College Basketball

NCAA Basketball: Louisville's upside and four other takeaways from the weekend

Updated Mar. 4, 2020 4:41 p.m. ET

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Fansided, Carmine Carcieri/FanSided via Busting Brackets

Jan 24, 2017; Knoxville, TN, USA; Kentucky Wildcats head coach John Calipari huddles with his players during a stoppage in play against the Tennessee Volunteers at Thompson-Boling Arena. The Volunteers won 82-55. Mandatory Credit: Bryan Lynn-USA TODAY Sports

After another entertaining weekend of NCAA basketball, Busting Brackets is back with our five takeaways from the weekend.

This wasn’t a typical weekend in college hoops. Even though the ACC had their usual Saturday craziness, there weren’t any marquee top 25 conference match-ups littered throughout the schedule. Instead, it was all about the non-conference showdowns that Kansas and Kentucky and Villanova and Virginia played.

And those two games lived up to the hype.

Kansas defeated Kentucky by six after trailing by five at the break, and Villanova knocked off Virginia at the buzzer in one of the best games of the year.

While there was a lot to observe in those two showdowns (one of our takeaways is from the Kansas-Kentucky matchup), there was plenty of other action that sparked my mind. So without further ado, here are Busting Brackets’ five takeaways from the weekend.

Jan 24, 2017; Columbia, SC, USA; South Carolina Gamecocks head coach Frank Martin directs his team against the Auburn Tigers in the second half at Colonial Life Arena. Mandatory Credit: Jeff Blake-USA TODAY Sports

5. South Carolina should’ve played in Big 12/SEC Challenge

Let’s be honest other than Kentucky versus Kansas and Baylor versus Ole Miss, the Big 12/SEC Challenge was a snooze fest.

West Virginia was too much for Texas A&M, Florida smoked Oklahoma in a game that Jordan Woodard (the Sooners’ best player) didn’t score a single point, Tennessee blew out Kansas State, Oklahoma State romped Arkansas, Vanderbilt upset Iowa State and Auburn knocked off a young TCU squad.

Yes, Georgia defeated Texas by only two on a dramatic ending, but those are two teams are firmly out of the tournament picture.

The SEC just doesn’t have enough notable squads to generate interest. And that’s why South Carolina needed to participate in the event (even though they chose the teams back in 2014).

They are the second best team in the conference, have two talented players in Sindarius Thornwell and P.J. Dozier and certainly would’ve given one of the top teams in the Big 12 a run for their money.

South Carolina would not have made the event must-see television, but at least there would be two games that casual fans would have interest watching.

Jan 28, 2017; Lexington, KY, USA; Kansas Jayhawks head coach Bill Self after the game against the Kentucky Wildcats at Rupp Arena. Kansas defeated Kentucky 79-73. Mandatory Credit: Mark Zerof-USA TODAY Sports

4. Kentucky might not be as good as we all thought

Before we begin I want to make this clear: I’m not saying that Kentucky is not a good team and they have no shot at making the Final Four. However, right now the Wildcats are not on the short list of favorites to win the National Championship.

Kentucky truly hasn’t beaten anyone of note and beyond two games against Florida, they won’t have a significant test for the rest of the season.

The Wildcats are currently 4-4 against the RPI top 50 with two of those wins coming against SEC teams South Carolina and Arkansas, and another one of those victories coming in a game where Malik Monk scored 47 points. The final RPI top 50 win was against Michigan State, a team that is currently 50 in the rankings and hasn’t had its typical success.

Meanwhile, Kentucky has lost two games in Rupp Arena (one to UCLA and one to Kansas) and lost on the road at Louisville and Tennessee.

No, they don’t have any bad losses, but they haven’t shown that they can beat the elite teams nationally.

And their lack of experience could be one of the reasons. The Wildcats have a freshman backcourt, their best big man is a freshman and their leaders are Isaiah Briscoe (a sophomore) and Derek Willis (who didn’t start playing major minutes until last year).

The good news: there’s no truly dominant team in college basketball and these guys will only get more experienced as the season goes on. That means the Wildcats can still do damage when March Madness comes around.

Jan 28, 2017; Minneapolis, MN, USA; Minnesota Gophers guard Akeem Springs (0) fouls Maryland Terrapins guard Melo Trimble (2) in the second half at Williams Arena. The Maryland Terrapins beat the Minnesota Gophers 85-78. Mandatory Credit: Brad Rempel-USA TODAY Sports

3. It’s time to give Maryland credit

Maryland is tied at the top of the Big Ten standings with the Wisconsin Badgers and is currently 19-2.

That’s pretty darn good considering they lost four starters off last year’s NCAA Tournament team and are relying on three freshmen to flank star point guard Melo Trimble.

However, the Terrapins have better chemistry and better role allocation, Trimble is one of the best closers in basketball and the freshman have played beyond their years.

The Terps haven’t gotten the love of the other top teams in the Big Ten (Wisconsin and Purdue) this season, but you must give credit when credit is due. Mark Turgeon’s squad earned it after this Saturday’s showdown against Minnesota.

The Golden Gophers are a bubble team right now and lost four straight coming into the game, but that is what makes this even more impressive. Richard Pitino’s team was desperate for a win, and instead of reeling in a home W, the Terps snatched it away.

Even though Maryland hasn’t beaten Purdue or Wisconsin in the Big Ten, they knocked off Minnesota, Iowa, Michigan, and Illinois on the road, and beat Oklahoma State in the non-conference. There’s still work to be done to prove they are the real deal, but Maryland has shown the consistency that other teams at the top of the Big 12 have not. So credit to Turgeon, Trimble and those freshmen.

Mar 22, 2015; Notre Dame, IN, USA; A view of the ACC logo on the key before the game between the Notre Dame Fighting Irish and the DePaul Blue Demons in the first half of the game at Edmund P. Joyce Center. Mandatory Credit: Trevor Ruszkowski-USA TODAY Sports

2. New York will be in bedlam during Championship Week

The ACC is just flat out ridiculous. Top to bottom, it very well might be the greatest conference in a single season in NCAA basketball history.

And Saturday was confirmation. North Carolina was dominated on the road at Miami. Georgia Tech, who is now 5-4 in the league, knocked off Notre Dame at the buzzer at home. And Syracuse, who isn’t even on the bubble yet, defeated the Florida State Seminoles. The team in last place in the conference standings is Pittsburgh. Duke, yeah Duke, is in ninth place in the standings, behind the likes of Georgia Tech (projected to finish 15th) and Syracuse (a team that lost to St. John’s by 33).

Then there’s the Big East. This is, at least in my opinion, the second best league in America. And not only that, it’s exciting because of the depth and unpredictability. Villanova is still the best team in the league, but they have been anything but unbeatable. The Wildcats haven’t played great in four out of their last five games and have lost on the road against Butler and Marquette.

Sure, the Big East lost a little juice with the injury to Maurice Watson Jr. (and could lose some more with Edmond Sumner’s current knee injury), but it’s still producing crazy results. Just this weekend, Providence won at Marquette for the first time ever and Georgetown, in the midst of a terrible season, knocked off Butler. The Big East firmly has four teams into the field, but Seton Hall, Marquette, and even Providence may be fighting through the middle of March.

The point of all this is these two conference tournaments are going to be insane. The ACC tourney might be one of the best we have ever seen, while no one is going to be safe in the Big East.

With the AAC, A10, SEC and Big Ten having down seasons, this is time for the ACC and Big East to rack up bids. That means more competition during Championship Week in New York City — the epicenter of college hoops.

Jan 29, 2017; Louisville, KY, USA; Louisville Cardinals head coach Rick Pitino reacts during the second half against the North Carolina State Wolfpack at KFC Yum! Center. The Cardinals won 85-60. Mandatory Credit: Jamie Rhodes-USA TODAY Sports

1. Louisville’s upside: The Final Four

The Louisville Cardinals are in fourth place in the ACC standings, but no team (besides Duke) in the league has a higher ceiling than Rick Pitino’s team.

More from Busting Brackets

The Cardinals are legit.

Just take this past week for example. Louisville romped Pittsburgh by 55 before dominating NC State at home one game after the Wolfpack won at Duke.

We already know about their defense, but Donovan Mitchell is suddenly unstoppable and the Cardinals are winning games without two of their three best guards, Quentin Snider and Tony Hicks.

And they are winning games in the best league in America.

Sure, their last three wins have come against teams near or at the bottom of the conference, but let’s remember, the ACC is flat out loaded. Put NC State, Pittsburgh and Clemson in another league and let’s see what they do.

Those aren’t bad basketball teams. And Louisville didn’t just beat NC State and Pittsburgh, again, they pounded them without one of their best players (Snider).

Louisville has all the potential in the world. With Mitchell clicking, their defense clicking and Snider and Hicks due to return relatively soon, no one is going to want to face Pitino in the postseason. No one.

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