This Year's Kentucky Kids are Looking Downright Dominant

John Calipari's team is another young bunch. #1 Kentucky's starting lineup features three freshman and two sophomores. The balance and teamwork they show for their age and experience is remarkable. Sophomore Terrence Jones is the returning star player, but he doesn't demand the ball like one. The other starting sophomore is Doron Lamb. Lamb can light it up from downtown. The trio of diaper dandies have been sensational so far. Marquis Teague runs the point beautifully. Michael Kidd-Gilchrist is as consistent as they come. Anthony Davis is a dominant force inside. He is drawing talent comparisons to Shaquille O'Neal. This is a talented team to say the least.

Calipari's teams always seem to be talent laden though. The difference is this team has seemed to play consistently superb basketball since day one. They are 24-1 and 10-0 in the SEC for the first time in seven years. The Wildcats faced their toughest test in over a month tonight when they played the Florida Gators. All they did was blowout the Gators, who are widely considered the second best team in the SEC, by 20 points. Kentucky also has wins on its resume over Kansas, North Carolina, and Louisville. Their only loss was by one point at Indiana.

Kentucky has its toughest road game of the season at Vanderbilt on Saturday. If they escape with a win, they could easily run the table the rest of the way. People are saying this might be Calipari's best team he's had at Kentucky. They are certainly looking like it right now. The Kentucky faithful are starting to get excited about national championship talk. Nothing is guaranteed, especially with a young team like this, but with the way they are playing, they are going to be tough to beat.

JLin Breathes Life into the Knicks and MSG

I already wrote about how absolutely terribly the New York Knicks had been playing this season. The Knicks were supposed to be contenders in the East, but instead were 8-15 and had lost 11 of their last 13. The offense simply wasn't getting it down on the court. One of the main reasons was a lack of a true starting point guard. Veteran Baron Davis was supposed to be the answer, but he hasn't played at all this season with a back injury. The Knicks had tried just about everyone at the spot, so they turned to one of their last men on the bench, Jeremy Lin. Lin is a second year player out of Harvard. Before Saturday's game, he had only played 55 minutes all season and scored only 32 points.

On Saturday, the Knicks hosted the New Jersey Nets. Everyone hoped they could pick up a win here to end the losing drought. JLin came off the bench and was the leading scorer with 25 points and 7 assists. The Knicks won 99-92. Tonight, the Knicks hosted the Utah Jazz. Before the game began, the Knicks knew they would be without star Amare Stoudemire, who left to be with his family after the death of his older brother in a car accident. In tonight's game, JLin got his first career start, but things didn't look good when six minutes in, the Knicks' other start player, Carmelo Anthony, left the game with a strained right groin. This left the Knicks without any real identity. That didn't last long as JLin quickly took over. Lin scored a career-high 28 points and 8 assists. He was clutch down the stretch and nailed a moneyball three to help seal the Knicks' victory.

The Knicks knew they needed to turn around their season. People thought they needed to fire head coach Mike D'Antoni. They thought Carmelo or Amare would make it happen. They thought all sorts of things and theories, but few thought of little Jeremy Lin from Harvard. In two games, Lin might have single-handedly turned around the Knicks' season. I watched the game tonight and Madison Square Garden was rocking like it hadn't been in a very, very long time. Knicks fans have someone to believe in. That someone is Jeremy Lin.

Big Week in Conference Play Featuring Some Rivalries

I'm previewing the men's college basketball games to watch this week. There are big conference showdowns and some big time rivalries on display.

Monday

Connecticut @ #25 Louisville - 7:00 PM EST, ESPN

UConn got a much needed win on Saturday when they pounded Seton Hall. Can the victory propel the Huskies to make a run, or was the win just a mirage? Louisville has quietly won four in a row in conference play.

Tuesday

#11 Florida @ #1 Kentucky - 7:00 PM EST, ESPN

Florida has won seven in a row, all of which were in SEC play. The Gators have looked like the second best team in the conference. Kentucky just keeps win basketball games. Freshman Anthony Davis is just a beast. People are saying is the most dominant player to play in the SEC since Shaquille O'Neal.

Wednesday

#14 Georgetown @ #2 Syracuse - 7:00 PM EST, ESPN

Georgetown has played solid in conference play so far and are coming off a win over Connecticut and a demolition of South Florida. Syracuse keeps churning out wins. The got Fab Melo back in Saturday's win as well. Will the Hoyas have enough to pull the upset, or will the Orange display their dominance of the Big East once again?

#8 Kansas @ #6 Baylor - 7:00 PM EST, ESPN2

The top of the Big 12 standings shows three teams tied for the lead with conference records of 8-2. Missouri, Kansas, and Baylor have all spent time in the Top 10 of the polls this season. On Wednesday in Waco, Kansas and Baylor faceoff. Kansas is coming off a tough loss at Missouri. Baylor is building steam once again having won four straight.

Saint Louis @ Saint Joseph's - 8:30 PM EST

The Atlantic Ten standings have been crazy this season so far. The top of the standings are so crowded right now. In fact, six teams are currently within a game of first place. St. Louis is one of those teams with a 6-3 conference record. The Billikens are coming off solid conference wins at home over St. Bonaventure and Dayton. St. Joseph's is 5-4 in conference play, so they have some work to do. The Hawks have taken some steps in the right direction with wins over Richmond and La Salle.

#5 Duke @ #6 North Carolina - 9:00 PM EST, ESPN

Duke and North Carolina. It is the rivalry of all rivalries in college basketball. Normally, it is also the game to decide who will be in first place in the ACC. That is not the case this year as both teams are looking up at Florida State. Duke is coming off a shocking overtime loss at home to Miami. North Carolina came from behind last Saturday to win at Maryland. The Tar Heels have won five in a row since losing to Florida State.

Notre Dame @ West Virginia - 9:00 PM EST, ESPNU

Notre Dame seems to be as hot as any team in the country right now. The Fighting Irish have beaten three Top 25 teams in their past four games. West Virginia held on Saturday to beat Providence in overtime. The win ended a three game losing skid.

Thursday

Valparaiso @ Cleveland State - 7:00 PM EST

First place in the Horizon League is on the line in this matchup. You might not think this a big deal, but Butler plays in this conference, and we know what they have done in recent years. Cleveland State did upset Vanderbilt earlier this year, so these are two teams to watch out for.

#16 Saint Mary's @ Gonzaga - 11:00 PM EST, ESPN2

St. Mary's has looked downright dominant as of late. The Gaels are winners of twelve straight and undefeated in conference play. They have already beaten rival Gonzaga once and would love to do it again to prove a point. Gonzaga rebounded from a loss at BYU with a win at Pepperdine on Saturday.

Friday

Iona @ Loyola (MD) - 7 PM EST, ESPNU

First place in the MAAC is up for grabs in this game. Both teams are 11-2 in conference play. Iona got revenge on Saturday winning at Manhattan to get a big win. The Gaels have won four in a row. Loyola has won six in a row since losing at Iona on January 15. The Greyhounds won each of those games by double digits.

#23 Harvard @ Pennsylvania - 7:00 PM EST

Despite being ranked, Harvard isn't a lock for an at-large bid for the NCAA tournament. It would be much easier if the Crimson would just win the Ivy League and get the automatic bid. They are undefeated in conference play so far, but they need to get by perennial conference contender Penn. The Quakers are 4-1 in conference play.

Saturday (There are a lot of games Saturday, so I am just going to list them.)

#25 Louisville @ West Virginia - 12:00 PM EST, ESPN

Connecticut @ #2 Syracuse - 1:00 PM EST, CBS

#18 Virginia @ #6 North Carolina - 1:00 PM EST, ESPN3

#6 Baylor @ #4 Missouri - 1:30 PM EST, ESPN3

VCU @ Old Dominion - 2:00 PM EST, Comcast Sports

Cincinnati @ #15 Marquette - 3:00 PM EST, ESPNU

#17 San Diego State @ #13 UNLV - 4:00 PM EST, NBC Sports

Witchita State @ #12 Creighton - 5:00 PM EST, ESPN2

#10 Michigan State @ #3 Ohio State - 6:00 PM EST, ESPN

#1 Kentucky @ Vanderbilt - 9:00 PM EST, ESPN

Xavier @ Temple - 9:00 PM EST, ESPN2