Blue bloods with Bobby: Dec. 15

By Staff     Dec 15, 2016

Welcome back (or for the first time) to my college basketball blue bloods update, where I take a quick weekly glance at the top-10 teams in the country (based on the Associated Press poll).

It’s a little bit slow this time of the year because teams are off for finals and other schools are preparing for conference play and waiting to schedule some of those marquee games.

But a lot of that ends this weekend where there’s a good slate of games, including a Kentucky vs. North Carolina matchup in Vegas. So let’s get to it, this week’s blue bloods update:

1. Villanova
——–

It’s still early in the season, but Villanova senior guard Josh Hart has emerged as one of the top contenders for national player of the year honors. In a neutral site game against Notre Dame last weekend, Hart stepped up with a career-high 37 points to go along with 11 rebounds in a 74-66 win. Just as impressive, he scored those points on 14 shots.

After a strong win over Notre Dame, the defending champion Wildcats earned a 19-point victory over Temple, their 18th straight win in the City Series. Temple owns some wins against quality teams (Florida State and West Virginia), but Villanova’s defense was the difference. Hart scored 26 points in the victory, including 18 in the second half and six in the final minute of the first half.

**Record:** 11-0. **Next:** Dec. 21 vs. American.

2. UCLA
—–

After a road victory at Kentucky, the Bruins have simply averaged 102 points in wins over Michigan and Santa Barbara. In the win against Michigan, UCLA shot a ridiculous 20-of-27 in the second half. In a nice [analysis piece by Sports Illustrated’s Luke Winn][1], the Bruins are playing like a Roy Williams-coached team with an incredibly efficient offense playing at an extremely fast pace.

Of course, as mentioned above, if Josh Hart is one of the top contenders for national player of the year, freshman Lonzo Ball is right there next to him. In the last two games, he’s combined for 32 points, 17 rebounds, 11 assists and three steals in 67 minutes.

**Record:** 11-0. **Next:** Saturday vs. Ohio State in Las Vegas.

3. Kansas
——

At the beginning of the season, would anyone have guessed that the Jayhawks would become one of the best three-point shooting teams in the nation? The four-guard lineup has really stretched the floor and they aren’t missing when they take open shots. Matt Tait [broke it down really well in one of his latest stories in his Tale of the Tait blog.][2]

One note to add on Tait’s story: Frank Mason III is shooting 54.8 percent from deep (23 of 42). That would rank eighth in the country if he qualified (players must average 2.5 made threes per game; Mason is only two shy).

**Record:** 9-1. **Next:** Saturday vs. Davidson in Kansas City.

4. Baylor
——

Playing for the first time in 11 days, Baylor looked as sharp as ever in a 40-point rout against Southern on Wednesday night. The Bears shot 64 percent from the floor in the first half and it was essentially out of hand by halftime. Johnathan Motley recorded his seventh-career double-double with 20 points and 10 rebounds.

And how about Motley this year? He’s averaging 16.8 points and 8.4 rebounds per game in his junior season. He’s so tough around the rim and is shooting 52 percent from the field this year (51 of 98). Terry Maston, Baylor’s sixth man, served a one-game suspension Wednesday for showing up late to the game, according to the Waco Tribune-Herald.

**Record:** 9-0. **Next:** Saturday vs. Jackson State in Fort Hood.

5. Duke
—–

If you ask me, Duke is the best team in the country. Sure, there’s the loss to Kansas in New York last month. But the Blue Devils are returning to full strength and look scarier than ever for opposing defenses. After a 10-point win over Florida, Duke earned a 49-point victory against UNLV at T-Mobile Arena, the first-ever game played in Vegas’ newest arena on the Strip. It’ll be home to the NHL’s Vegas Golden Knights next year.

In the beatdown over UNLV, Grayson Allen proved he was healthier than he’s shown in the past few weeks, breaking out for a career-high 34 points on 12-of-16 shooting in 29 minutes. Amile Jefferson added 10 points and 12 rebounds, while Luke Kennard (16) and Jayson Tatum (13) finished with double-digit point totals. Once this team has more time to play together and gel, I think the Blue Devils will bulldoze some strong teams in ACC play.

**Record:** 10-1. **Next:** Monday vs. Tennessee State.

6. Kentucky
——-

After a home loss against UCLA, the Wildcats have bounced back with 20-plus point wins against Valparaiso and Hofstra. Now it’s a ridiculous stretch against North Carolina (neutral site) and at Louisville in the next week.

Isaiah Briscoe, who returned for his sophomore season, had one of his better games against Hofstra, scoring 19 points on 8-of-11 shooting with six assists in 32 minutes. Kyle Tucker of SEC Country [broke down the Wildcats individually.][3]

**Record:** 9-1. **Next:** Saturday vs. North Carolina in Las Vegas.

7. North Carolina
———–

Roy Williams has made a lot of headlines this month during his postgame press conferences. After telling reporters that “we sucked” in a 9-point win over Davidson, he called his team’s 73-71 win over Tennessee, “the luckiest I’ve ever been in 1,003 games.” UNC trailed by 15 points in the first half, but pulled out a win in a back-and-forth second half. After his press conference, he sent out a press release to compliment the Smith Center crowd, which he criticized earlier in the year.

But it’s not all negative headlines for the former KU coach. One woman named her dog Roy, inspired by the coach, and after the dog recently died, Williams penned a letter to the woman.

**Record:** 10-1. **Next:** Saturday vs. Kentucky in Las Vegas.

8. Gonzaga
——-

The ‘Zags are off to their first 10-0 start since becoming a Div. I program in 1958 following an 18-point win over Akron. Just don’t expect them to celebrate much. “I live for the next game,” coach Mark Few said. “I don’t spend a lot of time looking back.” This team is so well balanced it has six scorers averaging between nine and 14 points.

“I love their team,” said San Diego State coach Steve Fisher, who lost 69-48 to Gonzaga in November. “I was immensely impressed.”

**Record:** 10-0. **Next:** Sunday at Tennessee.

9. Indiana
——-

With a strong offense, Indiana rolled past Houston Baptist, 103-61, last week. It’s all a prequel to one of the top match-ups this weekend: Indiana vs. Butler in the Crossroads Classic.

OG Anunoby, an extremely athletic wing, is expected to return from injury. Indiana coach Tom Crean said he was cleared and Anunoby did go through warmups against Houston Baptist. That would only be a boost for the Hoosiers on the glass where they are outrebounding opponents, 45-31.

**Record:** 8-1. **Next:** Saturday vs. Butler in Indianapolis.

10. Creighton
———

The Blue Jays scored a ridiculous 62 points in the first half during their 113-58 rout against Longwood last week, shooting 68.8 percent during those first 20 minutes.

Kansas State transfer Marcus Foster was [featured in a video from the NCAA][4] after leading Creighton to a strong start.

**Record:** 10-0. **Next:** Saturday vs. Oral Roberts.

**Three teams trending up**

1. Florida State: Picked up a five-point home win over rival Florida, improving to 10-1. Plus standout freshman Jonathan Isaac returned from a hip injury.

2. USC: Off to their best start since 1971, the Trojans are 9-0.

3. Wichita State: After back-to-back losses to Louisville and Michigan State at the end of the November, the Shockers have won four straight games, including a three-point win over Oklahoma. Conner Frankamp is averaging 5.9 points and 2.6 assists.

**Three teams trending down**

1. South Carolina: Suffered first loss of the season Monday against Seton Hall. That was a week after leading scorer and rebounder Sindarius Thornwell was indefinitely suspended. The Post and Courier reported he was arrested in May on charges of possession of marijuana and driving under a suspended license.

2. Iowa State: Lost three of its last four games, including a 14-point road loss against rival Iowa. The Cyclones aren’t shooting well and only scored four fast-break points against the Hawkeyes.

3. Princeton: Out to a 4-5 start after losing two starters to injury. Both Henry Caruso (toe) and Hans Brase (knee) are expected to miss the rest of the season.

[1]: http://www.si.com/college-basketball/2016/12/14/ucla-bruins-steve-alford-lonzo-ball-offense
[2]: http://www2.kusports.com/weblogs/tale-tait/2016/dec/14/three-point-shot-a-real-weapon-for-kus-f/
[3]: https://www.seccountry.com/kentucky/kentucky-basketball-player-grades-10-games-analytics
[4]: http://www.ncaa.com/video/basketball-men/2016-12-13/mbk-newcomer-spotlight-mens-basketball-marcus-foster-creighton

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