Kentucky is now 5-4 with all the losses against ranked teams, and it hasn’t looked good in any of them.
Iowa State’s manhandling of Purdue puts the Cyclones on the national stage and title picture.
When playing a neutral-site game, it’s tough dealing with the opposing team fans taking over the arena, booing you endlessly. But it’s much worse when that booing is coming from your own fan base.
That was the case in Nashville on Friday, Dec. 5, when Big Blue Nation was disgusted with what it witnessed. It took Kentucky nine minutes to make a shot. By the time that happened, Gonzaga was already up 19-5. The boos rained down for the majority of the night as the Bulldogs routed the Wildcats by 35 points, the fourth-largest loss in program history.
Now Kentucky is in serious trouble.
The loss to Gonzaga came on the heels of the home collapse against short-handed North Carolina, when Kentucky went more than 10 minutes without a made shot to keep the Tar Heels alive. UNC took advantage and escaped Rupp Arena with a win.
The Wildcats are 5-4, and its an ugly record. The five wins all against mid-major competition. The four losses against ranked opponents, and three of them were hardly competitive.
It’s already disaster time in Lexington and we’re not even 10 games into the season. Mark Pope has to be feeling his seat getting warmer.
This is a team that was top-10 in recruiting and in the transfer portal, yet it can’t shoot against good teams. This season, the Wildcats are shooting 47.4% from the field and 31.9% from deep. But against Power conference teams, they’re just 38.2% from the field and 24.3% from 3-point land.
It all falls on Pope, and he’s aware.
‘All the boos that we heard tonight were incredibly well-deserved, mostly for me,’ Pope said after the Gonzaga loss.
Things have to change quickly because it won’t get easier. Indiana and St. John’s are still on the schedule before the SEC gauntlet starts.
The demise of the Wildcats headlines the past weekend of college hoops. Here’s more that caught my eye:
Iowa State’s emphatic statement
Not only did Iowa State beat No. 1 Purdue, the Cyclones completely manhandled the Boilermakers. Iowa State continued its stellar offensive start to the season by going into Mackey Arena and beating Purdue by 23 points.
Coming into the game, the Cyclones shot a nation-leading 55% from the field and a 43.3% 3-point percentage. Against a stout defense, Iowa State wasn’t slowed down at all with a 54.1% field goal percentage and 47.8% from deep. After starting the second half on a 13-2 run, Iowa State never let Purdue get within single digits and silenced one of the most hostile crowds in the country.
Given the circumstances, it’s by far the best result of the season. Iowa State has been tough under TJ Otzelberger, but it felt like it wasn’t being taken seriously. This team wins by an average of 30 points per game, the best in Division I. This should put the entire country, and especially the Big 12, on notice.
The Cyclones got star guard Tamin Lipsey back from injury, and this veteran-led squad is playing like one of the top teams in the country.
Who should be No. 1?
With Purdue’s loss, a new No. 1 should emerge. The only problem is you can justify three teams getting the nod: Arizona, Michigan and Duke.
Let’s start with the Wolverines, which followed up its dazzling in the Players Era Festival performance with a 41-point romp over Rutgers. In the past four games, the Wolverines have two ranked wins and have won by an average margin of 37.7 points. They average 93.7 points per game, but did look shaky to start the season.
Then there’s Arizona and its team full of playmakers. The Wildcats just stomped Auburn by 29 points for their fourth ranked win of the season, which includes a road win at Connecticut. Arizona hasn’t been as dominant as Michigan, but the Wildcats have been consistent against all opponents.
Last but certainly not least is Duke. The Blue Devils went into Michigan State and left with a gritty win over the undefeated Spartans. That’s the third straight ranked win and fourth overall on the season, and Cameron Boozer is playing like the best player in the country, averaging 23.6 points per game, second-most in the country.
So who should be No. 1? At this moment, it has to go to Arizona. The Wildcats have been more steady than Michigan, and the wins are more impressive than Duke. Arizona and Duke do share a common opponent in Florida, and the Gators nearly took down the Blue Devils. There isn’t a wrong answer to this, especially when its still early December, but at this point, Arizona looks like the top team in the country.
What’s going on with Tennessee?
After beating Houston in the Players Era Festival, Tennessee has lost three consecutive games, the latest coming against Illinois thanks to a poor second half performance. It’s strange because Rick Barnes’ team looked so good in the first seven games, but it’s been a mess since then.
It starts with the heavy load carried by guards Ja’Kobi Gillespie and Nate Ament. In the past three games, Tennessee has taken 186 shots, and the duo accounted for 48.4% of them. What’s worse is the duo is shooting 30% during this stretch. The Volunteers need more production from the rest of the team. Tennessee has another test in Louisville coming up.
Star of the week: Hannes Steinbach
Much has been made of the stellar freshman class, but there’s another newcomer making a name for himself.
Meet Washington forward Hannes Steinbach, who put on a show in his return from an ankle injury. Against UCLA, Steinbach scored a career-high 29 points and notched 10 rebounds, playing a big part in the near comeback against the Bruins. On Saturday, Dec. 7, the Huskies played Southern California and were down by as much as 18 points before Steinbach led a strong second half, propelling the Huskies for the come-from-behind win. He scored 14 points in the final 20 minutes and finished with 24 points and 16 rebounds, his fifth straight game with a double-double.
Steinbach is becoming a dominant force, and what’s even scarier is he’s deadly from 3-point land when he chooses to shoot. He averages 18.5 points and 12.5 rebounds per game, which is second-most in the country. Don’t be surprised to see more of Steinbach as conference play approaches, and the Huskies are a team to watch in the Big Ten.