8. Kentucky (8-1)
Kentucky basketball is trying to show us that they mean business and their performance in November certainly preached that. Mark Pope took over the helm of this program and brought in a plethora of talent from every corner of the college basketball world. He’s built an elite offense, a talented defense, and completed a perfect November which included a great win over Duke. Still, the Wildcats weren’t really tested until this past week.
It’s a week that began with a downturn, as the Wildcats fell 70-66 at Clemson on Tuesday night in the ACC/SEC Challenge. One of just two SEC teams to lose their matchups, the Wildcats got 17 points from Otega Oweh but struggled shooting outside the arc. Saturday’s performance made up for it, as Kentucky won 90-89 in overtime against Gonzaga over in Seattle. Clawing out of a 16-point halftime hole, they got 19 points and 7 rebounds from Andrew Carr and another nice effort (18 points, 5 assists) out of Jaxson Robinson.
The Wildcats did not let two major opportunities go by the wayside. Even though they lost their first true road game of the season, that second half against Gonzaga showed that this team is a legitimate threat to beat anyone on any night. Owning wins over both Duke and Gonzaga is an incredible achievement for a group of players who didn’t even know each other seven months ago. A rivalry showdown with Louisville comes up this weekend.