Tracking The Unbeatens

Tracking The Unbeatens: Kentucky got their swagger back

By Jan 19, 2015, 2:15 PM EST
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Malcolm Brogdon (Getty Images)

Every Monday from now until every team in the country has a loss on their resume, we will be Tracking The Unbeatens, and predicting when, exactly, that unbeaten streak will end. You can follow along here.

Who lost last week?: None

Kentucky (17-0): Remember when Kentucky was in trouble because they couldn’t put away overmatched SEC opponents? Remember when there were doubts about just how good the Wildcats could be in Texas A&M and Ole Miss were taking them to overtime? It seems like a long time ago now, doesn’t it? Because the Wildcats got back to their overpowering ways last week. Kentucky blew out Missouri by 49 points on Tuesday night, following that up with a 70-48 win at Alabama that wasn’t quite as close as the final score would indicate.

Once again, the Wildcats are rolling, which brings me back to the column that I wrote on Kentucky after watching them roll over Kansas in the Champions Classic. In it, I essentially said that all Kentucky needed to do to go undefeated this season was bring the effort. Their size and depth and athleticism would be too much for opponents, with bodies of NBA caliber athletes coming at them in waves. Play together, play hard and accept that no one is going to play much more than 20 minutes a night. That’s the formula for their success this season.

And after a pair of games where it looked like John Calipari’s club had gotten away from that, Kentucky was back this week. The key, at least in my eyes, was Coach Cal going away from the platoons early in the win over Missouri. In the first eight minutes, he yanked Marcus Lee and Dakari Johnson for a poor close out and a missed box out, respectively. It made a point. The risk of guaranteeing everyone minutes is that they know they’re going to get back into the game even when they’re making dumb mistakes. He let his team know they wouldn’t play if they didn’t play well.

  • Next Game: Jan. 20 vs. Vanderbilt
  • First Loss?: Final Four?

Virginia (17-0): The Cavs continued their roll through the ACC this season, beating Clemson and Boston College. They’ll get both of the Techs this week before they get into the real meat of their league schedule: visits from Duke and Louisville sandwiching a trip to North Carolina. That’s when we’ll find out just how good this Virginia team is.

At this point, the ‘Hoos have to be considered the favorite to win the ACC title. Part of it is a bit of beneficial scheduling; the only other top five team in the conference that they have to play twice is Louisville, and they’ve already picked up wins at Miami and at Notre Dame. They’re a game up on Notre Dame, Syracuse and North Carolina in the loss column and two games up on both Duke and Louisville.

  • Next Game: Jan. 22 vs. Georgia Tech
  • First Loss?: Jan. 31 vs. Duke

Tracking The Unbeatens: Kentucky’s close calls and Virginia’s road wins

By Jan 12, 2015, 3:07 PM EST
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Willie Cauley-Stein (Getty Images)

Every Monday from now until every team in the country has a loss on their resume, we will be Tracking The Unbeatens, and predicting when, exactly, that unbeaten streak will end. You can follow along here.

Who lost last week?: Duke (at N.C. State)

And then there were two …

Kentucky (15-0): Since the last time we took a look at the nation’s remaining undefeated teams, Kentucky has been pushed to overtime by Ole Miss in Rupp and to double-overtime by Texas A&M in College Station. In those two games, the Wildcats looked anything-but a team that could run the SEC without picking up a head-scratching loss, and I’d be remiss if I didn’t say that we can probably expect another performance or three like that from the Wildcats again during the regular season.

But it’s also important to note that Kentucky’s struggles this past week do nothing to erase how dominant they were at Louisville or against Kansas or in home wins over North Carolina and Texas. Should we really be all that surprised that a team full of SEC-caliber basketball players was able to give Kentucky a fight when it’s not hyperbole to say they may be playing for their chances at an at-large bid? The Wildcats are the only team in the SEC that can be considered a resume-defining win, and with the number of programs that look like they’re headed for the bubble in that league, Kentucky is going to get everyone’s best shot every time they play.

And despite those two close calls, the Wildcats are still heavy, heavy favorites for their Tuesday game against Missouri. And they’ll like be heavy favorites for the rest of the season. The question is going to be whether or not they can make the needed adjustments — Tweaks!!! — before they get tripped up.

  • Next Game: Jan. 13 vs. Missouri
  • First Loss?: Jan. 29 at South Carolina

Virginia (15-0): Call me stubborn, but I still can’t help but think that Virginia is overrated where they currently stand; I don’t think this is the second-best team in the country. I don’t question their ability on the defensive end of the floor, but I do have concerns about them offensively. I’ve said it time and again, but they don’t have that game-changing presence like they did last season.

But through the first half of their schedule, that has not mattered in the least. Virginia is 15-0 with wins at VCU, at Maryland and at Notre Dame. You’d be hard-pressed to find teams with one top 20 road win on their resume, and the Cavs have three. Justin Anderson’s white-hot shooting hasn’t slowed down and of Virginia’s trio of big bodies — Anthony Gill, Mike Tobey and Darion Atkins — at least one of them will be scoring the ball well in the post on any given night.

I think it will catch up with the ‘Hoos eventually. I’ve also been wrong before and will be wrong again, and if I end up being completely off base about Virginia, I’ll own it.

  • Next Game: Jan. 13 vs. Clemson
  • First Loss?: Jan. 31 vs. Duke

Tracking The Unbeatens: And then there were six …

By Dec 29, 2014, 4:00 PM EST
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Tyler Ulis (Getty Images)

Every Monday from now until every team in the country has a loss on their resume, we will be Tracking The Unbeatens, and predicting when, exactly, that unbeaten streak will end. You can follow along here.

Who lost last week?: Arizona (at UNLV), Louisville (vs. Kentucky), Washington (vs. Stony Brook)

Kentucky (13-0): Kentucky will head into the easier part of their schedule — league play — unbeaten and with a real chance to run the table during the regular season. We went in-depth on that subject here.

  • Next Game: Jan. 6 vs. Ole Miss
  • First Loss?: Feb. 7 at Florida

Duke (10-0): The Blue Devils look like the clear-cut No. 2 team in the country and the favorite to win the ACC this season, but at times the Blue Devils play soft. They still have a couple of quality mid-majors on their schedule before ACC play gets going. As good as Jahlil Okafor and Justise Winslow have been this season, Tyus Jones has been as good as them both in games against Wisconsin and UConn.

  • Next Game: Dec. 29 vs. Toledo
  • First Loss?: Jan. 17 at Louisville

Virginia (11-0): The ‘Hoos have looked overwhelmingly dominant on the defensive end of the floor through the non-conference portion of their schedule, playing the packline to perfection. It will be interesting to see what happens when they start playing teams that can hit threes. Davidson will give them a test on Tuesday.

  • Next Game: Dec. 30 vs. Davidson
  • First Loss?: Jan. 10 at Notre Dame

Villanova (12-0): The Wildcats are clearly the class of the Big East this season, but they’ve had a couple of close calls and slow starts of late. They came from 14 down against Syracuse and trailed at halftime against NJIT at home. The Big East is much tougher and more balanced than we expected. Slow starts aren’t going to go well in league play.

  • Next Game: Dec. 31 vs. Butler
  • First Loss?: Jan. 19 at Georgetown

Colorado State (12-0): The Rams got a real test against New Mexico State on Saturday night, struggling to hold on to a one-point, overtime win. The Mountain West isn’t as good as it has been in recent seasons, and with Dwayne Polee’s season in doubt after he collapsed against UC Riverside, Larry Eustachy’s team looks like they can win the league.

  • Next Game: Dec. 31 vs. Boise State
  • First Loss?: Jan. 3 at New Mexico

TCU (12-0): TCU is definitely much-improved this year. If the Horned Frogs get through their Big 12 opener against the Mountaineers, I’ll starting taking them seriously.

  • Next Game: Dec. 29 vs. Tennessee State
  • First Loss?: Jan. 3 vs. West Virginia

There is one potential meetings between undefeated teams the rest of the season, although it seems unlikely that we will get more than one.

  • Duke at Virginia, January 31

Tracking The Unbeatens: The showdown between Kentucky, Louisville looms

By Dec 22, 2014, 11:54 AM EST
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Every Monday from now until every team in the country has a loss on their resume, we will be Tracking The Unbeatens, and predicting when, exactly, that unbeaten streak will end. You can follow along here.

Who lost last week?: No one that was undefeated heading into the week.

Kentucky (12-0): With each passing week, it’s looking increasingly likely that next Saturday’s date with Louisville will be the best — Last? Only? — chance for someone to pick off the Wildcats. Kentucky absolutely embarrassed UCLA over the weekend, taking a 41-7 lead into the break. This may be the most anticipated matchup in the nation’s most intense rivalry.

  • Next Game: Dec. 27 at Louisville
  • First Loss?: Dec. 27 at Louisville

Duke (10-0): The Blue Devils struggled to an ugly win over Elon last week before knocking off UConn in New Jersey on Thursday. Jahlil Okafor’s ability to distribute the ball out of the post makes this team just that much more dangerous offensively. At this point, I think we are all hoping for a Duke-Kentucky matchup at some point in the NCAA tournament.

  • Next Game: Dec. 29 vs. Toledo
  • First Loss?: Jan. 17 at Louisville

Arizona (12-0): The Wildcats survived a tough trip to El Paso, beating a scrappy UTEP team, and now head to Vegas next week to take on a talented UNLV squad. The real test for the Wildcats will be a stretch during Pac-12 play where they’re on the road for seven out of 11 games, including trips to Stanford, Cal, Utah, Washington and Colorado.

  • Next Game: Dec. 23 at UNLV
  • First Loss?: Feb. 13 at Washington

Virginia (11-0): Virginia set a record for fewest field goals allowed in the first half, as Harvard was 1-for-20 from the floor. In a 76-27 win, the ‘Hoos held the Crimson starter to 1-for-32 shooting.

  • Next Game: Dec. 30 vs. Davidson
  • First Loss?: Jan. 10 at Notre Dame

Louisville (10-0): Louisville has had a couple of close calls in recent weeks, barely hanging on against UNC-Wilmington and struggling to avoid an upset at Western Kentucky after Montrezl Harrell was tossed. I think we can be thankful that Harrell’s suspension did not include the Kentucky game.

  • Next Game: Dec. 23 vs. Cal St.-Northridge
  • First Loss?: Dec. 27 vs. Kentucky

Villanova (11-0): Villanova came very close to not being on this list anymore, as they needed to come back from 14 down in the second have — and five down in the final 10 seconds — just to force overtime against Syracuse on Saturday.

  • Next Game: Dec. 23 vs. NJIT
  • First Loss?: Jan. 19 at Georgetown

Washington (10-0): Is Washington the third-best team in the Pac-12 this season? It looks more and more like it every time they win. In their last four games, they’re now beaten San Diego State, Eastern Washington and Oklahoma.

  • Next Game: Dec. 22 vs. Tulane
  • First Loss?: Jan. 2 at Cal

Colorado State (11-0): Colorado State survived at Denver in one of the most impressive shooting performances you’ll see this season. The Pioneers were 17-for-31 from three.

  • Next Game: Dec. 22 vs. Charleston Southern
  • First Loss?: Jan. 3 at New Mexico

TCU (11-0): I guess there’s something to be said for beating teams you’re supposed to beat.

  • Next Game: Dec. 22 vs. Grambling
  • First Loss?: Jan. 3 vs. West Virginia

There five potential meetings between undefeated teams the rest of the season, although it seems unlikely that we will get more than one.

  • Kentucky at Louisville, December 27
  • Duke at Louisville, January 17
  • Duke at Virginia, January 31
  • Louisville at Virginia, February 7
  • Arizona at Washington, February 13

Tracking The Unbeatens: There are now just nine teams without a loss

By Dec 15, 2014, 2:00 PM EST
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source: Getty Images
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Every Monday from now until every team in the country has a loss on their resume, we will be Tracking The Unbeatens, and predicting when, exactly, that unbeaten streak will end. You can follow along here.

Who lost last week?: Incarnate Word (at UTEP), Seton Hall (at Wichita State) and Northern Iowa (at VCU)

Kentucky (11-0): Kentucky is the best team in the country right now, although it will be interesting to see what happens with Alex Poythress out for the year with a torn ACL. My guess: Kentucky gets tougher to beat. They’ll take a bit of a hit on the defensive end of the floor, but getting more minutes for more offensive-minded players like Trey Lyles, Tyler Ulis, Devin Booker and Aaron Harrison will help this group. If they’re going to lose this season, it might come in their next two games: UCLA in Chicago and Louisville on the road.

  • Next Game: Dec. 20 vs. UCLA (Chicago)
  • First Loss?: Dec. 27 at Louisville

Duke (8-0): The Blue Devils didn’t play this week, but they did lose Semi Ojeleye to a transfer. Regardless, they look like the clear-cut, second-best team in the country right now.

  • Next Game: Dec. 15 vs. Elon
  • First Loss?: Jan. 17 at Louisville

Arizona (10-0): Stanley Johnson looked the part of an all-american on Saturday during Arizona’s depantsing of Michigan in Tucson. Perimeter shooting is still an issue, but if you can’t match their size inside, you’re going to take a beating in the paint.

  • Next Game: Dec. 16 vs. Oakland
  • First Loss?: Jan. 22 at Stanford

Virginia (9-0): Virginia got through their toughest week of the non-conference by knocking off Maryland and VCU on the road. They didn’t play last week during finals.

  • Next Game: Dec. 18 vs. Cleveland State
  • First Loss?: Jan. 3 at Miami

Louisville (9-0): The Cardinals have now beaten Ohio State and Indiana in the last two weeks, meaning that they’ve passed their first two real tests of the season. They get a road date with a Western Kentucky team that just beat Ole Miss, but as long as they’re not looking forward to Kentucky, we should have both the Cards and the Cats undefeated on the 27th. Buckle up.

  • Next Game: Dec. 14 at Western Kentucky
  • First Loss?: Dec. 27 vs. Kentucky

Villanova (10-0): The Wildcats have looked quite impressive early on this season, but when you look at who they’ve beaten — Illinois, Michigan and VCU — it doesn’t look as good as it did at the time. This group is the best in the Big East, but the league looks tougher by the day.

  • Next Game: Dec. 20 vs. Syracuse
  • First Loss?: Jan. 19 at Georgetown

Washington (8-0): The Huskies have wins over UTEP and at home against San Diego State, which are both good wins but not necessarily the kind of performance that will make you believe that this group can contend in the Pac-12. Robert Upshaw is a game-changer defensively, Nigel Williams-Goss is criminally underrated and their four-point win over Eastern Washington on Sunday is a lot more impressive than it sounds.

  • Next Game: Dec. 17 vs. Grambling
  • First Loss?: Dec. 20 vs. Oklahoma (In Las Vegas)

Colorado State (10-0): The Rams did it. They knocked off Colorado at Colorado, meaning that not only are they probably the best team in the state, they may just be the best team in the Mountain West. Road games have been this team’s kryptonite in recent season, and hopefully that Colorado game is an indication they’ve fixed that.

  • Next Game: Dec. 19 at Denver
  • First Loss?: Jan. 3 at New Mexico

TCU (10-0): The Horned Frogs made a statement when they went into Oxford and knocked off Ole Miss. Then Western Kentucky did the same thing. They shouldn’t be tested until Big 12 play.

  • Next Game: Dec. 20 vs. UT San Antonio
  • First Loss?: Jan. 7 at Kansas State

There five potential meetings between undefeated teams the rest of the season, although it seems unlikely that we will get more than one.

  • Kentucky at Louisville, December 27
  • Duke at Louisville, January 17
  • Duke at Virginia, January 31
  • Louisville at Virginia, February 7
  • Arizona at Washington, February 13

Tracking the Unbeatens: Only 12 teams remain without a loss on the season

By Dec 8, 2014, 1:15 PM EST
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Karl Towns (Getty Images)

Every Monday from now until every team in the country has a loss on their resume, we will be Tracking The Unbeatens, and predicting when, exactly, that unbeaten streak will end.

Kentucky (9-0): The Wildcats are the best team in the country through the season’s first three weeks, having rolled through the first half of their marquee non-conference games by smacking around Texas, Providence and Kansas. Their next three games: North Carolina at home, UCLA in Chicago and Louisville on the road.

  • Next Game: Dec. 13 vs. North Carolina
  • First Loss?: Dec. 27 at Louisville

Duke (8-0): The Blue Devils worked past their toughest non-conference matchup of the year, as they knocked off Wisconsin at Wisconsin. They look like the clear-cut, second-best team in the country right now.

  • Next Game: Dec. 15 vs. Elon
  • First Loss?: Jan. 17 at Louisville

Arizona (8-0): The Wildcats survived a visit from Gonzaga over the weekend, as T.J. McConnell sparked a late comeback in an overtime win. Scoring is still a major issue for this team, but you won’t find many that can defend and rebound like the Wildcats.

  • Next Game: Dec. 9 vs. Utah Valley
  • First Loss?: Jan. 22 at Stanford
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Justin Anderson (Getty Images)

Virginia (9-0): Virginia got through their toughest week of the non-conference by knocking off Maryland and VCU on the road. Is that their springboard towards being the second-best team in the ACC?

  • Next Game: Dec. 18 vs. Cleveland State
  • First Loss?: Jan. 3 at Miami

Louisville (7-0): The Cardinals passed their first team of the season last week as they knocked off Ohio State at the Yum! Center. Montrezl Harrell and Terry Rozier have been as good as advertised, but we are still waiting to see if they will ever get consistent support.

  • Next Game: Dec. 9 vs. Indiana (NYC)
  • First Loss?: Dec. 9 vs. Indiana (NYC)

Villanova (8-0): The Wildcats have had an impressive start to the year, particularly when you consider their best players have arguably been Dylan Ennis and Daniel Echefu. But their two marquee wins, over VCU and Michigan, don’t look quite as impressive now as they did two weeks ago.

  • Next Game: Dec. 9 vs. Illinois (NYC)
  • First Loss?: Dec. 9 vs. Illinois (NYC)

Washington (7-0): The Huskies have wins over UTEP and at home against San Diego State, which are both good wins but not necessarily the kind of performance that will make you believe that this group can contend in the Pac-12. That said, the addition of shotblocker Robert Upshaw has changed this team on the defensive end. I’m buying U-Dub.

  • Next Game: Dec. 14 vs. Eastern Washington
  • First Loss?: Dec. 20 vs. Oklahoma (In Las Vegas)

Colorado State (8-0): It may be too early to count out San Diego State, but if Colorado State isn’t the best team in the Mountain West right now, they’re not far behind. Want to convince me? Win at Colorado on Wednesday.

  • Next Game: Dec. 10 at Colorado
  • First Loss?: Dec. 10 at Colorado

Northern Iowa (8-0): The Panthers are the best team in the Missouri Valley not named Wichita State, but it looks like this is the year that they can push the Shockers for a league title. They’ve already won at Stephen F. Austin, beaten Richmond at home and knocked off Northwestern and Virginia Tech at a neutral court.

  • Next Game: Dec. 10 at Denver
  • First Loss?: Dec. 13 at VCU

Seton Hall (7-0): Isaiah Whitehead has been terrific for the Pirates of late, and Sterling Gibbs has been the program’s best scorer, but this group’s best win is still just George Washington at home. Win Tuesday and we’ll talk.

  • Next Game: Dec. 9 at Wichita State
  • First Loss?: Dec. 9 at Wichita State

TCU (8-0): The Horned Frogs made a statement last week as they went into Oxford and knocked off Ole Miss. They should enter Big 12 play unscatched, and they already are the league’s only undefeated team.

  • Next Game: Dec. 9 vs. Furman
  • First Loss?: Jan. 7 at Kansas State

Incarnate Word (5-0): The Cardinals have played four non-Division I teams. They did beat Princeton at Princeton, though.

  • Next Game: Dec. 8 at UTEP
  • First Loss?: Dec. 8 at UTEP

There seven potential meetings between undefeated teams the rest of the season, although it seems unlikely that we will get more than one.

  • Kentucky at Louisville, December 27
  • Villanova at Seton Hall, January 3
  • Duke at Louisville, January 17
  • Duke at Virginia, January 31
  • Louisville at Virginia, February 7
  • Arizona at Washington, February 13
  • Seton Hall at Villanova, February 16