College Hoops on Sling: New #1 Kentucky Takes on All Comers, Defending Champs 'Nova Also Undefeated
After opening the season atop the college basketball world, the Duke Blue Devils were knocked off their high horse with a 77-75 defeat at the hands of the Kansas Jayhawks, whose Frank Mason III hit a jumper with 6 seconds on the clock for the win. Duke has been supplanted by the inevitable/unstoppable force that is the Kentucky Wildcats, whose much ballyhooed class of freshmen is living up to the hype. But don’t sleep on the defending national champion Villanova Wildcats, who also came into the week undefeated. All these teams and more are playing on Sling this week.
Monday
Tennessee (1-1) vs #16 Wisconsin (2-1) 2:30pm ET on ESPN2
Georgetown (1-2) vs #13 Oregon (2-1)
4:30pm ET on ESPN2
#13 Texas (3-0) vs Northwestern (2-1)
9:30pm ET on ESPN3
UAB (2-1) vs #5 Kansas (2-1)
9:30pm ET on ESPN2
#4 North Carolina (4-0) vs Chaminade (2-0)
11:30pm ET on ESPN2
Isaiah Hicks led all scorers as the North Carolina Tar Heels defeated the Hawai’i Rainbow Warriors on Saturday 83-68 to remain unbeaten. Hicks is one of five Heels averaging in double figures this season, though the team has yet to play a ranked opponent. The D-2 Chaminade Silverswords are enjoying their annual moment in the sun as hosts of the Maui invitational, where they have a record of 7-78, though they did beat a Virginia team that featured Ralph Sampson and Rick Carlisle in 1982. On Saturday they beat Alaska 80-66 behind Kiran Shastri’s 22 points on 9-of-17 shooting.
Wednesday
Cleveland State (1-2) vs #1 Kentucky (4-0)
1pm ET on SEC Network
VCU (3-0) vs #20 Baylor (3-0)
2:30pm ET on ESPN2
William & Mary (2-1) vs #6 Duke (4-1)
7pm ET on ESPNU
Charleston (3-2) vs #2 Villanova (5-0)
7pm ET on FS1
The Charleston Cougars fell 78-61 on Sunday to the Wake Forest Demon Deacons, who shot 52% from the field and were led by Bryant Crawford’s 17 points on 7-of-12 shooting. The defending champion Villanova Wildcats are off to another great start, beating UCF 67-57 Sunday for their 11th straight win going back to last season’s tournament. Senior guard Josh Hart has been outstanding, averaging 19.2 points, 4.8 rebounds, and 2 steals.
Thursday
Indiana State (2-1) vs #20 Iowa State (3-0)
12:30pm ET on ESPN2
Temple (2-2) vs #25 Florida State (4-0)
12:30pm ET on ESPNU
Illinois (4-0) vs #19 West Virginia (3-0)
2:30pm ET on ESPNU
#11 Gonzaga (3-0) vs Quinnipiac (0-1)
6:30pm ET on ESPN2
They’ve yet to play a respectable opponent, but at least the Gonzaga Bulldogs are trouncing people, most recently the Bryant Bulldogs to the tune of 109-70, as the ‘Zags shot 56% from the floor and held Bryant to a 21/12 turnover-to-assist ratio. Gonzaga has 6 guys in double figures, 4 of whom are also averaging 6+ rebounds, and their average margin of victory is 27.7. Quinnipiac got smoked 94-70 by Vermont in their season opener back on November 12, but haven’t played since – maybe the whole school went into lockdown to figure out what happened with the polling.
Santa Clara (2-2) vs #8 Arizona (3-0)
10:30pm ET on FS1
Portland (3-0) vs #14 UCLA (4-0)
11pm ET on ESPN2
Friday
Tennessee-Martin (3-1) vs #1 Kentucky (4-0) 7pm ET on SEC Network
The Tennessee-Martin Skyhawks ripped off three straight wins last week, the last one an 85-74 win over Cleveland State, in which 6-7 senior forward Javier Martinez led all scorers with 27, and all rebounders with 14. The latest edition of the Kentucky Wildcats appears to be as potent as feared, capping off another 2-0 week on Sunday by beating Duquesne 93-59, in a game in which they jumped out to a 50-23 lead at the half. Freshman guard De’Aaron Fox has been phenomenal, averaging 15-5-7 through his first 4 games.
UNC Asheville (2-2) vs #5 Kansas (2-1)
8pm ET on ESPN3
Saturday
NJIT (2-2) vs #17 Purdue (2-1)
3:30pm ET on ESPN3
The NJIT Highlanders brought themselves back to .500 on Saturday with a 74-68 win over Colgate, as Damon Lynn scored 24 points despite shooting 4-of-11 from the floor, as he hit on 15 of 16 from the charity stripe – in fact he scored more from the line anyone on Colgate scored total. Purdue has lived up to their preseason ranking thus far behind a monster start by Caleb Swanigan, who averaged 21-13-4 through their first 3 games.
Loyola-Maryland (1-3) vs #12 Creighton (4-0)
4:30pm ET on FS2
Mount St. Mary’s (1-3) vs #25 Michigan (4-0)
7pm ET on ESPN3
Sunday
Prairie View A&M (1-3) vs #16 Wisconsin (2-1)
2pm ET on ESPN3
Mississippi Valley State (0-4) vs #3 Indiana (3-0)
4pm ET on ESPN3
After opening the 2015-16 season by going 0-14, the Mississippi Valley State Delta Devils started this year 0-4, including losses to then #19 West Virginia and then #13 Michigan State, who beat them last week 100-53, as they shot just 33% from the floor and 57% from the line, while getting outrebounded 42-19. But they only turned the ball over 6 times, so that’s something. After heading into the season ranked #11, the Indiana Hoosiers kicked things off with a huge 103-99 overtime win over then #3 Kansas, and just kept on winning. Guard James Blackmon has been a force, posting 23-7-3 while hitting 42% from 3-point land.
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