Four of the top seven teams lost this week, as Baylor, UCLA and Indiana all picked up big wins. The Blue Devils remained at No. 5 and saw freshmen Jayson Tatum and Marques Bolden make their debuts Saturday against Maine.
Top-ranked Kentucky falls to UCLA for second consecutive year
No. 11 UCLA defeated Kentucky 97-92 Saturday in Lexington, Ky., the 12th time UCLA has beaten a top-ranked opponent since the first ever AP poll in 1949. The Bruins’ leading scorer was senior shooting guard Isaac Hamilton with 19, and although freshman phenom Lonzo Ball only shot 5-for-12 from the field and 2-for-8 from three-point range, he contributed seven assists and six rebounds. UCLA now leads the country in field goal percentage at 55.1 percent as well as assists per game with 24.0. After getting off to a slow start, going down 14 at one point in the second half, Kentucky cut the lead to three with 8.3 seconds remaining, but ultimately could not come all the way back. The win for the Bruins marks the second time in as many years they have beaten a top-ranked Kentucky team. The Wildcats fell to No. 6 in this week's poll—Villanova took over the top spot—and UCLA leapfrogged them all the way to No. 2.
Indiana upsets North Carolina in ACC/Big Ten Challenge
The third-ranked Tar Heels shot just 39.3 percent from the field Wednesday night in their 76-67 loss to the Hoosiers, who moved up in the rankings to No. 9 while UNC fell four spots to No. 7. Guards Nate Britt and Joel Berry shot a combined 6-for-22 from the field and 2-for-10 on triples, but Justin Jackson carried the Tar Heels’ offense with 21 points on four made 3-pointers. Indiana put up a balanced offensive performance with all of its starters scoring double figures, and OG Anunoby led the team with 16 points. This was the Hoosiers' second win against a third-ranked opponent this year after they beat Kansas to open the season.
Duke remains at No. 5 with wins against Michigan State and Maine
The fifth-ranked Blue Devils won two games at Cameron Indoor Stadium this week, first beating the Spartans 78-69 Tuesday in the ACC/Big Ten Challenge before defeating Maine Saturday in a blowout victory. The win Tuesday night helped the ACC to its first victory in the Challenge since 2008 by a decisive 9-5 margin. Grayson Allen and Luke Kennard led the way in scoring with 24 and 20, respectively, and Allen knocked down five 3-pointers. Matt Jones also had four steals and shut down Spartan star Miles Bridges. Against Maine, freshmen Jayson Tatum and Marques Bolden both appeared for the first time this season, and Kennard scored a career-high 35 points as Duke moved to 8-1 with a 94-55 win.
Baylor gets its fourth win against a ranked opponent
After already beating then-No. 4 Oregon, then-No. 24 Michigan State and then-No. 10 Louisville, ninth-ranked Baylor gave No. 7 Xavier its first loss this week and jumped five spots in the poll to No. 4. Junior Johnathan Motley is averaging 16.3 points and 8.1 rebounds per game for the Bears, and junior transfer Manu Lecomte is averaging 5.3 assists. Lecomte, who dropped 24 points against the Musketeers, is also 17-for-43 this season from the 3-point line. The 8-0 Bears have given up just 59.0 points per game—the ninth fewest in the nation. Xavier dropped out of the top 10 to No. 13 following the loss.
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