And then there were two . . . Except, there were almost zero – as in unbeaten college basketball teams.
The Duke Blue Devils (87-75 at North Carolina State) were tagged with their first loss on Sunday afternoon – a day after the nation’s top-two squads in the Power 16, Kentucky and Virginia, pulled themselves out of tough jams at Texas A&M and Notre Dame, respectively.
How long will those unbeatens remain standing?
The Wildcats have a home game with Missouri Tuesday night and play at Alabama Saturday afternoon.
And the Cavaliers play host to Clemson Tuesday and travel to Boston College on Saturday.
Rank (Last week’s rank) | Record | Comment |
1. Kentucky (1) | 15-0 | Let’s quit tippy-toeing on eggshells – the Wildcats aren’t a very good offensive team right now. |
2. Virginia (3) | 15-0 | When what happened in Raleigh on Sunday is factored into the mix, this is the Team of the Week. |
3. Duke (2) | 14-1 | Length (NCSU’s and trying to score over the top of it) and defense (or the Blue Devils’ lack thereof) proved the Duke undoing in Raleigh Sunday afternoon. |
4. Gonzaga (5) | 16-1 | Of the nine victories since the OT loss in Tucson on Dec. 6, only one has been by a margin of fewer than 12 points. |
5. Villanova (9) | 15-1 | Other than, yeah, the Wildcats are probably the best team, the Big East a tough conference to sort out so far this season. |
6. Arizona (4) | 14-2 | So you want to talk about “surprise teams”? Oregon State is one of them – and the Wildcats will add an “amen!” to that. |
7. Notre Dame (11) | 15-2 | How does a team climb four spots in the Power 16 after batting .500 for the week? By winning at UNC and taking what might be the best team in the country (Virginia) down to the wire. Oh, it helped that few squads ranked ahead of it lost, too. |
8. Louisville (7) | 14-2 | Montrezl Harrell’s lack of productivity during the game eventually caught up to the Cardinals in Chapel Hill. |
9. Wisconsin (6) | 15-2 | Sixty-two points were more than enough just once last week. |
10. Wichita St. (12) | 14-2 | The Shockers put away a solid Loyola squad with a sparkling second half in Chicago Sunday. |
11. Utah (13) | 13-2 | Those who already claim that the Utes are the “best team in the Pac 12” will get that opinion put to the test Thursday in Tempe and Saturday in Tucson. |
12. Maryland (10) | 15-2 | Any short list for National Coach of the Year honors should have Mark Turgeon’s name near the top. |
13. Iowa State (16) | 12-2 | Narrow wins over two likely NCAA tourney teams = nice week for the Cyclones. |
14. Kansas (NR) | 13-2 | Jayhawks in Ames on Saturday night – fire it up! |
15. Arkansas (NR) | 13-2 | Although Mississippi and Texas A&M almost pulled it off last week, this may be the SEC club best equipped to hand Kentucky its first loss. That opportunity won’t come until Feb. 1 – if it still exists then, that is. |
16. West Virginia (NR) | 14-2 | Bob Huggins definitely has his Mountaineers in the Big 12 title mix this season. |
ON THE CUSP: Alabama 12-3, Baylor 12-3, Cincinnati 11-4, Dayton 13-2, LSU 12-3, North Carolina 12-4, North Carolina State 12-5, Northern Iowa 14-2, Oklahoma 11-4, Oklahoma State 12-3, Old Dominion 13-2, Providence 13-4, Seton Hall 13-3, Texas 12-4, VCU 13-3 and Wyoming 15-2.
RESERVE PLAYERS OF THE WEEK (Jan. 5-11)
*Devin Booker (Kentucky): The 6-5 freshman wing averaged 15.5 points in the Wildcats’ overtime SEC wins against Mississippi and Texas A&M.
*Jameel McKay (Iowa State): The Marquette transfer came off the bench to average 5.5 points, 6.5 rebounds and 3.5 blocked shots in the Cyclones’ narrow Big 12 victories over Oklahoma State and West Virginia.
*Rashad Ray (Tulsa): The junior point guard had seven points, five rebounds, two assists and three steals in an American Conference win at Temple.
*Domantas Sabonis (Gonzaga): The 6-10 freshman reserve post averaged 9.0 points, 9.0 rebounds and 2.0 assists as the Bulldogs rolled WCC foes USC and Santa Clara by 31 and 22 points, respectively, in Spokane.
*Mike Tobey (Virginia): The junior reserve center averaged 9.5 points and 6.0 rebounds in the Cavaliers’ ACC victories against North Carolina State and Notre Dame.
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].
