There will be a shakeup atop the rankings this week, following No. 4 Louisville’s 69-64 loss to No. 7 Kentucky. The Cardinals quickly built a 14-point lead in the first half, but let that quickly slip away as the Wildcats fought back and took advantage of 25 Louisville turnovers to take the lead for good midway through the second half.
The other top teams cruised during Thanksgiving week, winning the respective tournaments they played in. No. 1 Connecticut, No. 2 Duke, and No. 3 Tennessee all went undefeated in the Hall of Fame Challenge, Paradise Jam and Junkanoo Jam, respectively. No. 5 Notre Dame coasted to easy wins against Depaul and Duquense, averaging 96 points per game in those two victories. The high-powered offense of the Fighting Irish will be put to the test this week when Notre Dame travels to University Park to face No. 13 Penn State as part of the Big Ten/ACC Challenge. The Nittany Lions are coming off of two wins at the Junkanoo Jam and are allowing opponents to score just a little more than 60 points a game. Either their stingy defense or Notre Dame’s powerful offense will have to give.
The much-anticipated December 17 matchup between Duke and Connecticut still looms large this week. The Huskies have only one more game until the big showdown—they host UC Davis on Thursday and should have no trouble earning a victory there. They will most likely roll into Cameron Indoor Stadium undefeated and playing high-quality basketball, surely providing a stiff test for the Blue Devils.
Game to Watch: No. 5 Notre Dame vs No. 13 Penn State, Wednesday, 7:30 P.M.
Key ACC Matchup: No. 2 Duke vs No. 16 Purdue, Thursday, 6:30 P.M.
Upset Alert: No. 13 Penn State over No. 5 Notre Dame, Wednesday, 7:30 P.M.
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