This year, ‘very good’ may suffice
Kentucky’s losses show how balance is prevailing
LEXINGTON, Ky. — Jay Bilas brought new meaning to the term basketball “analyst” Monday. He all but asked Kentucky fans to lay on the couch, take a deep breath, talk about the problem and then realize that the two defeats in Las Vegas (Nev.) last week are not cause for anxiety.
Why? Because all teams — including Kentucky — will lose games in an especially competitive season that lacks a dominant team, the ESPN basketball analyst said.
“So, if Kentucky fans think, ‘Oh, jeez, we’ve lost a few games, that’s the death knell,’ it’s not,” Bilas said in a telephone conversation. “This is not a normal year. So, very good is good enough. If you’re healthy and playing well at the end of the year, there’s no reason to think you can’t win the whole thing.”
Despite the losses to unranked Utah and then-No. 5 Ohio State, Kentucky qualifies as one of the teams that can win the 2020 NCAA Tournament, Bilas said.
“Kentucky’s good enough to beat anybody,” he said. “And there’s nobody out there they can’t beat. It’s just that the universe of teams that can beat Kentucky is a little bit bigger than it’s been in some years.
“But that’s true of everybody. There’s nobody out there that can say, ‘Evansville or Stephen F. Austin, that can’t happen to us.’ Of course, it can.”
UK fans surely don’t need reminding that Evansville won at then-No. 1 Kentucky on Nov. 12, and that Stephen F. Austin won at then-No. 1 Duke two weeks later.
Since the preseason, Bilas and many others have been talking about how college basketball would be unusually balanced this season. Further evidence came when Gonzaga was voted No. 1 in The Associated Press 25 poll announced Monday. The Zags became the sixth No. 1 team already this season. The record for most teams ranked No. 1 in a season is seven.
On his radio show Monday night, Kentucky coach John Calipari said he was not concerned about any other teams wanting to elevate themselves above the pack. Kentucky doing so was his aim, he said.
As Bilas sees it, the air is not so thin at the elevation necessary to do so.
“This is a year where very good is good enough,” he said. “There is not an overpowering team.”
Wednesday games
BOISE STATE 72, UTEP 67: In Honolulu, Derrick Alston Jr. had 23 points, nine rebounds and six assists as Boise State (8-5) edged past the Miners (9-4) for fifth place in the Diamond Head Classic.
Alston made a baseline floater for a twopossession lead with 25 seconds left, and Marcus Dickinson stole it at the other end before making two free throws to seal it.
Abu Kigab had 11 points and nine rebounds for Boise State (8-5). Daryl Edwards had 14 points for the Miners. HOUSTON 75, No. 21 WASHINGTON 71:
Fabian White Jr. and Caleb Mills scored 19 points each to help Houston rally in the Diamond Head Classic title game. The Cougars (10-3) trailed by 14 points in the first half, but outscored the Huskies (103) 44-35 after halftime to win their fourth straight.
White shot 7 of 13 from the field and hit all five of his free throws for a careerhigh in points scored and earn the tournament’s most outstanding player honors. Houston hit 17 of 18 (94.4 percent) as a team from the stripe, including its final six.
Isaiah Stewart finished with 25 points to lead Washington.