Kentucky basketball’s future opponents roll in ACC/Big Ten Challenge
I wrote about the Kentucky women’s 86-39 romp over Charlotte on Wednesday. After cruising to an 8-0 start, Matthew Mitchell’s team has some tough challenges on the schedule ahead.
Based on the play in the ACC/Big Ten Challenge, the same thing applies to John Calipari’s Kentucky men’s team.
On Dec. 21, Kentucky plays now sixth-ranked Ohio State in Las Vegas. The Buckeyes took apart seventh-ranked North Carolina 74-49 in Chapel Hill on Wednesday night. On Dec. 28, UK plays host to Louisville at Rupp Arena. The No. 1-ranked Cardinals handled No. 4 Michigan 58-43 on Tuesday night.
Ohio State handed Roy Williams his worst home loss
Let’s start with the Buckeyes, who buried the Tar Heels 45-22 in the second half at the Dean Smith Center. Coach Chris Holtmann’s team shot 54 percent the second half on the way to handing UNC Coach Roy Williams his worst home loss. The previous worst was last year’s 83-62 loss to Louisville.
Ohio State outscored the Heels 35-13 over the final 15 minutes. The Buckeyes are now 8-0 on the season. And they are winning with defense. Ranked 17th in Ken Pomeroy’s offensive efficiency rankings, they are No. 2 in defensive efficiency and No. 2 overall.
Louisville’s win over Michigan was impressive
No. 1? That would be Louisville, who cooled off red-hot Michigan at the Yum Center. The Cardinals held Michigan to 18 first-half points and 25.9 percent shooting for the night. Juwan Howard’s club, so impressive in winning the Battle 4 Atlantis last week in the Bahamas it went from unranked to No. 4 in the AP college basketball poll, missed 16 of 19 three-pointers.
Meanwhile, Louisville got 22 points and 12 rebounds from Jordan Nwora. Dwayne Sutton grabbed 11 rebounds. Stephen Enoch joined Nwora in the double-double category thanks to 13 points and 10 rebounds.
The Cards are third nationally in offensive efficiency, according to Pomeroy, and fourth in defensive efficiency. They shot just 36.7 percent against Michigan — Chris Mack’s club was 4-of-19 from three-point range — but won the game with defense.
Louisville has a pair of interesting games coming up, first against ACC foe Pittsburgh on Friday at the Yum Center and then national runner-up Texas Tech on Dec. 10 at Madison Square Garden in New York. U of L plays Eastern Kentucky on Dec. 14 and Miami of Ohio on Dec. 18 before coming to Rupp Arena.
Ohio State plays Big Ten surprise Penn State (7-1) on Saturday in Columbus. The Buckeyes are at Minnesota on Dec. 15, then return home to play Southeast Missouri State on Dec. 17 before heading to Vegas and the meeting with the Cats.
Here’s more to read on Louisville, Ohio State
▪ Rick Bozich of WDRB writes that Louisville showed Michigan who is really No. 1. “Defense ruled with authority. Nothing came easy, especially baskets for Michigan in Louisville’s 58-43 win. On a night when the program celebrated its No. 1 ranking as well as the Most Outstanding Players from three NCAA Final Fours, Louisville performed like a group that is serious about what is required to win in March.”
▪ Luke DeCock of the Raleigh News and Observer says North Carolina is struggling on offense, but so are other teams. “While the more distant three-point line has had a predictable negative influence on offense, it’s hardly the only factor. Some years have more talent than others. Some years it’s concentrated on a few teams. This season, neither appears to be true. Potentially unprecedented parity has produced unpredictability. Offensive efficiency is at lows not seen in two decades, two-point shooting is down from the past few years and three-point shooting is at its lowest rate ever. Even turnovers are up after a six-year decline.”
▪ Kyle Boone of CBS Sports says Ohio State earned some validation. “Ohio State’s schedule pre-UNC win was no cupcake, with wins over Cincinnati, Villanova and Kent State among others. Still, in some ways, a win over another top-10 team (Villanova was No. 10 when OSU beat it on Nov. 13 by 25 points) on the road provides validity to the Buckeyes. They entered the night with the best scoring margin among all teams at the Division I level, and a 25-point beatdown keeps on pace with their season average.”
▪ Our Jerry Tipton talked to Dick Vitale, who says UK’s season will be a roller-coaster ride. “This Kentucky team is going to be a good team,” he said. “I don’t think there’s any doubt. By the end of the (season), it’ll be a good basketball team. Will it be great? Probably not. But they’re going to be good.”
This story was originally published December 5, 2019 at 9:05 AM.
