Weekend preview: Everybody’s just going after UConn and Purdue
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Myron Medcalf, ESPN Personnel WriterFeb 16, 2024, 09:30 AM ET Close Covers college basketball
- Joined ESPN.com in 2011
- Graduate of Minnesota State University, Mankato
This is generally the time within the college basketball season when the word parity is regularly used.As March methods and a collection of imperfect groups aim to strike their strides before the postseason, it often looks like if there is a crowd of good groups on top however not necessarily a team that has separated itself. While the various losses by top 10 teams in roadway games against unranked challengers this season have supported the case for parity, they do not inform the complete story.The story of college basketball today? A pack of groups are chasing after UConn and Purdue, two teams that have distanced themselves from the field. Those 2 are inching toward greatness.So the concern is not which team will emerge in March, but can
any team stop Purdue and UConn, or are they destined to fight each other in the national title game? The Boilermakers have Zach Edey, who will likely win a 2nd successive Wood Award, and wins over Gonzaga, Tennessee, Marquette, Illinois, Alabama and Arizona. UConn hasn’t lost a game since Dec. 20. The Huskies and Boilermakers aren’t because parity group. They have actually been the most dominant forces in the sport. Will anybody catch them?All chances from ESPN BET.
Saturday, 6 p.m. ET, ESPN After the 75-63 home win over Ole Miss, John Calipari said his Kentucky group is constructed for the postseason, citing all of its strengths: an elite offensive crew (No. 7 in adjusted offensive efficiency on KenPom), a low turnover rate and NBA-level talent who can rapidly shift a game.Editor’s Picks 2 Associated He’s ideal. However NCAA competition history recommends a team that struggles to this degree defensively(107th in adjusted defensive efficiency on KenPom)may not fare well in the postseason. Three of the Last Four groups a year ago were leading 35 in protective performance on Selection Sunday, the outlier being a Miami group that was 132nd but with a top-15 offense.Kentucky will have to beat gifted teams to reach its goal. That includes Johni Broome(
16.0 PPG, 8.6 RPG, 2.4 BPG )and the Tigers, who can match Kentucky’s offensive output (18 games with 80 or more points) and haven’t lost a home game this season.Medcalf’s choice: Auburn 88-83; Versus the spread: Not available at time of publication
Saturday, 3 p.m. ET, Fox With Tyler Kolek and Oso Ighodaro on the floor together, Marquette has produced 110.4 points per 100 possessions and held its challengers to 94.7 points per 100 belongings, according to EvanMiya.com. Kolek, who won Big East player of the year honors last season, is averaging 16.1 PPG, 7.4 APG, 1.7 SPG and 41% shooting from beyond the arc– that’s even better than he did a year earlier. Marquette hasn’t lost since Jan. 10 in this fight in between the top groups in the Big East standings.But we’ve reached a point in the season, again, where UConn appears like a team that might not lose. Seriously. The Huskies(59.2%inside the arc)are on a 13-game winning streak, seven of those triumphes coming by double digits. In 2015, the Huskies didn’t strike their stride till mid-February. However they lead schedule and better than that squad in numerous metrics. And, Tristen Newton(15.2 PPG, 6.6 RPG, 5.8 APG) appears like an All-American. Medcalf’s choice: UConn 77-72; Against the spread: Not available sometimes of publication
Saturday, 4 p.m. ET, ESPN At this point, the Huge 12 title has ended up being a fading dream for a Kansas team that’s lost 5 of its previous six roadway games and still has 3 more (including at Baylor and Houston)on its conference slate. This is the very same Kansas team that’s wanting to secure a front runner in the NCAA tournament.Top stories of the week from
Get exclusive access to countless premium short articles a year from leading authors. – Lowe: What to make from LeBron-Warriors”- Kiper’s new Big Board: Upgraded top 25
“- Bilas Index: Ranking the top 68 teams” More ESPN +content” However all of this is secondary to the team’s ongoing injury issues. Kevin McCullar
Jr. (19.5 PPG )has missed back-to-back games due
to a knee injury and Dajuan Harris Jr. is playing through an ankle injury he suffered last weekend versus Baylor.Will Kansas limp into the NCAA competition? Will the road problems continue in Norman? Possibly, possibly not.Medcalf’s pick: Kansas 72-68; Versus the spread: Not available sometimes of publication Saturday, twelve noon ET, ESPN When Florida Atlantic’s top factors returned for another season after a dazzling Final 4 trip, college basketball had another fairy-tale to follow. Ends up this season has actually been more like a rough comedy for Johnell Davis(18.6 PPG, 47%from beyond the arc)& Co., who declare a win over
Arizona but losses to Bryant, Florida Gulf Coast, Charlotte and UAB.South Florida, which was selected to finish ninth in the league’s preseason poll, is the real story in the American Athletic Conference. First-year coach Amir Abdur-Rahim, who led Kennesaw State to the NCAA competition in 2015, got in the week with the first-place group in the AAC– the group second-place FAU has to capture. Chris Youngblood(15.0 PPG )leads a team that’s made 39 %of its 3-point attempts in league play.Medcalf’s pick: Florida Atlantic 77-71; Against the spread: Unavailable at time of publication SEASON overalls Medcalf’s choices straight up: 30-21 Against the spread: 25-26