College Basketball- Who's Hot, Who's Not?

Hot
Syracuse Orange (18-1) #3

The Orange are rolling right now. They've not only won 35 in a row at the Carrier Dome but have been successful on the road. Last Saturday, Cuse beat then #1 Louisville on their home court in a thriller. Syracuse's primary defense is a 2-3 zone which allows open shots for long range shooters. This always leaves me with doubt come tournament time. A hot shooting night and Cuse is done but for now Syracuse has stud Point Guard Michael Carter-Williams who leads the nation in assists. MCW led the team with 16 points including the go ahead steal and thunderous slam with under 20 seconds to play. Syracuse also won on MLK Day over ranked Cincinnati. Syracuse is atop the Big East standings and shows no signs of slowing down.

Kansas Jayhawks (17-1) #3
This may seem unusual but both Syracuse and Kansas are ranked in the polls at #3. Definitely the first time I've ever seen that. Anyways, great teams are ones that can play poorly and escape with wins. This weekend the Jayhawks traveled to Austin and fell behind by 10+ points in the second half. The Longhorns couldn't hold on as freshman sensation Ben McLemore led the comeback. McLemore is the best player in college basketball right now and could take Kansas back to the Final Four come March. Kansas continued the nation's longest win streak of 16 last night defeating rival Kansas State in Manhattan.

Not
Louisville Cardinals (16-3) #5
Louisville has dropped 2 in a row with their loss to unranked Villanova last night. The Cards are still my National Championship pick but are struggling in the midst of their Big East play. The Cardinals lost to a respectable aforementioned Syracuse team but fell on the road to a down Villanova squad. Is it the curse of the #1 that is sent Louisville in the wrong direction, possibly but they need to get back on track. They simply have been turning the ball over too much in critical stretches of the game. Can Peyton Siva and Russ Smith turn this bad stretch around, certainly. They only face 1 ranked team in their next 9 and need to win at least 7 of those to have a shot at the Big East crown. If Louisville wants to make a deep run into April, they need to put themselves in position for a top seed.

Kentucky Wildcats (12-6) Unranked

The defending champions are nothing near what they were last season. Freshman Nerlens Noel has shown no resemblence of Anthony Davis and this Wildcat team lacks the Senior leadership that Darius Miller brought to the team last year. Kentucky ranks 5th in the weak SEC which is being led by Ole Miss. Let me say that again, Ole Miss. The Cats are only 2-2 in their last 4. Do I think this team has any chance to contend? Probably not. But is there a chance to turn this season around and build for next season? Definitely. Kentucky has the talent to make a run through their SEC schedule and possibly make it to a Sweet 16 finishing this season as a stepping stone for next.

Other Notable Hots: Butler #9, Oregon #16, Miami #25
Other Notable Nots: UCLA Unranked, Illinois Unranked