Much like week two of the season, last week was defined by a number of intriguing upsets. This trend began on Monday night when #14 Kansas was blown out by 25 points at Temple. It continued on Tuesday, as both #5 Arizona and #10 Texas fell to unranked opponents – the Wildcats losing at UNLV and the Longhorns losing at home to Stanford. Christmas Day spelled trouble for #15 Wichita State, as it was upset by George Washington in the championship game of the Diamond Head Classic. Finally, Sunday saw previously unbeaten #22 Washington fall at home to America East darling Stony Brook. With conference play fully set to begin this week in most conferences, we bid farewell to the stunning non-conference upsets that have been a major part of the college basketball season thus far. Upset enthusiasts should not worry too much, though, as we all know by now there is no such thing as an easy win in conference play. Strap in and get ready because it is going to be a fun two-month ride from here to March.
This week’s Quick N’ Dirty after the jump….
Quick n’ Dirty Analysis.
- Kentucky remains the unanimous #1 for the sixth consecutive week. The Wildcats once again claim the top spot in the RTC25 after a 58-50 victory over archrival Louisville on Saturday. Kentucky used its suffocating defense to claim the victory, as it held the Cardinals to a woeful 25.9 percent shooting afternoon on its home floor. While the Wildcats’ field goal defense was quite impressive, the fact that they held Louisville to just one assist for the entire game really illustrates how dominant of an effort Kentucky showcased on the defensive end of the court. John Calipari’s squad is currently 13-0 and has a nice 10-day break before commencing SEC play at home against Ole Miss on January 6. Just go ahead and lock the Wildcats in for #1 next week as well.
- Iowa State and Maryland continue to rise. Fred Holberg’s Cyclones are all the way up to #9 in this week’s RTC25 and look to be a force to be reckoned with as Big 12 play nears. Iowa State is currently 9-1 and is making quite the impact on the offensive end of the floor, as it is currently ninth in the country in scoring (84.6 PPG) and second in the country in assists (19.4 APG). Mark Turgeon’s Terrapins are now 12-1 and up to #13 in this week’s RTC25 after scoring a win over Oakland in their final tune up before Big Ten play begins on Tuesday. The most significant part of the win over Oakland was that Maryland once again had the services of guard Dez Wells, who had been out since December 1 with a broken wrist.
- There is some disagreement on North Carolina, Notre Dame and Georgetown. The 12th-ranked Tar Heels have already lost three times this season, but after impressive wins over #19 Ohio State and UAB in their last two games, it looks like they are back on the right track. Our pollsters, though, are not in agreement regarding where UNC should be ranked. One pollster has the Tar Heels at #9, while another has them at #18. At 12-1, it seems like #18 Notre Dame has moved on from a lost 2013-14 season, but a fairly weak non-league slate has our pollsters split on the Irish. One pollster has Mike Brey’s squad at #11, while another has it barely in the RTC25 at #24. #21 Georgetown also has three losses on the season, but all three (Wisconsin, Butler, and Kansas) are nothing to be ashamed of. Even with that under consideration, our pollsters seem to be divided on the 8-3 Hoyas, as one has John Thompson III’s squad at #16 and another has it unranked. Seven unique pollsters are always going to bring seven unique points of view to the fold and that is illustrated by the cases of North Carolina, Notre Dame and Georgetown this week.
Game of the Week. #17 Oklahoma vs. #20 Baylor. The only game between two ranked teams this week will take place in a Big 12 opener in Norman on Saturday afternoon. With both teams looking to contend with Iowa State, Texas and Kansas in the Big 12 race this season, you can expect a hotly-contested battle between two squads that like to duke it out in the post. The individual match-up to keep an eye on in this one will be between Oklahoma rebounding machine Ryan Spangler against his Baylor counterpart Rico Gathers. The team that controls the backboards should have the upper hand in this game, so the battle between Spangler and Gathers will be of utmost interest.
Keep Tabs On. #13 Maryland vs. Michigan State; #19 Ohio State vs. Iowa; #8 Villanova vs. Butler; #16 St. John’s vs. Seton Hall; #8 Villanova vs. Seton Hall; #16 St. John’s vs. Butler; #14 Kansas vs. UNLV.
Conference Call. ACC (5), Big 12 (5), Big East (3), Pac-12 (3), Big Ten (3), Missouri Valley (2), Mountain West (2), SEC (1), WCC (1)