Kentucky
There is one team in college basketball that stands above the rest. They have more talent than any team in the nation, boasting six McDonald’s All-Americans, and also happen to hold the No. 1 spot in the country.
The Kentucky Wildcats have raced to a 20-1 record this season with their only loss coming on a buzzer beater on the road at No. 16 Indiana. Coach John Calipari’s squad went to the Final Four a season ago and hope to match the feat this season.
The Wildcats feature bal- anced scoring with six players averaging in double figures. Freshman Anthony Davis aver- ages 13 points, 10 rebounds and nearly five blocks per contest. Sophomore Doron Lamb leads the team in scoring at 14 points a game.
Kentucky is 18th in the coun- try in scoring at nearly 80 points per game, while only allowing 60.
Six of the team’s top seven players are freshmen or soph- omores, but the Wildcats make up for their youth with an over- whelming amount of talent. All five of Kentucky’s starters are projected to be selected in the first round of the NBA draft.
Not even Kansas, North Carolina and Syracuse can say that.
There is no better coach than Calipari to lead this young group. Don’t be surprised when the Wildcats are in the Final Four in April.
-Alex Ross
Kansas
The best team in the coun- try is just starting to heat up. The Kansas Jayhawks are rid- ing a 10-game winning streak, including starting 7-0 in the Big 12 Conference with four ranked teams.
Jayhawks’ coach Bill Self knows how to win games and they have the best player in the country, Thomas Robinson.
Robinson is the nation’s top player, averaging 17.8 points and 12 rebounds per game. He also knows how to step up in big games with a double-double in four of their five games against ranked teams.
Kansas has beat two top-five teams in the country, including giving Baylor its first loss of the season, winning by 18.
The Jayhawks also defeated archrival Kansas State by the same margin.
This team is starting to roll at the right time after a couple of early season losses to top-10 teams.
Point guard Tyshawn Taylor is a strong scorer, with 16.6 points per game, and once he cuts down on his turnovers, Kansas will become even scarier.
In a season without an all- around unstoppable team, Kansas is the most balanced. They have the right personnel to run the table for the rest of the season on its way to a National Championship.
-Bobby Nightengale
