Nobody has ever won anything that really matters in December of a college basketball season.
It's still early. We have a long way to go.
But -- as I told the legendary Voice of the Kentucky Wildcats, Tom Leach, earlier this week on his radio show -- if I were asked to submit a ballot for National Coach of the Year right now, the name at the top would be Mark Pope, whose program improved to 9-1 on Wednesday with a 78-67 victory over Colgate.
How could anybody argue against it?
Oh, sure, there are other valid candidates -- among them Tennessee's Rick Barnes, Auburn's Bruce Pearl, Iowa State's TJ Otzelberger and Marquette's Shaka Smart, just to name the four men whose teams are ahead of Pope's Wildcats in Thursday morning's updated CBS Sports Top 25 And 1 daily college basketball rankings. But each of those coaches entered this season with key returning pieces and higher expectations than Pope, who wasn't nearly as fortunate considering he inherited nothing from John Calipari and got the UK job at a time when most of the sport's best incoming freshmen were already bought and paid for.
Pope had to build a competent team almost entirely via the transfer portal. Recent history shows it's not as easy as Danny Sprinkle made it look last season at Utah State. But Pope has clearly done it. And despite his Wildcats starting the season as low as 43rd at KenPom.com, they are now No. 5 in the Top 25 And 1 -- and would likely be No. 1 if they had avoided last week's 70-66 loss at Clemson that came in a game they actually led in the second half.
How will things go from here?
Honestly, who knows?
The SEC is an absolute monster, far and away the best conference in the country this season, and basically anybody is like one rolled ankle by a key player away from hard-to-avoid losing streaks. Nothing is guaranteed. But when Kentucky fans very loudly expressed a desire to move on from Calipari and try something new, there were plenty of folks telling them to be careful what they wished for.
I understood the point.
But 10 games into this thing, and exactly eight months after accepting the job to guide his alma mater's biggest brand, it's hard to argue that those Kentucky fans' wishes have been granted positively. They spent Wednesday night cheering for a fun and well-organized team that remained undefeated at home, and they'll have a chance to do it again Saturday when their in-state rivals, the Louisville Cardinals, visit Rupp Arena for a game scheduled to tip at 5:15 p.m ET.
Top 25 And 1 rankings
Rk | Teams | Chg | Rcrd | |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1 |  | Chaz Lanier finished with 22 points and three rebounds in Tuesday's 75-62 win over Miami. The Vols' next game is Saturday at Illinois. | -- | 9-0 |
| 2 |  | Miles Kelly finished with 15 points and five rebounds in Sunday's 98-54 win over Richmond. The Tigers' next game is Saturday against Ohio State. | -- | 8-1 |
| 3 |  | Curtis Jones finished with 19 points and five assists in Sunday's 100-58 win over Jackson State. The Cyclones' next game is Thursday at Iowa. | -- | 7-1 |
| 4 |  | Kam Jones finished with 32 points and six assists in Saturday's 88-74 win over Wisconsin. The Golden Eagles' next game is Saturday at Dayton. | -- | 9-1 |
| 5 |  | Koby Brea finished with 17 points and five rebounds in Wednesday's 78-67 win over Colgate. The Wildcats' next game is Saturday against Louisville. | -- | 9-1 |
| 6 |  | Khaman Maluach finished with 17 points and seven rebounds in Tuesday's 72-46 win over Incarnate Word. The Blue Devils' next game is Tuesday against George Mason. | -- | 8-2 |
| 7 |  | Mark Sears finished with 20 points and seven assists in Wednesday's 94-79 win at North Carolina. The Crimson Tide's next game is Saturday against Creighton. | -- | 7-2 |
| 8 |  | Khalif Battle had three turnovers and one assist in Saturday's 90-89 overtime loss to Kentucky. The Zags' next game is Saturday against UConn. | -- | 7-2 |
| 9 |  | Braden Smith finished with 24 points and 10 rebounds in Sunday's 83-78 win over Maryland. The Boilermakers' next game is Saturday against Texas A&M. | -- | 8-2 |
| 10 |  | AJ Storr was 1 of 7 from the field in Sunday's 76-67 loss at Missouri. The Jayhawks' next game is Saturday against NC State. | -- | 7-2 |
| 11 |  | Jaden Akins finished with 18 points and two rebounds in Saturday's 89-52 win over Nebraska. The Spartans' next game is Tuesday against Oakland. | -- | 8-2 |
| 12 |  | Sean Pedulla finished with 19 points and six rebounds in Saturday's 86-53 win over Lindenwood. The Rebels' next game is Saturday against Southern Miss. | -- | 8-1 |
| 13 |  | Eric Dailey Jr. finished with 19 points and five rebounds in Sunday's 73-71 win at Oregon. The Bruins' next game is Saturday against Arizona. | -- | 8-1 |
| 14 |  | TJ Bamba had five turnovers in Sunday's 73-71 loss to UCLA. The Ducks' next game is Sunday against Stephen F. Austin. | -- | 9-1 |
| 15 |  | Rodney Rice finished with three turnovers and one assist in Sunday's 83-78 loss at Purdue. The Terrapins' next game is Dec. 17 against Saint Francis. | -- | 8-2 |
| 16 |  | Walter Clayton Jr. finished with 27 points and four assists in Wednesday's 87-69 win over Virginia. The Gators' next game is Saturday against Arizona State. | -- | 9-0 |
| 17 |  | Josh Hubbard finished with 25 points and three assists in Sunday's 91-84 win over Prairie View. The Bulldogs' next game is Saturday against McNeese. | -- | 8-1 |
| 18 |  | Kasparas Ivisic finished with 24 points and six rebounds in Tuesday's 86-80 win over Wisconsin. The Illini's next game is Saturday against Tennessee. | -- | 7-2 |
| 19 |  | Seth Trimble finished with 19 points and seven rebounds in Saturday's 68-65 win over Georgia Tech. The Tar Heels' next game is Saturday against La Salle. | -- | 5-4 |
| 20 |  | Nate Santos finished with 24 points and four rebounds in Saturday's 86-62 win over Lehigh. The Flyers' next game is Saturday against Marquette. | -- | 8-2 |
| 21 |  | Miles Byrd finished with 19 points and two assists in Wednesday's 81-75 win over Cal Baptist. The Aztecs' next game is Dec. 21 against Cal. | -- | 7-2 |
| 22 |  | L.J. Cryer finished with 22 points and two steals in Tuesday's 62-42 win over Troy. The Cougars' next game is Dec. 18 against Toledo. | -- | 6-3 |
| 23 |  | Jalon Moore finished with 20 points and five rebounds in Saturday's 94-78 win over Alcorn State. The Sooners' next game is Saturday against Oklahoma State. | -- | 9-0 |
| 24 |  | Chase Hunter finished with 18 points and two assists in Saturday's 65-55 win at Miami. The Tigers' next game is Saturday against Memphis. | -- | 9-1 |
| 25 |  | Asa Newell finished with 20 points and 11 rebounds in Saturday's 69-48 win over Notre Dame. The Bulldogs' next game is Saturday against Grand Canyon. | -- | 8-1 |
| 26 |  | Basheer Jihad finished with 19 points and five rebounds in Tuesday's 90-53 win over San Diego. The Sun Devils' next game is Saturday against Florida. | -- | 8-1 |
