College Basketball Roundup: Week 12

Each week, we like to bring you a collection of stories that caught our eye. From conference title races to national title hopes, think of them as potential talking points as you sit down to watch the best games of the weekend.

Here’s a look at what caught our eye this week.

1. It ain’t easy to win on the road in college basketball

Even before the weekend games tip off, Week 12 of college basketball has highlighted one of the sport’s truest mantras. It’s awfully tough to win on the road.

This shouldn’t surprise anyone even remotely familiar with college hoops. There are enough upsets each season to catalyze debates about whether or not conferences should allow students to storm the court after a big win and it’s partially why fewer and fewer teams are scheduling true road games during non-conference play lest they harm their NCAA Tournament resume early in the campaign.

Week 12, though, showed the truism to be even more obvious. On Tuesday, three of the country’s top four teams, according to the polls, lost on the road as Kansas fell at West Virginia, Kentucky lost at Tennessee and Villanova stumbled at Marquette. Wednesday was no better for top 25 programs. Georgia Tech walloped Florida State in Atlanta and a Maurice Watson-less Creighton lost by 20 points at Georgetown.

It’s not just the top 25 teams, either. Heading into Thursday night’s contests, home teams in the power five conferences and the Big East had won 61.9 percent of their conference games. Whether it’s the change of scenery, the raucous environment or just the lack of a consistent routine, playing on the road is clearly a difficult task for bluest of the blue bloods.

That’s something worth keeping in mind as we evaluate teams. Road losses don’t necessarily mean a team is any worse or that they should drop significantly in the polls. It just reiterates something we already know. It ain’t easy to win on the road in college basketball.

2. Duke is a mess and Coach K’s remedies are humorous at best

The preseason’s near consensus national title favorite is tumbling. Duke has already lost five games this season, four of them in the ACC, and KenPom now projects the team to finish with double-digit losses for just the second time since 2006-07.

Now, ESPN’s Jeff Goodman and Dana O’Neil are reporting that head coach Mike Krzyzewski has taken time out of his recovery from back surgery to ban his players from entering the team’s locker room and forbid them from wearing the school’s apparel. “He needs to do more than just take away their jerseys,” a source told ESPN in the report. “There are bigger issues that need to be addressed.”

Indeed, the explanations for the Blue Devils’ struggles are numerous. The team lacks a true point guard, which is even more of a problem when several of its players are most comfortable isolating defenders one-on-one. On the other end, its defense has struggled, especially when it comes to containing pick-and-rolls, a staple of nearly every modern offense. There are also concerns that the players on the team simply don’t like playing with one another.

Duke’s midseason evolution — if it occurs — won’t be the results of Krzyzewski’s punishments or the players-only meeting that reportedly followed them. Both are somewhat humorous acts in the face of problems that seem to be the result of tactics and execution.

The Blue Devils’ best solution is likely to emphasize the role of leading scorer Luke Kennard who succeeded most when the ball moved freely early in the season. The question, of course, is if his teammates are willing to come along for the ride.

Mandatory Credit: James Snook-USA TODAY Sports

3. Gonzaga will be a deserving No. 1 come Monday

Assuming it can hold serve over the weekend, Gonzaga should be the new no. 1 team in the country come Monday. In years past, positioning a mid-major program in the top spot might have been a source of controversy, but this season it need not be. It was clear long ago that the Bulldogs have the talent to get to the Final Four for the first time in school history this season.

Despite playing in a well below average conference, Gonzaga has five wins over teams currently ranked in the KenPom top 50, including a neutral court victory over a surging Arizona squad that has turned heads in recent weeks. The Bulldogs rank first nationally in adjusted efficiency margin as well and are one of only two teams to rank in the top 10 of both adjusted offensive and defensive efficiency.

Should Gonzaga ascend to the top spot of the AP poll on Monday, it would be the fifth team to occupy the ranking this season and have a reasonable chance of finishing the regular season there. The Bulldogs play just one game in the remainder of that time period where they have a worse than 80 percent chance of winning, per KenPom.

Don’t get fooled, though. This isn’t a traditional mid-major. Gonzaga is really good. The Bulldogs have the wins and the metrics to prove it.

The weekend game to watch: Kansas at Kentucky, 6 p.m. ET, ESPN

This was a tough call between Kansas at Kentucky and Virginia at Villanova, but the storied histories of the former pairing is just too much to pass up. Both the Jayhawks and the Wildcats are coming off of road losses in their respective leagues and while Saturday’s matchup won’t affect their conference standings, both teams will be looking to get back on the right track with a win.

There will be plenty of intriguing individual battles worth keeping an eye on in this one. Both teams bring excellent backcourts to the table. Kentucky’s De’Aaron Fox and Malik Monk are one of the nation’s youngest and most talented while Kansas’ Frank Mason and Devonte’ Graham have seen just about everything college basketball has to offer. Someone from the Wildcats is going to have to try to contain freshman Josh Jackson who at 6-foot-8 is a little large for Isaiah Briscoe, but perhaps too quick for Wenyen Gabriel or Derek Willis.

The deciding factor, though, may come in the paint. Kentucky’s Bam Adebayo has scored 18 and 21 points in his last two games, respectively, as he’s shown an improving post game on the low block. On Saturday, he’ll do battle against an infamously thin Kansas front line that has had trouble containing opposing bigs this season. Add in Adebayo’s impressive ability to draw fouls and it could be a long night for the Jayhawks on the interior.