Three takeaways from Saturday's men's college basketball slate
It was quite the Saturday in men’s college hoops.
Six top-25 teams (No. 6 Tennessee, No. 10 Illinois, No. 11 Wisconsin, No. 12 Auburn, No. 17 Kentucky and No. 25 New Mexico) fell to unranked opponents. No. 4 Kansas held off No. 13 Baylor in the lone ranked matchup of the day. No. 3 North Carolina survived in a thriller at Miami.
With that, we’ve got you covered on three takeaways from the action.
Let’s dive in!
Kentucky’s season is on the brink
Things have changed in a hurry for John Calipari and the Wildcats. Kentucky’s 89-85 loss to Gonzaga at Rupp Arena marked its third straight home loss, a first in the 47-year history of the famed venue.
Once again, it was the Wildcats’ inability to get stops that burned them. With forward Tre Mitchell out due to a back injury, the Bulldogs attacked the middle of the floor with ease, racking up 50 points in the paint.
Less than three weeks ago, Kentucky sat at 14-3 and was ranked No. 6. Now, though, the Wildcats have slipped to 16-7 (6-4 in the SEC). ESPN’s bracketology projections, which were updated on Friday, have Kentucky slotted in as a No. 6 seed.
The Wildcats are not in danger of missing the NCAA Tournament. Yet. A glance at their schedule, which includes road games against No. 12 Auburn (Feb. 17) and No. 6 Tennessee (Mar. 9) and home dates with an 18-5 Ole Miss crew (Tuesday) and No. 16 Alabama (Feb. 24) reveals the honest truth.
Kentucky’s season is teetering.
The ACC is a four-team race
One of these four teams will win the ACC regular-season title: North Carolina, Virginia, Duke or Wake Forest. Saturday’s slate made that fairly clear, as all four knocked off conference opponents — the No. 3 Tar Heels fended off the Hurricanes, the Cavaliers did the same to Florida State, the No. 9 Blue Devils pulled away against Boston College and the Demon Deacons survived against N.C. State.
With four weeks remaining in the regular season, the ACC standings read as follows: North Carolina at 11-2, Virginia at 10-3, Duke at 9-3 and Wake Forest at 8-4. Each of the four will play at least two of the others, with the Blue Devils hosting the Demon Deacons on Monday (the first of two matchups between the in-state rivals, the second coming on Feb. 24).
The Tar Heels may be in first place, but that status is far from safe as the regular season ramps up. Virginia, Duke and Wake Forest are set to pounce.
Here comes Michigan State
What, you thought Tom Izzo would go away quietly? Not so fast.
Michigan State won its sixth game in eight tries on Saturday, knocking off the 10th-ranked Fighting Illini in the Breslin Center. A.J. Hoggard, Malik Hall and Tyson Walker led the way, combining for 64 of the Spartans’ 88 points in the eight-point victory.
Michigan State started the season 4-5, a precipitous fall from its preseason No. 4 ranking. But since then, Izzo and company have turned things around. The Spartans (15-9, 7-6 in the Big Ten) are in fifth place in the conference, just 1.5 games back of second-place Illinois.
Don’t kid yourself. This team will make the NCAA Tournament with room to spare —ESPN had Michigan State as a No. 8 seed prior to its win over the Fighting Illini. Once that time comes, the Spartans will be as dangerous as ever.
After all, it’s January, February, Izzo.
More must-reads: