The Big Blue Lowdown

After the Cats pulled their best Houdini act to beat Miami of Ohio Monday night, Kentucky fans can be forgiven for thinking to themselves “oh no, not again.” After all, it was a hallmark of the Tubby Smith and Billy Gillispie eras for UK to play down to their competition in non-conference games at Rupp Arena (Penn State, Western Kentucky, Gardner-Webb, San Diego, VMI).

But after a week’s worth of college hoops, it looks like Kentucky isn’t the only “powerhouse” program to begin the year in underwhelming fashion. If anything is certain so far, it’s that this season may be as unpredictable as any in recent history.

Here are some observations from the first 10 days of college hoops:

Beware the Underdog - No. 1 Kansas and No. 2 Michigan State survived at the wire against unranked foes, while UCLA lost at Pauley Pavilion to Cal State Fullerton. And we all know what almost happened to Kentucky.

Da ‘Ville Looks Strong - Everyone expected a major dropoff after the departures of Terrence Williams and Earl Clark and the offseason issues surrounding Rick Pitino. But Louisville looked like a top 5 team this week in a 30-pooint dismantling of Arkansas.

Tennessee Starts With a Bang - Sure it was UNC-Asheville, but 66-14 at halftime? With 9 players scoring 7 or more points, the Vols are spreading considerable wealth.

Big East Teams Struggle - Georgetown, Cincinnati and UConn have been less than impressive vs. bottom tier competition. This conference may be topsy turvy all year.

Long Year for Georgia and Auburn - With the SEC expected to see a resurgent year, life will be hard for these would-be SEC East and West cellar dwellers. The Dawgs have already lost to Wofford, while Auburn suffered a slightly less humiliating defeat at the hands of Missouri State. Too bad both programs are in down years for football, too.