9. Texas (4-1)
We don’t really know much about the Longhorns at this point in the season. They traveled to Gonzaga and took a hearty loss to the Bulldogs (like many teams will this season) but have handled the rest of their games to this point, though none of those have exactly been challenges by any stretch. This past week, the only game on the schedule was a home date with Cal Baptist, with the Longhorns scoring a 68-44 win over the previously-unbeaten Lancers, getting 15 points each from both Timmy Allen and Andrew Jones in the win.
Allowing 86 points to Gonzaga is understandable, but the Longhorns have not allowed more than 49 points in any of their other four games, though last week’s Cal Baptist team might be the best of those four. Chris Beard’s suffocating defense has already arrived in Austin and it’ll be interesting to see how he and this program fares in Big 12 play. Before then, they’ll get a few more cupcakes this week before an important battle at Seton Hall just under two weeks from now.
8. Kentucky (5-1)
There are some teams that we barely know anything about after three weeks of play and Kentucky might just fall into this category. On opening night, the Wildcats lost a hard-fought game against a very talented Duke team at the Champions Classic, but since then have dispatched of each of their opponents. This past week they picked up two more wins, knocking off Albany by 25 points and dispatching of North Florida by 34, with Sahvir Wheeler’s 12-point, 14-assist game really standing out.
The bottom line is that Kentucky is taking care of business and looking fantastic against inferior opponents while Oscar Tshiebwe has for the most part been a stud for the Wildcats. Their defense has been impressive, giving up no more than 61 points since that Duke game, but everyone but Ohio has been a team unlikely to finish even top 200 this season. Next week’s only game is at home against Central Michigan, yet another game likely to see the Wildcats pile on the stats and build more confidence.
7. Kansas (4-1)
After that great win in the Champions Classic over Michigan State, the Jayhawks weren’t really tested, at least it certainly didn’t look like it when you looked at their schedule. They won a couple of easy laughers at home before heading to Orlando for the ESPN Events Invitational. After a win over North Texas in the opening round, the Jayhawks were shocked at the buzzer in the semifinals by Dayton, losing 74-73 for their first defeat of the season.
While Kansas has looked like one of the best teams in the nation to this point, this loss to Dayton poses some definite questions about the Jayhawks. Their interior defense has been lacking in their first two games in Orlando, and it’s hard to know who can be trusted on this roster besides Ochai Agbaji and Remy Martin. They’ll meet up with Rick Pitino and Iona on Sunday in the 3rd place game of their tournament, while the coming week will also bring them an intriguing date with St. John’s