College basketball grades: Kentucky earns ‘A+’, Kansas gets ‘C’ in report card heading into weekend

No. 12 Kentucky was backed into a corner entering its showdown at No. 8 Tennessee on Tuesday night. The Wildcats had dropped two straight for the first time under first-year coach Mark Pope and were down two key players while entering a hostile road environment.

On the heels of getting court-stormed in a loss at Vanderbilt and with a showdown against Arkansas and former coach John Calipari looming next, Kentucky delivered in a big way. Its 78 points were the most Tennessee has surrendered in a game this season, as the Wildcats got substantive contributions from across their roster.

The victory was emblematic of the culture that Pope has assembled in short order with a transfer-oriented roster full of players who are mostly new to Pope and entirely new to each other. The performance earned the Wildcats an A+ grade in this week’s assessment of how the nation’s top squads fared in midweek action.

Here is the full grading rundown of the 10 highest-ranked teams that played weekday games.

Top-10 teams that didn’t play midweek games: No. 5 Florida, No. 10 Purdue

Result: 87-74 win at LSU

Johni Broome’s 26 points, 16 rebounds and three blocks against LSU suggested he’s not ready to concede the national player of the year race to Duke’s Cooper Flagg just yet. In his second game back from an ankle injury, Broome scored 20 in the second half alone as Auburn remained unblemished in the rigorous SEC. Grade: A-

No. 2 Duke

Result: 74-64 win vs. NC State

Duke got pushed to the brink by a struggling in-state rival, as NC State lit up Cameron Indoor Stadium with 45% 3-point shooting. The Wolfpack took a 13-point lead at one point in the first half before Duke snapped back to life with a 19-0 run spanning both halves. Even then, Duke never increased its edge to a comfortable margin until the final minute. Grade: C+

Result: 86-75 loss at Arizona (OT)

Iowa State was poised to leave Tucson in sole possession of first in the Big 12 standings until Caleb Love hit a ridiculous buzzer-beater from beyond half court to force overtime. After a cold shooting night, Love splashed home eight points in the extra period to sink the Cyclones. It was a fluky way for ISU to end up on the wrong side of an otherwise gritty performance in a hostile environment. Grade: B-

Result: 88-84 win at Mississippi State

For a team with national-title aspirations like Alabama, there was plenty to clean up from Wednesday’s performance. Mississippi State’s 50% shooting mark was the best any team has posted against the Crimson Tide, as Bulldogs guard Josh Hubbard went nuts for 38 points. If MSU hadn’t blown a go-ahead layup attempt with 13 seconds left, this one may have ended quite differently. Grade: B

Result: 63-49 win at West Virginia

Not a single West Virginia player reached double figures against Houston’s ruthless defense. It’s a good thing, because the Cougars had to withstand some offensive struggles of their own in the second half to emerge from a hostile environment with their 13th straight victory. Grade: A-

No. 7 Michigan State

Result: 73-51 win vs. Minnesota

Michigan State never allowed Minnesota even the slightest glimmer of hope, as the Spartans extended their winning streak to 13 while ending Minnesota’s three-game winning spurt. MSU led by 13 or more throughout the entire second half, and no one logged more than 26 minutes ahead of the team’s West Coast swing to play USC and UCLA. Grade: A

No. 8 Tennessee

Result: 78-73 loss vs. Kentucky

Tennessee has dropped four of its last seven after faltering at home against a Kentucky team missing two of its top players. Star guards Zakai Zeigler and Chaz Lanier combined to make just 4-of-21 attempts. What was more concerning, though, was how many clean looks the Wildcats got. UK hit more 3-pointers (12) on 50% shooting than anyone else has against the usually stingy Volunteers. Grade: C-

Result: 78-69 win vs. Butler

Marquette turned a 42-35 halftime deficit around quickly and then kept Butler at arm’s in an impressive second half showing on both ends. The Bulldogs shot just 25.8% in the second half as the Golden Eagles ratcheted up the intensity to reach 9-1 in Big East play ahead of Saturday’s big showdown with UConn.  Grade: A-

Result: 91-87 win vs. UCF

Kansas flirted with losing consecutive home games as it surrendered a season-worst 14 made 3-pointers against a UCF team that it beat by 51 earlier in the month. The Jayhawks coughed it up 10 times in the second half while forcing just three turnovers and were fortunate to hold on in what became a free-throw shooting contest. Grade: C

No. 12 Kentucky

Result: 78-73 win at Tennessee 

Down two of its top players in Lamont Butler and Andrew Carr, the Wildcats went into one of the SEC’s most hostile environments and found a way unnerve a perennially elite defense. A loss would have been UK’s third straight, but coach Mark Pope’s club showed toughness and resolve ahead of Saturday’s clash with Arkansas and former coach John Calipari. Grade: A+