Top 10 Whacked: Cause for Concern?

Yesterday was a tough day for the Top 10 in college hoops as 3 teams failed to make enough "basketball moves". Was it a blip on the radar or were there signs for concern>? Let's take a quick look.

Duke: Duke has been very impressive this year. Offensively, they remain their dynamic selves but what really was the story was how much better they were on defense this year. They ended last year 116th in AdjustedD. No other way to cut it, that's terrible for an elite program and can't be overcome no matter how good they may have been on defense. Yesterday's loss dropped them to 35th in that category. Will it continue to drop or hover there? Wisconsin made the Final 4 49th in that category last year. Duke probably doesn't want to fall below that. NC State shot 63% from deep and some of that is luck but they had a lot of open looks. Let's watch how teams shoot from range in the next few weeks.

Wisconsin: My initial reaction is this, it's a bad loss but it's without a National POY candidate, on a Sunday night in January in Jersey. Rutgers is terrible and B1G teams will hate this trip every time. College kids lose focus. The larger concern is the injuries. Bo wasn't going deep with his rotation to begin with and if Kaminsky and Traevon Jackson are out an extended period, Wisconsin will be vulnerable. It sounds like Kaminsly should be back sooner than later but the Jackson ankle sounds a bit more troubling. Badger fans aren't that fond of Jackson but So. Bronson Koenig can't play 30-35 minutes a night. In what is unbelievable to me, they're actually playing slower this year, averaging 2 less possessions a game. Blah.

Arizona: In what surprised me, Arizona is actually playing faster this year and the offense looks a lot like last year. The defense is slightly worse and Oregon State took advantage of that last night. I think the Wildcats play too tight in close games and it's a reflection of the coach. Arizona by the numbers looks to play aggressive on offense. They get to the line at a solid clip but aren't good FT shooters. They shoot okay from deep but don't take a lot. They're the opposite of Duke, let's watch how they fare offensively the next few weeks.