#2 – 2023 (20-1)
#3 – 2019 (15-5)
The month of January is now behind us and the Kansas Jayhawks are putting a little distance between themselves and the North Carolina Tar Heels in the race for All Time Wins in NCAA basketball. Kentucky is in no danger in losing their sport as all time wins leader, but it should be noted that Kansas has picked up four wins this season. Now that all the teams are in the swing of their conference schedules, it’s a good time to take a look at what the top three teams have in store for this this month.
KENTUCKY (16-4): The Wildcats finished January with a 5-2 record and suffered losses to unranked Georgia and Alabama. The Alabama loss still carries a bad taste in my mouth but the Wildcats did avenge the Georgia loss with a win on January 29, and also racked up wins over Penn, Auburn, LSU and South Carolina for the month.
THIS MONTH: Last month can be considered a vacation for the Wildcats as this month is significantly tougher. The Wildcats have home and home matchups versus SEC East leading Florida, plus road games to Ole Miss, Vanderbilt and Arkansas. Kentucky welcomes Tennessee, Mississippi State, and South Carolina to the friendly confines of Rupp. While it’s unfair to expect perfection from the Wildcats, I think a very successful month would entail holding court at Rupp and winning one of the two ultra tough road matchups versus Florida or Vandy. That would give Kentucky a 7-1 or at the worst, a 6-2 mark if the slip up again on the road.
KANSAS (20-1): It was a near perfect month for the Jaywawks as they breezed their way to a 8-1 mark in January. The only loss was at home to now #3 Texas. Along the way, the Jayhawks reeled off wins over Miami (Ohio), Missouri -Kansas City, Michigan, Iowa State, Nebraska, Baylor, Colorado, and Kansas State. The Texas game could be costly as it was a home loss for the Jayhawks.
THIS MONTH: The Jayhawks toughest game this month is a home game against #15 Missouri, and the rest of the home slate consists of winnable games against Iowa State, Colorado and Oklahoma. The road schedule is a bit tougher with a date at Nebraska and bitter rival Kansas State and then the remaining games of Texas Tech and Oklahoma should be easy W’s. I really only see three tests this month for the Jayhawks and lets say they beat Missouri at home and lose one on the road at either Kansas State or Nebraska. That gives them a 7-1 mark with the worse case scenario a 6-2 record.
NORTH CAROLINA (15-5): The Tar Heel had a strong 6-1 January and find themselves in serious contention for the ACC title, just a half game behind Duke. their only loss was a headscratcher, a 20 point beatdown on the road at 10-10 Georgia Tech. But the Heels got wins over St. Francis, Virginia, Virginia Tech, Clemson, Miami, and NC State. I’m sure the Heel want the Georgia Tech game back but with a 20 point loss, you just have to move on and forward.
THIS MONTH: As with the other two teams, the February schedule gets no easier. #5 Duke, the only other ranked team in the ACC hosts the Tar Heels and is the toughest game of the month. This month also features a home and home exchange between tough Boston College, and home games against Florida State, Wake Forest and Maryland. Other than the aforementioned road trips to Duke and Boston College, the Heels travel to Clemson and NC State. It’s hard to forecast the ACC because so many teams are right at the same talent level, but you would think that Duke, and the road trips to Clemson and Boston College make for potential “L”‘s plus there are a few hard home games. I think the best case scenario for North Carolina is a 6-2 record, but if the wheels fall off, the Heels can be staring at three or four losses this month.
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