College hoops season has wrapped up its first month, its a good time to look forward to December and the most interesting stories to follow before conference play starts.
The most interesting one would be the struggle between Duke and Indiana for the #1 spot in the rankings.Indiana has got the talent, probably the best roster in college basketball today.And they're about to get big men Peter Jurkin, Hanner Mosquera-Perrea and Derek Elston back from suspensions (the former two) and injuries (Elston).Duke, on the other hand, just keep winning.Having beaten Kentucky, Louisville and Ohio State should have been enough for the #1 spot for them, especially considering the fact that the only quality victory the Hoosiers have so far is over North Carolina, which is ranked lower than the three previously mentioned.Both teams have six non-conference games to play, all against low-level teams, with the only exceptions being Indiana hosting Butler, and Duke hosting Temple - games in which they shouldn't stumble.Most probably until the Hoosiers lose they will still possess the #1 spot, and that might take time, as their conference schedule in January is probably the easiest they could get, with home games against Minnesota, Wisconsin and Michigan State, and the only semi-tough away games being at Northwestern and at Purdue.At that time Duke will have to play at NC State and at Miami, with a big enough chance to drop one of those two.I expect the chips to fall somewhere around the second week of February.
The second interesting story for me leading into December would be the Kentucky Wildcats.The team that tried to reload right after losing their six leading players in the summer simply doesn't look as frightening as they were expected to.The loss to Duke at the Champions Classic was understandable and forgivable, the loss to Notre Dame - now that one starts to rise eyebrows.Then came the loss to Baylor (I actually started writing this post long before the game, but by the time I reached this sentence I've received the update).Things are not looking well for the team that was ranked #3 before the season, and they still have a game against Louisville in the end of December right before conference play begins.When it begins the first four games will be at Vanderbilt, at home against Texas A&M and Tennessee, and then at Auburn - four games that should be won.
A team that will gain the most from a Kentucky downfall would be the Florida Gators.Currently at 6-0, carrying a quality win over Wisconsin, and a trashing of Marquette at the SEC-Big East Challenge, the Gators actually have a tougher schedule in December than in November, with games at Florida State, at Arizona, and at home against Kansas State.Entering conference play even with two losses will still make them SEC favorites.One loss will put them in the top 5 ranking, and in the unlikely case of finishing December undefeated one could make the case for them as potential Final Four contenders, at least for the time being.
In other places:Louisville, that have dropped from the #2 ranking to #5 following the loss to Duke, Syracuse, that are currently at #6 but without any really impressive wins so far except for maybe the win against San Diego State, and Cincinnati who are still undefeated, will be all looking to gain momentum before the upcoming Big East season.#4 Ohio State and #10 Kansas will try to avoid upsets before their clash at Value City Arena in Columbus on December 22nd.And there is also a North Carolina team that like Kentucky seem to be struggling early in the season and a Michigan team that seem to be ready for the battles against Indiana and Ohio State at the top of the Big Ten, which currently seems to be the strongest conference until the ACC and the Big East strugglers prove otherwise.
So its going to be a long month of college hoops, that will probably raise more questions than answers.And thats before conference play even begins.
The most interesting one would be the struggle between Duke and Indiana for the #1 spot in the rankings.Indiana has got the talent, probably the best roster in college basketball today.And they're about to get big men Peter Jurkin, Hanner Mosquera-Perrea and Derek Elston back from suspensions (the former two) and injuries (Elston).Duke, on the other hand, just keep winning.Having beaten Kentucky, Louisville and Ohio State should have been enough for the #1 spot for them, especially considering the fact that the only quality victory the Hoosiers have so far is over North Carolina, which is ranked lower than the three previously mentioned.Both teams have six non-conference games to play, all against low-level teams, with the only exceptions being Indiana hosting Butler, and Duke hosting Temple - games in which they shouldn't stumble.Most probably until the Hoosiers lose they will still possess the #1 spot, and that might take time, as their conference schedule in January is probably the easiest they could get, with home games against Minnesota, Wisconsin and Michigan State, and the only semi-tough away games being at Northwestern and at Purdue.At that time Duke will have to play at NC State and at Miami, with a big enough chance to drop one of those two.I expect the chips to fall somewhere around the second week of February.
The second interesting story for me leading into December would be the Kentucky Wildcats.The team that tried to reload right after losing their six leading players in the summer simply doesn't look as frightening as they were expected to.The loss to Duke at the Champions Classic was understandable and forgivable, the loss to Notre Dame - now that one starts to rise eyebrows.Then came the loss to Baylor (I actually started writing this post long before the game, but by the time I reached this sentence I've received the update).Things are not looking well for the team that was ranked #3 before the season, and they still have a game against Louisville in the end of December right before conference play begins.When it begins the first four games will be at Vanderbilt, at home against Texas A&M and Tennessee, and then at Auburn - four games that should be won.
A team that will gain the most from a Kentucky downfall would be the Florida Gators.Currently at 6-0, carrying a quality win over Wisconsin, and a trashing of Marquette at the SEC-Big East Challenge, the Gators actually have a tougher schedule in December than in November, with games at Florida State, at Arizona, and at home against Kansas State.Entering conference play even with two losses will still make them SEC favorites.One loss will put them in the top 5 ranking, and in the unlikely case of finishing December undefeated one could make the case for them as potential Final Four contenders, at least for the time being.
In other places:Louisville, that have dropped from the #2 ranking to #5 following the loss to Duke, Syracuse, that are currently at #6 but without any really impressive wins so far except for maybe the win against San Diego State, and Cincinnati who are still undefeated, will be all looking to gain momentum before the upcoming Big East season.#4 Ohio State and #10 Kansas will try to avoid upsets before their clash at Value City Arena in Columbus on December 22nd.And there is also a North Carolina team that like Kentucky seem to be struggling early in the season and a Michigan team that seem to be ready for the battles against Indiana and Ohio State at the top of the Big Ten, which currently seems to be the strongest conference until the ACC and the Big East strugglers prove otherwise.
So its going to be a long month of college hoops, that will probably raise more questions than answers.And thats before conference play even begins.
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