Kentucky continues to get no respect

We all know that ESPN has this love fest for the ACC and the Big East, after all, ESPN stands for; East coast Sports Propaganda Network.  Yes, I understand that the SEC is not very good this year, but Kentucky is still one of the top 20 teams in college basketball.  Kentucky has gone 16-2 since starting 0-2.  They lost to VMI (no excuses here, but they are the best team in their conference, and they play a gimmick style that presented a match-up that only Satan could think of), and North Carolina, on the road.  They have won the Vegas tournament (they beat a team from one of ESPN’s favorite conferences, West Virginia, who drilled overrated Georgetown by 17 points on the road).  They lost to a Miami team, in which they spotted a 21 point lead, only to rally and come up short.  They lost to arguably the hottest team in all of college basketball by a three point shot within the last three seconds.  They have done their job, winning all of the other games that they should be winning.  Although the SEC isn’t as strong, winning on the road in the SEC is difficult, and UK has won three SEC road games, all by double digits.  They are a meaningless three point shot away from winning all five games in conference play by double digits (UK won only one game in conference play by double digits last season).

Now, about the teams that are rated above them in the ESPN Coaches’ poll.  Minnesota, yes, they are a nice story, but didn’t they lose a few games?  They beat Louisville, but they lost to Northwestern, Michigan State, and Purdue, the last two coming at home.  Aside from Louisville, Minnesota played no one in the non-conference.  Their toughest game, other than Louisville was at Colorado State.  They won by one point.  Notre Dame, at 12-6 are still ranked, but Kentucky is not.  They have six losses (three in a row), and now seven (four in a row) as I write this.  They play very little defense, and McAlarney is shooting like Stephen Curry (nice 3-15 performance tonight versus Marquette).  Their 45 game home winning streak has been greeted by two losses in a row, granted to top ten teams.  They lost to lowly St. John’s and got clownstomped by Syracuse earlier in the year.  If they are still ranked next week, the polls are a fraud.  Oh yeah, they get Pittsburgh on the road on Staurday, could be eight losses.  Georgetown, I mean how are they still ranked.  They deserved to be unranked as well.  Sure, they have beaten Connecticut on the road and clownstomped Syracuse at home.  They have also lost games to Seton Hall and lowly Tennessee.  They have lost three in a row, including that loss to Seton Hall, and they were smacked around at home against Pittsburgh and West Virginia (by 16 and 17 respectively).  They are 12-6 and have a losing record in conference play.  It does not get any easier for Georgetown, as they travel to Cincinnati and Marquette this week.

How about Gonzaga?  Should they be ranked?  Beating Tennessee twice, something that UK can and will do and winning games in the mighty West Coast conference.  They lost to Portland State at home!  Shouldn’t that count for anything?  If UK’s loss to VMI is going to hurt them, shouldn’t this loss hurt too?  They did  take UCONN to OT, though.   St. Mary’s, I mean, are you serious?  Their best win was against an Oregon team who is winless in eight games in the Pac-10.  Their only loss was a 16 point loss to UTEP.  They did beat mighty Southern Illinois on the road, and they beat a bad Santa Clara team by one point, at home.  Not worthy to be ranked, let alone 18th, in my opinion.  Florida, receiving more votes than UK?  They have fewer losses than UK, but when your biggest win is at Vanderbilt (whose star, AJ Ogilvy is playing with plantar fasciitis) and your biggest win in non-conference is a two point win against Washington (one of exactly two games in the non-conference that Florida played outside of Florida), do you deserve to be ranked?  If UK played that schedule, it is possible that UK is 19-1, besides Florida is 4-1 in the “weak” SEC, while UK is 5-0.

The bias against UK, by ESPN is unreal.  It is so obvious.  Jodie Meeks is still flying under the radar, even though he is the third leading scorer, and scored 54 points AT Tennessee.  Kentucky should be ranked around 21st.  At least the AP poll ranked Kentucky in the top 25.  In the ESPN Coaches’ poll, Kentucky is rated 28th, one behind 19-1 Utah State.