Lots of action today. We start off with UNC playing Northern Iowa in the quarter-finals of the Bad Boy Mowers Battle 4 Atlantis.
After last night's games, the Top 10 on Ken Pom looks like this:
1. Purdue: 5-0
2. Houston: 6-0
3. Connecticut: 5-0
4. Arizona: 5-0
5. Alabama: 4-0
6. Marquette: 5-0
7. Tennessee: 4-1
8. Gonzaga: 3-1
9. Kansas: 4-1
10. Creighton: 4-0
The Kentucky Wildcats are at number 18, and are still projected to go 11-7 in the SEC, and 21-10 overall. The Cats' next game is on Friday night, at home, against Marshall. K-Pom has the Cats winning that one, 88 to 68.
On this day in 1978, WKRP, a radio station in Cincinnati, had its first annual Turkey Drop.
ReplyDeleteLast night, Marquette beat the number-1 team in the AP Poll: Kansas. Tonight, they play the number-2 team in the poll: Purdue. No team has played the 1 and 2 teams on back-to-back nights since Loyola of Chicago played UCLA and Marquette back in 1972.
ReplyDeleteLoyola played UCLA on Friday, January 28, 1972 in Chicago Stadium. The Bruins played Notre Dame at Notre Dame the next day, Saturday, January 29 and apparently Coach Wooden decided to slot in an extra game in Chicago the day before the Notre Dame game. UCLA beat Loyola 92-64 on its way to a perfect season. The next day, Saturday, January 29, Loyola hosted Marquette at tiny Alumni Gym. Marquette, who was undefeated and ranked number 2 in the country, beat Loyola 69-67. The Marquette Warriors were 24-2 going into the 1972 NCAA Tournament, but lost to Kentucky 85-69 in the regional semifinals. That turned out to be the last game Adolph Rupp ever won as a coach.
ReplyDeleteAppalachian St. beats Murray State 67-57. UNC beats Northern Iowa 91-69.
ReplyDeleteNow we have Tennessee and KU, who tipped off at 9:30 AM Hawaii time. I'm very happy that one of these teams will lose two games in a row.
ReplyDeleteKansas 12 - 11 Tennessee (11:24 left in 1st half)
ReplyDeleteKansas 39 - 40 Tennessee (18:11 left in game)
ReplyDeleteKansas 44 - 42 Tennessee (15:39 left)
ReplyDeleteNot looking good for the Vols. KU doesn't usually lose close games. You have to kill them, like Marquette did last night.
ESPN shows Zach Edey getting off the bus, and he's wearing an Expos hat.
ReplyDeleteKansas 49 - 49 Tennessee (11:41 left). I'm not making fun of this game, which is being played at a very high level. Both UT and KU are playing much better than they did yesterday.
ReplyDeleteKansas 57 - 53 Tennessee (7:38 left)
ReplyDeleteKansas 65 - 55 Tennessee (4:12 left)
ReplyDeleteTennessee has enough pace, but not enough quality, to keep up with Kansas. UT is 8-26 from 3-point range, and 12-35 from 2-point range. That's just not good enough.
KU rolls, 69 to 60, and completes the UK/UT sweep. I don't think anyone who plays for KU, or any KU fans, will conclude that UT is a tougher opponent than UK.
ReplyDeleteDown in the Bahamas, Villanova just beat UNC 83-81 in overtime. That's probably the best game I've seen all year.
ReplyDeleteI loved the UK-Marshall game. That is exactly the kind of UK game I want to watch the day after Thanksgiving.
ReplyDeleteKentucky beat Marshall 118-82, scoring the most points the Wildcats have scored in any game since Cal became the coach. They scored 69 points in the first half, which was a Rupp Arena record. It was a lot of fun to watch.
DeleteUK now at number 17 on Ken Pom. They are ranked 6th in the nation in offensive efficiency, and 65th in defensive efficiency. Eric is right about the Marshall game -- that was a joy from beginning to end.
ReplyDeleteKen Pom now has the Cats going 11-7 in the SEC, and 22-9 overall.
ReplyDeleteKen Pom lists UK as an underdog in the following games:
ReplyDelete12/16: N. Carolina (Atlanta)
1/6: at Florida
1/13: at Texas A & M
2/17: at Auburn
2/27: at Mississippi St.
3/9: at Tennessee
Through six games, the Cats are averaging 94.3 points per game.
ReplyDelete