By SAM LANCE
The college basketball season is officially in full swing, and this Saturday has graced us with one of the best slates of the season. Two top-3 teams went at it. Blue bloods clashed. Early season juggernauts were tested for the first time.
So, without further ado, let’s get into it. Here’s everything you need to know from a loaded day in college hoops.
Purdue likely to be back at No. 1 after Arizona win
Matt Painter and No. 3 Purdue took down No. 1 Arizona, 92-84, in the Indy Classic behind a marvelous performance from the backcourt. The win will likely make Purdue the No. 1 team in the land come Monday. Sophomore guard tandem Braden Smith and Fletcher Loyer combined for 53 points on 9-of-16 shooting from 3 to hand Arizona its first loss of the season. Zach Edey also chipped in 22 points and nine rebounds. No other Purdue player was in double figures. Caleb Love and Keshad Johnson — Arizona’s two biggest portal adds this past offseason — turned in big games for the Wildcats despite the loss. Love dropped in four 3-pointers in route to 29 points and Johnson tallied 24 points and eight rebounds. Purdue led by as much as 15 points at the 16-minute mark of the second half, but Arizona played well down the stretch to make it a game. Still, the Boilermakers were able to close it out behind a huge 3-pointer from Smith. Purdue is now 10-1 on the season with wins over Gonzaga, Tennessee, Marquette, Alabama and Arizona. Quite the resume. As for Arizona, they move to 10-1 as well and boast wins over Duke in Cameroon Indoor, Michigan State and Wisconsin.Kentucky prevails in blue blood battle vs. North Carolina
The young and exciting No. 14 Kentucky Wildcats (8-2) played like a veteran team, edging No. 9 North Carolina (7-3) — 87-83 — in the CBS Sports Classic. Seven different Kentucky players finished with eight or more points, including Rob Dillingham who led the Wildcats with 17 points, despite an off shooting night. DJ Wagner and Aaron Bradshaw added 14 and 12 points apiece, respectively. The win gives John Calipari a second top-25 non-conference win. Both have come against ACC opponents, with Kentucky topping Miami, 95-73, in late November. North Carolina had an opportunity to tie the game down 86-83 with under 10 seconds left, but an errant pass by Elliot Cadeau led to an RJ Davis backcourt violation and Tar Heel turnover to effectively end the game. Davis led North Carolina with 27 points on 8-of-18 shooting. Cormac Ryan was another Tar Heel who impacted the game with 20 points. North Carolina has now lost two straight against Kentucky and UConn. It doesn’t get easier for Hubert Davis and company, as No. 11 Oklahoma awaits them on Dec. 20.No. 2 Kansas survives road test vs. Indiana
Bill Self and Kansas were down by as much as 13 points, but the Jayhawks rallied late to take down Indiana in Assembly Hall — 75-71. Kevin McCullar led the way with 21 points and was key down the stretch with several clutch plays. Hunter Dickinson followed him with 17 points and 14 rebounds. Dajuan Harris also dropped in 12 points, and with the win, Kansas is now 27-1 when Harris scores in double-figures. That one loss was against Arkansas last year in the NCAA Tournament when the Jayhawks were without Self on the sidelines. The loss for Indiana is surely a stinger, as they controlled most of the game and led for 35+ minutes. Mike Woodson and the Hoosiers will now have an NCAA Tournament resume without a key non-conference win. Indiana has lost all their games to opponents in the top 15 on Kenpom by an average of 17 points. Senior guard Trey Galloway had a career day in the loss, finishing with a game-high 28 points on 12-of-17 shooting. Also in double figures for Indiana were Mackenzie Mgbako (14 points), Malik Reneau (13 points) and Kel’el Ware (11 points). Other notable results…- Michigan State 88, No. 6 Baylor 64
- Memphis 79, No. 13 Clemson 77
- No. 4 Houston 70, Texas A&M 66
