Texas Falls; UK in Line for #1 Ranking

Charlie Riedel/Associated Press

Last night, Texas made the trip to Manhattan, Kansas to play Frank Martin’s Kansas State Wildcats, the #9 team in the land. Kansas State grabbed the lead early and held of the #1 Longhorns in a hard fought defensive battle, winning 71-62.

I mention this for two reasons: 1) Because it was the late game and thanks to lots of fouls and even more bricked freee throws, there’s a chance you didn’t stay up long enough to see it; 2) Texas’ loss makes Kentucky the lone unbeaten in the land, now positioned to take over the #1 ranking in all the land with a win over Arkansas on Saturday. UK has not been #1 since March 17, 2003, at the end of the regular season.

Arkansas, in spite of their poor record, is no walkover though. With point guard Courtney Fortson back on the floor (at least until he gets suspended the next time), Arkansas is a dangerous offensive ball club. They’ve got a versatile four man in Michael Washington who will play at the next level as well as the heir to Jodie Meeks’ throne as the SEC’s best shooter in Rotnei Clarke.

I’m guessing you might here John Calipari say that this team isn’t ready for #1 yet, but regardless, it’s a pretty amazing turnaround to go from NIT afterthought to #1 in a mere ten months.