February 13, 201511 yr A little something I've been working on today...every team, every conference, every division. College basketball in Kentucky is really good right now: NCAA DIVISION I · Kentucky Wildcats (24-0, 11-0 SEC) We are midway through February and the Wildcats are still undefeated with an opportunity to go down as one of college basketball’s all-time greatest teams. Kentucky has had some close calls but have found ways to survive, which is the trademark of great teams. Currently, John Calipari’s team is the unanimous No. 1 team in the AP Top 25 poll and has all but one first place vote in the USA Today Coaches Poll. The Wildcats will be favored to finish the regular season undefeated, which would be the first time a big conference team has done that since 1976 (Indiana). If they win the SEC Tournament (March 12-15) in Nashville, they will be six games away from a level of history that we haven’t witnessed in almost 40 years. · Louisville Cardinals (20-4, 8-3 ACC) The Cardinals just picked up their 20th win on Wednesday against Pittsburgh. They are currently 8-3 in the Atlantic Coast Conference which puts them in a three-way tie with Duke and North Carolina for third place. Virginia is first at 10-1 and Notre Dame is second at 10-3. Louisville is currently ranked No. 8 in the USA Today Coaches Poll and No. 9 in the AP Top 25. The Cards have seven games to go before the ACC Tournament tips off March 10 in Greensboro, North Carolina. · Western Kentucky Hilltoppers (16-7, 9-2 C-USA) The Hilltoppers are coming off a disappointing loss to Rice but are still just half a game behind Louisiana Tech (10-2) in the Conference USA standings. UTEP and UAB are just behind at 9-3. Western Kentucky has seven games remaining on the schedule before the Conference USA tournament March 11-14 in Birmingham, Alabama. · Northern Kentucky Norse (10-14, 4-5 ASUN) It has been an up-and-down season for the Norse. They are currently sitting alone in fifth place in the Atlantic Sun Conference standings with five games to go. The good news is that the Norse will be eligible for the Atlantic Sun tournament championship this season for the first time since moving to Division I. They won’t be able to compete in the NCAA Tournament even if they win but the team has something to shoot for. The conference tournament will be March 3-8 at campus sites. · Murray State Racers (22-4, 12-0 OVC) The Racers looked a little rough during the Challenge in Nashville event in November. Since a disappointing performance that weekend, Murray State has reeled off 20 consecutive wins, which is second in the nation to only Kentucky. They received votes in both major college basketball polls this week. Murray State is 12-0 in the OVC and while an automatic berth for the NCAA Tournament is a reach, they already have all but locked up a spot in the NIT. Nothing is guaranteed in March, but the Racers are heavy favorites to win the OVC Tournament (March 4-7) in Nashville next month. · Eastern Kentucky Colonels (15-9, 7-4 OVC) The Colonels had a tough stretch in January but have since won four straight league games to take over the top spot in the OVC East division. With East wins over Morehead State (twice) and Belmont, Eastern Kentucky controls their own destiny for the No. 2 seed in the OVC Tournament, which is accompanied by a double bye into the semifinals. · Morehead State Eagles (12-15, 7-5 OVC) The Eagles really needed a win at Eastern Kentucky earlier this week but ended up on the losing side. Luckily, Belmont also lost Wednesday night, which keeps Morehead in the second spot in the OVC East. Sean Woods’ team needs a win at Belmont this weekend to hold on to the second spot in the division and have a great chance to earn at least a single bye in the OVC Tournament. Beyond that, they will need EKU to slip up a couple of times, which is entirely possible in the always competitive OVC. NCAA DIVISION II · Bellarmine Knights (21-2, 13-1 GLVC) Scott Davenport’s Knights are currently ranked No. 3 in the NABC DII rankings with four games to go in the regular season. The Knights are on top of the GLVC East division by virtue of a tiebreaker over UW-Parkside, which also boasts a 13-1 league record. Bellarmine will be one of the favorites win the GLVC Tournament March 1-8 at St. Charles, Missouri. After that, they have a chance to make a deep run in the NCAA Division II national tournament. · Kentucky Wesleyan Panthers (17-6, 6-3 G-MAC) The Panthers are having a solid season although they have a couple of losses that I’m sure head coach Happy Osborne would tell you they should have won. That being said, KWC is 6-3 in the G-MAC conference and have already secured a spot in the league’s six-team postseason tournament. Kentucky Wesleyan has five regular season games remaining and are squarely in the hunt for the G-MAC regular season championship. Alderson Broaddus tops the league standings at 8-3 and Central State is next at 7-3. The conference tournament will take place March 5-7 at campus sites. · Kentucky State Thorobreds (7-15, 5-10 SIAC) The Thorobreds have won two of their last three games to get themselves back in the hunt for a respectable seed in the SIAC Tournament (March 2-7 in Birmingham, Alabama). They are currently sitting in sixth place in the SIAC West division. KSU has four conference games to play in the regular season. Read more: The State of Kentucky Basketball 2015: All We Do is Win, Win, Win | AllKyHoops.com
February 13, 201511 yr Author ^ Very nice! Looks like a ton of work went into this. This has taken most of the day...but I feel it's necessary because not everyone understands how much good basketball there really is in Kentucky.
February 13, 201511 yr Wireman, what does Campbellsville being in the NCCAA do for them? Do they compete for a different title? Are there two distinct tournaments?
February 13, 201511 yr Author Wireman, what does Campbellsville being in the NCCAA do for them? Do they compete for a different title? Are there two distinct tournaments? There is an NAIA D1 tournament and an NCCAA D1 tournament. I'm not sure how they make the decision on the NCCAA tourney but I suspect that a season like they are having this year will only be an NAIA tourney appearance.
February 13, 201511 yr No one in the state of KY has to drive very far to see a quality college basketball team play.
February 13, 201511 yr The Bluegrass is the king of basketball. It is so awesome when you think about it.
February 14, 201511 yr No one in the state of KY has to drive very far to see a quality college basketball team play. Agreed. I took my wife and son to watch Berea last weekend. Team was terrific, played fun basketball, cheap admission, and a great place to watch a game. All thirty minutes from my house.
February 14, 201511 yr Author Agreed. I took my wife and son to watch Berea last weekend. Team was terrific, played fun basketball, cheap admission, and a great place to watch a game. All thirty minutes from my house. You should come watch Centre sometime too. They are very fun to watch. Actually run great plays and shoot a lot of three-pointers. Very good basketball.
February 14, 201511 yr You should come watch Centre sometime too. They are very fun to watch. Actually run great plays and shoot a lot of three-pointers. Very good basketball. I've been to a few Centre games, but none this year. Seems like every time we've wanted to go they've been on the road.
February 14, 201511 yr Murray State ranked #5 in the nation's mid-major poll. Belmont represents the OVC also in the top 25 being ranked 24th. EKU is right outside the top 25 and still getting votes. The Racers might run into trouble at SEMO. They have plenty of talent but have not played to their expected level this year. OVC tourney should be a good one after watching Morehead State and Eastern the other night on TV. Murray State will be the favorite but anything can happen on a nuetral floor in Nashville.
February 14, 201511 yr Throw in the fact that in NAIA we have #4 Pikeville, #6 Campbellsville, #9 Georgetown and #25 Cumberlands. No other state has as many ranked teams in this week's poll. California, Tennessee and Texas have three each.
February 14, 201511 yr Author Murray State ranked #5 in the nation's mid-major poll. Belmont represents the OVC also in the top 25 being ranked 24th. EKU is right outside the top 25 and still getting votes. The Racers might run into trouble at SEMO. They have plenty of talent but have not played to their expected level this year. OVC tourney should be a good one after watching Morehead State and Eastern the other night on TV. Murray State will be the favorite but anything can happen on a nuetral floor in Nashville. If SEMO had a coach they would be dangerous. Wait, did I say that out loud.
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