The Blue Devils stayed at No. 2 after a week off, but there were some other moves in the top 25 as conference play draws nearer.
Duke stays at No. 2 after week off
The Blue Devils stayed put this week after not playing due to final exams following their statement 80-70 win Dec. 3 at then-No. 2 Wisconsin. Duke returns to the court Monday against Elon at 7 p.m. before clashing with reigning national champion Connecticut Thursday at the IZOD Center in East Rutherford, N.J., in another marquee nonconference game. In total, six ACC teams are ranked in the top 25 this week.
Basketball blue bloods battle, Kentucky prevails
In a clash of historic programs Saturday, the No. 1 Wildcats dismantled the previously No. 21 Tar Heels 84-70 Saturday at Rupp Arena, dropping North Carolina three spots to No. 24 in the poll. It was the Tar Heels’ second loss in three games, and their third loss in the last six. North Carolina doesn’t have much time to recover, as Roy Williams' squad plays host to No. 12 Ohio State next Saturday after a road game against UNC Greensboro. North Carolina needs to win to begin the slow climb back toward the top of the rankings where they began the season.
Kentucky beat the Tar Heels handily despite losing veteran forward Alex Poythress for the season to an ACL injury suffered in practice last week. The Wildcats' impressive offensive performance at home helped them maintained on the stranglehold on the top spot in the AP Poll. Now, only UCLA and No. 4 Louisville have a chance of handing Kentucky a loss before SEC conference play begins. The Wildcats look to have a chance at running the table before the NCAA tournament thanks to their depth and talent and have to be feeling good after shooting 46.7 percent from 3-point range to easily handle North Carolina's zone defense.
Butler drops after loss Tennessee
The Volunteers’ Josh Richardson scored 18 second-half points to help Tennessee overcome Butler Sunday in Knoxville. As a result, the previously No. 15 Bulldogs dropped eight spots to the No. 23 position. Although Butler has victories over touted programs like Georgetown and No. 24 North Carolina, the Bulldogs have now lost to two unranked teams in Tennessee and Oklahoma. The win was an important one for the Volunteers, who at 4-3 need to keep building more momentum before conference play begins to strengthen their postseason resume.
Kansas survives back-to-back scares and Utah suffers
The No. 10 Jayhawks stayed put this week after finding ways to win despite giving up large leads in consecutive games. In Washington, D.C., at unranked Georgetown, Kansas squeezed out a five-point victory in an ugly game that featured 17 Jayhawk turnovers. Sophomore Brannen Greene led Kansas to a big road win by hitting all five of his three-point attempts, leading the Jayhawks to a 58.8 percent shooting clip from beyond the arc and helping them overcome 20 points from Hoya big man Joshua Smith.
No. 14 Utah fell one spot after the Utes failed to beat Kansas in Kansas City Saturday. Despite overcoming a 21-point deficit, Utah was unable to convert behind an impressive 23-point effort from senior Delon Wright. Utah will look to rebound this Saturday against UNLV and Kansas will try to cruise to its 9th straight victory against Lafayette. The Jayhawks appear to have righted the ship after getting crushed by Kentucky at the Champions Classic 72-40 Nov. 18.
Arizona, Gonzaga continue impressing as West Coast favorites
The two powerhouse programs met last week in a thriller in Tucson that saw the Wildcats escape 66-63 in overtime and continued impressing this week. No. 3 Arizona dominated Michigan 80-53 at home Saturday to emphatically hand the sliding Wolverines their third consecutive loss. Eighth-ranked Gonzaga also impressed, controlling its Saturday battle at UCLA to prevail 87-74 after shooting 58.5 percent from the field.
If a team from the West Coast is to get to the Final Four this year, the Wildcats and Bulldogs have to be the early favorites. The two squads will look to continue impressing the NCAA tournament committee as conference play approaches and look to cement top seeds in March.
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