1. The SEC named LSU’s Justin Hamilton as the SEC Player of the Week. Hamilton led LSU to an 81-55 victory over Ole Miss on Saturday. He averaged 22 points, 12.5 rebounds, three blocks and 1.5 steals this week. The seven-foot transfer grabbed 10 offensive rebounds over the past two games. The SEC freshman of the Week went to Arkansas’ BJ Young. Young led the Razorbacks to a win over Mississippi State this past week averaging 20.5 points, three rebounds, one steal and one assist per game. Against the Bulldogs, Young contributed 24 points on 10-13 shooting.
2. Has Terrence Jones brought himself out of a month-long slump with his 20-point performance against South Carolina? Although Jones contributed far more than he has in recent games, he still only managed to snag three rebounds for the Wildcats. That won’t earn the power forward much praise from us here at Rush the Court or the guys over at A Sea of Blue, but perhaps Jones’ issue is more mental than anything else. Glenn Logan writes, “Jones frequently looks, and plays, like his mind is on anything but the game.” The 6’9″ sophomore has reached double figures in rebounding just once this season, and it could be exactly this sort of aloof behavior and attitude that is the difference between this season and last year when he averaged 8.8 rebounds per game.
3. Arkansas head coach Mike Anderson’s son, Michael Anderson Jr., was arrested Sunday morning for driving while under the influence. Anderson, Jr., is the video coordinator on his father’s staff at Arkansas. “All of our (staff) members are expected to make the right decision on and off the floor,” Anderson said about his son’s arrest. “I expect that. Unfortunately some individuals don’t always make the right decision. But as a father, I will support Mike and hopefully help him learn from this situation.” The elder Anderson has to be disappointed with the distraction coming off Arkansas’ biggest win of the year over Mississippi State. This is not the first DWI arrest for Anderson, Jr. He was arrested while on the Missouri basketball team during his father’s first season as the Tigers’ head coach.
4. Diminutive point guard Cory Stanton announced that he is transferring from Lipscomb to Tennessee to join the Vols as a walk-on this season. Stanton is sitting out this season with Lipscomb after transferring from Clemson. He averaged 2.4 points per game while at Clemson last season, including  a nine-point game against Michigan. Coming out of high school, Stanton was the No. 7 player in the state of Tennessee. Vols’ coach Cuonzo Martin has already grabbed some extra help this season, getting a commitment from 6’8″ forward Jarnell Stokes to begin play immediately. Stanton should be able to practice and begin playing for the Vols’ backcourt as well.
5. Martin adjusted the starting lineup for the Vols in their 67-56 win over Florida, and grabbed the attention of some of the guys on the bench. One of those players was former starter Jordan McRae, who sat out 12 minutes of the first half, only to return with a vengeance. He came back in the game to hold Florida’s leading scorer Kenny Boynton in check. “I definitely needed Coach to do what he did,” McRae said. “It definitely sent a message; it’s a reality check. The whole time I was sitting over there, I was just thinking, ‘when I get in, I’m not going to worry about scoring, I’m just going to guard my man.’ ” Martin’s message was received loud and clear with improved play propelling Tennessee to its signature win so far this season.

The familiarity amongst teams once conference play begins creates an atmosphere that is truly hard to predict. The SEC experienced some ups and downs as some teams didn’t play as expected while others rose to the occasion. The first week of SEC play was nothing if not unpredictable, and it’s only the beginning of what is to come.

The Week That Was:

• The Ole Miss Rebels haven’t shot at least 45% from the field and at least 30% from three-point range since a December 17 loss to Southern Miss.
• Meanwhile, the LSU Tigers, which beat the Rebels 81-55, have won eight of their last nine games.
• Kentucky’s Anthony Davis is closing in on the single season blocks record for the school. He has 74 so far this season, just 10 away from the all-time best mark of 84 set by Andre Riddick in 1993-94 and Melvin Turpin in 1982-83.
• Mississippi State allowed Arkansas to shoot 56.5% from the field on Saturday. Previously, the Bulldogs hadn’t allowed an opponent to shoot above 50% all season.
• The Razorbacks’ Julysses Nobles came up with a huge game on Saturday. The junior guard had 24 points and seven assists in by far his best game of the season.
• Coming off an 18-point loss to Memphis, the Tennessee defense held Florida to 56 points on 35.7% shooting. Both the point total and the shooting percentage were season lows for the Gators.
• Billy Donovan won’t want to pack his bags and leave Gainesville again this season. The Gators are 0-4 on the road this year, losing at Ohio State, Syracuse, Rutgers and Tennessee.
• Was that a Terrence Jones sighting? The Kentucky power forward had his best game in over a month with a 20-point performance on 8-9 shooting against South Carolina.
• Auburn mustered up 35 points in its game against Vanderbilt. The ‘Dores scored 38 in the first half.
• After accomplishing Auburn’s first ever triple-double this week, Kenny Gabriel tallied just two points, three rebounds and one block against the Commodores. It might be safe to say that Gabriel won’t secure the Tigers’ second triple-double in history while he’s playing against SEC competition.

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1. Much of Kentucky’s championship hopes depend on the progress of Marquis Teague, the freshman point guard who some think is beginning to come into his own. Against South Carolina, Teague scored 17 points and had four assists with just two turnovers. “Yeah, this probably was my best overall game so far,” Teague said. “I was just slowing it down more, looking to get my teammates involved more.” His teammates have taken notice of his improved play. “He’s started listening,” fellow freshman Anthony Davis said. “And when he starts listening, great things start to happen.” UK coach John Calipari must appreciate Teague’s play too, as the freshman tied his career-high with 36 minutes against the Gamecocks. While Teague’s play was much improved, he was coming off two games in which he struggled with four points and four turnovers against Louisville and six points on 2-7 shooting against Arkansas-Little Rock. He has hardly provided consistent play for the Wildcats at their most crucial position.
2. Speaking of struggling this year, Kentucky’s Terrence Jones has rarely looked like the preseason SEC Player of the Year. In his first SEC game, Jones returned to form by scoring 20 points on 8-9 shooting. “That’s the Terrence Jones we know,” Calipari said. “He took that last three, which made me angry, but short of that I wanted him to get a couple of more rebounds. But I wanted him to get aggressive offensively and make baskets and free throws. …That’s who he is.” While Saturday’s game was a significant improvement for Jones, the sophomore hasn’t recorded a double-double yet this year. Last season, Jones had 13 double-doubles including hitting the mark six times by this point in the year. While Jones finally got going on the offensive end, he grabbed just three rebounds in the game. The Wildcats don’t necessarily need the power forward to score 20 every night, but they definitely need more than three rebounds from him.
3. Florida freshman Bradley Beal struggled to open up conference play on Saturday. In his SEC debut, Beal shot 4-12 scoring just nine points. He also turned the ball over five times. “With turnovers, that I think he has to get better with that,” Florida coach Billy Donovan said. “But he’s gotta go through it, he’s got to learn. As good and talented as he is, he’s gonna kind of have those ups and downs and he’s gotta learn and grow from it.” Despite the off night, the freshman guard is having a stellar season. Beal is averaging 14.1 points and 5.9 rebounds for the Gators. He has failed to reach double figures in scoring in only four games this season, including the last two games.
4. Arkansas’ “fastest 40 minutes in basketball” turned into “40 minutes of hell” for Mississippi State. Bulldogs’ coach Rick Stansbury admitted the Razorbacks style was difficult to prepare for. “Arkansas is totally different the way they play,” Stansbury said. “It’s just different. You can’t simulate it. It’s different. We didn’t do a very good job guarding it.” The Hogs forced Mississippi State into 18 turnovers on the night, which quickly became the difference in the game. Arkansas scored 23 points off those turnovers, forcing the Dogs to play a much faster pace than they were accustomed. Mississippi State will get another crack at the fast paced play of Mike Anderson‘s Razorbacks in the regular season finale on March 3 in Starkville.
5. Ole Miss continued to struggle as it opened up SEC play with an 81-55 loss against LSU. The Rebels are without their leading scorer and leading rebounder as Dundrecous Nelson was kicked off the team for a run in with the law earlier this week while leading rebounder Murphy Holloway is still recovering from a minor injury. Rebels’ coach Andy Kennedy doesn’t have excuses though. “It’s easy for us to use excuses, that we lost our leading scorer and our leading rebounder,” Kennedy said. “But that doesn’t, in my mind, justify the inability to compete at an SEC level. In my mind, this team does not compete 1-10. All 10 guys got in the game. All 10 guys have to compete at an SEC level for us to have a chance.” Ole Miss is in somewhat of a free fall after starting out the year at 9-1. Since, the Rebels have lost four of their last five, and in that stretch, have scored more than 56 points in a game just once.

1. Ole Miss head coach Andy Kennedy has removed Rebels’ leading scorer Dundrecous Nelson and reserve Jamal Jones from the team for a violation of team rules. Nelson was arrested at his home on Tuesday night for possession of drug paraphernalia, while Jones admitted to smoking marijuana with Nelson. Nelson has played in all 14 games this season averaging 11.6 points, 1.9 rebounds and 1.4 assists per game. Kennedy’s club opens SEC play at LSU on Saturday. How much will Nelson’s departure impact the Rebels, a team with their eyes set on an NCAA tournament berth this season? They are certainly in the hunt, finishing up non-conference play at 10-4 and an RPI of 47.
2. Kentucky coach John Calipari agrees with us (from yesterday’s morning five) that Kentucky lawmakers surely have better things to do than worry about which teams the Wildcats schedule each year. “I would hope they (lawmakers) don’t think I need help scheduling,” Calipari said. “I hope they have more important things to do.” The Kentucky senator who wrote the bill said he was using the UK and Louisville rivalry to draw attention to more important issues in higher education such as graduation rates. So are you saying that university graduation rates are more important than basketball in the state of Kentucky? Hmmm….
3. The guys over at A Sea of Blue have evaluated Kentucky’s offense during the first half of the season, and have some interesting findings. The biggest improvement in the Cats’ offensive game from the first half of the season (first eight games vs. last seven) has been in offensive rebounding. Anthony Davis, Michael Kidd-Gilchrist, Eloy Vargas, and Terrence Jones have all improved their individual offensive rebounding numbers. As you probably could have guessed, Kidd-Gilchrist had the most significant gains going from 8.1 offensive rebounding percentage to 10.7 percent. In fact, he has made improvements from the first eight games in every statistical category mentioned in the evaluation. Kentucky fans are eager to see what the next half of the season will bring for the freshman phenom as he seems to be improving every game.
4. The Florida Gators are still battling the injury bug. Forward Casey Prather will return to the lineup for coach Billy Donovan on Saturday against Tennessee after missing the last three games with the flu. Guard Mike Rosario, however, is not expected to play as he is still nursing a sprained ankle. Donovan wants to get his sixth man back on the court for the Gators. “We’re going to try to get him looked at by a doctor, or take an X-ray or an MRI and see if there is anything more to it than what we think it is,” Donovan said. Rosario is averaging 9 points per game off the bench for Florida this year. He has improved his shooting percentages drastically from his first two years with Rutgers. He is shooting 46% from the field and 40.7% from beyond the arc.
5. Vanderbilt may be hitting its stride just in time. The Commodores are on a four-game winning streak coming into conference play, and Kevin Stallings finally feels like injured center Festus Ezeli is close to 100%. “The thing that we’re inherently more excited about than anything else is that we finally feel like we’re starting to get better and have all of our weapons available to us,” Stallings said. The Commodores have been shooting lights out from three point range over the last four games. They haven’t shot under 40% from long distance since a loss against Indiana State over two weeks ago. Since, they are shooting 45% from downtown. Vanderbilt has an easier SEC opening slate, beginning with Auburn, at South Carolina, and Georgia before traveling to Tuscaloosa to face Alabama on January 19.

1. Florida coach Billy Donovan is pleased with the development of guard Erving Walker into more of a multi-faceted point guard. Walker is second in the SEC with 5.2 assists per game, which is an increase of almost two assists per contest over last season. “The thing I’m most pleased with tonight more than anything is that Erving Walker could take four shots last game and not be in the flow of the game and then he can come back in this game and score 23 points,” Donovan said. Walker and guard Kenny Boynton have improved their shot selection as evidenced by an increase in field goal and three point shooting percentages for both players. Now if Donovan can get them to simply feed center Patric Young in the post, the Gators could be even more efficient on the offensive end.
2. South Carolina guard Bruce Ellington played in the Gamecocks’ Capital One bowl game for Steve Spurrier’s football team, and turned around and took to the hardwood for Darrin Horn the next night against South Carolina State. Although Ellington was 3-3 from beyond the arc, he played for a season-low 13 minutes. It has been difficult for him to play both sports in such a busy time of the season. “Sometimes I don’t want to shoot after practice, but our trainer does a good job of getting me in there and getting shots up,” Ellington said. “He gets me in there every day to work on my shot, and it’s getting better.” It will be interesting to see this Gamecocks squad at full strength once Ellington is able to fully concentrate on basketball.
3. Red Cup Rebellion wonders if former McDonald’s All American Jelan Kendrick is worth the trouble that he causes. Kendrick did not play for Ole Miss on Tuesday night against SMU, the second time this season that Kendrick did not play due to a decision made by coach Andy Kennedy. According to a poll on the RCR website, 39% of Rebel fans don’t think Kendrick is worth the wait, while another 36% aren’t sure yet. He is averaging just 2.7 points in three games this season. Kendrick became eligible in early December. At 6’7″, he could be a huge mismatch for the Rebels if he can make his way into the lineup.
4. Coach Kennedy is happy with Ole Miss’ win over SMU, but he is realistic with what kind of team he has this year. “It’s going to be a grind, so grab on with both hands,” Kennedy said. “It’s who we are.” The Rebels scored 50 points in each of their last two games, but got the victory this time around. Ole Miss had been on a three-game losing streak coming in to Tuesday night. The Rebs shot 34.1% from the field and are still figuring out who will be effective for them on offense. “We got some guys that are playing with the yips. They’re not playing with the confidence that we need,” Kennedy said. I’m not certain what the yips are, but it sounds bad. Real bad.
5. The Kentucky General Assembly tackles some of the most pressing issues in the state. They must have taken notice when Kentucky coach John Calipari openly questioned which rivalries his Wildcats would continue in non-conference play (or they read Rush the Court’s post on the rivalry) because Senator Tim Shaughnessy is attempting to pass into LAW a bill that would REQUIRE UK and Louisville to play each other in both basketball and football each year. Seriously. In all fairness, Kentuckians take their basketball rather seriously. While Shaughnessy is at it, can he pass a law that requires college freshmen to return to school rather than opting to enter the NBA Draft? THAT would ensure the best interests of the Kentucky basketball program, if that is his true intent.

Darius Miller became the 58th player to join Kentucky’s 1,000 point club on Tuesday night. His 15 points against Arkansas-Little Rock pushed him up to #56 on the Wildcats’ all-time scoring list. As a Kentucky native and fourth year player, Miller should be higher than 56th on Kentucky fans’ all time favorite players list, right? However, the 6’7″ senior has drawn the ire of much of Big Blue Nation with his inconsistent and often frustrating play, earning him the nickname of “Disappearious Miller” with certain sections of the fanbase.

Darius Miller's numbers suggest he is a Wildcat legend... but will Wildcat fans revere him as such?

His rank, as far as scoring is concerned, is clearly defined amongst UK’s all time greats. What is less certain, is where does Miller stand as far as a UK fan favorite?

“It’s an honor to be a part of something like this, especially in the type of program that we are in,” Miller said after the game regarding his recent inclusion in the prestigious scoring club. “It feels good and I’m excited about it. I am just blessed be a part of something like this.” But Miller isn’t done moving up the ranks. If he continues his current average of 10.6 points per game as a senior, he would score 169 points throughout the remainder of the regular season. Let’s assume that the Wildcats advance to the SEC Tournament championship giving him three additional games and 31 more points. That would put Miller at 1,210 career points and land him at #40 all time on Kentucky’s career scoring list between UK fan favorite Chuck Hayes and the oft-maligned Rodrick Rhodes. Fittingly, somewhere between all-time great and cursed and forgotten may be Miller’s unfortunate place in Wildcat lore and fans’ hearts as well. If UK were to meet its expectations of competing for an eighth national title, Miller would play an additional six games giving him an additional 63 points. That would put Miller at #32 all-time. Not bad for a kid from Maysville, Kentucky, coming off the bench for teams with loads of future NBA players.

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1.  Kentucky fans may compare Michael Kidd-Gilchrist to Superman, but he’s not completely immune to injury. Kentucky coach John Calipari says that Kidd-Gilchrist went to the locker room with a chest injury that he sustained during the Louisville game. “I don’t know if it is a pulled muscle or what in his chest area,” Calipari said in his postgame press conference. “It was last game that it happened but we are going to get him checked up and he didn’t feel right at halftime. I told them to give him some medicine to see if they could loosen it up. We will check on him tomorrow, but I think he will be fine.” Kidd-Gilchrist was injured in the Louisville game, but still suited up to play against Arkansas-Little Rock last night. The Superman comparison may not be too off base.
2. Made free throws were a huge factor in Kentucky’s 69-62 win over Louisville. The Wildcats are not normally known for their accuracy at the charity stripe, but Calipari has made the team run sprints for every missed free throw the Cats shoot in a game. It obviously worked as Kentucky was a solid 32-42 from the line against the Cardinals. Over the last four games, the fear of running has propelled the Cats to shoot 77.2% from the stripe. An Achilles heel for almost every Calipari-coached team has turned into a positive for UK as of late. With Calipari’s critics no longer able to make fun of Kentucky’s free throw shooting, they are frantically writing new jokes as you read this.
3. LSU lost on Monday night to a Top 25 Virginia team, but the Tigers received good news with the return of senior guard Andre Stringer. Stringer had sat out the previous five games with a head injury sustained in practice three weeks ago. He started the game, but was somewhat limited with 24 minutes of play and just eight points. “It was great to get back,” Stringer said. “I felt great afterward, but obviously it doesn’t feel too good right now.” Stringer admitted to feeling winded, and will work on improving his conditioning before SEC play. Stringer was LSU’s leading scorer before his departure. He is averaging 11.7 points, 2.0 assists and 1.8 steals per game.
4. Somewhat quietly, Vanderbilt center Festus Ezeli recently broke the school record for career blocks. Ezeli broke former Commodore Will Perdue’s former mark with the 158th block of his career against Miami (Ohio). Last season, Ezeli averaged 2.6 blocks per game, setting the single season record for the Commodores with 87. His defense will have a major impact on Vanderbilt’s ability to rebound, guard the post, and alter shots in the lane. Ezeli could give the ‘Dores some much needed consistency on both ends of the court as he is slowly working his way back into the lineup.
5. Kenny Gabriel’s career night was mentioned in yesterday’s M5, but his 24 points, 13 rebounds and 10 blocked shots deserves some more love here today. Gabriel accomplished a feat that nobody at Auburn before him has been able to do. “It’s pretty special, a triple-double,” coach Tony Barbee said. “When you consider the type of talent that has come out of this program, the Chuck Persons, the Charles Barkleys, the Wesley Persons, the Mike Mitchells, you can go down the line and this is the first triple-double in Auburn history? It’s special.” And to think, Gabriel almost didn’t play because of stomach issues. His 24 points and 13 rebounds both tied his career highs, and his 10 blocks was a career high by itself. Gabriel is averaging 12.8 points, 8.2 rebounds and 2.8 blocks per game on the season.

The SEC Full Court Press is a quick hitting review of my thoughts and observations from the last week, as well as a look ahead.

The Week That Was:

• Anthony Davis scored all 18 of his points and grabbed six of his rebounds in the second half of Kentucky’s win over Louisville.
• Kentucky shot 29.8% and turned the ball over 21 times in that game. And the Wildcats still won.
• 52 fouls were called in the annual rivalry game making the game choppy from start to end.
• Florida lost to Rutgers on Thursday night, and the Scarlet Knights turned around and lost to USF on Sunday. That’s just how college basketball goes.
• Is it ever too early to start the Bubble Watch? At least two surprise SEC teams could be in contention for an NCAA bid with a couple of quality wins. LSU currently has an RPI of #79 while Ole Miss is at #42. You may remember that Alabama was left out last year with an RPI of #80. LSU and Ole Miss have significant work left to do, but will have plenty of chances in conference play.
• Vanderbilt held Marquette to 32.2% shooting in its 74-57 win. And people (myself included) said the Commodores couldn’t play defense? They obviously can, but will they show up every game?
• Vanderbilt’s Jeffery Taylor has performed well above his averages in the month of December. This past month, Taylor averaged 23 points, 5.8 rebounds, and 2.4 steals per game. Can he keep it up?
• The Commodores beat top-15 team Marquette last week, and turned around and struggled at home against 4-8 Miami of Ohio. It appears that this is just the type of team that Vanderbilt will be this year — terribly inconsistent. That’s a bad habit to have going into NCAA tournament time.
• Renardo Sidney was 5-of-6 from the field when he was on the court for Mississippi State against Baylor on December 28. He was limited to only 19 minutes of action. As has been said all season long, Sidney needs to find a way to be in the game for his team but that means overcoming both conditioning and attitude issues.

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Brian Joyce is an RTC correspondent. He filed this report after Saturday’s Tulsa-TCU game.

TCU led a valiant second half comeback against Conference USA foe Tulsa, but dropped the ball on New Year’s Eve. The Horned Frogs only managed 36.7% shooting on their way to a 74-66 loss to the Golden Hurricane. While TCU was undersized, it showed some fight. TCU forced Tulsa into 19 turnovers and managed to get to the free throw line a season-best 35 times, but it just wasn’t enough. As the Horned Frogs expect to make the jump to the Big 12 Conference for the 2012-13 season, it is clear that the program has a long road ahead to become competitive in a power conference.

Those empty seats in Daniel Meyer Coliseum won't fill up just to watch the Frogs lose

TCU has a number of issues to work out before becoming a Big 12 caliber team:

• Size: Size is a huge issue for head coach Jim Christian’s squad. The Horned Frogs don’t have a single player that stands above 6’10”. TCU’s starting lineup on Saturday featured players standing at 5’9″, 5’11”, 6’5″, 6’7″ and 6’8″. Tulsa took advantage of its size advantage by posting both of its 6’4″ starting guards on the smaller TCU backcourt. Tulsa’s 6’4″ starting point guard Jordan Clarkson cruised on his way to a 23- point performance, guarded mostly by smaller players. When Christian subbed in the taller and more physical Nate Butler to guard Clarkson, the Frogs held Tulsa’s point guard to five points in over 18 minutes of second half play. But then presumably for an offensive boost in crunch time, Christian subbed in 5’9″ Hank Thorns and 5’11” Kyan Anderson to play on the floor at the same time. Clarkson shot over the smaller defenders for a crucial two-pointer with 1:31 remaining to give Tulsa the lead. He scored another four points in the closing seconds to seal the victory. The Golden Hurricane also established a dominating post presence as they started two players at 6’11”. Forward Kodi Maduka (one of the 6″11″ posts) scored 15 points and grabbed 15 rebounds as TCU didn’t have an answer for him. A product of its smaller lineup, TCU grabbed just 51% of available defensive rebounds as it was out-rebounded 35-27 on the night. With the length and strength of frontcourts in the Big 12, the Horned Frogs have a lot of recruiting to look the part of a power conference team.

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Saturday’s Kentucky and Louisville game at Rupp Arena didn’t leave me with the impression that I was watching the best annual game college basketball has to offer. While many proclaimed Kentucky and Louisville to be the best rivalry in the nation (Here. Here. And here.), Kentucky’s seven-point victory on Saturday showcases exactly what is wrong in this series. The passion and intensity are there, but Louisville hasn’t been on the same level as Kentucky for a few years now. Even though just 76 miles separate the two schools, close proximity and basketball-crazy fan bases do not alone make this the nation’s best rivalry. Kentucky has once again become one of college basketball’s elite teams on a regular basis, and at least over the past three years, Louisville hasn’t met its Bluegrass State counterpart at the top. Kentucky has had a better on-court rivalry recently with North Carolina or even Florida, and the Cardinals are to blame.

The Pitino and Calipari feud has more drama then the actual basketball games in recent years

Why has Kentucky-Louisville fallen short of being the nation’s best rivalry?

First, the game hasn’t had the national relevance historically to make it the sport’s best rivalry. Saturday’s matchup was the first top five meeting between the two schools in its history. For comparison’s sake, Duke and North Carolina have played 11 times (over six different seasons) while both were ranked in the top five. The problem is that Louisville simply hasn’t maintained the same level of success as Kentucky over the years.  The Cardinals have been ranked in the top five for a total of 101 weeks while UK (more on par with Duke and North Carolina) has spent 404 weeks there. A number one ranking would surely boost the national presence of the rivalry. Kentucky has spent a whopping 83 weeks at the top spot in the rankings throughout its history. Louisville has spent just one lonely week there in 2009. Kentucky and Louisville is a great game for the Commonwealth of Kentucky, but if college basketball fans from around the country are going to tune in, then it needs to become a bigger game of national significance. And outside of a semi-public feud between John Calipari and Louisville coach Rick Pitino, it hasn’t been nearly as significant on the national landscape as Duke and North Carolina.

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