CBB: No. 3 Kansas at No. 5 Kentucky
Week 11 was kind of a sleeper week as there were only three ranked-vs.-ranked matchups, but No. 17 Arizona's upset at No. 2 UCLA was far and away the highlight as the Wildcats proved they are a potential Final Four type of team.
Week 12 is headlined by No. 3 Kansas at No. 5 Kentucky, which we will preview below, as well as predicting games like No. 3 Kansas at No. 15 West Virginia, No. 10 Virginia at No. 18 Notre Dame, No. 6 UCLA at No. 24 USC, No. 23 Xavier at No. 21 Cincinnati, and more. We will also release our latest top-25 and a Wooden Award watch list. Check it out below.
Top-25:
1. Gonzaga (20-0)
2. Villanova (19-1)
3. Kansas (18-1)
4. Baylor (18-1)
5. Kentucky (17-2)
6. UCLA (19-2)
7. Arizona (18-2)
8. North Carolina (18-3)
9. Florida State (18-2)
10. Virginia (15-3)
11. Oregon (18-2)
12. Wisconsin (16-3)
13. Louisville (16-4)
14. Butler (17-3)
15. Maryland (17-2)
16. Creighton (18-2)
17. West Virginia (15-4)
18. Notre Dame (17-3)
19. Purdue (16-4)
20. Duke (15-5)
21. Cincinnati (17-2)
22. St. Mary's (17-2)
23. Xavier (14-5)
24. USC (17-4)
25. South Carolina (15-4)
On the Bubble:
26. Kansas State (15-4)
27. Virginia Tech (15-4)
28. Florida (14-5)
29. California (14-6)
30. Indiana (14-6)
Post:
No. 3 Kansas at No. 15 West Virginia
No. 10 Virginia at No. 18 Notre Dame
No. 6 UCLA at No. 24 USC
Virginia Tech at No. 8 North Carolina
No. 23 Xavier at No. 21 Cincinnati
No. 9 Florida State at Syracuse
No. 8 North Carolina at Miami (FL)
No. 20 Duke at Wake Forest
No. 4 Baylor at Ole Miss
No. 3 Kansas at No. 5 Kentucky
Week 11 Record: 8-2.
Overall Record: 89-31.
Winning Percentage: 74.2%.
Stoll:
No. 3 Kansas at No. 15 West Virginia
No. 10 Virginia at No. 18 Notre Dame
No. 6 UCLA at No. 24 USC
Virginia Tech at No. 8 North Carolina
No. 23 Xavier at No. 21 Cincinnati
No. 9 Florida State at Syracuse
No. 8 North Carolina at Miami (FL)
No. 20 Duke at Wake Forest
No. 4 Baylor at Ole Miss
No. 3 Kansas at No. 5 Kentucky
Week 11 Record: N/A.
Overall Record: 75-35.
Winning Percentage: 68.2%.
No. 3 Kansas (18-1, 7-0) at No. 5 Kentucky (17-2, 7-0)
This one is going to be fun! After seeing these two teams face off each of the last two seasons, splitting the meetings, we are being treated to Round 3 in Lexington, KY. I picked Kansas to go to the Final Four for the same reason I'll take them in this game: Frank Mason (20.1 points per game) and Devonte' Graham (4.8 assists per game). They will be faced with the difficult task of guarding Malik Monk (21.7 points per game) and De'Aaron Fox, if he is healthy and ready-to-go. Kentucky has been one of the most efficient scoring teams (92.9 points per game, 18.0 assists per game) in the nation, but I think Carlton Bragg, Josh Jackson, Landen Lucas (7.9 rebounds per game), and the "other guys" on Kansas will step up enough to push their winning streak to 19-straight games.
Current No. 1 Seeds:
No. 1 Gonzaga (20-0, 7-0)
No. 2 Villanova (19-1, 6-1)
No. 3 Kansas (18-1, 7-0)
No. 4 Baylor (18-1, 6-1)
Final Four Picks:
Wooden Award Standings:
1. Josh Hart (Villanova SG) -- 19.2 points, 6.5 rebounds per game.
2. Frank Mason (Kansas PG) -- 20.1 points, 5.4 assists per game.
3. Lonzo Ball (UCLA PG) -- 14.9 points, 8.2 assists per game.
4. De'Aaron Fox (Kentucky PG) -- 16.2 points, 6.0 assists per game.
5. Marcus Keene (Central Michigan PG) -- 29.8 points, 5.3 assists per game.
Photo Credit: Odyssey.
