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.

Merry Christmas Eve! College basketball season is about to take a bit of a break, with only a few games the next 3 days.

So, I’ll be taking a Christmas break, too. There won’t be a Friday column this week, but I’ll be back on Tuesday the 31st!

Have a safe and happy holiday, and I’ll be back before you know it! Here’s today’s Starting 5:

1. The Opening Tip

It brings me no joy to say this (just kidding, I’m a Mizzou grad, so it brings me a ton of joy to say this), but another No. 1 team has lost. This time, it was the Kansas Jayhawks, who managed to stay atop the AP Poll for 1 whole week, losing to then-No. 18 Villanova on Saturday.

Even with a double-double (12 points, 11 rebounds) from big man Udoka Azubuike, and even with Devon Dotson playing well (15 points, 7 rebounds and 4 assists), the Jayhawks couldn’t avoid a 56-55 loss.

Jermaine Samuels led Villanova with 15 points, including this 3-pointer with 20 seconds left that proved to be the difference in the game:

For those keeping score at home, that makes 5 No. 1 teams to lose this year:

  • Michigan State
  • Kentucky
  • Duke
  • Louisville
  • Kansas

And, Ohio State lost before it could even move up to No. 1. Now, Gonzaga is in the top spot of the poll. We’ll see if my guy Ryan Woolridge and the Bulldogs can stay atop the rankings for a while. If Gonzaga goes down, the No. 1 spot might truly be cursed this year.

2. Home-Court Advantage

It’s tough to get a read on this year’s South Carolina team. Already this season, the Gamecocks have losses to Boston, Northern Iowa, Wichita State and Houston. However, they also have wins over teams like Clemson and then, on Sunday, No. 9 Virginia.

That was one of the more surprising results of the season thus far, as the Gamecocks put up an impressive 70 points on the Cavaliers in a 70-59 victory.

Frank Martin’s South Carolina teams are always tough and are always capable of upsets. If they can avoid losing these games to lesser foes (watch out for Stetson on Monday), they can make some noise in SEC play and maybe make a run at an NCAA Tournament bid.

Now, let’s take a look at some of the other stories from around the SEC:

  • I want to give a shoutout to Lamonte Turner, who announced his retirement after Saturday’s Tennessee victory over Jacksonville State. Turner will have season-ending shoulder surgery and will miss the rest of his senior season. He had a great Tennessee career, scoring 1,084 points, dishing out 347 assists and grabbing 307 rebounds. He was a part of some great Tennessee squads, and will always hold a special place in the hearts of Vols fans for this clutch 3 against Kentucky in last year’s SEC Tournament:

 

  • Turner has battled through shoulder injuries before, and he’s dealing with another one. He has toughed it out up to this point, but apparently it is no longer healthy enough for him to play. Here’s hoping he makes a full recovery from his surgery and is able to give an NBA career a try.
  • Mizzou picked up a solid win on Saturday, taking down rival Illinois in the annual Braggin’ Rights game. Javon Pickett (an Illinois native) continues to haunt the Illini. He scored 17 points and had 6 rebounds off the bench. Dru Smith added 19 points. Watching that game at home in Illinois at a bar with a number of Mizzou fans was a lot of fun. Illini fans didn’t necessarily enjoy the “M-I-Z!” cheers that were taking place in the second half.
  • Reggie Perry continues to be a double-double machine for Mississippi State, but this isn’t a good Bulldog team. They just lost to New Mexico State 58-52 in Starkville on Saturday, despite a 17-point, 10-rebound effort from Perry. Going 3-for-16 from long range and committing 17 turnovers really hurt. Mississippi State is 8-3, but it’s a pretty empty 8-3. This team might struggle a lot in SEC play.
  • Nate Sestina may be a big man, but he’s shown that he can step out and knock down some threes. That’s good, because no one else on the Kentucky roster seems to be able to do that. Sestina went 5-for-8 from long range in a loss to Ohio State, while the rest of the Wildcats went 2-for-15 from beyond the arc. If the Wildcats can’t hit some more threes in SEC play, it could be a long, frustrating year for coach John Calipari.

Now, let’s take a look at some of the other top stories from around the country.

3. Road Game

St. John’s is off to a great start under Mike Anderson. I loved Anderson’s Mizzou teams, but like much of the fan base, I was upset when he left for Arkansas. Now that he’s at St. John’s, though, I have nothing against him, so it’s cool to see him doing such great work for the Red Storm.

On Saturday, St. John’s went to San Francisco and beat No. 16 Arizona 70-67. LJ Figueroa is a solid player, and he scored 21 points in the win:

At 11-2, St. John’s might crack the rankings next week. Big East play starts on New Year’s Eve for the Red Storm, as they welcome a ranked Butler team to New York. Conference play will be brutal, but Anderson’s squad has shown it can win some big games.

Now, for some other non-SEC highlights:

  • It’s time to give San Diego State some love. The Aztecs are a perfect 12-0 and have wins over Iowa and Utah. In fact, they trounced the Utes over the weekend, winning 80-57. Three Aztec players had at least 14 points in the win, showing off their offensive versatility. In a year like this, with so many top teams looking flawed, the fact that the Aztecs are only No. 15 in the AP Poll is silly.
  • Saturday’s game between Dayton and Colorado in Chicago was personal for McKinley Wright IV. He originally committed to Dayton, but flipped to Colorado when Archie Miller took the Indiana coaching job. He was heartily booed by Dayton fans on Saturday, and that fueled him as he scored 29 points and grabbed 10 rebounds in the Buffaloes’ 78-76 win. He said he liked hearing the hate from Dayton supporters:

 

  • It wasn’t a particularly efficient night for Wright, as he only made 10 of his 22 shot attempts (1-for-8 from three-point range). Still, it got the job done as Colorado won in overtime.
  • Texas’s road win against a ranked Purdue squad earlier this year looks like a total fluke. The Longhorns are an absolute mess right now and were just trounced by Providence 70-48 on Saturday. The Longhorns are 9-2, but it’s a very soft 9-2, with blowout losses to Providence and Georgetown. Is Shaka Smart’s job in jeopardy? If he continues losing games like that, the fans may start to get restless.
  • Speaking of coaches on the hot seat, Mick Cronin is only in his first year at UCLA, but he’s off to a really rocky start. UCLA has a loss to Hofstra on the resume, and lost to Notre Dame and North Carolina recently. Cronin got his money’s worth on a technical against UNC though:

 

  • At 7-5, the Bruins are a mess. Pac-12 play is going to be rough for this team. No, Cronin won’t be fired after only one season, but fans weren’t exactly thrilled when he was hired in the first place, so the pressure will only intensify from here.

Conference play is almost here, so the intensity of the games is sure to heat up in the coming weeks. I can’t wait to see which teams emerge as title contenders after this topsy-turvy nonconference season.

4. Outlet Pass

The next few days don’t have many notable games, but the weekend is full of intriguing matchups. Here’s a look at the best games before my next Starting 5 column on Dec. 31:

  1. No. 3 Louisville at No. 19 Kentucky (Saturday at 3:45 p.m. Eastern on CBS) — The Wildcats have lost 2 games in a row and need to bounce back in a big way. However, Louisville only has 1 loss this season. Can the Wildcats pull off the big home upset?
  2. No. 22 West Virginia at No. 2 Ohio State (Sunday at noon Eastern on FS1) — Ohio State picked up a big win over Kentucky on Saturday in Las Vegas. Now, the Buckeyes have another chance to pad their nonconference resume against a ranked West Virginia squad.
  3. Xavier at No. 10 Villanova (Monday at 6:30 p.m. Eastern on FS1) — These 2 mid-major powers always play exciting games. Monday night should be no different.
  4. Arkansas at Indiana (Sunday at 6 p.m. Eastern on Big Ten Network) — Arkansas is 10-1 and Indiana is 11-1. However, neither team is ranked, due to lackluster nonconference schedules. Whichever team wins this game will probably be ranked next week.
  5. No. 5 Kansas at Stanford (Sunday at 3 p.m. Eastern on ABC) — Kansas was the latest No. 1 team to go down, losing to Villanova over the weekend. Can the Jayhawks rebound in California against an 11-1 Stanford team? It won’t be easy.

Not bad for the last weekend of nonconference action, right? Should be fun!

5. Buzzer Beaters

In this section, I’ll answer a couple of random questions, which don’t necessarily have to be related to basketball. Here we go:

What’s the best board game?

Well, it’s not Monopoly, that’s for sure. Or Risk. Or that Settlers of Catan game that is so popular at the moment.

I’m going to pick Clue. It’s fun, doesn’t take too long and is unique enough to make it worthwhile. It was obviously Miss Scarlet in the Library with the Lead Pipe.

Which College Football Playoff QB would be the best basketball player?

OK, so I’m going to limit this to the 4 starting quarterbacks, so we have LSU’s Joe Burrow, Clemson’s Trevor Lawrence, Ohio State’s Justin Fields and Oklahoma’s Jalen Hurts.

I’ve only ever seen Lawrence play basketball, as he had an incident this offseason where he got into it with someone during an intramural game, so I’ll go with him. He does seem like a great 3-and-D guy. Second place goes to Jalen Hurts, who simply seems good at whatever activity he tries.

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.