Welcome back to the Starting 5! The Starting 5 is written multiple times per week by Adam Spencer to keep you up-to-date on all the news and events in the world of college hoops. You can follow Adam on Twitter at @AdamSpencer4 and @BlueChipGrit.

1. Opening tipoff

I don’t want to take anything away from Mizzou’s dominant 89-75 win over No. 19 Kentucky (especially since I am a Mizzou graduate), so let’s start this section with Kobe Brown. The Mizzou wing has been incredible over the Tigers’ last 2 games, both wins against ranked opponents.

Against Illinois, he scored 31 points to lead the Tigers to a lopsided win. Then, on Wednesday night, he scored 30 points and had 6 rebounds, 2 assists and 2 steals to pace Mizzou against the Wildcats:

When he plays like that, the Tigers can beat anyone.

But for Kentucky, these days the Wildcats are playing like “anyone.” This used to be a special team, but coach John Calipari has underachieved in a major way the past few seasons.

He has a “lifetime” contract at Kentucky, but fans can’t be feeling very good about that right now. The Wildcats have no offensive identity and the management of the talent on the roster has been criminal this year.

On Wednesday night, Antonio Reeves scored 8 points, but only played 15 minutes. Sharpshooter CJ Fredrick only saw 3 minutes of game action and didn’t score at all. Why bring those guys in if you’re not going to play them?

Oscar Tshiebwe is going to be worn down by February at the rate Calipari is riding him. He played all 40 minutes against the Tigers and was his usual dominant self, recording 23 points and 19 rebounds. But he needs some help.

Cason Wallace is the lone bright spot for this team outside of Tshiebwe. He once again showed his steady improvement, scoring 19 points and playing incredible defense:

What happened to Jacob Toppin? One of the stars of nonconference play only saw 13 minutes of action at Mizzou and didn’t score.

I have no idea what Calipari is doing with his rotations (or lack thereof when it comes to Tshiebwe). His coaching is actively hurting this team and if Kentucky continues to underachieve, even his lifetime contract might not save him from entering 2023-24 on the hot seat.

We’ll see if Kentucky somehow manages to stay in the top 25 next week. This team should have been unranked weeks ago, but will probably only fall to like No. 23 or something ridiculous like that.

It’s time to stop giving the Wildcats the benefit of the doubt.

2. Home-court advantage

Arkansas did a great job stopping KJ Williams on Wednesday night in Baton Rouge. The Hogs held the Tigers’ star forward to only 8 points and 5 rebounds, far below his season totals.

But Matt McMahon has put together a balanced, dangerous team at LSU in his first season at the helm of the program.

Williams is drawing a ton of attention from Arkansas? No problem. Guard Trae Hannibal steps up and scores a team-high 19 points and grabs 6 rebounds. He also iced the Tigers’ 60-57 victory with this nice play:

Forward Derek Fountain had a 14-point, 10-rebound double-double. It was an impressive victory for the Tigers, even with Nick Smith Jr. out with an injury for Arkansas.

Next up for the Tigers is a road trip to Lexington to take on a struggling Kentucky squad. If they can start SEC play 2-0 with wins over Arkansas and at Kentucky, it’ll start to feel like a potentially special season in Baton Rouge.

Now for some other SEC headlines:

  • Brandon Miller is, simply put, a cheat code. Alabama started SEC play at Mississippi State. The Bulldogs entered the game with one of the top defenses in the country. But Miller said “Oh yeah? Guard this.” He finished the game with 19 points, hit 5 3-pointers, grabbed 11 rebounds and also dished out 3 assists:

  • When Miller is going strong, Alabama is nearly unstoppable. With Nick Smith Jr. battling an injury at Arkansas, don’t be surprised if Miller is the first SEC player off the board in the 2023 NBA Draft in June.
  • Wendell Green Jr. might not be the best player in the SEC, but he is one of the most important guys in the entire league. Auburn doesn’t have a first-round NBA Draft pick on its roster this year, so Green is even more important to the offense than he was last season. Auburn hasn’t been as dynamic scoring the ball as it was in 2021-22, but when Green is scoring well, the Tigers can still roll. Green finished Wednesday’s 61-58 SEC-opening win over Florida with 14 points, 5 rebounds and 2 assists. Johni Broome had 14 points and 11 boards, but the offense clicks when Green is playing well. Look at him set up Broome for a bucket here:

  • And here he is getting Chris Moore an easy 2 points:

  • Keep an eye on Green this year. When he plays well, Auburn will win. When he struggles, so will the Tigers.
  • Speaking of struggles, Tennessee beat Ole Miss 63-59 in Oxford on Wednesday night, but it was far from easy. The Vols trailed 34-28 at halftime before turning it around in the second 20 minutes. The Tennessee defense is elite, but keep an eye on that stagnant offense. The Vols only made 3 of their 15 3-point tries (20%) vs. the Rebels, and Santiago Vescovi had all 3 makes. He finished with 22 points, but the rest of the offense struggled mightily. If Tennessee can’t get more consistency at that end of the floor, it will come back to bite the Vols at some point this SEC season.

Next, let’s take a look around the rest of the college basketball world.

3. Road trip

UConn is getting the headlines in the Big East, and for good reason. The Huskies are unbeaten and up to No. 2 in the AP Poll. Adama Sanogo is a beast and the roster is deep.

But the Huskies have a tough challenge ahead on New Year’s Eve when they head to No. 22 Xavier.

That’s because the Musketeers are one of the most-balanced squads in the nation, with 5 players averaging at least 10 points per game. They’re led by Souley Boum and his 17.3 points per contest. He’s an elite guard who will be dangerous in March:

Those shooting numbers are ridiculous. He’ll find it tougher to score against the Huskies, but he’ll have plenty of guys he can get the ball to, as Jack Nunge, Zach Freemantle, Colby Jones and Adam Kunkel are all averaging double-digit points, too.

Playing on the road in the Big East is never easy, so the Huskies will have to be at their best on Saturday afternoon!

Now for some other headlines from around the country:

  • Gonzaga hasn’t been as dominant this year as it usually is, but I at least want to point out the score from the Bulldogs’ incredible 120-42 win over Eastern Oregon. Yes, it was only against Eastern Oregon, but my goodness, what a blowout. Seven different Gonzaga players scored at least 10 points. Drew Timme only played 17 minutes, but scored 18 points and had 7 rebounds:

  • At the very least, this game will serve to boost confidence for Gonzaga players not named “Drew Timme.” We’ll see which players step up to become reliable offensive threats for the Bulldogs moving forward.
  • New Mexico is 1 of 3 unbeaten Division I teams remaining as we prepare to turn our calendars to 2023. The Lobos started Mountain West play with a bang, earning an 88-69 win over Colorado State. You may not know much about the Lobos, but they’re looking like a team that can make it to the Sweet 16 depending on how things go in the NCAA Tournament. They’re led by second-year Lobo Jaelen House, who transferred from Arizona State prior to last season. He’s averaging 17.2 points per game and sets the tone defensively for New Mexico, too:

  • The Lobos also have Morris Udeze and Jamal Mashburn Jr. averaging 16.9 points per game each. This is a dangerous team that has a legitimate chance to run the table in Mountain West play.

Next, let’s take a look ahead to the next few days on the college hoops schedule.

4. Outlet pass

There are some major college football bowl games on the schedule over the next few days, but don’t forget about college hoops action, too! It’s not the most-intriguing schedule between now and Tuesday, but here are the 5 games I can’t wait to watch over the holiday weekend:

  1. No. 2 UConn at No. 22 Xavier (Saturday at noon ET on FOX) – These are the top 2 teams in the Big East, so this should be quite the New Year’s Eve showdown. The Huskies have won 14 games in a row, while the Musketeers are riding a 7-game winning streak. Something’s gotta give in Cincinnati!
  2. UCF at No. 3 Houston (Saturday at 2 p.m. ET on ESPN+) – Houston is seemingly back on track after a loss to Alabama, but UCF is not a team to be taken lightly. The Knights are playing some solid basketball lately and won’t be an easy out for the Cougars. This future Big 12 showdown should provide plenty of entertainment.
  3. No. 5 Arizona at Arizona State (Saturday at 2 p.m. ET on FOX) – Arizona State enters this game 11-2 overall and sports a 2-0 Pac-12 record, but the Sun Devils just saw their nonconference slate end with an embarrassing 97-60 loss at San Francisco. Can they put that game behind them with their heated rivals coming to town?
  4. Maryland at Michigan (Sunday at 4:30 p.m. ET on FS1) – After rising in the rankings, Maryland has tumbled back out of the top 25 recently. But a road win against a decent Michigan team could be just what the doctor ordered. We’ll see what happens on New Year’s Day in Ann Arbor!
  5. Louisville at No. 19 Kentucky (Saturday at noon ET on CBS) – Yes, Louisville enters this game with an embarrassing 2-11 overall record. Yes, Kentucky just got smoked at Mizzou. But this is a rivalry game, and on New Year’s Eve, the Cardinals would love nothing more than to end the Wildcats’ 2022 on a sour note. We’ll see if John Calipari can get his squad ready to bounce back against Louisville.

It’s not a super-loaded weekend of games due to the New Year’s holiday, but there is still plenty of intrigue on the schedule, both with conference games and nonconference action. We’ll see which teams make major statements over the next few days as we flip our calendars to 2023!

5. Buzzer beaters

Next, let’s answer a couple of random questions before we go about our holiday weekends. Here are today’s buzzer beaters:

Which team will remain unbeaten the longest?

Somehow, as we enter 2023, only 3 Division I teams remain perfect – 14-0 UConn, 13-0 Purdue and 13-0 New Mexico. My bet would be that the Boilermakers are the last unbeaten in the nation. I’m worried about UConn’s upcoming schedule – at No. 22 Xavier, at Providence, vs. Creighton, at Marquette. I wouldn’t be surprised if the Huskies lost any of those games. As for the Lobos, I’m looking at their Jan. 14 road trip to San Diego State as a potential loss. For Purdue, I don’t expect them to have any trouble until perhaps a Feb. 4 trip to Bloomington to face rival No. 16 Indiana.

Does Miami have a legitimate shot to win the ACC regular-season title?

I absolutely think the Hurricanes can claim the ACC crown. They’ve already beaten Virginia and don’t have to play the Cavaliers again. They only face North Carolina once (on Feb. 13 in Chapel Hill). They do face Duke twice, but if they win 1 of those matchups with the Blue Devils, there’s no reason to think they can’t finish the league season with the best record. Isaiah Wong is a legitimate star, and the Hurricanes have 3 other players – Jordan Miller, Norchad Omier and Nijel Pack – averaging at least 11 points per game. They’re going to be tough to beat!

Enjoy the Starting 5? Have a question? Want to yell at me about something? Follow me on Twitter @AdamSpencer4 or email me at ASpencer@SaturdayDownSouth.com.