NCAA Basketball Rankings: Heavy’s Top 30 for December 19

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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