2. Auburn: 25-2
4. Florida: 24-3
5. Tennessee: 22-5
6. Alabama: 22-5
16. Kentucky: 18-9
22. Mississippi: 19-8
29. Mississippi St: 19-8
43. Vanderbilt: 18-9
45. Georgia: 16-11
80. Louisiana St: 14-13
Rick Pitino's St. John's team (24-4) crushed UConn 89-75 in Madison Square Garden, and the Johnnies are up to number 13 on Ken Pom.
Arkansas (16-11) beat Mizzou 92-85 on Saturday, and the Razorbacks are squarely on the bubble -- ranked 36 on Ken Pom. When February began, Arkansas was ranked 61.
Louisville (21-6) has gone 15-1 since losing to UK, and the Cards are up to 23 on Ken Pom.
Duke (24-3) blasted Illinois 110 to 67 in New York on Saturday. The Blue Devils are second in the country in offensive efficiency (128.6) and 4th in defensive efficiency (90.5). The gap between those two numbers (38.13) is the largest for any team in Ken Pom's database, going all the way back to 1997. The Dukies will be a very tough out in the NCAA's. But four other teams -- Auburn (35.91), Houston (35.16), Florida (34.15), and Tennessee (31.55) -- also have gaps greater than 30. It's unusual to have that many teams with a gap of plus 30 in the same season -- the last time it happened was in 2019, and the last time before that was 2015 (when there were six such teams). It is no coincidence that 2015 and 2019 were two of the most dramatic tournaments in recent history. I am really starting to get excited about this year's tournament.
Huge win for the Cats on Wednesday, as they beat Oklahoma 83-82 on a late shot by Otega Oweh. Cats are now 15 on Ken Pom (6th in offense, 61st in defense, 216th in luck).
ReplyDeleteHere's how Ken Pom ranks UK's teams since 2019:
ReplyDelete2022: 6 (26-8, lost in 1st round to St. Peter's)
2025: 15 (19-9 against the hardest schedule UK has ever played)
2024: 23 (23-10, lost in 1st round to Oakland)
2023: 27 (22-12, lost in 2d round to Kansas St.)
2020: 29 (25-6, tournament cancelled)
2021: 49 (9-16, no post-season play)
Here are UK's luck rankings since 2019. As you will see, the Cats are on pace to have a worse record than their scoring average would indicate for the fifth year in a row. That is hard to believe.
ReplyDelete2020: 138
2025: 216
2023: 239
2022: 279
2024: 286
2021: 354
Auburn rolls into Rupp Arena and shows the UK fans what a National Contender really looks like, crushing the Cats 94 to 78. The folks at Lexington have long made clear that they would never give the UK job to Bruce Pearl, and today (once again) he made them pay.
ReplyDeleteCats fall to 18 on Ken Pom, and will probably fall out of the AP Top 20. Meanwhile, Louisville (22-6) has three easy home games left on its schedule: Pittsburgh, Cal, and Stanford. The Cards will probably sweep all three games and finish 25-6. Again, this is good news for UK fans, as it seems clear that Mitch Barnhart's only concerns are (1) having a coach that he likes personally, and (2) beating U of L. So the better U of L is, the better UK will be.
ReplyDeleteCats have two games left -- a likely win at home against LSU, and a likely loss on the road at Mizzou. So they will probably finish 20-11 overall and 9-9 in the SEC.
ReplyDeleteMeanwhile, Calipari had been moving Arkansas up in Ken Pom -- from 61 on February to 36 this morning. The Razorbacks went 5-3 in February, were 17-11 on the year and 6-9 in the SEC. They had a great opportunity for another win today at South Carolina, which was 1-14 in conference play. But as UK fans know, the Gamecocks have long been Cal's nemesis, and today they crushed Arkansas 72 to 53. Arkansas went 3-22 from 3-point range, and were down 66-31 with 6:03 left in the game. It was an utter beatdown. Arkansas falls to 45 on Ken Pom, and they are now squarely on the bubble.
ReplyDeleteTexas Tech rolls into Lawrence, Kansas and beats the Jayhawks 78 to 73. Kansas is down to 21 on Ken Pom, and they have the same 19-10 record as the Cats.
ReplyDeleteNow Alabama (23-5) is at Tennessee (23-5). The Vols lead 20-19 after 10 minutes.
ReplyDeleteAuburn went 12-26 from three-point range, and UK went 4-17 from behind the arc. But at least Mitch Barnhart doesn't have to work with a coach he doesn't like.
ReplyDeleteJaxson Robinson will have surgery on his wrist next week, so he is finished for the year.
ReplyDelete
ReplyDeleteWith 17:46 left in the game, Alabama leads Tennessee 42 to 41.
Alabama leads 49-45 with 15:48 left.
ReplyDeleteWith 12:45 left, Alabama leads 56 to 50, and it's time for a video review. That's SEC basketball for you.
ReplyDeleteWith 6:31 left, Zakai Zeigler banks in a three-pointer to tie the game at 66. It is hard to beat UT in Knoxville.
ReplyDeleteSt. John's beats Seton Hall 71 to 61, and the Johnnies (26-4) win the outright Big East Regular Season title for the first time since 1985.
ReplyDeleteIn 2 minutes and 16 seconds of play, each team gets one basket. Alabama and Tennessee are tied at 68, and this is very much a Rick Barnes-style game.
ReplyDeleteThere are 3 minutes and 59 seconds left, UT leads 70 to 68, and Grant Nelson (one of Alabama's best players) is in agony on the floor, as he appears to have suffered a major injury. Welcome to Knoxville.
ReplyDeleteNelson comes off the floor and makes two free throws. We're tied at 70 with 3:59 left. Vols on a 17-8 run.
ReplyDeleteWith two minutes left, Mark Sears makes a 3-pointer to put Alabama up 73-70.
ReplyDeleteZiglar makes two FT's at the other end, and Alabama leads 73-72 with 1:47 left.
ReplyDeleteAlabama misses, but then the Tide steals the ball from Ziglar (who is trying to do everything himself) and they get a layup at the other end. Alabama leads 75-72 with 1:05 left. Barnes calls time.
ReplyDeleteDown 76 to 74 with 30 seconds left, UT misses a free throw, but UT is fouled going for the rebound, and so the Vols get two more FT's. They make both of them, and we are tied at 76 with 30 seconds to go.
ReplyDeleteAlabama holds for the last shot, and then drives into the lane. That was never going to work, and UT ties up the driver. It's a held ball, with the arrow pointing to Alabama. There are 2.6 seconds left. Alabama wanted a foul, but that was never happening in Knoxville.
ReplyDeleteAlabama can't get the ball in -- five second call. UT has the ball. It's still tied at 76, and they have put 3.8 seconds on the clock. Alabama had the ball for the last shot, and never took a shot.
ReplyDeleteJahmai Mashack dribbles the ball up the court, and shoots a 35-footer at the buzzer for the win. It was good all the way, and the Vols win 79 to 76.
ReplyDeleteWith 36 seconds left, Alabama led this game 76 to 72. Within six seconds, UT had a basket and two free throws to tie the game at 76. Twenty-seven seconds later, UT got a held ball. Then UT got a five-second count. And then UT walked it off with a 35-footer at the buzzer. Welcome to Knoxville.
ReplyDeleteNow that I'm a U of L fan, I'm going to watch my Cards take on Pittsburgh at the Yum! Center. The Ville leads 21 to 19 with 6:13 left in the first half.
ReplyDeleteLouisville is 22-6 overall and 15-2 in the ACC. Pitt is 16-12 overall and 7-10 in the ACC.
ReplyDeleteHere's what has been going on with U of L. Rick Pitino left after the 2017 season. After one year of David Padgett, the Ville turned to Chris Mack. He had a great team (number 9 on Ken Pom) in 2020, but his team fell apart quickly after that. After going 13-19 in 2022, he was sacked and replaced by Kenny Payne.
ReplyDeleteKenny Payne was one of the worst coaches I've ever seen. In 2023, the Ville went 4-28 and finished 290th on Ken Pom. Last year, they went 8-24 and finished 185th. In two seasons, Payne's teams went 5-35 in the ACC.
ReplyDeleteSo, Louisville fired Payne and brought in Pat Kelsey, who went 31-4 and 27-8 in his last two seasons at the College of Charleston. After 11 games, U of L was 6-5 overall and ranked 60th on Ken Pom. Since then, the Cards have gone 16-1. They are now 22-6 and 23rd on Ken Pom. If I know the U of L fans -- and I do -- they are now confident that UK is doomed and that U of L will rule the Commonwealth for the next ten years.
ReplyDeleteSpeaking of good college basketball programs from the 1970's, Maryland is now 22-7 on the year, 12-6 in conference, and ranked 14th on Ken Pom. The Terps haven't been to the Sweet 16 since 2016, but that streak could end this year.
ReplyDeleteThe Ville leads 39-33 at the half. Meanwhile, Mizzou leads Vandy 38-29 at the half in Nashville. Very disappointing from the Dores. Vandy and UK won close road games at A & M and Oklahoma during the week, and they have both looked terrible at home against better competition today.
ReplyDeleteNate Oats takes the blame for the loss in Tennessee, says he let down the players. I think that's right. If you have the ball with 30 seconds left in a tie game, you shouldn't lose to a three-pointer at the buzzer. For that matter, if you have a four-point lead with 36 seconds left, the game shouldn't be tied with 30 seconds to go. UT always fights until the last dog dies, but that's no excuse for Alabama to make so many mistakes in the last 36 seconds.
ReplyDeleteBy the way, K-Pom had UT winning this game 79 to 74. The final score was 79 to 76. He's pretty good.
DeleteHouston beats Cincinnati to wrap up the Big XII. They will probably get a number-one seed, and they will be a tough out as usual.
ReplyDeleteTo me, the biggest question for the tournament is whether they put St. John's and Duke in the same region. I think Duke and Auburn are the only teams that can beat Pitino in this tournament.
ReplyDeleteOn the other hand, Pitino is probably the only guy who can stop Duke from going to the Final Four.
ReplyDeleteAuburn fans and Louisville fans suffer a lot. But today -- with Auburn crushing Kentucky to lock up the regular season SEC title, Alabama losing a heartbreaker to Tennessee, and the Ville rolling along to another victory -- both fan bases are in great moods, as they should be.
ReplyDeleteI want to point out that Pitt is wearing the old light blue and gold colors from the Tony Dorsett era, along with the 1970's "Pitt" logo. They look great. The Cards are wearing their traditional white uniforms with red and black trim, and they also look great. The Ville leads 42-40 with 16:21 left in the game.
ReplyDeleteWith 14:05 left, Pitt leads 48-47, and the Panthers are going to the line. The U of L fans may have celebrated too early.
ReplyDeleteI want to give a shout out to whomever tweets under the name "Vandy Sixty Two." This person watches every Vandy game, in every sport, every year. Throughout all seasons, Vandy Sixty Two sends out a constant barrage of tweets, almost all of which are negative. For example, he (or she) just tweeted, "Only thing keeping Missouri in the game is free throws." To be fair, that's really upbeat for V62, who is usually much more negative than that. Anyway, I feel just as negative as V62 when I watch Vandy sports, which is why I no longer watch them. I'm amazed that anyone would voluntarily watch Vandy so often, and I'm glad V62 does it for me.
ReplyDeleteThe Ville leads Pitt 51 to 50 with 11:50 left in the game.
ReplyDeleteV62 just tweeted: "Perfect time to hit a 3 point shot." He (or she) never gives us any context -- he (or she) assumes that you are watching game. So I don't know if Vandy took the lead, stopped a run by Mizzou, or did something else. Anyway, it's good to know that V62 is happy.
ReplyDeleteLouisville 59 - 57 Pittsburgh (8:42 left in game)
ReplyDeleteV62 just tweeted: "These refs are horrible @GregSankey They are helping Missouri to win." So that's not a good sign. Meanwhile, Vandy's baseball team just lost 3-1 at Southern Cal.
ReplyDeleteLouisville 59 - 62 Pittsburgh (7:30 left in game)
ReplyDeleteSomewhere in Fayette County, Mitch Barnhart is getting excited. He really needs the Ville to lose this game.
Louisville 61 - 62 Pittsburgh (6:48 left)
ReplyDeleteLouisville 72 - 66 Pittsburgh (2:07 left)
ReplyDeleteU of L rolls, 79 to 68. A great day for the Cards, and a bad day for the UK Athletic Department.
ReplyDeleteMeanwhile, V62 just tweeted out "OVERTIME!!!!"
ReplyDeleteNow Twitter is showing great scenes of Memorial Gym in Nashville looking full and excited -- like it's supposed to.
ReplyDeleteLast year, Vandy went 9-23 overall, 4-14 in the SEC, and finished 183 on Ken Pom.
ReplyDeleteBy the way, here's the latest top 10 in women's basketball:
ReplyDelete1. Texas: 26-2
2. U.C.L.A.: 26-1
3. Notre Dame: 24-3
4. U.S.C.: 25-2
5. Connecticut: 26-3
6. S. Carolina: 25-3
7. Louisiana St: 27-2
8. N. Carolina: 25-4
9. N. Carolina St: 22-5
10. Tex. Christian: 26-3
Here are the women's champions since 2015:
Delete2015: Connecticut 63, Notre Dame 53
2016: Connecticut 82, Syracuse 51
2017: S. Carolina 67, Mississippi St. 55
2018: Notre Dame 61, Mississippi St. 58
2019: Baylor 82, Notre Dame 81
2020: N/A
2021: Stanford 54, Arizona 53
2022: S. Carolina 64, Connecticut 49
2023: Louisiana St: 102, Iowa 85
2024: S. Carolina 87, Iowa 75
MEMORIAL MAGIC IS ALIVE AND WELL! Vandy comes storming from behind to beat Mizzou 97 to 93 in overtime. Since losing at Rupp Arena by 21 points on February 19, the Commodores have beaten Ole Miss (77-72), Texas A & M (86-84), and Mizzou (97-93). Vandy is now 20-9 on the year, and 8-8 in the SEC. They were picked to finish last in the league.
ReplyDeleteVandy's last two games are home to Arkansas and at Georgia.
ReplyDeleteV62 tweets: "Mark Byington > Bruce Pearl"
ReplyDeleteOf course, the real test for Vandy is not whether it can find a good coach, but whether it can keep him.
Vandy moves up to 37 on Ken Pom: 19th on offense, 78th on defense, 62d in luck.
ReplyDeleteUK is at 18: 6th on offense, 64th on defense, 233d in luck.
U of L is at 23: 24th on offense, 24th on defense, 75th in luck.
Iowa St. (21-7), coached by T.J. Otzelberger, is blasting Arizona 39-24 with 3 minutes left in the first half in Ames. The Cyclones are ranked 12 on Ken Pom, but Arizona is ranked 11, so Iowa State will probably be moving up after this game.
ReplyDelete