It’s not an oversight. It’s an insult.
The conversations continue to take place throughout college basketball circles regarding what teams have the best chance to go deep into the NCAA Tournament and rarely do they include one of the sport’s most hallowed brands.
How has Kentucky gotten lost in the dialogue that seems to begin and end with Kansas, Baylor, Gonzaga, San Diego State, Duke, Dayton, and sometimes Florida State as the teams that can get to the Final Four in Atlanta and win a national title?
Maybe it’s because the Wildcats lost in November at home to Evansville.
Maybe it’s because they lost to a Utah team in Las Vegas in December that is currently 15-12 overall.
Whether those are factors or not, here are the facts: Kentucky is 23-5 overall and 15-2 since losing to Ohio State on the Saturday before Christmas. The two losses since then featured one at South Carolina, which occurred at the buzzer and another on the road at Auburn, which is one of the toughest places to play in college basketball.
Kentucky has quietly won seven straight games and 11 of its last 12 following Tuesday’s 69-60 win at Texas A&M. Barring something unforeseen, the Wildcats are going to win the SEC regular season title and be a heavy favorite in the SEC Tournament.
Sophomore guard Immanuel Quickley has emerged as the favorite for SEC Player of the Year, forming a dynamic perimeter with fellow sophomore Ashton Hagans and freshman Tyrese Maxey. The rim protection has also been elite for this team with junior big man Nick Richards anchoring things in the middle. Richards has blocked multiple shots in four of his last five games.
John Calipari has always gotten his teams to be better as the season progresses, but this year his team has gotten better in the shadows of the sport despite being a blue-blood program.
Kentucky may not be seeded as high as some of the other teams mentioned above because of the early season defeats it had to Evansville and Utah, but in a season defined by parity, seeds may be more meaningless in this NCAA Tournament than ever before.
The Wildcats are hiding right in front of America.
Bobby Hurley is doing historic things at Arizona State
College basketball’s feistiest head coach made history a year ago when he led the Sun Devils to back-to-back NCAA Tournament appearances for the first time since the early 1980s.
Now he’s trying to lead Arizona State to at least a share of its conference regular season title for the first time since the 1974-75 season. The Sun Devils currently lead Oregon by a half game in the Pac-12 standings and will travel to Los Angeles to play UCLA and USC this weekend.
“We’ve got three guards playing a very high level right now,” Hurley said in reference to Remy Martin, Rob Edwards, and Alonzo Verge, who are averaging a combined 44.6 points. “When I see those three out there right now, it reminds me of the trio we had a few years ago with Tra Holder, Shannon Evans, and Kodi Justice. That trio was the group that kind of put us on the map.”
Arizona State opened the field of 68 in the First Four during each of the past two seasons, but this group appears more likely to stay off the bubble and have a chance to advance in the bracket.
Veteran big man Romello White is currently tied for first in the Pac-12 in rebounding (9.2) while versatile forward Mickey Mitchell has been the perfect utility piece for the Sun Devils. After battling injuries for the past few years, Mitchell’s ability to rebound, pass, and move the ball have been a major asset in Tempe.
“It helps to have someone out there who doesn’t need the ball to have an impact,” Hurley said of Mitchell.
Arizona State has won seven straight games and is 19-8 overall entering Thursday night’s game at UCLA.
Florida State has separated itself in the ACC
What a difference a few days makes.
On the heels of Florida State’s comeback win over Louisville on Monday and Duke’s double-overtime loss at Wake Forest on Tuesday, the Seminoles now control their own destiny in the ACC.
Why is that so important?
If Florida State can follow up an ACC regular season title with a strong showing at the ACC Tournament, it would then be in position to usurp Duke as a likely two seed in the NCAA Tournament’s East Region. That would mean that the Blue Devils would likely have to go and play in the West Region instead of a quick trip to New York to play at Madison Square Garden for the Sweet 16 and potentially, the Elite Eight as well.
The Seminoles have been to the second weekend of the NCAA Tournament in each of the past two seasons.
“You just want to have all hands on deck,” Florida State head coach Leonard Hamilton said last week. “We made the Sweet 16 last year, but we didn’t have Phil Cofer against Gonzaga because of the death of his father and we didn’t have David Nichols because he was injured. Nothing that we’re about to see is going to be any different than anything we’ve already seen.”
Florida State is 24-4 overall and will take on Clemson and Notre Dame in back-to-back road games before closing out the regular season at home against Boston College.
This and That:
– Marquette’s Markus Howard became the Big East’s all-time leading scorer last week, but he’s still got his sights set on bigger things. This includes postseason success and a run in the NCAA Tournament. “It’s why I came back to school,” Howard said on Tuesday. “The loss last year to Murray State in the NCAA Tournament has been in the back of our minds since the start of this year. We want to do big things in March.” The 5-11 senior is currently leading the nation in scoring, averaging 27.1 points. The Golden Eagles are 17-9 overall and return to action on Wednesday night against Georgetown.
– Need another reason to like Florida State? Trent Forrest — the Seminoles’ starting point guard — has a 6-3 record in NCAA Tournament games during his career. It never hurts to have a senior floor general with that type of postseason seasoning.
– Texas is showing a pulse despite having a large portion of its roster inactive due to injury. The Longhorns have now won three straight games by double-figures and could get back into the NCAA Tournament picture if it can win on Saturday against Texas Tech in Lubbock. Shaka Smart’s squad is 17-11 overall and 7-8 in Big 12 play.
– One interesting thing to keep in my mind for the NCAA Tournament? There’s a legitimate chance that three teams from the West Coast Conference — Gonzaga, BYU, and Saint Mary’s — will all advance to at least the second round of the field of 68. Kudos to this league for going to 16 conference games and giving its teams the scheduling flexibility needed to put together quality games in November and December. If you’re not a power conference, you shouldn’t act like a power conference.
– Tyger Campbell had 11 assists to just one turnover in UCLA’s win at Colorado last Saturday, but he started to show his value much sooner than that. The redshirt freshman has a combined 21 assists to just seven turnovers over his last three games and has scored in double figures six of his last seven tilts. “He’s been our maestro,” UCLA head coach Mick Cronin said of the 5-11 Campbell, who sat out last season after tearing his ACL. The Bruins are currently 17-11 overall.
– Wisconsin has the potential to win multiple games in the NCAA Tournament if it continues to shoot the basketball like it has recently. The Badgers are a combined 38-84 from three-point range in their last three games and have quietly won four straight. Greg Gard’s squad next travels to Michigan on Thursday.
– Vermont’s two-point home loss to UMBC last Saturday could wind up being a blessing in disguise. The Catamounts were on a 12-game winning streak prior to the defeat and this should allow them to get refocused for the postseason. “It’s a wake up call,” Vermont head coach John Becker said. “Now we know that we’ve got a few weeks left to get ready for when everything is on the line.” There are not many pressures in college basketball that are greater than being a heavy favorite in a mid-major conference tournament. That’s what Becker and several other mid-major head coaches are going to undertake in the next few weeks.
– One big thing that’s contributed to West Virginia losing five of its last six games? Ball security. The Mountaineers have 348 total assists as a team this season to 413 total turnovers. Yikes!
Games to Watch:
Wednesday: Rutgers at Penn State, Maryland at Minnesota, LSU at Florida
Thursday: Wisconsin at Michigan, Indiana at Purdue, Arizona at USC, Arizona State at UCLA
