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Adam Zagoria covers basketball at all levels. He is the author of two books and an award-winning journalist whose articles have appeared in ESPN The Magazine, SLAM, Sheridan Hoops, Sports Illustrated, Basketball Times and in newspapers nationwide.
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Sunday / December 15.
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    • Kentucky, North Carolina, Ohio State, UCLA

    Nearly 50 NBA scouts are expected on Saturday for the CBS Sports Classic that features No. 2 UCLA facing Ohio State and No. 6 Kentucky meeting No. 7 North Carolina in Las Vegas, a source told ZAGSBLOG.

    UCLA is led by freshman sensation Lonzo Ball, currently projected as the No. 4 pick in 2017 by DraftExpress.com. Freshman big man T.J. Leaf has also seen his draft stock rise with his play of late for the unbeaten Bruins (11-0).

    “With Lonzo [in the] top 5, I know if I’m at that level, I’ve got him higher than that,” Bruins coach Steve Alford said on The 4 Quarters Podcast. “I just think he’s special. You don’t get point guards that are that size with that length, with that basketball IQ and somebody that can change the game in so many ways. Lonzo can change it through passing, he can change it through defense and his ability to get deflections and steals. He can do it through rebounding and then when you forget about him he can score 9, 10 points in a minute. He’s such a versatile point guard and he’s fun to play with and I think that’s what you see our team enjoying right now, is people like playing with him.”

    Kentucky features three projected first-round one-and-dones in No. 5 Malik Monk, No. 10 De’Aaron Fox and No. 15 Bam Adebayo.

    UCLA

    UCLA is coming off an impressive win over one Big Ten team and will face another on Saturday.

    So it’s no surprise that Michigan coach John Beilein and Ohio State coach Thad Matta are both raving about the No. 2 and undefeated Bruins (10-0).

    “Anybody that goes into Kentucky and puts 100 points on them as well or whatever they put up on them is a really, really good offense,” Beilein said of the Bruins on Monday’s Big Ten conference call. “They’re just an excellent team. [T.J.] Leaf and [Lonzo] Ball have just made a non-qualifying NCAA Tournament team last year into one of the top five team in the country.”

    Leaf scored 21 points and Ball added 19 as UCLA shot 67 percent in beating Michigan 102-84 on Saturday at Pauley Pavilion. The Bruins made 15 3-pointers in the game.

    “The concern was guarding them on the perimeter and staying in front of them as they drove the ball,” Beilein said.

    “They spread us. It’s very rare you have four guys out there all shooting 40 percent. We had a great shooter in Duncan Robinson and they had four guys shooting like Duncan Robinson and they’re also good at going off the dribble.”

    Ohio State will face the Bruins on Saturday in Las Vegas in the CBS Sports Classic, a doubleheader that will also feature Kentucky against North Carolina.

    Matta knows he’ll have his hands full with Ball, a projected top-5 pick in the NBA Draft, and his teammates, too.

    Villanova

    As expected, reigning NCAA champion Villanova is the new No. 1  team  in the land and is one of four Big East Conference teams in the top 16.

    The 8-0 Wildcats are coming off an 88-57 win against Saint Joseph’s on Saturday in which Josh Hart posted a triple-double with 16 points, 11 rebounds and 10 assists.

    Undefeated UCLA, fresh off its upset of then-No. 1 Kentucky on Saturday at Rupp Arena, is No. 2, followed by No. 3 Kansas.

    Unbeaten Baylor is No. 4, followed by Duke and Kentucky.

    Along with Villanova, the Big East chimed in with Creighton at No. 10, Xavier at No. 13 and Butler at No. 16.

    AP POLL

    Breaking News, Kentucky, UCLA

    For the second straight season, UCLA has stunned No. 1 Kentucky and handed the Wildcats their first loss of the season.

    One year after knocking off Kentucky in Los Angeles, the No. 11 Bruins came into Rupp Arena and beat the Wildcats, 97-92.

    UCLA, which took down No. 1 Kentucky 87-77 a year ago, remained undefeated (9-0), while Kentucky fell to 7-1. Defending national champion Villanova figures to become the new No. 1 team in the land on Monday after they beat St. Joe’s, 88-57 on Saturday.

    “You know going into Rupp, it’s gonna be a crazy atmosphere and great team and we knew that,” UCLA forward T.J. Leaf, who had a double-double of 17 points and 13 rebounds to go with 5 assists, said on CBS. “And we just came in, gave it our all, played as hard as we can and we did a good job on the backboards and got the win.”

    It was the highest point total ever allowed by a Kentucky team at Rupp under head coach John Calipari. who is now 69-7 as the coach of the No. 1-ranked team there.

    Kentucky, Recruiting, UCLA

    Kentucky and UCLA aren’t just two of the most storied programs in college basketball history, they are also at the frontier of recruiting the next wave of stars.

    The Wildcats and the Bruins — who will meet on Saturday afternoon at Rupp Arena (12:30, CBS) — have the Nos. 1 and 2-ranked recruiting classes in the Class of 2017, according to both Scout.com and ESPN.com.

    Kentucky’s four-man class includes guards Quade Green and Shai Gilgeous-Alexander and bigs P.J. Washington and Nick Richards. (Alexander went for 21 points in Hamilton Heights’ (TN) win Thursday night on ESPN2).

    UCLA, meantime, has a five-man class that features guards Jaylen Hands and LiAngelo Ball, small forward Kris Wilkes and bigs Cody Riley and Jalen Hill.

    Copyright 2016 Zagsblog. Partner of iOne Digital / Cassius Network
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