College Hoops' Week of Surprises

By Joshua Walls

What a great week it has been in college hoops.  One word to sum this week up: surprise.  We have seen some very special moments as well as some devastating disappointments.

The week started off with what many experts considered to be one of the better matches of the year.  It was the number 14 ranked North Carolina Tar Heels taking on Cody Zeller’s number one ranked Indiana Hoosiers. 

AP Photo/ Darron Cummings

UNC standout forward James Michael McAdoo put on a terrible performance, shooting 4-15 from the floor and only 33% from the foul line. Dexter Strickland and McAdoo’s other teammates played poorly, as well.

This game was the opposite of what experts and fans thought it would be.  It did not take long for Mr. Indiana, Cody Zeller to find the weak spots in this UNC defense and dominate.  Cody Zeller finished the game with an astonishing 20 points and 8 rebounds, while carrying the load on defense with 4 blocks.  Cody Zeller certainly made his case for Player of the Year honors with his outstanding play.

Duke has been playing solid all season, continually beating teams and extending their undefeated winning streak.  Duke has also made coaches, analysts, and fans alike guess why they were ranked number 8 at the beginning of the season in the AP poll and why they are not ahead of Indiana for number 1 instead of 2.  Duke certainly showed college hoops nation exactly why they deserve a spot on the top this past Wednesday when they took on the number 4 ranked Ohio State Buckeyes and carefully executed to win the game.  Duke’s F/C Mason Plumlee is carving out a compelling campaign this season, while receiving much attention from NBA scouts everywhere.  He led the way for the Blue Devils this past Wednesday posting an incredible double that included 21 points and seventeen rebounds.

The biggest surprise this week is perhaps the Notre Dame fighting Irish knocking off John Calapari’s highly recruited Kentucky Wildcats.  John Calapari was in dismay over the game.  When reporters questioned him during the press conference, he described his players as “out of control.”  Kentucky’s Nerlens Noel just has not been able to carry the team like many believed he would.  I expect the Wildcats to be consistent and average throughout the season.

Shabazz Muhammad is certainly looking every bit like the number one overall consensus pick for the 2013 spring NBA draft. Muhammad is playing great defense, shooting the ball well from behind the arc, getting teammates involved and last but not least, running the floor exceptionally well in transition.  However, UCLA took a great loss when big man Joshua Smith declared his transfer.  This will certainly be a large hit for Ben Howland and the UCLA program.

One of the most intriguing subjects in college basketball is Grinnell’s 5’10 guard Jack Taylor, who scored a ridiculous 138 points.  Taylor gained so much attention that NBA star Lebron James called Taylor as “Sir Jack,” referring to his royalty-like performance.  LeBron and Kobe both called the performance epic and legendary.

College hoops have certainly entertained this week and the play has left many at the edge of their seats anticipating the next week.

The inevitable occurs, Wildcats win national championship

Anthony Davis, Kentucky, against Kansas guards/AP Images

It almost seemed inevitable. 

By Trevor Hass

After all, they were the best team all season long. They had five players who will likely go pro. They had the best player in the country in Anthony Davis.

Sometimes the inevitable is denied in college basketball, as Goliath is slung and history is made.  Norfolk State beat Missouri and Lehigh beat Duke (on the same day, mind you). Upsets were galore throughout the tournament, but no team was able to upset the best team in the country, the Kentucky Wildcats.

The inevitable happened Monday night at the Superdome in New Orleans, as the Wildcats knocked off the Kansas Jayhawks 67-59, to capture their first championship since 1998.  

Anthony Davis didn't make a field goal until there were five minutes remaining and he was still remarkably named the MVP. He finished with six points, 16 rebounds, five assists, six blocks and three steals and showed why he was named AP player of the year.  

Doron Lamb had 22 points and Marquis Teague added 14. The Wildcats were up 41-27 at halftime. Kansas made a push late in the game as they have so often this year, but ultimately Kentucky’s physicality and balanced scoring were too much.

Thomas Robinson led the way for Kansas with 18 points and 17 rebounds. Tyshawn Taylor scored 19 points and finally connected on his first three of the tournament late in the second half, after previously missing 20 straight.

Kansas hung around and was somehow down only six with 1:37 left. The Wildcats made their free throws and put the game away, and the most Goliath of all possible Davids in Kansas was denied.  

Many are calling this Kentucky team one of the best in history, as they finished the season at 38-2 and set the records for most wins in a season.

Nothing Lucky About the Run of Kentucky

Kentucky's Michael Kidd-Gilchrist shoots over Baylor players/AP Images

Kentucky is moving forward and may take home the title.

By Trevor Hass

A few brave souls picked defending champion UConn over Kentucky in the third round. The Huskies didn’t even get to that game, and Kentucky beat down on Iowa State instead.

Another small percentage of the population picked Indiana over Kentucky. The Hoosiers did it once, why couldn’t they do it again? Indiana gave up 102 points as the Wildcats ran all over the Hoosiers.

A miniscule amount of those who filled out a bracket picked Baylor over Kentucky. It wasn’t even close. The Wildcats put the game away in the first half. They were up 20 heading into the break and never looked back.

The vast, vast majority of people picked Kentucky to make the Final Four, and that is exactly what happened.

There’s no beating around the bush here. The Wildcats are hands down the best team in college basketball and have five to seven players that will play in the NBA.

In fact, freshman Michael Kidd-Gilchrist has already declared for the draft. Nowadays many freshmen go pro too early such as Duke’s Austin Rivers and Iowa State’s Royce White, however there’s no denying that MKG is ready. Kidd-Gilchrist scored 19 points against Baylor on 7-10 shooting and dominated inside and out.

Another player who will likely go pro is Anthony Davis. Wildcats fans had a scary moment when Davis took a tumble in the second half and injured his knee. It had potential to be a devastating blow, but Davis was back within minutes and didn’t miss a beat. He finished with 18 points, 11 rebounds, six blocks and one trimmed but still noticeably grotesque unibrow.

Davis out-blocked 322 Division 1 teams this year and shattered the Kentucky single season record. He has 169 on the season and also shoots 63% from the floor.
The Wildcat offense is unquestionably better than the potentially implemented offense of the New York Jets with backup quarterback Tim Tebow. Kentucky also likes to run and they do so early and often, destroying opponents with their size, athleticism, and outright superiority.

It will be shocking if the Wildcats don’t win the tournament. Crazier things have happened, but if all goes as planned, they will go down as one of the best teams in NCAA history.

Vandy loses and Kentucky moves on

Doron Lamb, Wildcats after making a 3-pointer/AP Images

The Wildcats leave the Cyclones in the dust while Vandy loses to Wisconsin.

By Trevor Hass

The Kentucky Wildcats raced by the Iowa State Cyclones Saturday night 87-71 behind 24 points and seven assists from Marquis Teague.

After cruising by Western Kentucky in the second round, the Wildcats met more of a challenge in the third round. Two nights after knocking off defending champs UConn, Iowa State was hot and was looking to shock the world by bringing down the number one team in the land. Cyclones’ 6’8 forward Royce White had 23 points, nine rebounds and four assists and brought the ball up with serious style.

The game was tied at 42 in the second half, but then Kentucky started to play like Kentucky. The Wildcats went on a 32-10 run and bust the game open.  

Darius Miller, Anthony Davis and Doron Lamb all scored in double figures. Lamb had five three pointers and seemed incapable of missing down the stretch.

Kentucky will face Indiana on Thursday in a rematch of a game earlier in the season. Christian Watford nailed a three at the buzzer and Hoosier Hysteria erupted as Indiana beat UK 73-72.  

Despite Vandy’s impressive win over Kentucky in the SEC tournament, their season is now over. The Commodores lost 60-57 to Wisconsin in the third round on Saturday. Festus Ezeli had 14 points and 11 rebounds, but it wasn’t enough, as Wisconsin held on for the gritty win.

Going into the game, people knew it would be a close, hard-fought contest. The teams were evenly matched, yet Wisconsin had a little more gas in the tank at the end of the game. Ben Brust and Mike Bruesewitz hit some big threes and Vandy and its four seniors came up a tad short.   

Wildcats pounce on opponents, Davis plays lockdown D

UK Anthony Davis dunks/ukathletics.com

By Trevor Hass

      As usual, the Top 25 in college basketball is in complete disarray. Kansas lost to Iowa State, UConn has lost three straight, and Murray State is the only undefeated team remaining. Despite this chaos, however, one fact is indisputable at this point in time: the Kentucky Wildcats are currently the best team in the NCAA.

    Their lone blemish on the season came in an instant classic against Indiana, an away game they lost by one point, on a buzzer beater three. Besides that, they’re perfect. With wins against Kansas, UNC, and Louisville, the Wildcats have been tested, and they have passed with relative ease, thanks in large part to the stellar play of freshman demolisher Anthony Davis.  

    Davis has a similar (but frighteningly more dominant) style to Greg Oden, back when Oden was a college star rather than a perennially injured NBA bust. Both big men are exceptional shot blockers. Oden averaged 3.3 blocks per game during his career at Ohio State; Davis averages a truly staggering 4.6 blocks per game. Oden posted 9.6 rebounds in his career; Davis is snatching 10.6 per game. Davis gets almost a steal more per game than did Oden; he shoots a higher percentage from the floor (64%) and the free throw line (68%).

    People always called Greg Oden a 40-year old man based on his grandfatherly facial features. Oden’s body is very fragile and he is injury-prone. Davis, meanwhile, has played in every game for the Wildcats and looks like a 19-year old kid with the health of a teenager and the body of a boxer.
Davis will likely enter the NBA draft next season, which is sensational for Kentucky’s opponents over the next three years.

    As for this year, if Anthony Davis is standing in your way on a drive to the basket, pass to a teammate to avoid getting embarrassed on national television. He’s that good. As long as Davis is a Wildcat, UK will likely remain number one and will be extremely tough in the tournament.