1:02 pm | March 2, 2019 | Go to Source | Author:
After the first head-to-head meeting two weeks ago in Lexington, Kentucky simply looked like a better team than Tennessee. More athletic, better defensively — and surprisingly, tougher. The Wildcats won by 17 points.
Forty minutes after tipoff in Knoxville on Saturday, and Tennessee suddenly has a two-point advantage over 80 head-to-head minutes. The Volunteers returned the favor against Kentucky on Saturday afternoon, jumping out early en route to a 71-52 win.
So what changed?
In the first meeting, Ashton Hagans essentially played Jordan Bone to a standstill. Bone, arguably the best point guard in the SEC, dominated the second matchup. He had 27 points, including five 3-pointers, along with three assists and two steals. Hagans, an elite on-ball defender, struggled to contain Bone and got nothing going offensively.
Keldon Johnson and Tyler Herro provided consistent perimeter production the first time around as well. They combined for 34 points in Lexington — but just 12 points on 4-for-20 shooting in Knoxville.
Up front, PJ Washington was a dominant force in Lexington. He had 23 points against Tennessee’s vaunted frontline and was unstoppable for stretches. On Saturday, he struggled early and could never establish a rhythm against the Volunteers’ big men.
Perhaps most importantly, Kentucky had Reid Travis two weeks ago. The Stanford graduate transfer hasn’t been the double-double machine he was in the Pac-12, but his size and toughness created issues for Tennessee star Grant Williams. He’s missed the last three games with an injury, and his absence was noticeable. Kentucky controlled the paint in the first meeting, but that wasn’t the case on Saturday. Williams went for 24 points and Tennessee did whatever it wanted around the rim while the game was still in doubt.
It was a toughness thing for Tennessee on Saturday. One of the elite defensive teams last season, the Volunteers have been carried mostly by their offense this season. But they came to play against Kentucky, holding the Wildcats to just six field goals in the first half — not a single Kentucky player made more than one shot in the first 20 minutes — and 31.8 percent shooting for the game. The Wildcats couldn’t get any consistency on the offensive end, and much of the credit goes to Tennessee for coming alive defensively.
Going into the day, Kentucky had the inside track to a 1-seed in the NCAA tournament and would’ve tied for the lead in the SEC standings with a win. Forty minutes later, that 1-seed is entirely up for grabs and LSU and Tennessee are atop the SEC.
Maybe we can settle the Tennessee-Kentucky debate with a third meeting in Nashville in a couple weeks?
1. Virginia Cavaliers (26-2)
Previous ranking: 2
This week: Beat Georgia Tech 81-51 on Wednesday, beat Pittsburgh 73-49 on Saturday
Virginia had one of its more comfortable weeks of the season after ascending to the No. 1 spot in the power rankings, following up its blowout win of Georgia Tech with another dominant performance against Pittsburgh. The Cavaliers found their collective perimeter stroke, going 18-for-33 from 3-point range in the two wins. They also allowed just 100 points on a combined 120 possessions.
2. Gonzaga Bulldogs (28-2)
Previous ranking: 3
This week: Beat Pacific 86-66 on Thursday, at Saint Mary’s (Saturday)
Gonzaga hasn’t had to get into top gear since December, but the Bulldogs face arguably their toughest test of the West Coast Conference season on Saturday, when they head to Moraga for a road showdown against conference rival Saint Mary’s. The Gaels aren’t as good as they’ve been in recent years, but they’ve won four in a row, and McKeon Pavilion should be rocking for the season finale.
3. Duke Blue Devils (24-4)
Previous ranking: 1
This week: Lost to Virginia Tech 77-72 on Tuesday, vs. Miami (Saturday)
In its three games since Zion Williamson was hurt, Duke has been outscored 230-219. RJ Barrett has scored 84 of those 219 points, and is too often looked at to provide all the offense. Tre Jones is 6-for-32 (3-for-17 from 3-point range) in those three games, and Cam Reddish is 18-for-47. Moreover, Duke has allowed at least one point per possession in two of those three games — after doing it eight times in the first 25 games of the season.
4. Kentucky Wildcats (24-5)
Previous ranking: 4
This week: Beat Arkansas 70-66 on Tuesday, lost at Tennessee 71-52 on Saturday
Nothing went right for Kentucky on Saturday, but it was the first truly poor performance for the Wildcats since the opening night of the season. The three losses since the blowout to Duke were by a combined five points. Kentucky still has a chance at a share of the SEC title as LSU still has to go to Florida and Tennessee still faces Mississippi State and Auburn. But John Calipari will have to hope Reid Travis is back sooner rather than later.
5. North Carolina Tar Heels (23-5)
Previous ranking: 5
This week: Beat Syracuse 93-85 on Tuesday, at Clemson (Saturday)
Coby White had been in a bit of a slump over the past three games, totaling 29 points on 37 shots. He certainly snapped out of it on Tuesday, though, going for 34 points on 14 shots, making six 3-pointers. The Tar Heels needed White, as Luke Maye wasn’t hitting. Nassir Little made an impact off the bench with 11 points and six rebounds in 21 minutes.
6. Tennessee Volunteers (25-3)
Previous ranking: 6
This week: Beat Ole Miss 73-71 on Wednesday, beat Kentucky 71-52 on Saturday
Saturday was a really impressive response from Tennessee, not only because the Volunteers lost by 17 in the first meeting in Lexington, but because Rick Barnes’ team just hasn’t looked itself the last couple weeks. They lost at a Tremont Waters-less and needed a late bucket to beat Ole Miss on Wednesday. This one should right the ship — and if it does, it will be on the defensive end of the floor. Efficiency-wise, that was the Volunteers’ best defensive performance against a tournament team all season.
7. Michigan State Spartans (23-6)
Previous ranking: 9
This week: Lost at Indiana 63-62 on Saturday
Michigan State lost to Indiana on Saturday, the second time this season the Hoosiers have knocked off the Spartans. While the counting numbers — only allowing 63 points — don’t look bad, Michigan State gave up more than one point per possession for the second game in a row and for the fifth time in nine games. The lack of consistent offensive weapons without Nick Ward and Joshua Langford also popped up late in the game, where the Spartans looked almost exclusively to Cassius Winston to create something.
8. Michigan Wolverines (25-4)
Previous ranking: 7
This week: Beat Nebraska 82-53 on Thursday, at Maryland (Sunday)
Despite Charles Matthews sitting out Thursday night’s game, Michigan posted its largest victory margin of the season, hammering Nebraska by 29. Isaiah Livers filled in admirably and Jon Teske went for 22 points and 10 boards. Matthews’ recovery timeline will be worth monitoring. He was wearing a walking boot on Thursday, but the school would only say it’s a sprain and he’s day-to-day. Matthews is one of the better two-way players in the Big Ten.
9. Houston Cougars (27-1)
Previous ranking: 8
This week: Beat East Carolina 99-65 on Wednesday, vs. UCF (Saturday)
Houston won its 12th game in a row on Wednesday and now has preseason AAC favorite UCF (and College GameDay) coming to town. Corey Davis Jr. is on fire heading down the stretch of the season. After shooting 12-of-20 from 3-point range in his last two games, Davis went for 26 points against East Carolina, shooting 6-of-11 from behind the arc.
10. Texas Tech Red Raiders (23-5)
Previous ranking: 10
This week: Beat Oklahoma State 84-80 on Wednesday, at TCU (Saturday)
Texas Tech blew a 10-point halftime lead to Lindy Waters‘ shooting and Oklahoma State forced overtime — but the Red Raiders pulled out a win in the extra session. Tariq Owens hit double-figures for the fourth game in a row after doing that just eight times all season, while Davide Moretti went 12-of-12 from the free throw line to bring his season numbers to 78-of-84 (92.9 percent). He made 32-of-33 in the month of February.
11. LSU Tigers (24-5)
Previous ranking: 11
This week: Beat Texas A&M 66-55 on Tuesday, beat Alabama 74-69 on Saturday
Tremont Waters returned for LSU on Saturday, but it was Ja’Vonte Smart who handled most of the playmaking duties once again. In the three games since Waters got hurt — including Saturday — Smart has averaged 21.7 points, 4.3 rebounds and 4.0 assists. The freshman guard had been somewhat inconsistent in SEC play, but his emergence has made LSU even more balanced and dangerous offensively.
12. Purdue Boilermakers (22-7)
Previous ranking: 13
This week: Beat Illinois 73-56 on Wednesday, beat Ohio State 86-51 on Saturday
Facing a depleted Ohio State team without Kaleb Wesson, Purdue made sure the Buckeyes never had a chance. Carsen Edwards‘ slump seems to be in the rearview mirror, as the All-American guard has now totaled 48 points on 17-for-30 shooting in the last two games, including 6-for-13 from 3-point range. On Saturday, he had just one turnover too. When Edwards is filling it up efficiently, the Boilermakers play at a different level.
13. Marquette Golden Eagles (23-5)
Previous ranking: 12
This week: Lost to Villanova 67-61 on Wednesday, vs. Creighton (Sunday)
Marquette had a chance to secure the Big East title on Wednesday night, but the Golden Eagles went cold down the stretch and lost to Villanova. They didn’t make a shot for the final five-plus minutes and the Wildcats closed the game on a 12-1 run. Markus Howard had 25 points but seemed to be holding his wrist toward the end of the game. Marquette still has a one-game lead in the loss column and should be favored in each of its final three games.
14. Kansas Jayhawks (22-7)
Previous ranking: 14
This week: beat Kansas State 64-49 on Monday, beat Oklahoma State 72-67 on Saturday
Continuing The Streak remains a possibility, as the Jayhawks escaped Gallagher-Iba Arena with a close win over Oklahoma State. They have now won five of six since losing at Kansas State in early February. One positive over the past two games has been the play of Quentin Grimes, who had essentially disappeared as an offensive weapon in Big 12 play. The five-star freshman totaled 29 points and shot 7-for-13 from 3-point range in the last two games.
15. Nevada Wolf Pack (26-2)
Previous ranking: 15
This week: beat UNLV 89-73 on Wednesday, at Utah State (Saturday)
Jordan Caroline and Caleb and Cody Martin combined for 67 points in Wednesday’s win over in-state rival UNLV, but Saturday brings perhaps the toughest game of the season for the Wolf Pack. A trip to Utah State will be Nevada’s first Quadrant 1 game of the season, and a loss there could really impact its seeding come Selection Sunday. The Aggies will be desperate as their at-large hopes essentially hinge on that game. Nevada won the first meeting by 23 points in Reno.
16. Virginia Tech Hokies (22-6)
Previous ranking: Unranked
This week: Beat Duke 77-72 on Tuesday
Welcome back to the rankings, Hokies. They sneak into the No. 16 spot thanks to Maryland getting blown out by Penn State less than 24 hours after replacing Wisconsin in the rankings. Most of Virginia Tech’s momentum comes as a result of the Hokies’ victory over Duke on Tuesday, but they have also won four of their last five after losing four of eight in January and early February. They’re still waiting for the return of Justin Robinson, though.
Dropped out: Maryland (No. 16)
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