'Cats are top dogs

'Zona, Kentucky have convincingly separated from the pack

Sports Illustrated senior writer Grant Wahl answers your college basketball questions every Wednesday. Click here to send him a question.

Some folks just don't get it. Based on what I've been reading, there are two ways of looking at Hoops Nation these days:

There's so much parity that 10 teams have a decent chance of winning the national title.

Arizona is the undisputed favorite.

Well, let the 'Bag file a dissenting opinion:

Arizona and Kentucky have separated themselves from the field -- and by a heck of a lot more than most people think. In fact, I'd argue that the two sets of Wildcats have pulled away as much as Duke, Kansas and Maryland had by this time a year ago.

Last weekend finally sealed it for me, as UK and UA both went on the road and beat the hottest teams in their respective leagues (Georgia and Stanford), an all-too-rare feat for any of the other Top 10 teams this year.

After spending time with Kentucky for this week's Sports Illustrated cover story, the 'Bag was so giddy at the thought of an Arizona-Kentucky Finals matchup, I called Luke Walton on Tuesday night to ask him about the other Wildcats.

"I've seen 'em play a lot, and they are nice," Walton says. "Kentucky's defense is legit, and staying undefeated in the SEC is amazing with all the road games they play. They're on another level right now, just like us."

And nobody else is on board. Not Florida. Not Pitt. Not the Big 12 Trio (Kansas, Oklahoma and Texas).

"It would be an awesome game between us, an all-out war," Walton says of the showdown dancing in my head. "Kentucky has perimeter players who get in on you on defense and big guys who are talented, athletic and strong. Plus, everyone on that team understands their roles. Those guys aren't out there just to get their own."

In other words, they're a lot like Arizona. Both teams are deeper than Foucault. (Arizona goes nine-deep; Kentucky 10). Both are adept at controlling tempo with team defense, mainly a killer halfcourt man-to-man. Both are led by seniors (Jason Gardner and Keith Bogans) who aborted their plans to exit for the NBA two years ago and had the pride and skill to come back.

Both Arizona and Kentucky have first-rate Glue Guys who are selfless and smart (Rick Anderson and Chuck Hayes); in-your-jock defensive stoppers on the perimeter (Salim Stoudamire and Cliff Hawkins) and a pair of solid center duos (Channing Frye/Isaiah Fox and Marquis Estill/Jules Camara). And, not least, each team is coached by two of the best (Lute Olson and Tubby Smith), each of whom know how to win a title.

Perhaps most revealingly, as Seth Davis noted in this week's Hoop Thoughts, neither team has a national Player of the Year candidate, which is cause for celebration among those of us who prize teamwork above anything else.

Are there differences between the squads? Sure. Kentucky doesn't have a point-forward like Walton. (Who does?) On the other hand, Arizona doesn't have a credential as impressive as going undefeated in the SEC (which UK would do with wins over Vandy and Florida this week). No Kentucky player has the Final Four experience that Gardner and Walton have. Then again, Kentucky has shown the ability to win at fast and slow paces, while Arizona lost (to LSU) the only time it scored below 70 points.

I'll save my full Jack Ramsay breakdown for a later date. (April 7, perhaps?) But it should be clear by now that Arizona and Kentucky are the class of college hoops -- and that there's far less of a difference between the two teams than the 46 AP first-place votes that separated them this week.

Random Trivia

Prior to Kentucky this week, and excluding the season preview issue, who was the last player featured on a Sports Illustrated regular-season college basketball cover?

Opening the 'bag

Got more than 100 responses to last week's Coach of the Year list, and while we appreciate the enthusiasm, we certainly don't appreciate the flame in some of them. Say it with me, folks: This isn't talk radio. (Why don't you put all that energy into asking something useful/creative/etc.?)

In any case, you'll recall that it wasn't a final list and things could change, though a good deal of thought was put into the original choices. Each of the following guys received votes from more than five readers: Wisconsin's Bo Ryan (16), Cal's Ben Braun (15), Illinois' Bill Self (15), Seton Hall's Louis Orr (11), Marquette's Tom Crean (6) and Maryland's Gary Williams (6).

Tell you what: Given Purdue's recent swoon, the winner of Wednesday's Wisconsin-Illinois game (Ryan or Self) will take Gene Keady's place on my list. And if Auburn continues to fade, any right-thinking soul would replace Cliff Ellis with Cal's Braun.

Onward:

Grant, Senior Day is a special for all of Kentucky's fans and supporters. But this year Senoir Day will be even more emotional, as this would have been John Stewart's final season as a 'Cat. You might remember that Stewart had committed to play for Kentucky, but tragically collapsed and died while playing for his high school team. Tubby Smith said that he never met any player that wanted to play for a school as badly as Stewart wanted to play for Kentucky. The school will honor Stewart as part of this year's Senior Day festivities, and it would be great for all college basketball fans to know about this story.
--Jay Green, Lexington, Ky.

Thanks for the info, Jay. Kentucky will be honoring its seniors (and Stewart) on Wednesday night at Rupp Arena before its game against Vanderbilt. It's a classy move by a classy coach (Smith) who recently broke down at a press conference while speaking about Stewart. While we're on the topic, Senior Day is one of the great traditions in college basketball -- and yet another example of why the college game is superior to the pros.

With the shot clock now in use, why does the five-second rule still exist? It should only be a violation if the player is just standing still, not if he's dribbling.
--Kevin Gertsen, Marion, Iowa

Sorry, Kevin: I have no qualms with any rule that rewards good defense and promotes action in the game. (Though if we did follow your suggestion we would be able to eliminate one more marking -- the hash mark -- from the court.)

I do, however, agree completely with reader Steve Green of Indianapolis, who supports my argument on behalf of the alternate-possession rule and adds another good reason to keep it: In a late-game need-to-steal situation, the most likely scenario involves a smaller guard tying up a taller player. Which option gives that defender a better chance of being rewarded for his play? You guessed it: Alternate possession.

Trivia answer

Hard as it may be to believe, SI's last regular-season college basketball cover (before this week) was the Feb. 22, 1999 issue featuring Duke's Elton Brand.

Station Break: Eight Random Things