6:02 pm | January 29, 2019 | Go to Source | Author:
Here comes the inevitable question that seems to pop up at least once every season: Is this the year Kansas’ Big 12 streak comes to an end?
The Jayhawks suffered their third loss in four games on Tuesday, falling by 10 at Texas in a game that was closer than the score indicated — but perhaps uglier than Kansas’ margin of defeat showed. Kansas simply wasn’t good. The only reason the game was that close was because of freshman Ochai Agbaji, who started for the slumping Lagerald Vick and finished with 24 points and seven rebounds. Dedric Lawson was invisible in the first half, and Vick struggled once again to get open outside of a couple second-half 3s.
Had Texas made better decisions in the first half, the Longhorns could have run Kansas out of Austin in the first 20 minutes.
Back to the original question. In a vacuum, is Kansas consistently good enough to win its 15th straight Big 12 title? Probably not. But we’re not in a vacuum.
And here’s the thing: No one else in the Big 12 has been consistently good enough so far to be considered the favorite to knock Kansas off its pedestal. Texas Tech looked the part early, but the Red Raiders have been the second-worst offensive team in the league in Big 12 play. Iowa State has shown the ability, but the Cyclones have also suffered some surprising losses. Baylor and Kansas State have surprised in Big 12 play. TCU was just waxed by Texas Tech.
Where does that leave us? For now, Kansas is struggling mightily … but the Jayhawks still might be the Big 12 favorites moving forward.
Sunday: Purdue’s a Big Ten (and national) contender again
The Big Ten has been an absolute gauntlet so far this season, with upward of 10 teams able to call themselves realistic contenders for an NCAA tournament berth at various times in the past couple of months. Eight teams are ranked among the top 31 in ESPN’s Basketball Power Index, with 10 in the top 50. It’s the same at KenPom.
As a result, it’s hard to figure out which team is real and which isn’t — and it has led to a “flavor of the week” feel outside of Michigan and Michigan State. One team, despite its ups and downs, that the metrics have maintained an affinity for is Purdue. The Boilermakers started the season just 6-5 but never dipped outside the top 20 at KenPom. Heading into Sunday’s 10-point win over Michigan State, they were No. 8 at KenPom and No. 10 in the BPI.
It turns out the metrics were right. Purdue has won five in a row and eight of its past nine, moving to 7-2 in the Big Ten. Carsen Edwards is an All-American in the backcourt, but the Boilermakers proved they can win without a huge game from him against the Spartans. They’re an elite offensive unit, with several shooters surrounding Edwards and emerging big men in Trevion Williams and Matt Haarms.
The skeptic will say that we went through this with Wisconsin and Ohio State and Nebraska and Maryland at different points so far this season — all have had a claim as the Big Ten’s third-best team. But Purdue seems different, and its schedule could help immensely moving forward. The Boilermakers don’t play Michigan, Michigan State or Wisconsin again this season. In fact, their toughest remaining games in the regular season are on the road vs. a Maryland team that just lost by double digits to Illinois and at Nebraska, a team that just lost Isaac Copeland for the season.
Will there be slip-ups along the way? Of course. The Big Ten has been entirely unpredictable this season. But Matt Painter has this team getting better as the season progresses, and the schedule is opening up for that run to continue moving forward.
1. Tennessee Volunteers (19-1)
Previous ranking: 1
This week: Beat South Carolina 92-70 on Tuesday, at Texas A&M (Saturday)
Jordan Bowden was a late scratch due to a slight knee injury, but that isn’t expected to be an issue moving forward. It also wasn’t much of an issue on Tuesday. Grant Williams was terrific, with 23 points and nine rebounds, and Lamonte Turner continued to provide a boost from the perimeter. He hit three 3-pointers, marking the sixth time in seven games that he has hit multiple 3s.
2. Duke Blue Devils (18-2)
Previous ranking: 2
This week: Beat Notre Dame 83-61 on Monday, vs. St. John’s (Saturday)
Duke had one of its best offensive performances of the season on Monday, scoring 1.34 points per possession — the Blue Devils’ best effort since a win over Princeton in mid-December. The biggest key? Duke made 10 3-pointers and shot 52.6 percent from behind the arc. It was the first time all season that the Blue Devils made more than half their 3-point attempts.
3. Virginia Cavaliers (19-1)
Previous ranking: 3
This week: Beat NC State 66-65 in OT on Tuesday, vs. Miami (Saturday)
That was a really ugly game for Virginia, from turning it over 16 times to a blown lead late in regulation to De’Andre Hunter‘s fouling Markell Johnson on his potential game-tying 3-point attempt with less than one second remaining. But the Cavaliers eked out a one-point win on the road, and now they get one more tune-up (Saturday vs. Miami) before round two against Duke.
4. Michigan Wolverines (19-1)
Previous ranking: 4
This week: vs. Ohio State (Tuesday), at Iowa (Friday)
While Zavier Simpson gets most of the defensive credit, Charles Matthews has proved himself as one of the elite defenders in the country, holding Romeo Langford to 3-for-12 shooting on Friday — one game after limiting Amir Coffey to 11 points on 4-for-11 shooting. Matthews is versatile, he’s got a very good frame and he’s athletic. With Simpson at the point, Matthews on the wing and Jon Teske down low, those are three elite individual defenders.
5. Gonzaga Bulldogs (19-2)
Previous ranking: 5
This week: at BYU (Thursday), vs. San Diego (Saturday)
Gonzaga is set to begin arguably its most difficult remaining stretch of the season — even though three of its next four games are at home. It starts with a road trip to BYU on Thursday, followed by home tilts against San Diego, San Francisco and Saint Mary’s. The Bulldogs will be favored in each game by double figures, but we take the potential drama where we can get it in the WCC.
6. Michigan State Spartans (18-3)
Previous ranking: 6
This week: vs. Indiana (Saturday)
After looking like a 1-seed and arguably the hottest team in college basketball, Michigan State’s 13-game winning streak came to an abrupt halt on Sunday at Purdue. The Spartans were held below one point per possession for the first time all season, and also had their worst defensive performance of the campaign. It could have been the fact that it was their third game of the week, but still, a surprising effort.
7. Kentucky Wildcats (16-3)
Previous ranking: 7
This week: at Vanderbilt (Tuesday), at Florida (Saturday)
With Michigan State losing, does Kentucky take the new mantle as hottest team in the country? The Wildcats are really starting to figure it out, and John Calipari has clearly settled on his go-to lineup. In fact, Kentucky didn’t get a single bench point against Kansas on Saturday. Nick Richards did block five shots in nine minutes, but the Wildcats have clearly defined roles at this point.
8. North Carolina Tar Heels (16-4)
Previous ranking: 9
This week: Beat Georgia Tech 77-54 on Tuesday, at Louisville (Saturday)
North Carolina now gets a chance to enact revenge on Louisville for the Cardinals’ 21-point win earlier this month in Chapel Hill. One of the biggest issues with the Tar Heels that day was their 3-for-22 effort from behind the arc. Since then, Carolina has shot 47-for-102 from 3-point range (46.1 percent). That number includes 29 3-pointers the past two games against Virginia Tech and Georgia Tech.
9. Nevada Wolf Pack (19-1)
Previous ranking: 10
This week: at UNLV (Tuesday), vs. Boise State (Saturday)
Nevada will look to build on its high-level performance from last week’s Colorado State win. The Wolf Pack’s in-state rivalry game takes place on Tuesday, as they travel to Las Vegas to play the Runnin’ Rebels. UNLV beat them once last season, although that took place in Reno. Nevada won the game in Vegas by 26 points. Corey Henson should be back for the Wolf Pack.
10. Houston Cougars (20-1)
Previous ranking: 11
This week: vs. Temple (Thursday)
Houston became the first Division I team to hit the 20-win mark on Sunday, beating Tulsa on the road. The Cougars now have a fairly tough four-game stretch: vs. Temple, at UCF, vs. Cincinnati and at UConn. Temple blew a lead at home to Cincinnati on Sunday, and looked like a tougher out earlier in the month. But Houston could cruise for a while with one loss if it gets out of this stretch.
11. Kansas Jayhawks (16-5)
Previous ranking: 8
This week: Lost to Texas 73-63 on Tuesday, vs. Texas Tech (Saturday)
As it stands, the Jayhawks are going to be an interesting seeding argument. Kansas isn’t very good right now and has five losses with a middling 5-3 mark in Big 12 play. But the Jayhawks still have the No. 1 overall Strength of Schedule, the No. 1 nonconference Strength of Schedule and eight wins against Quadrant 1 opponents — tied for the most Q1 wins in the country.
12. Virginia Tech Hokies (16-3)
Previous ranking: 12
This week: at Miami (Wednesday), at NC State (Saturday)
All three of Virginia Tech’s losses this season have taken place on the road: at Penn State, at Virginia and at North Carolina. The Hokies have won only one true road game, and that was at Georgia Tech by three points in a dreadful 52-49 affair. The significance of that is Buzz Williams’ team now heads to the road to face Miami and NC State. Both teams have struggled lately, so the Hokies will hope to pick up some road wins.
13. Marquette Golden Eagles (18-3)
Previous ranking: 13
This week: at Butler (Wednesday)
A key three-game stretch awaits Marquette: at Butler, vs. St. John’s, vs. Villanova. The Golden Eagles are still behind Villanova in the standings, but they can stay on their heels — and eventually pass them — with a 3-0 run. If Steve Wojciechowski can get Marquette back to playing defense like it was prior to Saturday’s win, while shooting like it did on Saturday, Marquette could be the Big East title favorite.
14. Louisville Cardinals (15-5)
Previous ranking: 14
This week: at Wake Forest (Wednesday), vs. North Carolina (Saturday)
After playing just 13 minutes and scoring six points in the ACC opener against Miami, Steven Enoch has become a major factor for Chris Mack and the Cardinals. He has scored in double figures in five of his past six games, including 12 points and 11 rebounds against Pittsburgh on Saturday. Enoch dominated at times in the preseason, and would add a different dimension for Louisville if he continues to produce.
15. Purdue Boilermakers (14-6)
Previous ranking: unranked
This week: at Penn State (Thursday), vs. Minnesota (Sunday)
Had you said that Purdue would beat Michigan State by double-digits despite Carsen Edwards shooting 4-for-19 from the field, most people would have thought you were crazy. But that’s what Matt Painter’s team did on Sunday. Five players scored in double figures, including 7-foot-3 Matt Haarms, who is now averaging 10.3 points, 6.3 rebounds and 2.0 blocks in his past three games.
16. Iowa State Cyclones (15-5)
Previous ranking: No. 16
This week: vs. West Virginia (Wednesday), vs. Texas (Saturday)
Iowa State has been difficult to predict since the start of Big 12 play. The Cyclones beat Kansas by 17, won at Texas Tech, dominated Ole Miss on the road — while also losing to Baylor and at home to Kansas State. But if the Cyclones can gain some consistency, they can start to get some momentum in Big 12 play. They’re home for three of their next four games.
Dropped out: Buffalo (No. 15)
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