11. Kansas (12) | 9-1 | The Kansas players and coaches could certainly empathize with the way their UCLA counterparts feel about their game against Kentucky. |
12. Washington (13) | 10-0 | Tulane and Stony Brook (in Seattle) stand in the way of taking a 12-zip record into Pac 12 play in Berkeley on Jan. 2 |
13. Maryland (15) | 11-1 | The Terps – before they’ve even played their first-ever game in the conference – continue to look a lot like the Big Ten’s second best team. |
14. Iowa State (16) | 9-1 | The Cyclones have scored fewer than 81 points just twice this season. |
15. Northern Iowa (NR) | 10-1 | Are the Panthers, in reality, the best team in the MWC? Look for more serious discussion on that topic in the days leading to Wichita State’s trip into Cedar Falls on Jan. 31. |
16. California (NR) | 10-1 | The Golden Bears are in position to do the Pac 12 a whole lot of good, perception-wise, Monday night at home against Wisconsin. |
ON THE CUSP: Arkansas 8-2, Baylor 9-1, Boise State, Colorado State 11-0, LSU 8-2, Miami 9-2, North Carolina 8-3, Notre Dame 11-1, Ohio State 9-2, Oklahoma State 9-2, Old Dominion 9-1, SMU 8-3, St. John’s 9-1, TCU 11-0, Utah 8-2 and West Virginia 10-1.
PLAYERS OF THE WEEK (Dec. 15-21)
*Malcolm Brogdon (Virginia): The Cavaliers are rolling at 11-zip and the play of this 6-5 junior swingman is a big reason. He averaged 15.5 points, 4.0 rebounds, 4.0 assists and had just one turnover in a collective 59 minutes against Cleveland State and Harvard.
*Tyler Haws (BYU): The 6-5 senior, who suffered an ankle sprain the week before, went for 24 points, three rebounds, four assists and didn’t have a turnover as the Cougars held off Stanford in Provo Saturday night.
*Jayvaughn Pinkston (Villanova): The 6-7 senior scored 25 points to go with 10 rebounds, two blocks and two steals to help the Wildcats rally from 15 point in the hole to knock off their former Big East Conference Syracuse, 82-77, Saturday in Philadelphia.
*Troy Williams (Indiana): The sophomore forward scored 22 points and grabbed 11 rebounds and chipped with three assists, two steals and two blocked shots in 29 minutes as the Hoosiers improved to 9-2 with the 82-73 win over Butler in Indianapolis.
*Delon Wright (Utah): The brother of the Portland Trail Blazers’ Dorell Wright continued to play like a frontrunner in the race for Pac 12 POY and All-America honors with 17 points, four assists and four steals as the Utes prevailed at UNLV Saturday night, 59-46.
Frank Burlison has been covering hoops for 30+ years for a variety of publications.
Follow Frank on twitter @FrankieBur. Also make sure to follow his website at www.burlisononbasketball.com. College coaching staffs interested in Burlison’s scouting service should contact him at [email protected].
