What we learned: North Carolina, Kansas and Tennessee with top-10

Saturday’s slate of top-10 matches not only provided a possibility for some of the most interesting basketball we’ve experienced this season however it was likewise a chance to address a few concerns. In the ACC, North Carolina had actually skyrocketed ahead of its meeting with competing Duke, and then, it lost at Georgia Tech. Heaven Devils are stacked with a predicted lottery pick (Kyle Filipowski) and a fleet of first-class prospects, but Jon Scheyer’s team had actually not beat many elite teams, as it prepared for the Tar Heels. Which team would show something on Saturday?Editor’s Picks

1 Related Houston had been on a five-game winning streak. However could they stop Kansas if the Jayhawks fumed in Allen Fieldhouse? Would Johnny Furphy’s breakout stretch continue for Kansas? Could Dalton Knecht add another big efficiency in his pursuit of Zach Edey and the Wood Award? And would Kentucky really play defense?By completion of

Saturday night, we had some answers.ESPN’s Myron Medcalf, Jeff Borzello and Joe Lunardi have taken in the 3 huge top-10 matches and have some thoughts.

play 0:26 Filipowski, Ingram get testy in Duke-UNC matchup Tempers flare as Duke and North Carolina attempt to help their teammates up from the floor.Medcalf: Hubert Davis has actually not been shy about praising Harrison Ingram (21 points, 5-for-9 from the 3-point line, 13 rebounds, 4 steals), the Stanford transfer, for his poise, impact and management. On Saturday, he played like the third star on a group with nationwide title aspirations. With RJ Davis (5-for-14) having a hard time, Ingram put together among the most outstanding well-rounded efforts of the weekend and enhanced the concept that the Tar Heels might make their 2nd Last 4 run in three years. For everything Ingram did on offense, he was likewise disruptive for a group that turned Duke (5-for-19 from the 3-point line) into a below average 3-point shooting group (heaven Devils had actually connected on 39 percent of their shots from beyond the arc entering the game). With Armando Bacot and Davis, the Tar Heels have a set of legitimate elite talents. However Ingram’s best game of the year showed up in the biggest game of the year. Which’s a promising sign for Davis’ rotation and Ingram’s future contributions for a team with national title dreams.Borzello: Armando Bacot has taken a backseat offensively this season to RJ Davis, which is admirable in a manner, however Hubert Davis was vocal previously this week about requiring Bacot to go back to the production level he had previously in his profession in order for Carolina to reach its complete capacity. After balancing 6.3 points and 6.7 rebounds over his last 3 games, Bacot appeared like his dominant self against Duke. He completed with 25 points, 10 rebounds and 5 helps. Carolina made a collective effort to get him touches in good areas in the post and Bacot was able to go to work early and frequently. He was likewise active on the offensive glass and hardly ever required offense when Duke had the ability to double-team him on the block. Davis has been perhaps the best guard in the country this season, however Bacot provides Carolina a physicality and post existence that extremely few teams can match on the interior. When he plays like he did tonight, it brings a various dimension to the Tar Heels’ offense.Joe Lunardi’s bracket effect: North Carolina highly verified its No. 1 seed status. The Tar Heels stay 4th amongst those on the top line of the forecasted bracket, but took a huge step toward gathering what would be the ACC’s very first 1-seed in 5 years. Maybe more notably, it’s now rather most likely Carolina will open its NCAA tournament run-regardless of seed-in neighboring Charlotte. This huge in-state advantage has been enjoyed frequently by ACC groups over the years. Duke, on the other hand, continues to reside in the 3/4 seed variety, however could undoubtedly improve on that with a victory in the groups ‘rematch next month. play 0:25 Kansas fans go wild after this Kevin McCullar Jr. sequence Kevin McCullar Jr. gets a steal and goes all the way for a substantial slam to put Kansas up 15 over Houston.Myron Medcalf: During their five-game winning streak they delighted in before their loss at Kansas on Saturday, Houston

had been a dangerous protective team that had held their opponents to a 44 percent clip inside the 3-point line. But the other side of that success deserved considering, too: The Cougars had actually gone cold. Throughout those 5 games, Houston was a sub-300 group with a 44 percent clip inside the 3-point line on offense. They ended up 16-for-40(40 percent )in their loss to the Jayhawks, who made 78 percent of their 2-pointers. Kansas made almost 70 percent of their field-goal efforts. The very best protective group in America couldn’t stall Costs Self’s squad. But they also could not stay up to date with that offensive barrage. And that has quietly been a subplot for this Houston squad. Can Houston win it all? That will depend on its capability to not only safeguard a hot team however to match it.Jeff Borzello: Kansas was lights-out offensively on Saturday, but it’s been the ongoing emergence of Johnny Furphy as a genuine offensive choice that takes the Jayhawks to another level at that end of the floor. All season, Costs Self discussed the requirement to find a reputable 5th player beyond his 4 veteran anchors– Hunter Dickinson, Kevin McCullar Jr., KJ Adams and Dajuan Harris Jr. At various times, Elmarko Jackson, Nicolas Timberlake and Jamari McDowell all stepped up, however nobody could do it regularly till Furphy was placed into the lineup in mid-January. He’s scored in double-figures in six straight games, and opted for 17 points and eight rebounds on Saturday against Houston, striking three 3-pointers. The freshman from Australia has 6-foot-9 size, is shooting 44.4 percent from 3-point range and is a finisher in transition. His capability to extend the flooring and take a few of the heat off Dickinson and McCullar Jr. makes Kansas much harder to defend.Lunardi’s bracket effect: Even in defeat, Houston stays a strong No. 1 seed on our board. A single loss at Phog Allen Field Home isn’t going to cause much of a budge in the Cougars’power numbers. They entered this game ranked initially in NET, BPI and KenPom, as well as 2nd in our Strength of Record( SOR )metric. For Kansas, this was an optimal primary step back to a possible No. 1 seed. The Jayhawks will more than likely be a 2-seed when we upgrade the complete bracket on Tuesday, however the leading line is well within reach for a program that has actually lived in the 1-seed community virtually all of Expense Self’s tenure. play 0:21 Vescovi blows a kiss to the Kentucky fans after the 3 Tennessee’s Santiago Vescovi tears down the

3-pointer and blows a kiss to the Kentucky crowd.Medcalf: Kentucky’s skill can’t conquer its defensive troubles. That’s an obstacle that might cause another early surface in March.

Days after it suffered a loss to Florida– the Gators signed up 118 points per 100 possessions– Kentucky quit 103 indicate Tennessee in a loss. Kentucky boasts several forecasted first-round picks in 2024, per ESPN’s latest mock draft. But that skill can’t eliminate history: No group with a sub-75 mark in adjusted defensive effectiveness has ever won a national title. The Wildcats were 76th in adjusted protective efficiency before the Tennessee home loss on Saturday. They have surrendered 85 points or more in 7 games this season. Rob Dillingham(35 points versus the Vols)and his colleagues can install huge numbers, but the Wildcats just don’t have the analytical makeup of a Final Four group based on their defensive problems. How bad are they? Four sub-100 groups on KenPom have wins over the exact same UNC-Wilmington( 50 percent clip inside the arc)team that beat Kentucky on Dec. 2 at Rupp Arena. This isn’t an issue for John Calipari’s squad. It’s a crisis.Borzello: The story for Tennessee the last few weeks has been Dalton Knecht, Dalton Knecht, Dalton Knecht. The Northern Colorado transfer has actually been among the very best players in college basketball all season,

but he’s taken his game to a brand-new level in the past 5 games, balancing just under 32 points per game over that period. On Saturday in Lexington, though, Knecht cooled off, completing with 16 points on 5-for-14 shooting. But the Volunteers showed they can win without him having a monster efficiency. Zakai Zeigler showed elite playmaking ability with 26 points and 13 assists, while Josiah-Jordan James went for 26 points. The team shot 12-for-30 from 3-point range and likewise scored 42 points in the paint. Knecht is the reason Tennessee has actually a drastically enhanced offense this season– and he’ll likely be the driver if the Vols make a deep run in March– however setting up 103 points on the roadway at Kentucky without Knecht going off is a fantastic sign for Rick Barnes’side.Lunardi’s bracket impact: Tennessee strongly made its case for a No. 1 seed by racing past Kentucky at Rupp Arena. The Vols’wire-to-wire triumph definitely passed any possible “eye test,”giving us 5 teams with legitimate leading line profiles.

The knee-jerk response after Saturday would be to drop Houston and move Tennessee up, however that would be the incorrect impulse and not likely what the committee would do in comparable circumstances. The Cougars still have the metrics and wins to sit behind just Purdue and UConn, leaving UNC and UT for the final spot. The Tar Heels ‘minor edge is enhanced by a pre-conference win over the Vols. Kentucky, on the other hand, lost a possibility to gain back a leading 4 seed while losing for the 3rd time in four starts.