Forget all-time wins list, a Kentucky basketball win at Kansas would bode well for March

To be honest, I’m not worried about which school has the most all-time wins in college basketball.

I know, I know, Kentucky is No. 1 on the list. Kansas is No. 2. Three victories separate the blue bloods who meet Saturday in Lawrence as part of the SEC/Big 12 Challenge. A Kansas win pulls the Jayhawks one step closer to overtaking the Cats. Yikes!

Here’s what I do care about: What happens on the floor with this No. 12-ranked Kentucky team, against this No. 5-ranked Kansas team and what it all means for the Wildcats in terms of confidence and NCAA Tournament seeding this particular season.

John Calipari’s club dodged a bullet Tuesday night. UK let a 15-point lead slip away in the second half before recovering to beat Mississippi State 82-74 in overtime. TyTy Washington did not play because of an ankle injury. The freshman guard is UK’s second-leading scorer. But Mississippi State’s Tolu Smith also did not play, because of a partially dislocated kneecap. Smith is State’s big man, a 6-foot-9 center averaging 13.3 points and 6.6 rebounds per game.

Sans Smith, Ben Howland’s club couldn’t handle Oscar Tshiebwe. Few can. UK’s center scored 21 points and grabbed 22 rebounds. Teammate Kellan Grady caught fire in overtime. He scored eight of UK’s first 10 points in the extra period. The Cats needed all of those to overcome MSU’s Iverson Molinar, who scored 30 points, including State’s final 12.

“We’re going to Kansas,” said Calipari afterward. “They’ve been in a bunch of close games. We had to be in this kind of game.”

The Jayhawks played an overtime game themselves Monday night. Double overtime, in fact. Ochai Agbaji scored 37 points as Kansas held off 13th-ranked Texas Tech 94-91 in an Allen Fieldhouse thriller. Kansas is now 17-2 overall, 6-1 in the Big 12. It has won 13 of its last 14 games.

No offense to Auburn or Duke, but you can make the argument Kansas will be the best team Kentucky plays all season. Bill Self’s club is No. 7 in the NCAA NET rankings, No. 9 on Ken Pomeroy’s overall efficiency list and No. 4 on Jeff Sagarin’s computer. Kentucky is ninth, fourth and 10th in those respective rankings.

I’ve made no secret I like this Kentucky team. It has Final Four potential. Calipari made excellent transfer portal evaluations. Tshiebwe is a machine. (“Call me a beast,” he said Tuesday. “I have to get 30 rebounds to be a machine.”) Sahvir Wheeler is a sparkplug. Grady is cool under pressure. The pieces fit. And the chemistry is such I wonder if inserting heralded early-enrollee Shaedon Sharpe might mess with the mojo.

Here’s the thing: Kentucky is just 1-3 against ranked teams this season. It lost to No. 9 Duke in the Champions Classic, to No. 21 LSU in Baton Rouge and to No. 2 Auburn at Auburn. Wheeler missed most of the LSU game with a neck injury. Washington’s ankle kept him out of most of the Auburn game. UK did crush No. 22 Tennessee, but 1-3 is 1-3.

Now comes No. 5 Kansas. The Jayhawks are experienced. A 6-8 fifth-year senior, Mitch Lightfoot has played in 147 college games. Arizona State transfer Remy Martin, a 6-foot guard, has played in 134. A 6-10 senior, David McCormack has played in 111. Agbaji has played in 102. A 6-6 junior, Christian Braun has played in 80.

Agbaji has been the breakout star. The 6-5 senior is averaging 21.3 points per game, up from 14.1 a year ago. He’s shooting 47 percent from three-point range. (Grady is at 43.2.) Agbaji has scored 20-or-more points in 12 of Kansas’ 19 games. Against Texas Tech, the Kansas City native was 7-of-12 from three-point range.

Something else to watch: Kansas is 15th nationally in offensive rebound percentage. Kentucky is No. 1. UK-KU could well be decided on the boards.

Actually, it will all be worth watching come 6 p.m. Saturday on ESPN. It’s Kentucky-Kansas, after all. Better still, it’s another test for this Kentucky basketball team, one that could aid the Cats’ confidence and seeding come March. This March.

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