Oscar Tshiebwe celebrates throughout Kentucky's win over Tennessee.
USA TODAY Sports activities
The Submit’s Zach Braziller breaks down the sport to look at, traits and extra for the upcoming week of school basketball.
Recreation of the Week
No. 18 Kentucky at No. 4 Auburn, Saturday, TBD
Kentucky made an announcement with its 28-point house win over No. 22 Tennessee on Saturday. The Wildcats means enterprise within the SEC this 12 months after final winter’s dismal eighth-place end. A highway win right here can be a lot harder. Led by potential No. 1 NBA draft decide Jabari Smith, Auburn has received 13 straight video games — the longest lively streak within the nation — and might be ranked No. 1 within the nation on Monday for the primary time ever.
Tremendous 16
A prediction of the highest 4 seeds within the NCAA Event (listed so as):
1: Auburn, Gonzaga, Baylor, LSU
2: Kansas, Duke, Villanova, Purdue
3: Houston, Illinois, Kansas, Wisconsin
4: Texas Tech, UCLA, Kentucky, Iowa State
Inventory Watch
Up: Marquette
Expectations have been low, and understandably so. A brand new coach with a brand new system was introduced in, and this system’s prime 5 starters departed. Simply being within the NCAA Event combine would’ve counted as a profitable season. Now, it’s the center of January, and it will be a shock if Shaka Sensible’s group isn’t dancing. It owns wins over possible event groups Seton Corridor, Illinois, West Virginia and Windfall, and doesn’t have a foul loss. Sensible is beginning three freshmen and getting manufacturing from virtually his complete roster, indicators that that is simply the beginning for the Golden Eagles.
Up: Adama Sanogo
UConn is 9-2 when the bodily 6-foot-9 sophomore has performed. He torched No. 4 Auburn for 30 factors within the Huskies’ finest win of the season and hammered St. John’s and Seton Corridor for a median of twenty-two factors, 17 rebounds and 4.5 blocks in his final two video games. Sanogo is indisputably a top-10 large man within the sport, a two-way drive with a tender contact across the basket averaging 15.9 factors, 7.8 rebounds and a pair of.2 blocks per recreation. It’s nonetheless mind-boggling he wasn’t a preseason All-Huge East first- or second-team choice after his sturdy freshman season.
Down: Maryland
The Terrapins are flirting with some ugly historical past. After their house loss to Rutgers on Saturday, they're only one recreation over .500. A shedding season could be very a lot in play for the Huge Ten program. The final time that occurred was 1992-93. Darkish occasions in Faculty Park certainly for Maryland, which moved on from Mark Turgeon in early December and has dropped 4 of its final 5 video games underneath interim coach Danny Manning. The percentages of Manning maintaining his job are about nearly as good as a Jets-Giants Tremendous Bowl subsequent 12 months.
Down: Chris Mack
This rent appeared sturdy on paper. Mack reached eight NCAA Tournaments in 9 years at Xavier whereas compiling a .689 successful proportion (215-97). However nothing has gone proper at Louisville of late. He was suspended for the primary six video games of the season for his dealing with of an extortion try by former assistant coach Dino Gaudio. He missed the event final 12 months and appears headed for the same outcome this 12 months. The Cardinals have 4 Quad 3 losses after Saturday’s dismal 12-point setback at Pittsburgh, a woeful NET rating of 112, and the underwhelming ACC doesn’t supply many alternatives to spice up their résumé.
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