There has been some shake up in the Top 10. This week, we will take a look at the changes and then we will take a look at the current top ten and what they did the past week and what they have ahead of them next week.
December 22 December 29
- Kentucky 1. Kentucky
- Duke 2. Duke
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Arizona 3. Virginia
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Louisville 4. Wisconsin
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Virginia 5. Louisville
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Wisconsin 6. Villanova
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Villanova 7. Gonzaga
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Gonzaga 8. Arizona
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Texas 9. Iowa State
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Kansas 10. Utah
# 1 Kentucky (13-0)
The Kentucky Wildcats played one game last week. However, that one game was a huge game. In fact, it was probably the biggest game of their regular season. They went into the Louisville Cardinals’ house, and beat their biggest rivals, who were ranked #4 at the time, and beat them 58-50. They won on great defense and their depth. Their defense has been solid all year, holding opponents to just 30 percent shooting.
The Wildcats are the unanimous number one team with their perfect record and an average margin of victory is 28 points. Coach John Calapari has them believing in the platoon and sharing the minutes – Nine players are averaging 14-24 minutes a game. Wear and tear should not occur with the Wildcats and this will help them make a deep March run and the run should spill over into the final Four weekend in April.
This Week: The Wildcats are off. They do not play again till Tuesday, January 6th against Mississippi.
#2 Duke (10-0)
The Duke Blue Devils were off this week. Thus, there has not been much news coming out of the Blue Devils camp. However, coach Mike Krzyzewski has used this time to prepare his players for their stretch of three games this week and to ensure that there is not a letdown after the long break. The last time the Blue Devils had a long break, they did not play 100%; however, they still won and will be expecting wins this week.
Their top player thus far this year is Jahlil Okafor, who is playing phenomenal basketball. In 28 minutes a game, he is averaging 17.4 points, 8.9 rebounds, and 1.5 blocks per game. He is also shooting a remarkable 65% from the floor. His only blemish of the year is his free throw shooting where he is shooting only 51%. However, the Blue Devils have not been in a position where free-throw shooting has caused main concern.
This Week: The Blue Devils have three games this week. They play Toledo (Monday), Wofford (Wednesday), and Boston College (Saturday).
# 3 Virginia (11-0)
The Virginia Cavaliers moved from #5 to #3 this week. They benefited from having the week off while the #3 (Arizona) and #4 (Louisville) teams both lost. The Cavs are 11-0 and are playing team ball.
There are three players that stand out, however, and are playing extremely well. They are the following:
Justin Anderson – 15.1 points and 4.8 rebounds
Malcolm Brogdon – 13.1 points and 3.5 assists
Anthony Gill – 12.1 points and 6.6 rebounds
The Cavs have 17 straight home wins with their last win against Harvard and look to run the streak into the 20’s as they open up ACC play.
This Week: They have two games. They play Davidson (Tuesday) and Miami (Saturday).
#4 Wisconsin (12-1)
Wisconsin played two games last week and they earned the “Most Consistent” award. Both of their games were won with the exact score of 68-56, beating California on Monday and Buffalo on Sunday.
Against California, Nigel Hays led them with 17 points and 13 rebounds. Hays played a dominating game and owned the paint.
Against Buffalo, it was Wisconsin’s big man Frank Kaminsky who propelled the Badgers to the win with 25 points, 11 rebounds, and 2 assists. Kaminsky has lived up to the hype and preseason predictions. The win against Buffalo has given the Badgers 7 wins against Top 100 RPI teams already in the early months of the season.
This Week: Wisconsin enters Big Ten conference play with two games this week. They play Penn State (Wednesday) and Northwestern (Sunday).
#5 Louisville
The Louisville Cardinals played twice last week. They played CSU Northridge on Tuesday and won 80-55. Then on Saturday, they hosted the #1 team in the land and lost 58-50. With the loss and teams below them winning; they dropped one spot in the poll.
Against Northridge, Wayne Blackshear led the Cards in one of the most impressive games of the year for them. He had 31 points on 11-17 shooting. In addition to the 31 points, he had 6 rebounds, 4 steals and 2 assists.
This Week: The Cardinals play two games. On Tuesday, they play Long Beach State and then on Sunday, they travel to Wake Forest to open up ACC conference play for the first time.
#6 Villanova (12-0)
Last week, the Villanova Wildcats played one game. They played N.J.I.T. on Tuesday and won 92-67. Villanova was down at half time (44-41), but their offense played well in the second half, scoring 51, while their defense ramped up and held N.J.I.T. to 23 second-half points.
In the game, the Wildcats had six players in double figure. Dylan Ennis (17), Ryan Arcidiacono (16), Phil Booth (14), Daniel Ochefu (13), JayVaughn Pinkston (12), and Kris Jenkins (11) all played great games for the ‘Cats. Daniel Ochefu was the spotlight player for the game. In addition to 13 points on 3-4 FG and 7-8 FT, he also had 10 rebounds, 3 assists, and 1 block.
This Week: They have two games this week. They play against Butler on Wednesday and Seton Hall on Saturday.
#7 Gonzaga (12-1)
Gonzaga played one game last week, a tough game against BYU. BYU gave the Zags more than they probably expected, but they were still able to pull away in the second half and then hold on for an 87-80 win.
They were led by Kyle Wiltjer and Kevin Pangos. Wiltjer had 24 points and 5 rebounds, while Pangos finished with 21 points and 7 assists. He opened up the floor with his 5-8 3-point shooting.
Some of the differences in this roller-coaster game came from the assist department and from play in the paint. Gonzaga outscored BYU in the paint by 12 (36-24), and played better team ball by having a 22-13 assist lead. If Gonzaga wants to go deep in the tournament; they need better play from their bench. In this game, they played seven players and the bench was outscored by 25 (40-15).
This Week: The Zags play two games this week. on Monday, they play San Diego and and on Saturday, they play Portland.
#8 Arizona (12-1)
Arizona dropped from #3 to #8 this week after a disappointing loss. The Arizona Wildcats only played one game this week, a 71-67 loss to UNLV. The Running Rebels took it to the Wildcats instead of the other way around.
Arizona had a balanced attack with their starters. They all were in double figures, with Brandon Ashley playing the most consistent all-round game. He finished the game with 13 points, 9 rebounds, and 3 assists.
Losses can teach you valuable lessons. For the Wildcats, they learned that teams with length and aggression can give them trouble. UNLV destroyed Arizona on the glass by crashing the boards, grabbing 16 more rebounds, including 14 offensive boards that the Rebels turned into 19 second-chance points. Most of those rebounds came from being under-sized. They also learned that they need to develop more play from their bench.
This Week: The Wildcats have one game this week, they host Arizona State on Sunday.
#9 Iowa State (9-1)
Iowa State Cyclones moved up into the top ten for the first time this season. They improved to 9-1 on the season with their sole win this past week against Drake, winning in impressive fashion 83-54. In the game, Jameel McKay played his first game. The Cyclones have been waiting 2 years for him to put on the Cyclones uniform. Even though he only played 13 minutes, he scored 8 points and snagged 5 rebounds.
With the win, Fred Hoiberg is a win away from becoming the fifth coach in Iowa State’s school history with 100 wins.
This Week: Iowa State plays two games this week. On Wednesday, they play Mississippi Valley State and then on Saturday, they play South Carolina.
#10 Utah (9-2)
The Utah Runnin’ Utes moved up to the number ten spot this week. Last week, they played one game, beating South Dakota State by 14 points in an 80-66 win. The Runnin’ Utes jumped off to a quick lead and at halftime they led by 17. Freshman Brekkot Chapman led the way for the Utes with a career high 22 points on 9-of-13 shooting.
With the Utes making their first appearance in the top ten, here are the players whom you need to watch:
Delon Wright is the leading scorer. For the year, he is averaging 16.4 points a game. He is also averaging 5.2 rebounds and 5.2 assists. He is a senior and brings leadership to the Utes.
Jakob Poelti is the leading rebounder. For the year, he is averaging 8.6 rebounds a game.
This Week: We will see if the Utes are the real deal this week, as they play three games, beginning with Carroll (MT) on Tuesday, USC on Friday, and then UCLA on Sunday.
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