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Reid Travis Guides No. 10 Kentucky Past UNC Greensboro 78-61

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LEXINGTON, Ky. — Reid Travis collected a double-double with 22 points and 12 rebounds and No. 10 Kentucky rallied to beat UNC Greensboro 78-61 at Rupp Arena on Saturday. Box Score // Play-by-Play // Team Stats // Videos

Travis, a senior forward from Minneapolis, shot 8 of 16 from the field and made 5 of his 6 attempts at the free throw line in his game-high 37 minutes of action.

Tyler Herro added 18 points and five rebounds and Keldon Johnson grabbed a double-double with 13 points and 11 boards for the Wildcats (7-1), who were winning for the seventh consecutive time since losing the season opener to Duke.

Francis Alonso led the way for UNC Greensboro with 22 points but struggled in the second half after scoring just three points after the interval.

Isaiah Miller chipped in with 12 points off the bench for the Spartans (7-2), who had won six straight games entering this clash.

UNC Greensboro led 40-37 at halftime and had a 55-50 with 13:08 remaining.

However, Kentucky used back-to-back 3-point plays to take a 56-55 lead and then dismissed the immediate resistance from the Spartans to pull away for the win.

As a team, Kentucky shot 48.3 percent from the field and dominated the boards 46-30.

The Wildcats will return to action next Saturday against Seton Hall in the Citi Hoops Classic in New York.

Meanwhile, UNC Greensboro will travel to Elon on Friday in its final road non-conference game.

Snider’s career-high guides No. 10 Louisville over No. 6 Kentucky

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LOUISVILLE, Ky., Sporting Alert – No. 10 Louisville made a big statement to the rest of the league on Wednesday night after knocking off No. 6 Kentucky 73-70 in an action pack contest at KFC Yum! Center. Box Scores and game details

The Cardinals, who had lost the previous four meetings, were beating the Wildcats for only the 2nd time since John Calipari became the coach of Kentucky.

It was also Louisville’s first win over Kentucky since 29 December 2012.

Quentin Snider scored a career-high 22 points on 10-of-19 shooting, including a key drive with 1:44 remaining to go along with six rebounds and five assists and Deng Adel added 18 points and six boards for the Cardinals (11-1), who improved to 8-0 at home this season.

Jaylen Johnson had 14 points and six rebounds and Donovan Mitchell finished with 13 points in the win for the hosts, which trailed 40-39 at halftime.

Freshman De’Aaron Fox scored 21 points to lead Kentucky (10-2), while fellow freshman sensation Malik Monk, who is coming off a career-high 47 points in the win over North Carolina last week, was held for 16 on the night.

Monk also struggled shooting the ball from behind the arc after he went 1-for-9 from 3-point range, one game after making eight against the Tar Heels.

His lone success from long-range came with 11 seconds left in the game when he pulled the visitors within a point at 71-70.

However, Mitchell knocked down a pair of free-throws to open back up a three point advantage and then closed down Monk on the Wildcats final shot.

Kentucky was losing for only the second time this season, following the 97-92 defeat to then-No. 11 UCLA earlier this month.

Despite the loss on Wednesday night, there is no doubt the Wildcats are still a Top 10 team but are expected to slip a few places in the next AP Top 25 rankings.

Meanwhile, Kentucky will open SEC play on Dec. 29 at Mississippi.

Louisville will play host to No. 12 Virginia in its ACC opener on Dec. 28.

AP Top 25, ESPN3 Schedule College Basketball: Dec. 17

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LAS VEGAS, NV, Sporting Alert – College basketball AP Top 25 fixtures, ESPN3 schedule and TV channels on Saturday, December 17.

No. 7 Kentucky v No. 6 North Carolina

Leading the way is a Top 10 clash between No. 6 Kentucky and No. 7 North Carolina in the CBS Sports Classic at T-Mobile Arena, Las Vegas in Nevada.

Live coverage of this game will be on CBS, starting at 5:45 pm ET and there a slight surprise as to which team has been given the edge.

The Wildcats (9-1) enter the game on a two-game winning streak since being upset by UCLA, while the Tar Heels (10-1) have bounced back from the defeat to Indiana with three straight wins.

With the news that North Carolina junior point guard Joel Berry II is set to return to the starting lineup after missing the past two games with a sprained left ankle, ESPN’s Basketball Power Index has given the Tar Heels a slight edge.

According to the numbers, North Carolina has a 53 percent chance to beat Kentucky, with the Wildcats holding a 47 percent chance.

Berry has played nine games so far this season and is averaging 14.8 points, 3.8 rebounds and 4.7 assists.

Junior forward Justin Jackson leads the Tar Heels in scoring with 15.5 points per game through 11 outings.

Meanwhile, freshman Malik Monk leads Kentucky in scoring with 19.4 points per game, while sophomore guard Isaiah Briscoe is averaging 16.6 and freshman De’Aaron Fox is putting up 15.1 points, 6.9 assists and 5.4 rebounds.

No. 9 Indiana v No. 18 Bulter

Another all AP Top 25 clash will see No. 9 Indiana taking on No. 18 Butler in the sixth-annual Crossroads Classic in Bankers Life Fieldhouse in Indianapolis.

The Hoosiers (8-1) have won five straight heading into this fixture, while the Bulldogs (9-1) bounced back from the upset defeat against Indiana State with a 75-65 win over No. 22 Cincinnati.

ESPN’s Basketball Power Index gives Indiana the advantage over Butler, 57-43 on percent chance to win on Saturday.

More AP Top 25 Fixtures

No. 15 Purdue (8-2) and No. 21 Notre Dame (9-1) will feature in the other all AP Top 25 clash, which is also part of the Crossroads Classic.

In other games involving AP Top 25 teams, No. 3 Kansas will take on Davidson, No. 4 Baylor will put its undefeated record this season on the line against Jackson State, while No. 2 UCLA takes on a very talented Ohio State team in the other game of the CBS Sports Classic at T-Mobile Arena.

Elsewhere, fellow unbeaten team, No. 10 Creighton will take on Oral Roberts, No. 12 West Virginia hosts UMKC and No. 13 Virginia entertains Robert Morris.

AP Top 25, ESPN3 Schedule and Live Stream
Saturday, December 17

No. 19 Arizona vs Texas A&M 12:00 PM ESPN2, WatchESPN
Georgetown at Syracuse 12:00 PM ESPN, WatchESPN
Eastern Kentucky at No. 11 Louisville 12:00 PM ACCN, WatchESPN
Bucknell at Siena 12:00 PM ESPN3
Memphis at Oklahoma 12:30 PM CBS
No. 16 South Carolina at South Florida 1:00 PM
Manhattan at No. 23 Florida State 1:30 PM FS2
No. 21 Notre Dame vs No. 15 Purdue 2:00 PM ESPN2, WatchESPN
UMKC at No. 12 West Virginia 2:00 PM
NJIT at Temple 2:00 PM ESPN3
Western Kentucky at Detroit Mercy 2:00 PM ESPN3
Delaware State at Binghamton 2:00 PM ESPN3
Fairleigh Dickinson at No. 25 Cincinnati 2:30 PM ESPN3
Ohio State vs No. 2 UCLA 3:00 PM CBS
UL Lafayette at New Orleans 3:00 PM ESPN3
Western Illinois at Milwaukee 3:00 PM ESPN3
Loyola (CHI) at UIC 4:00 PM ESPN3
Northern Iowa at Iowa 4:30 PM ESPN3
Robert Morris at No. 13 Virginia 4:30 PM ESPNU, WatchESPN
No. 18 Butler vs No. 9 Indiana 5:00 PM BTN
No. 7 North Carolina vs No. 6 Kentucky 5:45 PM CBS
Jackson State vs #4 Baylor 6:00 PM
Southeast Missouri State at Missouri State 6:00 PM ESPN3
Oklahoma State at Wichita State 7:00 PM ESPN3
Davidson vs No. 3 Kansas 7:00 PM ESPN2, WatchESPN
Southeastern Louisiana at Toledo 7:00 PM ESPN3
St Francis (BKN) at Albany 7:00 PM ESPN3
Towson at UMBC 7:00 PM ESPN3
Marshall at Akron 7:30 PM ESPN3
Wake Forest vs #17 Xavier 8:00 PM FS1 Cintas Center,
Texas State at Tulsa 8:00 PM ESPN3 Reynolds Center, Tulsa,
UT Rio Grande Valley at Houston 8:00 PM ESPN3 Hofheinz
Oral Roberts vs No. 10 Creighton 8:00 PM FS2
Indiana State at Valparaiso 8:00 PM ESPN3
Mississippi Valley State at Grand Canyon 9:00 PM ESPN3
Troy at No. 24 USC 10:30 PM PAC12
UNLV at No. 22 Oregon 11:00 PM ESPN2, WatchESPN

AP Top 25 and ESPN3 Schedule: College Basketball on Dec. 7

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KENTUCKY, Sporting Alert – No. 6 Kentucky aims to bounce back from a defeat to UCLA at the weekend, when it host Valparaiso at Rupp Arena in Lexington on Wednesday night.

The Wildcats (7-1) slipped five places in the AP Top 25 rankings this week after losing for just the fifth time at home under John Calipari, following a 97-92 to the Bruins on Saturday.

Kentucky, which cruised through the opening seven games of the season before the defeat, also saw its 42 home game win streak snapped and Calipari believes it was a lesson learned.

Only Thinking About The Process

Many are gearing up to see how the Wildcats will respond against Valparaiso but Calipari says the focus is more on the “process” rather than worrying about the first loss of the term.

“I’ve been doing this 30 years and it is a process,” he said. “I’ve been doing it here now for eight years, and every team was different.

“It is a process. I get like you: We should win every single game that we play, we should go 82-0, win every game by [x amount] – then I wake up and I’m like, ‘What am I thinking? Let’s go. Let’s just get back to work and get better.'”

Valparaiso has won four straight entering this game and is coming off of a quality 65-62 victory over then-No. 21 Rhode Island on Tuesday night.

The Crusaders (7-1) picked up 7 points in this week’s AP Top 25 rankings and heads to the Rupp Arena confident about pulling off another surprise.

Kentucky, which is scoring 95.1 points per game, is led in scoring by freshman guard Malik Monk, who is putting up 19.9 points through eight games.

Sophomore guard Isaiah Briscoe is next at 17.3, followed by freshman guard De’Aaron Fox at 15.9 points, 7.8 assists and 5.3 rebounds, while freshman forward Bam Adebayo is averaging 12.0 points and 8.3 rebounds per game.

Meanwhile, senior forward Alec Peters is leading Valparaiso with 25.4 points and 9.1 rebounds with senior guard Shane Hammink putting up 15.4 points and 5.1 boards per game.

Peters has scored in double-digit in all eight games so far this season, and is coming off of netting 27 points against Rhode Island.

AP Top 25 Games

In other AP Top 25 games, No. 7 North Carolina will take on Davidson at Dean E. Smith Center, undefeated No. 8 Gonzaga travels to McCarthey Athletic Center in Spokane to tackle Washington, while fellow undefeated No. 10 Creighton takes on Nebraska in a road fixture.

Elsewhere in AP Top 25 action, No. 11 Louisville entertains Southern Illinois at KFC Yum! Center, 13th ranked Xavier heads to Coors Events Center to face Colorado, No. 15 West Virginia, fresh off of the 66-57 victory over then-No. 6 Virginia, will host Western Carolina.

Meanwhile, among games on the ESPN3 schedule today, No. 16 Butler is at Indiana State, No. 17 Wisconsin play host to Idaho State, while Illinois State is at Tulsa.

College Basketball AP Top 25 Games
ESPN3 Schedule
Wednesday, December 7

Holy Cross at Maine 5:30 PM ESPN3
Southern Illinois at No. 11 Louisville 7:00 PM ACCN, WatchESPN
Western Carolina vs No. 15 West Virginia 7:00 PM
Oglethorpe at Mercer 7:00 PM ESPN3
Toccoa Falls at The Citadel 7:00 PM ESPN3
Detroit Mercy at Toledo 7:00 PM ESPN3
Western Michigan at Cleveland State 7:00 PM ESPN3
Marist at Albany 7:00 PM ESPN3
Eastern Illinois at Northern Kentucky 7:00 PM ESPN3
Eastern Kentucky at Jacksonville 7:00 PM ESPN3
No. 16 Butler at Indiana State 7:00 PM ESPN3
Missouri State at Southeast Missouri State 7:30 PM ESPN3
Valparaiso at No. 6 Kentucky 8:00 PM SECN, WatchESPN
Idaho State at No. 17 Wisconsin 8:00 PM ESPN3
North Dakota at North Dakota State 8:00 PM ESPN3
Illinois State at Tulsa 8:00 PM ESPN3
Southern at Tulane 8:00 PM ESPN3
South Dakota State at Northern Iowa 8:00 PM ESPN3
Wright State at Loyola (CHI) 8:00 PM ESPN3
UAB at Stephen F. Austin 8:00 PM ESPN3
No. 10 Creighton at Nebraska 9:00 PM BTN
Davidson at No. 7 North Carolina 9:00 PM ESPN2, WatchESPN
No. 13 Xavier at Colorado 9:00 PM PAC12
Washington at No. 8 Gonzaga 11:00 PM ESPN2, WatchESPN

No. 1 Kentucky v Arizona State In Bahamas Live On WatchESPN

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PARADISE ISLAND, Bahamas, Sporting Alert – No. 1 Kentucky will look to extend its undefeated run this season when it takes on Arizona State in the Atlantis Showcase at Imperial Arena in Nassau, Bahamas, Monday night.

Watch Live Stream on WatchESPN. It’s Also Live on ESPN2, Starting At 7:00 PM ET.

The Wildcats (6-0) are off to an impressive start to the season with gifted freshman Malik Monk, who has scored in double figures in each of the last six games and collected at least 23 points in three of the past four contests, leading the team in scoring with 18.7 points per battle.

Kentucky, which is averaging 92.3 points per game as a team, has outscored its previous opponents by 21 or more points and is coming off a 111-76 rout of UT-Martin on Friday night, which was the squad’s biggest victory so far this season.

In that win, guard Monk poured in a career-high 26 points on 10 of 17 shooting and dished out seven assists, while De’Aaron Fox added 16 points, six rebounds, five assists and three steals for the Wildcats.

Almost every other coach would have been delighted with the start Kentucky has made thus far, but not coach John Calipari, who admits his team needs to be tested.

“We need close games to see – alright, who and how do we finish a game?” Calipari explained. “Who do we finish with and how do we finish? Who can make the play?

“Who cannot – absolutely not – be in the game? But, until you’re in a close game you don’t know. … Believe me, I don’t want these kind of scores.

“I want the other team – at times I’d like us to shoot 32 percent and win. Like just God awful, can’t make a shot and still win the game.

“It’s important for them to know, you don’t have to make every shot to win a game. This is a long season.”

Arizona State goes into the clash with Kentucky with a 4-2 record and has won two of the last three games this season.

The Sun Devils are giving away an average 79.2 points per game, which could be exploited by the Wildcats, especially if they get going with their outside shooting.

In the last outing, Arizona State picked up a 127-110 win over The Citadel on Wednesday, with freshman Sam Cunliffe scoring 23 points and grabbing 10 rebounds, and Kodi Justice scoring a season-high 20 points for the winners.

Kentucky heads into this battle as a 17-point favourite to beat Arizona State but will the scenery in the Bahamas be a distraction?

“We all know why we’re here,” Cats junior guard Mychal Mulder said. “It’s a cool experience to be able to come to the Bahamas and see all the sightseeing and the water park and all that.

“We know the primary focus and primary reason that we’re here is to get a W on the road. We’re all focused.”

Junior guard Tra Holder currently leads the PAC-12 outfits with 18.0 points per game through six outings.

AP College Basketball Top 25 Rankings Week 4: Baylor Moves Big

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MIAMI, FL, Sporting Alert – Kentucky and Villanova held firm as the No. 1 and No. 2 team teams in the latest AP College Basketball Top 25 Rankings, but there were lots of movements below them in Week 4 on Monday, November 28.

Kentucky (6-0) received 40 of the first-place votes from the voting media panel in Week 4 after collecting a pair wins a week ago and scored over 100 points in both outings.

The Wildcats crushed Cleveland State, 101-70 and UT Martin, 111-76 in their fixtures last week to accumulate 1,590 points.

Sitting steady at No. 2 is defending champion Villanova after the Big East representatives stayed undefeated with a sixth successive win on the term.

The Wildcats, who won their lone game on the schedule last Wednesday night – beating Charleston, 63-47 – received 20 first-place votes for 1,567 points.

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There is a new third-ranked side in Week 4, though, after Indiana was beaten by Fort Wayne before the Thanksgiving break.

Taking that vacant spot is North Carolina, which advanced one spot after picking up three impressive wins.

The Tar Heels (7-0), who beat Chaminade, Oklahoma State and then-No. 16 Wisconsin a week ago, collected four No. 1 votes.

Kansas and preseason No. 1 Duke both moved up a slot to No. 4 and No. 5 after going undefeated in their respective last fixtures.

The other first-place vote went to Baylor, who has been rewarded for some impressive performances recently.

The Bears (6-0), who beat VCU, Michigan State and Louisville last week, jumped 11 spots in the rankings this week to No. 9, and were the biggest movers in the poll.

Virginia at No. 6, Xavier at No. 7, Gonzaga eighth and Creighton 10th rounded out the top 10 rankings.

UCLA, Saint Mary’s, Indiana, Louisville and Purdue are 11 through 15.

Arizona, Wisconsin, Butler, Iowa State and South Carolina round out the top 20.

After a tough week, Oregon, which went down to Georgetown in the first round of the Maui Invitational last Monday, slipped 10 spots to No. 23 in the rankings in Week 4.

No. 21 Rhode Island, No. 22 is Syracuse, Florida is No. 24, while West Virginia completed the top 25.

Butler, South Carolina and Florida are the new entries, with Texas (22), Michigan State (24), Michigan (25), Florida State (25) making way this week.

AP College Basketball Top 25 Rankings
– Week 4

RK TEAM RECORD PTS
1 Kentucky (40) 6-0 1,590
2 Villanova (20) 6-0 1,567
3 North Carolina (4) 7-0 1,497
4 Kansas 5-1 1,414
5 Duke 6-1 1,365
6 Virginia 6-0 1,286
7 Xavier 6-0 1,181
8 Gonzaga 6-0 1,112
9 Baylor (1) 6-0 1,068
10 Creighton 6-0 965
11 UCLA 7-0 955
12 Saint Mary’s 5-0 866
13 Indiana 4-1 857
14 Louisville 5-1 808
15 Purdue 5-1 687
16 Arizona 5-1 655
17 Wisconsin 5-2 555
18 Butler 6-0 506
19 Iowa State 5-1 389
20 South Carolina 6-0 379
21 Rhode Island 5-1 354
22 Syracuse 4-1 229
23 Oregon 4-2 189
24 Florida 6-1 154
25 West Virginia 4-1 132

Dropped from rankings: Texas 22, Michigan State 24, Michigan 25, Florida State 25

Others receiving votes: Maryland 126, Notre Dame 85, Cincinnati 49, Michigan State 28, Ohio State 22, Michigan 13, Temple 8, USC 7, Houston 6, Florida State 5, VCU 5, California 3, Tennessee State 2, Virginia Tech 1, Arkansas State 1, San Diego State 1, Colorado 1, Minnesota 1, Rutgers 1

Monk Scores 23, No. 1 Kentucky Beats Cleveland State 101-70

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LEXINGTON, Ky., Sporting Alert — Talented freshman Malik Monk poured in 23 points, and No. 1 Kentucky trounced Cleveland State 101-70 in the Bluegrass Showcase on Wednesday. Kentucky v Cleveland St. Box Score

Monk, who was matching his career-best, shot 8 of 12 from the floor and hit 4 of his 6 shots from long-range in 31 minutes.

The college rookie also scored 23 points in the 69-48 win over Michigan State on Nov. 15.

“We have great chemistry,” Monk said. “Although we never played that much together, we know where we are on the court.

“That’s another thing that makes this team so close.”

Fellow freshman guard Deaaron Fox added a double-double with 16 points and 11 assists and Edrice Adebayo finished with 14 points and seven rebounds for the Wildcats (5-0) who won their fifth straight game to start the new season.

Senior Mychal Mulder scored 13 points for the second game in a row and another freshman, Wenyen Gabriel, collected his first double-double of the season with 10 points and 10 rebounds to go with six assists for Kentucky in the win.

The Wildcats, who replaced Duke as the No. 1 team in the country earlier this week, were without leading scorer Isaiah Briscoe after the sophomore guard sat out the game with a back injury.

He was listed as day-to-day.

“We played well,” Fox said. “Without Isaiah today, people stepped up and we ended up getting the win.”

Rob Edwards tallied a game-high 28 points and Bobby Word added 14 for Cleveland State (1-3).

“We’re trying to do everything from the outside and that’s hard against a team like Kentucky because their guards really come after you and play defense,” Vikings coach Gary Waters said.

“And you know what the crazy part about it is? They enjoy doing it.”

Kentucky, which blasted to a 16-2 lead, shot a season-best 52 percent, dominated the Vikings 25-7 in the assist column and outrebounded them 47-36.

The Wildcats will next be in action in the Showcase on Friday night against UT Martin.

Watch No. 2 Kentucky v No. 13 Michigan State, Preview

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Preview: No. 2 Kentucky v No. 13 Michigan State

NEW YORK, Sporting Alert – No. 2 Kentucky and No. 13 Michigan State will lock horns in a 2016 State Farm Champions Classic matchup here at Madison Square Garden in New York, Tuesday night.

TV Channels: ESPN, WatchESPN
When: 7:00 PM ET, Tuesday, November 15, 2016
Where: Madison Square Garden, New York, New York

The Wildcats (2-0), who have the top recruiting class for the 5th time in the past 8 seasons, are up and running on the season, winning their opening two games to start the new college basketball campaign.

However, head coach John Calipari is expecting a tough encounter against a Tom Izzo-coached Michigan State side that will be looking to bounce back from its season opener defeat.

“Go play a team that you know is going to play hard, you know is going to rebound, you know is going to fly,” Calipari said on Sunday.

“If you don’t get back on defense, they’re going to shoot layups. You know they get back. They rebound like crazy, that’s their hallmark. They rebound, they bang.

“Tom does a great job with his team and puts them in great positions like always and it will be a war.

“It’s going to be a tough game for us. We may start four freshmen, that’s a tough place to start four freshmen walking into Madison Square Garden in that level of a game.”

Isaiah Briscoe, who scored a career-high 21 points in the 93-69 victory Sunday night over Canisius, is averaging 19.0 points per game and shooting almost 63-percent from the floor.

Freshman De’Aaron Fox, who also scored a career-high 21 points against Canisius, leads Kentucky in assists per game with 7.5, while he’s also averaging 16.5 points and 4.0 rebounds per match after two outings.

Michigan State Looks To Bounce Back

Meanwhile, Michigan State started its campaign on a losing note after suffering a 65-63 defeat to No. 10 Arizona in the Armed Forces Classic in Friday night’s season opener in Honolulu.

However, the Spartans (0-1) have won four of the last five matchups with Kentucky, with the last meeting ending 78-74 in favour of the Big Ten ball club in this same Champions Classic.

“Michigan State just lost,” Kentucky head coach John Calipari said ahead of the game. “So we’re going to be playing a mean dog up in New York.”

He added on Sunday: “It will be hard. We got to practice and travel (Monday). Have dinner in New York City, and you play the next day. How much can I do?”

Michigan State will be led by a group of talent youngsters, led by freshman Miles Bridges, who scored 21.0 points and pulled down 7.0 rebounds in the defeat against Arizona.

Overall, Michigan State and Kentucky have met 23 times with Wildcats leading the series 12-11.

According to the oddsmakers, Kentucky is the 7.5-point favourite to beat Michigan State.

AP College Basketball Top 25 Rankings Week 3- Nov. 23

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FORT LAUDERDALE, Sporting Alert – Kentucky is the new No. 1 team in the AP College Basketball Top 25 Rankings, following the release on Monday, Nov. 23.

The undefeated Wildcats (4-0) replaced North Carolina as the nation’s top-ranked side after the Tar Heels fell to a very solid Northern Iowa team last week.

Kentucky, which registered four successive wins to start the season, including a 74-63 win over then-No. 5 Duke in the Champions Classic last week, received 59 of the 65 first place votes from the media panel and 1,619 points.

John Calipari’s team was No. 1 for the entire regular season last year, and if their performance against Duke is the platform for what is to come for the rest of the season, it is difficult to see anyone replacing them at the top anytime soon.

Maryland improved one place to the No. 2 spot this week after getting the other six first place votes.

The Terrapins (3-0) have been solid thus far this season and will be in action again on Tuesday against Illinois State as they continue to prepare for the showdown on Dec. 1 with North Carolina.

Michigan State (3-0), Iowa State (2-0) and Kansas (1-1) completed the top five.

The Spartans, who impressively knocked off then-No. 4 Jayhawks 79-73, in addition to beating Florida Atlantic AR-Pine Bluff to start the season, improved 10 places in this week’s AP College Basketball Top 25 Rankings to third.

Duke (4-1), Oklahoma (2-0), Villanova (4-0), North Carolina (3-1) and Gonzaga (2-0) rounded out the top 10 teams in the rankings.

North Carolina is still playing without star guard Marcus Paige, who is still injured.

Another highlighted mover this week was Virginia (4-1), which fell six-places to No. 12 after losing 73-68 to George Washington.

Meanwhile, after making a very impressive start to the season and knocking off two AP top 25 ranked sides, Miami (FL) breaks into the rankings this week.

The Hurricanes (5-0) beat No. 16 Utah and No. 22 Butler by a combined 60 points, and were justly rewarded for their bright start.

Xavier, Cincinnati, Texas A&M and SMU have all broke into the AP College Basketball Top 25 Rankings this week.

Utah 16, Baylor 20, Butler 22 and Michigan 24 – were all dumped this week.

AP College Basketball Top 25 Rankings

1 Kentucky (59) 4-0 1,619
2 Maryland (6) 3-0 1,518
3 Michigan State 3-0 1,448
4 Iowa State 2-0 1,297
5 Kansas 1-1 1,243
6 Duke 4-1 1,238
7 Oklahoma 2-0 1,210
8 Villanova 4-0 1,153
9 North Carolina 3-1 1,141
10 Gonzaga 2-0 1,138
11 Arizona 4-0 970
12 Virginia 4-1 872
13 Indiana 3-0 846
14 California 3-0 746
15 Miami (FL) 5-0 724
16 Purdue 5-0 550
17 Notre Dame 3-0 480
18 Connecticut 3-0 432
19 Vanderbilt 3-0 431
20 Wichita St 2-1 423
21 Oregon 4-0 369
22 LSU 3-0 285
23 Xavier 3-0 143
24 Cincinnati 4-0 110
25 Texas A&M 4-0 100
25 SMU 3-0 100

Dropped from rankings: Utah 16, Baylor 20, Butler 22, Michigan 24
Others receiving votes: Utah 95, George Washington 85, Baylor 81, West Virginia 69, Butler 59, Louisville 40, Northern Iowa 23, Iowa 20, Dayton 18, Tulsa 17, Colorado State 13, Providence 8, Georgetown 4, Michigan 3, Valparaiso 2, Washington 1, Chattanooga 1

Watch Live Stream of NCAA Men’s Basketball Tournament

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LOUISVILLE, Ky. (Sporting Alert) — Top ranked Kentucky returns to action on Saturday in the round of 32 at the NCAA men’s basketball championship. Follow live streaming coverage on NCAA.com.

Follow all the action of the NCAA championship on the official NCAA website

Kentucky Wildcats
No. 1 Kentucky Wildcats in action

The Wildcats (35-0), who extended its undefeated record this season with a 79-56 win over the 16th seeded Hampton on Thursday, will take on the No. 8 seed Cincinnati (23-10) in the third round of the Midwest Region at the KFC Yum! Center in Louisville, Kentucky.

Kentucky made a slow and sluggish start in its second round match against a very spirited Hampton club before getting things together to score 41 points in the first half and went up by as many as 35 points after the interval.

Karl-Anthony Towns returned to form to lead the Wildcats with a double-double of 21 points, 11 rebounds and three blocks and Andrew Harrison added 14 points off the bench for the tournament favourites.

“I didn’t like how we started the game. I didn’t quite like how we finished the game, but it is 1 o’clock at night,” said coach John Calipari.

“…But we did what we were supposed to do.”

On Saturday Calipari’s men will face-off with a Cincinnati side that battled to a 66-65 win over ninth-seed Purdue in their NCAA tournament opener on Thursday night.

The Bearcats won back-to-back national titles in 1961 and 1962, but they were registering a win in the NCAA tournament opener for the first time since 2012, after losing to Creighton and Harvard the seasons afterwards.

Victory against Purdue in the last outing saw Cincinnati, which is ranked sixth in the country for points allowed per game at 55.6 — winning for the sixth time in seven contests.

The American Athletic Conference representatives seemed excited and confident about playing the best team in the country, but the players have been warned, as the Wildcats are ready to get going in the tournament now.

“I expected a lot more out of us and I expected a lot more out of myself,” said Aaron Harrison, who was 0-for-5 from the field and scored just three points.

“I should have played a lot better as well.

“But I think everyone will see a different team on Saturday, definitely.”

Kentucky fans and the nation have set a high standard for the second place finishers from last year and the players are aware.

“Not only is it everybody else around, we should expect that out of ourselves too,” Devin Booker said about their expected performances.

“Coach expects that out of us. He came in here and told us we didn’t play our best game and if we keep playing like that it’s going to be trouble.

“We’re just focusing on coming out first and being the aggressor.”

Meanwhile, the other No. 1 seed in action on Saturday is Villanova, which takes on ACC outfits and eighth-seeded seed NC State in the East Region.

The Wildcats (32-2) rolled past 16th seed Lafayette 93-52 on Thursday to setup what could be a very tricky matchup against the Wolfpack (21-13), who are confident of beating anyone on their day.

All five starters scored in double-digits for Villanova against Lafayette in a balanced attack, while the defense kept the Leopards under 39 percent shooting.

North Carolina State, in the meantime, dumped LSU from the NCAA tournament after squeezing out a 66-65 win over the ninth-seeded club for its fourth win in five games.

At the other end though, Villanova will take a remarkable 16 game winning streak into Saturday’s game. The Big East Conference champions have also won 20 of 21 games and the experts believe they should have little problems taking care of business as their march for another crown lives on.

In the Midwest Regional, Atlantic Coast Conference tournament champions Notre Dame (30-5) will look to take care of business against the sixth-seeded Butler (23-10).

The Fighting Irish, who are being backed by a portion of the media as the team to spring the biggest surprise in this year’s NCAA tournament, held on for a 69-65 positive result over Northeastern in their second round game on Thursday with Zach Auguste leading with 25 points.

In other games on Saturday, meanwhile, No. 2 seed Arizona will battle with the 10th seed Ohio State, fourth-seeded North Carolina face No. 5 seed Utah and the sixth-seeded Xavier aim to avoid an upset against 14th seed Georgia State.

NCAA Tournament Live TV Channels

12:10 PM (14) UAB vs (11) UCLA CBS
2:40 PM (8) Cincinnati vs (1) Kentucky CBS
5:15 PM (10) Ohio State vs (2) Arizona CBS
6:10 PM (14) Georgia St vs (6) Xavier TNT
7:10 PM (8) NC State vs (1) Villanova TBS
7:45 PM (5) Utah vs (4) Georgetown CBS
8:40 PM (5) Arkansas vs (4) North Carolina TNT
9:40 PM (6) Butler vs (3) Notre Dame TBS

NCAA DI Men’s Basketball Top 25 Scores and Briefs

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NEW YORK (Sporting Alert) — NCAA DI men’s top 25 college basketball scores and recaps, following the games that took place on Tuesday, March 3.

No. 1 Kentucky wrestled off the challenges of Georgia to stay undefeated and improved to 30-0 on the season with a 72-64 victory on the road at Stegeman Coliseum.

Karl-Anthony Towns paced the Wildcats with 19 points and seven rebounds, while Aaron Harrison added 16 points and Andrew Harrison finished with 12 in the win for the travelers, who improved to 17-0 in the SEC standings.

Nemanja Djurisic had 18 points and six boards for the Bulldogs (19-10, 10-7 SEC), with Marcus Thornton contributing 14 points and seven boards on a night when the hosts did almost everything to set up the upset before falling apart down the stretch.

Wells Impressive Double-Double Leads The Way

Meanwhile, Dez Wells grabbed a double-double and came up big in the closing minutes and No. 10 Maryland registered a 60-50 victory over Rutgers at Louis Brown Athletic Center.

Wells collected 20 points on 8 for 13 shooting, pulled down 10 rebounds and picked up four steals in the win for the Terrapins (25-5, 13-4 Big Ten), who moved within 1 1/2 games of Wisconsin in the league standings.

Maryland star Dez Wells in action: AP/ESPN Photo Linked

Jake Layman supported well with 14 points and Melo Trimble added 10 for Maryland, which won its sixth straight game.

Greg Lewis paced Rutgers with 14 points, seven rebounds and one block shot, while senior forward Kadeem Jack grabbed a career-high 16 rebounds in the disappointing home defeat.

The Scarlet Knights, who fell to 10-20 on the season and 2-15 in Big Ten standings, were suffering their 13th straight loss, which is the longest since the 1987-88 term when they dropped 16 straight.

Rutgers last win came on January 11 against the then-No. 4 Wisconsin.

Maryland, which came into the game shooting 44.2 percent overall on the season, was 22 for 57 for 38.6 percent on Tuesday night, but went 5 for 22 from three-point range.

The Terrapins wrap up the regular season on Sunday at Nebraska.

Rutgers are at Michigan in their regular season finale on Saturday.

At the McCamish Pavilion in Atlanta, No. 19 North Carolina warmed up for its weekend rematch with No. 3 Duke with a commanding 81-49 victory over Georgia Tech.

Joel Berry II scored 15 points off the bench and Justin Jackson added 13 points, five rebounds and three assists for the Tar Heels (21-9, 11-6), who were winning back-to-back games for the first time since January when they won six straight.

North Carolina went 34 for 64 from the field for 53.1 percent in the win and led 39-21 at halftime.

Charles Mitchell scored 16 points and eight rebounds and Demarco Cox added 14 points and eight boards in the defeat for the Yellow Jackets (12-18, 3-15 ACC), who dropped four straight and six of the last seven contests.

Elsewhere on the night, D’Vauntes Smith-Rivera scored 16 points and grabbed seven boards in helping Georgetown battled to a 60-54 win over No. 21 Butler in Indianapolis.

Joshua Smith and Tre Campbell each had 10 points for the Hoyas (19-9, 11-6 Big East), who have won four of their last five games.

A defeated Butler (21-9, 11-6 Big East) was led by Kameron Woods, who collected 15 points and 16 rebounds and Alex Barlow, who added 13 points in the defeat.

The Bulldogs, who sit third in the Big East standings, finished its regular season at No. 24 Providence on Saturday.

Jayhawks Rally From 18 Down

Frank Mason III finished with 19 points, seven rebounds, three assists and three steals as No. 9 Kansas rallied from an 18 point deficit to beat No. 20 West Virginia 76-69 in overtime and clinched the Big 12 regular-season title.

Mason III was well supported by Jamari Traylor, who had 14 points and nine rebounds, Kelly Oubre Jr, who scored 12 off the bench for the Jayhawks (24-6, 13-4 Big 12), which led 40-22 with 1:23 left in the first half.

Daxter Miles had 23 points for West Virginia (22-8, 10-7) with Tarik Phillip supporting with 13 points and Jonathan Holton adding 12 points and 10 rebounds in the defeat.

NCAA MEN’S BASKETBALL TOP 25 SCORES

(1) Kentucky 72, Georgia 64
(4) Villanova 76, Creighton 72
(9) Kansas 76, (20) West Virginia 69
(10) Maryland 60, Rutgers 50
(19) North Carolina 81, Georgia Tech 49
Georgetown 60, (21) Butler 54

Kentucky Unanimously Stays At No. 1 In AP Poll

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NEW YORK (Sporting Alert) — As expected, Kentucky remains the No. 1 team in NCAA DI men’s college basketball, according to the latest rankings on Monday afternoon.

The undefeated Wildcats (9-0) were unanimously selected as the No. 1 team in the Associated Press poll, after receiving all 64 first-place votes and collected 1,600 points.

Fresh off their 80-70 win over the then-No. 2 Wisconsin last week, Duke (8-0) climbed two-places to No. 2 in the rankings after receiving 1,518 points.

The Blue Devils also jumped ahead of Arizona (8-0), which remains No. 3 after earning a 66-63 victory in overtime against No. 9 Gonzaga Saturday.

Louisville (7-0), which picked up an 82-57 win over Florida International last Friday, is up one slot to fourth, while Wisconsin completed the top five.

Rounding out the top 10 teams in the poll are Virginia (9-0), Villanova (8-0), Texas (7-1), Gonzaga (7-1) and Kansas (6-1).

Wichita State (5-1) dropped three spots to No. 11 after losing its 35-game regular-season winning streak to Utah (6-1), which moved up 12 places from No. 25 to No. 13.

The Utes beat the then-No. 8 Shockers 69-68 last week.

Ohio State (6-1) is No. 12, with Iowa State and (5-1), Butler (7-1) sitting at No. 14 and No. 15, respectively.

Oklahoma (5-2), Washington (7-0), San Diego State (6-2), Maryland (8-1) and Miami (FL) (8-1) are 16 through 20.

Dropping from the ranking are Michigan 17, Arkansas 18, Michigan State 19 and Illinois 24.

AP Top 25
RK TEAM RECORD PTS
1 Kentucky (64) 9-0 1,600
2 Duke 8-0 1,518
3 Arizona 8-0 1,486
4 Louisville 7-0 1,319
5 Wisconsin 8-1 1,316
6 Virginia 9-0 1,285
7 Villanova 8-0 1,173
8 Texas 7-1 1,155
9 Gonzaga 7-1 1,145
10 Kansas 6-1 1,083
11 Wichita St 5-1 929
12 Ohio State 6-1 808
13 Utah 6-1 717
14 Iowa State 5-1 668
15 Butler 7-1 593
16 Oklahoma 5-2 557
17 Washington 7-0 428
18 San Diego St 6-2 390
19 Maryland 8-1 370
20 Miami (FL) 8-1 359
21 North Carolina 6-2 350
22 West Virginia 8-1 313
23 Northern Iowa 8-0 232
24 St. John’s 6-1 211
25 Notre Dame 8-1 200

Others receiving votes: Michigan St 120, Illinois 91, Georgetown 62, Iowa 60, Seton Hall 57, Baylor 49, TCU 45, Colorado St 28, Arkansas 22, California 19, Michigan 14, Creighton 7, Virginia Commonwealth 6, LSU 5, NC State 3, Indiana 3, Old Dominion 2, Yale 1, Dayton 1

Dropped from rankings: Michigan 17, Arkansas 18, Michigan St 19, Illinois 24