> SOUTHERN INDIANA — Heading into Tuesday’s contest with No. 7 Florida, top-ranked Kentucky had some questions that needed to be answered.

The Wildcats, who have struggled at times with their half-court offense and have had their physical toughness questioned, hadn’t played a ranked team yet in 2012.

They answered any lingering questions emphatically by picking apart the 19-5 Gators in a resounding 78-58 victory in Lexington Tuesday.

Kentucky shot 52.7 percent from the field, held Florida to 22-of-63 and ran its fastbreak with stunning efficiency en route to its 16th consecutive win.

“We have this little swagger,” Kentucky freshman Anthony Davis told the Associated Press. “We just want to go out there and play hard and win. We’re very capable of winning a national championship if we keep playing how we’re playing.”

Kentucky will be tested plenty in the last month of the regular season with trips to Vanderbilt on Saturday, No. 18 Mississippi State on Feb. 21 and a trip to Gainesville to face the Gators again March 4 in the regular-season finale.

But for now, Kentucky has left no doubt that it is the favorite to win its 10th national title.



SNAPSHOT WEEKLY AWARDS

PLAYER OF THE WEEK

• Kevin Murphy, Tennessee Tech Senior Guard: Murphy scored 106 points, including a 50-point effort in Monday’s 98-80 victory over SIU-Edwardsville. Murphy added 33 points, seven rebounds and three assists in the Golden Eagles’ 94-88 win over Austin Peay on Thursday, then scored 23 points, grabbed seven boards and handed out three assists as Tech knocked off Jacksonville State, 76-68 on Saturday. For the week, Murphy made 35 of his 57 field goal attempts, 24 of his 28 free throws and was 12-for-22 from the 3-point line.

 

TEAM OF THE WEEK

• Miami (Fla.): The Hurricanes earned a pair of overtime wins last week, putting themselves back into the NCAA Tournament discussion. First, Miami beat Maryland 90-86 in double-overtime behind a 24-point, 8-rebound, 7-assist performance from junior guard Durant Scott on Wednesday. Then on Sunday, the Hurricanes knocked off No. 5 Duke at Cameron Indoor Stadium. Junior center Reggie Johnson scored five of his career-high 27 points in overtime of Miami’s biggest victory of the season.

 

WIN OF THE WEEK

• Indiana 78, Purdue 61: It was Indiana’s first road win over any other team than Penn State in Big Ten play in the last four years. The victory vaulted the Hoosiers into fifth play in the conference, and virtually gives them a lock on their first NCAA Tournament bid since 2007.  But, more importantly for Indiana fans, it was the Hoosiers’ first win over rival Purdue in four years. Indiana, which out-rebounded the Boilermaker 53-35, was led by sophomore Victor Oladipoo’s 23 points.

 

UPSET OF THE WEEK

• Evansville 65, Creighton 57: The Aces held the nation’s best shooting team to one points over the last five minutes and Batesville grad Colt Ryan hit a 17 footer with 3:08 left to break a 56-all tie with 3:08 left to give Evansville the lead for good. The No. 15 Blue Jays, who have the best field goal percentage in the country, hit four of their final 20 shots and fell a half-game behind Wichita State in the Missouri Valley with their second straight loss. Evansville is now 12-12 overall and 7-7 in the MVC.

 

PROJECTING THE 68

Through Tuesday

• No. 1 seeds – Kentucky, Syracuse, Missouri, Ohio State

• No. 2 seeds – North Carolina, Baylor, Kansas, Florida

• No. 3 seeds – Michigan State, Duke, Georgetown, Murray State

• No. 4 seeds – Wisconsin, Saint Mary’s, Indiana, Florida State

• No. 5 seeds – Virginia, UNLV, Marquette, Michigan

• No. 6 seeds – Louisville, San Diego State, Mississippi State, Gonzaga

• No. 7 seeds – Vanderbilt, Temple, Creighton, Wichita State

• No. 8 seeds – West Virginia, , Southern Miss, Harvard, Iowa State

• No. 9 seeds – Saint Louis, Notre Dame, Kansas State, Memphis

• No. 10 seeds – Illinois, Cincinnati, Cal, New Mexico

• No. 11 seeds – Connecticut, Alabama, NC State, Purdue

• No. 12 seeds – Long Beach State, Nevada, Middle Tennessee, VCU

• No. 13 seeds – Washington, Xavier, Wyoming, George Mason, Drexel, Arkansas

• No. 14 seeds – Davidson*, Iona*, Cleveland State*, Oral Roberts*

• No. 15 seeds – Akron*, Weber State*, Bucknell*, Mercer*

• No. 16 seeds – UNC-Asheville*, Long Island*, Stony Brook*, Texas-Arlington*, Norfolk State*, Mississippi Valley State*

*Invited only as conference tournament champions

 

On the Bubble

Minnesota, Colorado State, Ohio, Tulsa, Colorado, Mississippi

Note: Based on performance to date



Greg Mengelt can be contacted by e-mail at greg.mengelt@gmail.com.