10. Louisville
Record: 10-1
Last week’s ranking: 11th
AP ranking: 10th
Coaches’ poll ranking: 11th
Games last week: W 87-56 vs. Eastern Kentucky
Games this week: vs. Kentucky (December 21)
Breakdown: After rolling past Eastern Kentucky in the Billy Minardi Classic Saturday, Louisville prepares for its penultimate non-conference game and it’s a big one. Rival Kentucky visits the KFC Yum! Center Wednesday night, and Louisville will have the task of slowing down guards De’Aaron Fox and Malik Monk. Monk went off for 47 in the Wildcats’ win over North Carolina Saturday, but the good news for Louisville is that they lead the nation in both effective field goal percentage defense and adjusted defensive efficiency. Guards Quentin Snider and Donovan Mitchell will be key for Rick Pitino’s team offensively, and Louisville will have a shot to win thanks to their defense.
9. Creighton
Record: 11-0
Last week’s ranking: 9th
AP ranking: 9th
Coaches’ poll ranking: 9th
Games last week: W 66-65 vs. Oral Roberts
Games this week: at Arizona State (December 20)
Breakdown: After winning many of their first ten games thanks to their offensive firepower, the Bluejays had to call on their defense to hold off ORU on Saturday. Creighton went more than five minutes without a field goal to end the game, but they still had enough points to win the game. Tuesday night Maurice Watson Jr. and company visit an Arizona State team that has struggled defensively, and after starting the season 2-0 the Sun Devils have lost five of their last nine. ASU has alternated wins with losses during this stretch, and with their last game being a loss to New Mexico St. Bobby Hurley’s team could be due. At minimum, they’ll be motivated to salvage something from a disappointing non-conference portion of their schedule, so Creighton needs to be mentally ready to go from the start.
8. Gonzaga
Record: 11-0
Last week’s ranking: 8th
AP ranking: 7th
Coaches’ poll ranking: 7th
Games last week: W 86-76 vs. Tennessee
Games this week: vs. South Dakota (December 21)
Breakdown: Gonzaga’s depth has been praised throughout the first 11 games of the season, and their reserves came through in Sunday’s win over Tennessee in Nashville. With multiple starters saddled with foul trouble, Silas Melson, Zach Collins and Killian Tillie combined to score 24 points and grab 14 rebounds. Add in four assists from Melson, and the trio had a very good day against a Tennessee squad that managed to trim the margin to four points with just over four minutes remaining. Unless something wild happens in their game against South Dakota, the Bulldogs will start WCC play undefeated. And with neither Saint Mary’s nor BYU being on the schedule until mid-January (Saint Mary’s visits on January 14), Mark Few’s team could be unblemished for quite some time.
7. North Carolina
Record: 10-2
Last week’s ranking: 7th
AP ranking: 8th
Coaches’ poll ranking: 8th
Games last week: L 103-100 vs. Kentucky
Games this week: vs. Northern Iowa (December 21)
Breakdown: It’s hard to drop North Carolina much further than this given how their game against Kentucky at the CBS Sports Classic in Las Vegas went. Sure they were down for most of the game, but the Tar Heels managed to hang around thanks to Justin Jackson’s 34 points and led by two with 20 seconds to go. Malik Monk hit a three-pointer with 17 seconds remaining that gave Kentucky the lead for good, a fitting conclusion to his 47-point night. UNC had trouble defending Monk and De’Aaron Fox, but that’s something a lot of team will be faced with. And with Joel Berry II back and looking healthy, the Tar Heels don’t have much to fret about.
6. Kentucky
Record: 10-1
Last week’s ranking: 7th
AP ranking: 6th
Coaches’ poll ranking: 5th
Games last week: W 103-100 vs. North Carolina
Games this week: at Louisville (December 21)
Breakdown: While there’s certainly reason to celebrate Kentucky’s win over North Carolina, the players don’t have that kind of time on their hands thanks to the schedule. Next up for John Calipari’s team is in-state rival Louisville, which will be a good test in multiple ways for his young team. First and foremost, Louisville’s a very good team that has been the best defensive team in the country per Ken Pomeroy’s numbers. Secondly, going from North Carolina to Louisville with no game in between tests the ability of Calipari’s team to focus on the next task in front of them. This is a week that could help Kentucky not only now but down the line as well, and it would be even bigger if they managed to knock off the Cardinals.
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