Biggest Takeaways from Week 5 of the 2014-15 College Basketball Season

It is important that college basketball fans not jump to any drastic conclusions until March, but we can still learn some interesting lessons along the way.

Week 5 of the college basketball season taught us a few things. Perhaps the most important lesson revolved around Kentucky, which is important with conference play right around the corner. After all, the only way to get to March is by playing well in your league, and some teams are clearly set up to do that better than others at this point.

With that in mind, here is a look at some of the biggest takeaways from Week 5 of the college basketball season.

Kentucky Will Miss Alex Poythress—but Only a Little

James Crisp/Associated Press

Surprise, surprise—Kentucky beat up on another nationally ranked team Saturday.

The Wildcats handled North Carolina to the tune of 84-70, but the game wasn’t even as close as the final score indicated. Kentucky seized a double-digit lead early in the first half, kept superstar Marcus Paige under wraps and never looked back.

It wasn’t all good news this week for the Wildcats, though. They lost veteran Alex Poythress for the season to a torn ACL, which is a substantial loss in terms of athleticism, versatility and rebounding. However, if there is one team in the country built to deal with significant losses, it is John Calipari’s squad.

Devin Booker filled in admirably on the offensive side against North Carolina with a game-high 15 points, and there was very little drop-off in the defense department. The bottom line is a team with nine All-Americans can afford to lose a player or two and still be considered a national title favorite.

Kentucky better hope it doesn’t lose any more players, though, because then depth would gradually start to be a concern.

Eastern Washington Is the No. 16 Seed Everyone Deserves

Stephen Brashear/Associated Press

A No. 16 seed has never beaten a No. 1 seed in the history of the NCAA tournament, but that streak could be in jeopardy if Eastern Washington somehow seized one of the No. 16 spots.

The Eagles walked into Washington on Sunday and put a major scare into the nationally ranked Huskies. In fact, Eastern Washington held a 42-31 lead at intermission but was unable to hold onto the advantage down the stretch.

You may remember Eastern Washington as the team that went into Bloomington and stunned the Indiana Hoosiers earlier this season to the tune of 88-86. The Eagles also hung with SMU the entire game until eventually losing by nine points.

It’s not just that Eastern Washington already beat Indiana and has put a major scare into other major programs already. It is the way it does it on the offensive end that should have Power Five conferences dreading a potential matchup in the tournament. The Eagles are 12th in the nation in points per game at 84.2 and feature two players who average better than 20 points a night.

Tyler Harvey (20.5 PPG) and Venky Jois (20.3 PPG) spearhead an offense that is ranked No. 23 in Ken Pomeroy’s offensive efficiency rankings.

For context, that is ahead of the likes of Louisville, Ohio State, UCLA and North Carolina, among others. Just don’t say in March you weren’t warned.

No Answers in Sight for Michigan

Tony Ding/Associated Press

There is no shame in losing to Arizona this season, as Michigan did Saturday, but an 80-53 defeat is not exactly how the Wolverines drew it up, especially considering how terrible they have been on the court in recent games.

John Beilein’s team came into the season with plenty of expectations even though it lost a ton of talent, but that has not translated to an impressive showing in the early going. Instead, Michigan lost both of its Week 5 games to Eastern Michigan and Arizona and has plummeted to 6-4.

That’s right—the mighty Wolverines lost to a directional school from their own state that was largely put on the schedule to serve as cupcake filler.

It’s not just the Week 5 struggles that should have Michigan fans concerned, though. The Wolverines inexplicably lost to NJIT the game before Eastern Michigan, look terrible on the glass and were clearly outclassed by one of the best teams in the country in Arizona.

Winning the Big Ten no longer seems like a realistic goal. Instead, Michigan may want to make sure it even makes the NCAA tournament.

Don’t Forget About Kansas

Reinhold Matay/Associated Press

Kansas dropped to the back of everyone’s mind after it was blown out by Kentucky, seemingly becoming an example of how dangerous the Wildcats are this season. All the Jayhawks have done since is rack up wins over impressive Power Five conference teams and gradually build one of the most impressive resumes in the country.

Kansas beat Georgetown and Utah in Week 5, with the win over the Hoyas coming in formidable fashion on the road.

It continued a trend of notable victories for Bill Self’s squad. The last five games, all wins, came against the likes of Tennessee, Michigan State, Florida, Georgetown and Utah. Those are resume-builders right there, regardless of how the Jayhawks looked against the Wildcats.

Remember, the Big 12 is Kansas’ personal playground every single season. Don’t overlook the Jayhawks before conference play even begins just because they lost to the nation’s best team in dramatic fashion in the early going.

ACC Hangover for Big Ten

Mark Humphrey/Associated Press

The Big Ten won the Big Ten-ACC Challenge in impressive fashion earlier this season, even though the ACC closed the gap a bit late after it was already in hand. The Big Ten is also still one of the deepest leagues in the country and will contend for Final Four spots and a national title.

However, Week 5 was a week to forget for the league, and I am not just talking about the Wolverines’ aforementioned struggles.

Oregon and Villanova both beat Illinois, Michigan lost to Eastern Michigan and Arizona, Purdue lost to Vanderbilt, Iowa lost at home to Iowa State, Nebraska lost to Creighton and something called Incarnate Word, and Indiana was crushed by Louisville.

There are some embarrassing nonconference losses to teams that the Big Ten has no business losing to (hello, Incarnate Word) and some missed opportunities against marquee opponents that would have come in handy come Selection Sunday.

The Big Ten has plenty of time to turn it around this season and already knocked off the ACC in the Challenge, but Week 5 was not exactly a banner seven days for one of the nation’s best leagues.