Saturday is a huge day in the college basketball universe as there are some huge showdowns that are must watches. The top two teams in the SEC will go at it when #3 Florida takes on #14 Kentucky. Florida has won 16 straight games and is lead by a core group of seniors. PG Scottie Wilbekin is one of the most underrated players in the country. Kentucky poses matchup problems inside with Julius Randle and Willie Cauley-Stein and will most definitely be tough to handle. The 6-9 senior Patric Young will have to step up tomorrow night in what will be a huge game. This game will take place at Rupp Arena in Kentucky and College Gameday is there. These two teams will play again in the last regular season game in Florida. This matchup showcases not only the best talent in the country, but two of the top 5 best coaches in college basketball in Bill Donovan and John Calipari. I think that Florida is one of the best teams in the country, but I believe the Wildcats will come up with a huge victory at home.
The best team in the country is Syracuse. They are one of the two unbeaten teams in the country, the other one being Wichita State, and they have had their fair share of close games. Their leader is a Freshman PG who has asserted himself into the National Player of the Year conversation. His name is Tyler Ennis. Ennis can do everything you ask of him. He is a great passer, finishes at the rim well, can shoot the deep ball, plays great defense, and is extremely clutch. If you want to know how well Ennis is at all of these things, just ask Pittsburgh fans. In the Cuse/Pitt matchup this year, Ennis has taken over late in games and by now you have probably seen his 35-foot buzzer beater to beat the Panthers. With all the talk about Julius Randle, Jabari Parker, and Andrew Wiggins, people forgot about the 6-2 Canadian PG coming out of St. Benedict's Prep (NJ). He has everybody's attention now, and in my eyes is the best Freshman in the country. However, Ennis isn't doing this thing by himself. CJ Fair is also a Wooden Award candidate and frontrunner, Jerami Grant has had a breakout season, and Trevor Cooney is arguably the best shooter in the country. The Orange have just 7 games left from running the table, but two of those include matchups against #8 Duke (at Cameron Indoor) and #17 Virginia. This team's season doesn't end there, though. I would be surprised if this team didn't make a Final Four run. They have to watch out for a trap game coming up with NC State. NC State has the ACC's leading scorer in T.J. Warren and Syracuse is just coming off an emotional high against Pitt.
