Power Rankings: Kansas running out of time to extend streak
Texas Tech is shooting unconscious from deep as Jarrett Culver drills a deep contested 3-pointer. (0:25)
So … this might actually happen.
The process of writing off Kansas in its quest for a 15th straight Big 12 regular-season title began in early February, after the Jayhawks lost by seven at Kansas State. But after a three-game win streak for Kansas, a home loss by Kansas State and some Bill Self voodoo, suddenly the Jayhawks were only one game out of first place entering the weekend.
And now? Kansas has to beat Kansas State on Monday, or it will be three games out of first place with three games left in the Big 12 season.
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Texas Tech absolutely ran through Kansas on Saturday like no team has in a long, long time. The Red Raiders scored nearly 1.50 points per possession against the Jayhawks, by far the most they have allowed in at least 17 years. Kansas couldn’t score consistently despite shooting 42.9 percent from 3-point range; the Jayhawks couldn’t guard the perimeter; they couldn’t guard the paint; they couldn’t take care of the ball; they really couldn’t do anything. It was a truly dominant performance by Chris Beard, Jarrett Culver and the Red Raiders.
Kansas drops into a tie with Baylor for third place in the Big 12, with Texas Tech in second and Kansas State atop the standings. The Jayhawks’ hopes aren’t totally gone just yet, as they host Kansas State on Monday and can trim the gap to one game. Texas Tech still has to go to TCU and Iowa State. Kansas State still has Baylor, TCU and Oklahoma in addition to the Jayhawks.
The Jayhawks have a chance to keep the streak going, but the possibility that it ends got a lot more likely on Saturday.
The landscape of the 2018-19 college basketball season might have shifted on Wednesday … but we don’t know that just yet.
Duke lost by 16 points at home to North Carolina, but the biggest storyline coming out of Durham is the status of Zion Williamson. The Wooden Award favorite left the game after just 36 seconds after he slipped, blew out his shoe and fell awkwardly, holding his knee. Duke coach Mike Krzyzewski described it as a mild right knee sprain, but we don’t yet know the potential timeline for his return.
If Williamson is out for a significant amount of time, whether that’s the rest of the season, the rest of the regular season or something else, Duke’s status as the best team in college basketball takes a hit. For now, the Blue Devils’ résumé is still vastly superior to everyone else’s in college basketball — and with Williamson, they’re still the most impressive team.
But we’ll wait and see.
Williamson’s injury also overshadowed an extremely impressive performance from North Carolina. The Tar Heels shot just 2-for-20 from 3-point range, turned the ball over 16 times — and never trailed in dominating at Cameron Indoor Stadium. Luke Maye might have been at a disadvantage had Williamson played, but he finished with 30 points and 15 rebounds with Williamson sidelined. Wednesday’s game also gave North Carolina another elite marquee win, adding to its victory over Gonzaga earlier this season.
It sets up a three-way race for the ACC regular-season title. North Carolina, Duke and Virginia are all tied at 11-2, with the Tar Heels beating Duke, Virginia beating North Carolina and Duke beating Virginia twice. The only game remaining among the three teams is Duke at North Carolina on March 9.
But for now, those narratives take a back seat. All eyes in college basketball are on Williamson’s knee diagnosis.
Is it time to expand the elite group to five teams and include Kentucky?
The temptation is there after the Wildcats obliterated Tennessee in the second half of Saturday’s 17-point win in Lexington, but remember, we’ve gone down this path with the Wildcats a few times this season.
Obviously, we did it at the start of the season before they lost by 34 to Duke. Then we did it after they handled North Carolina in Chicago and won at Louisville by 13 — but then lost at Alabama by two points. The bandwagon got full again after the 10-game win streak in January and February, prior to the home defeat to LSU.
And now, we try it again after a win over Tennessee.
Take the entire season into account, though, and it’s pretty clear that Kentucky is among the five best teams in the country right now. The Wildcats have lost three games since Nov. 6 by a combined five points. They’re No. 5 at KenPom and No. 6 in the NET, BPI and Sagarin rankings. They’ve beaten Tennessee, North Carolina, Kansas and Louisville, and they have eight Quadrant 1 wins — third-most of any team in the country.
The Wildcats have an elite defense, one that has improved considerably since Ashton Hagans took over starting point guard duties. They are currently ranked eighth in adjusted defensive efficiency at KenPom, but if you take into account just the games since Hagans moved into the starting lineup, BartTorvik.com has the Wildcats with the No. 4-ranked defense.
Offensively, they still have some issues shooting the ball, making 10 or more 3-pointers just three times all season, but they’re one of the best offensive rebounding teams in the country and get to the free throw line at a high rate. More importantly, they finally found a consistent go-to guy: PJ Washington. Washington has played as well as anyone in the country over the past month, making a push for All-American honors. He has scored 20 or more points in seven of his past eight games.
We’re not saying John Calipari has a perfect team or is even a Final Four favorite, but the Wildcats have steadily improved since the opening night embarrassment and are hitting their stride according to the typical Calipari timeline.
The Tennessee rematch on March 2 in Knoxville is going to be a true litmus test for the young Wildcats away from home — and will go a long way toward determining the SEC regular-season champion — but right now, Kentucky has a strong case for being a solidly top-five team.
1. Duke Blue Devils (24-3)
Previous ranking: 1
This week: Lost to North Carolina 88-72 on Wednesday, beat Syracuse 75-65 on Saturday
Saturday’s game took a back seat to Syracuse coach Jim Boeheim’s first appearance since he was involved in a fatal traffic accident on Wednesday. But Duke bounced back from its loss to North Carolina, led by 30 points from RJ Barrett. Duke coach Mike Krzyzewski received a huge boost from Alex O’Connell, who had five 3-pointers and finished with 20 points. O’Connell’s previous career high was 16 points, set last month — against Syracuse.
2. Virginia Cavaliers (24-2)
Previous ranking: 2
This week: Beat Virginia Tech 64-58 on Monday, beat Louisville 64-52 on Saturday
After a first half that saw Louisville get out to a 10-point lead, the second half was vintage Virginia on Saturday. The Cavaliers held the Cardinals to 15 points after halftime, severely limiting Louisville from the perimeter. Virginia also turned the ball over just five times after several uncharacteristically sloppy performances.
3. Gonzaga Bulldogs (27-2)
Previous ranking: 4
This week: Beat Pepperdine 92-64 on Thursday, beat BYU 102-68 on Saturday
BYU was second in the West Coast Conference entering Saturday … and Gonzaga proceeded to crush the Cougars from start to finish. The perfect storm of the Bulldogs being a dominant force and the WCC not having a team of the caliber of some of the Saint Mary’s or BYU teams of recent years has resulted in Gonzaga not really being tested since mid-December. Will that impact the Zags in March?
4. Kentucky Wildcats (23-4)
Previous ranking: 5
This week: Beat Missouri 66-58 on Tuesday, beat Auburn 80-53 on Saturday
The Wildcats were just fine in their first game without Reid Travis. They destroyed Auburn on the glass and on the scoreboard, thanks in part to Keldon Johnson‘s stepping up with 17 rebounds. PJ Washington (24 points, six rebounds) was terrific, but John Calipari also got good minutes from EJ Montgomery and Nick Richards in Travis’ place.
5. North Carolina Tar Heels (23-5)
Previous ranking: 6
This week: Beat Duke 88-72 on Wednesday, beat Florida State 77-59 on Saturday
North Carolina might have had the best week of any team in the country, beating Duke by 16 points in Cameron Indoor Stadium and then crushing Florida State in the second half on Saturday. More important than scoring consistently around the rim against both teams was the Tar Heels’ defense. They held the Blue Devils and Seminoles to a combined 131 points on 157 possessions.
6. Tennessee Volunteers (24-3)
Previous ranking: 3
This week: Beat Vanderbilt 58-46 on Tuesday, lost to LSU 82-80 on Saturday
The Volunteers lost for the second time in three games on Saturday, falling to Tremont Waters-less LSU — and they still have road trips to Ole Miss and Auburn and home games against Kentucky and Mississippi State before the end of the regular season. On Saturday, they couldn’t contain LSU’s backcourt — and Lamonte Turner and Jordan Bowden again struggled to make shots for the Vols.
7. Michigan Wolverines (24-3)
Previous ranking: 6
This week: Beat Minnesota 69-60 on Thursday, vs. Michigan State (Sunday)
The Wolverines went to Minnesota and handled the Golden Gophers, with a 36-point advantage from behind the 3-point line. This sets up a Sunday showdown with Michigan State for first place in the Big Ten. The Wolverines have the edge going into this one because the game is being played in Ann Arbor, and the Spartans will be without Nick Ward down low. If Zavier Simpson can stifle Cassius Winston, Michigan gets a win.
8. Houston Cougars (26-1)
Previous ranking: 7
This week: Beat South Florida 57-36 on Saturday
The Cougars won their 11th game in a row on Saturday, a streak that should improve to 12 on Wednesday at East Carolina — before preseason favorite UCF (and College GameDay) comes to Houston. In the Cougars’ first meeting with the Knights, Corey Davis Jr. carried most of the load offensively, and Davis is starting to find his perimeter stroke again. Davis is 12-for-20 on 3-pointers in his past two games.
9. Michigan State Spartans (22-5)
Previous ranking: 9
This week: Beat Rutgers 71-60 on Wednesday, at Michigan (Sunday)
It was another slow start and another double-digit win for Michigan State, as the Spartans scored 46 points in the second half to erase a halftime deficit. Without Nick Ward, coach Tom Izzo needed some role players to step up, and Xavier Tillman responded. Tillman had 19 points and 10 rebounds after being inserted into the starting lineup. Michigan State will need more of the same with a trip to Ann Arbor looming on Sunday.
10. Texas Tech Red Raiders (22-5)
Previous ranking: 14
This week: beat Kansas 91-62 on Saturday
One of the hottest teams in the country right now, Texas Tech has won five in a row and seven of its past eight — and is making a push for the Big 12 title. The Red Raiders were out of this world offensively on Saturday, going 16-for-26 from 3-point range and getting 26 points from Jarrett Culver. Ironically enough, Tech — the nation’s No. 1 defense — allowed more than one point per possession for just the fourth time all season.
11. LSU Tigers (22-5)
Previous ranking: 15
This week: Lost to Florida 82-77 (OT) on Wednesday, beat Tennessee 82-80 on Saturday
LSU continues to rise up the rankings after beating Kentucky at Rupp Arena and knocking off Tennessee without Tremont Waters in an 11-day span. Ja’vonte Smart had the best game of his LSU career, scoring 29 points — including the game-winning free throws in overtime — and dishing out five assists. The Tigers forged a tie for first place atop the SEC standings, and they don’t face Tennessee or Kentucky again this season.
12. Marquette Golden Eagles (23-4)
Previous ranking: 11
This week: Beat Butler 79-69 on Wednesday, beat Providence 76-58 on Saturday
Marquette maintained its one-game lead in the Big East standings with a blowout win at Providence, setting up a massive showdown on Wednesday at Villanova. If the Golden Eagles win that one on the road, they will have a two-game lead with just three games remaining — plus a season sweep of the Wildcats. The first meeting was a one-point Marquette win, with Villanova missing a potential game winner in the final seconds.
13. Purdue Boilermakers (20-7)
Previous ranking: 12
This week: Beat Indiana 48-46 on Tuesday, beat Nebraska 75-72 on Saturday
Purdue won its third game in a row, but Carsen Edwards continues to struggle shooting the ball. He went 3-for-16 from the field — including 1-for-10 from 3-point range — against the Cornhuskers. That came four days after he shot 4-for-24 from the field and 0-for-10 from 3-point range against Indiana. On Saturday, Matt Haarms stepped up with 17 points and nine rebounds after getting the game winner against Indiana on Tuesday.
14. Kansas Jayhawks (20-7)
Previous ranking: 10
This week: Lost at Texas Tech 91-62 on Saturday
Kansas’ defensive effort on Saturday was the Jayhawks’ worst performance by efficiency rating since KenPom began tracking in 2001-02. They were dreadful at that end of the floor. Texas Tech shot 61.5 percent from 3-point range and missed 22 shots total. Kansas looked like it had turned a corner post-Udoka Azubuike a couple weeks ago after beating Tech by 16 in Lawrence, but the Jayhawks clearly had not.
15. Nevada Wolf Pack (25-2)
Previous ranking: 14
This week: Lost to San Diego State 65-57 on Wednesday, beat Fresno State 74-68 on Saturday
Nevada pulled off a win over Fresno State on Saturday to avoid a second straight loss. While the Wolf Pack’s NCAA tournament inclusion is not in question, racking up a couple more losses (especially with a trip to Utah State coming next weekend) would have been disastrous for their seeding. Remember, this is a team without a Quadrant 1 game, let alone a Quadrant 1 win. That changes next weekend.
16. Wisconsin Badgers (18-8)
Previous ranking: Unranked
This week: Beat Illinois 64-58 on Monday, at Northwestern (Saturday)
The Badgers have won eight of their past 10 games after winning at Northwestern on Saturday. Most notably, Ethan Happ finally hit a free throw after missing all 10 of his attempts the past three games. On the flip side, Wisconsin’s underlying numbers have fallen off the past few games. The Badgers have scored fewer than one point per possession in four of their past five games and allowed at least one point per possession in three of their past four.
Dropped out: Louisville (No. 15)