Villanova's huge "College GameDay" tilt with Big East favorite Pittsburgh (tonight! 9 p.m. ET! ESPN!) has a lot to live up to. Not only have we already seen the No. 1 team fall in thrilling fashion to Wisconsin in Madison, culminating in one of the most impressive, if slightly questionable, court-storming efforts we've seen this season. (Mostly it just made me want to go to State Street. Lucky college kids.) We've also had some pretty important and entertaining games throughout the day, from Louisville's win over Syracuse to yet another SEC road loss for Kentucky at Vanderbilt.
A sampling of some of those games -- and assorted analysis therein -- follows. (Note: We'll have a comprehensive bubble-heavy post later this evening.)
No. 24 Vanderbilt 81, No. 18 Kentucky 77: Another road game in the SEC, another loss for the young Kentucky Wildcats. This is becoming something of a concern. It's not that losing to Florida and Vanderbilt is something to be ashamed of. Florida and Vanderbilt are good teams with tough home crowds behind them; it's very difficult to win in either gym. But for a team with Kentucky's talent -- not to mention a top-10 efficiency profile and an usually stifling defense -- the Wildcats' ongoing inability to separate themselves from the rest of the SEC East has to be a bit disconcerting. John Calipari agrees. He used boxing gloves and a hanging bag in an attempt to instill an edge in his players this week. UK showed plenty of toughness Saturday -- there was plenty of physical play from both teams -- but Calipari's team was done in by a brilliant performance from Commodores guard John Jenkins, who scored 32 points on 17 shots including a 6-of-10 tally from beyond 3-point range. The win was Vanderbilt's second huge home victory in three days (beat Alabama on Thursday) and, quirkily enough, its second straight 81-77 win. When Jenkins shoots like this, the Commodores are going to very, very difficult to beat. But the real takeaway here is Wildcats-related. Kentucky, easily the most talented and arguably the youngest team in the SEC, is now 5-5 in conference play. This team is much too gifted for that sort of mediocrity.
No. 15 Louisville 73, No. 13 Syracuse 69: While we're on the subject of teams too talented to be mediocre, we might as well discuss the Syracuse Orange. This was Syracuse's second straight loss -- the first being Wednesday's home defeat at the hands of the Georgetown Hoyas -- and its sixth in eight games. Given all that, there are a couple of different ways to look at this one. The pessimists (read: freaked-out Syracuse fans) could see this loss, and Syracuse's ugly 7-6 Big East record, as the signs of a team that just isn't very good. The optimists could point instead to the brutal stretch Jim Boeheim's team has faced; plenty of teams would get eaten alive by the nightly rigors of the Big East. The answer is probably somewhere in the middle. Yes, the Big East is tough, but Syracuse is also struggling. It's especially vulnerable on the offensive end, where Boeheim's team turns the ball over too frequently and often lacks the consistent shooting we've associated with his program for years. The Orange were better Saturday -- their offense allowed them to get back into this one -- but they trailed for much of the game because they couldn't keep pace with Louisville's impressive shooting. The offensive spurt and late comeback is a positive sign. The initial deficit is a negative one. In other words, this Syracuse team has some nagging flaws holding it back right now, and until those flaws get fixed, it won't be much more than a second-tier team in a loaded, challenging conference.
And without focusing too much on the negative, it should be noted that this Louisville team -- which no one bought into in the offseason -- continues to be a pleasant surprise. If he isn't already, Rick Pitino should be in the coach of the year discussion. What he's done with this group of players -- getting back to his uptempo, pressing roots -- is as impressive as anything we've seen in college hoops this season.
No. 22 Texas A&M 70, Texas Tech 67: Sometimes winning on the road in conference play doubles as an elaborate escape act. This game -- one Texas A&M almost had to win, as weird as that sounds -- fits that profile. It's the second straight conference road game Texas A&M has won by three points, the first coming in overtime at Colorado on Wednesday. These nail-biters could just as easily have gone the other way, which would have been the fourth and fifth consecutive losses for A&M. Instead, the Aggies have stopped the bleeding. But concerns about whether this team is fading somewhat -- or maybe isn't all that good in the first place -- are still valid. After all, A&M earned its lauded reputation on the strength of its overtime home win over Missouri on Jan. 15. Since then, the Aggies have lost to Nebraska and Baylor, been dominated by Texas twice, and were nearly beaten by two of the Big 12's worst in consecutive games. Nor does A&M's best nonconference win -- 63-62 at home over Washington -- seem all that impressive these days. Maybe these games aren't surprisingly close. Instead, maybe A&M just isn't as good as we thought.
Quick hits:
- Notre Dame just keeps rolling along; the Irish blew out South Florida today, moving to 21-4 (10-3 Big East) in the process. After mentioning Rick Pitino's strong coach of the year candidacy above, it'd be a crime not to give some love to Notre Dame coach Mike Brey, too. Relative to their preseason expectations (not to mention their talent), the Irish might be the most surprising team of the season.
- Missouri had no issues at home vs. an Oklahoma team that's gotten dangerous as its improved in the past month.
- North Carolina held off the pesky Clemson Tigers at Littlejohn Coliseum. That counts as a a nice -- albeit scary -- recovery from the Duke loss for UNC, and huge missed opportunity for Clemson. (More on that later.)
Jordan Farmar Kyle Busch Kenneth William Schrader US ARMY Chevrolet Elliott William Ron Artest
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