It's a little too early for anyone to start hanging national championship banners. Regardless of the outcome, a Duke-UK game played in New York City during Christmas Week before three whistle-happy refs (16 fouls the first nine minutes of the second half, wasn't it?) ain't the same as a Final 8 game in March when the refs allow a more physical game. Hell, even Ashley Judd isn't in decent cheering form yet. Don't get me wrong, Duke was the better team Tuesday and deserved to win. They might well be the best team in the country. Trouble is, a game played around the holidays often isn't a true indicator. Lots of reasons for teams to play bad this time of year: too much travel, just got through final exams, getting home for the holidays is on your mind, substitution pattern not set yet, flu bug is starting to hit, etc. That's probably why 4-4 Dayton almost beat 11-0 Cincy this afternoon. And, lest we forget, Cincy beat Duke.
Regarding the notion that UK ain't gonna get better: That's an opinion unsupported by evidence. Recent history (17-1 record in the NCAA tournament the past three years after about 10-11 losses overall during that time span) refutes that. Kentucky's about where they were last year. Only difference is, Wildcats have played a far tougher schedule this year. They did beat Maryland, Indiana, UCLA and Kansas.
Regarding Prince: Yes, he needs work; he's not really a board-banger; he's more of a Keith Wilkes-type of player. But if there's any school in the country at which he will develop his talents, it's UK. As evidence, just go back to Nazr Mohammed's freshman year at UK. He was much more of a project. He was so raw, Pitino created a junior varsity so he could get some playing time.
Re: AP or personal Top 10 or Top 25 polls this time of year: Why bother. Does anyone really think that UConn is the best team in the nation and will win it all in March? Or, how in the heck can Kansas still be rated the No. 14 team in the country after losing not only to Kentucky, but also to Iowa (at home) and to St. Louis by a bunch of points?
Still much too early, boys and girls. Come tourney time in March, the presently ranked No. 22-25 teams might well have three teams in the final eight. I'm speaking of Syracuse, Pitt, Iowa and Temple. |
