This season, pity the cursed who are No. 1 in the AP college basketball poll.
_ Michigan State was preseason No. 1. Until the Spartans lost to Kentucky. UK became No. 1. Until the Wildcats lost to Evansville. Duke became No. 1. Until the Blue Devils lost to Stephen F. Austin. Louisville became No. 1. Until the Cardinals lost Tuesday night to Texas Tech.
All four could return to the top line before the season is complete. The door will revolve. NBA dreams continue to water down college teams. If recent trends continue, those with just a few veterans appear to be in better position to survive the long haul.
_ After Louisville, Maryland and Butler lost Tuesday night, five undefeated teams remained before Wednesday night play. The Fab Five: Liberty (11-0), San Diego State (10-0), Ohio State (9-0), Auburn (8-0) and Duquesne (8-0).
_ Likely new AP No. 1 Ohio State has two games before it plays Kentucky in Las Vegas on Dec. 21. The Buckeyes are at Minnesota on Sunday, then play host to Southeast Missouri State next Tuesday.
_ Terrible news out of Bowling Green concerning Charles Bassey. The Hilltoppers' sophomore star is out for the season with a tibial plateau fracture in his left leg. A five-star recruit and possible first-round NBA draft pick, Bassey was averaging 15.3 points and 9.2 rebounds for 7-3 WKU.
_ Early College Football Playoff Predictions: LSU over Oklahoma in a Peach Bowl romp before Lincoln Riley becomes head coach of the Dallas Cowboys. Ohio State edges Clemson in the Fiesta Bowl. Then Joe Burrow beats his old team in the national title game.
_ Don't expect exemplary 3-point shooting when Kentucky plays Georgia Tech on Saturday in Rupp Arena. Each team is making 29% of its 3-point attempts.
_ Don't expect even good free-throw shooting from Georgia Tech. The Yellow Jackets are shooting 58.6% at the foul line. That ranks 340th out of 353 Division I teams.
_ Saturday's Tennessee-Memphis basketball game in Knoxville should be fun. It's the second of a three-game series. The first ended with Tennessee's Rick Barnes and Memphis' Penny Hardaway sparring in their respective postgame press conference. The teams play next season in Nashville. After that? "I don't know where it goes from here," Barnes said this week.
_ Not sure you can overestimate the contribution Dean Hood made to Mark Stoops' UK football staff. The former Eastern Kentucky head coach coached the outside linebackers and then safeties. He guided the special teams, which included recruiting All-SEC punter Max Duffy. Hood was a smart Stoops hire and, if reports are correct, a good choice by former UK associate AD Kevin Saul as the new head coach at Murray State.
_ Name the award and Lynn Bowden is deserving. He might not be the most deserving, but he's deserving.
_ To these eyes, UK's future quarterback situation sits up nicely. Terry Wilson and Sawyer Smith are seniors in 2020. Walker Wood and Amani Gilmore figure in the mix. Joey Gatewood, the Auburn transfer, and Beau Allen, a true freshman, will redshirt.
_ Gatewood, a top-50 recruit, transferred to UK from Auburn. Kelvin Joseph, a top-50 recruit as a defensive back, transferred to UK from LSU. Those types to things used to not happen here.
After last Saturday's conference championship games, Kentucky moved up one spot from 20th to 19th nationally in total defense. Last year, Kentucky ended up 23rd nationally in total defense.
_ There is a lot of talk about new coaching hires. There's not much talk about Arkansas picking ex-Georgia offensive line coach Sam Pittman as its new head coach. Pittman might turn out be one of the best. Former Arkansas assistant. Reputation as an excellent coach. And even better recruiter.
_ By the way, a new coaching hire winning the press conference is the most overrated thing in all of sports.
