Wildcats Are No. 1 Topic

Selection Sunday is still a week away.

But Kentucky is already celebrating a Sweet 16.

With a 69-67 victory over No. 3 Florida on Saturday, the No. 2 Wildcats became only the second Southeastern Conference team to finish with a 16-0 league record.

The other, the 1995-96 Kentucky team coached by Rick Pitino, won the NCAA title.

(Others have gone unbeaten in shorter SEC seasons, but none since Alabama went 14-0 in 1956.)

Now people are left to wonder if anyone can stop Kentucky, and which Wildcats -- Arizona’s or Kentucky’s -- are really No. 1.

“Kentucky has, over the course of the past two months, proven themselves to be probably the best basketball team in the country right now,” Florida Coach Billy Donovan said.

He might get some argument from people who watched Arizona break open a close game against Oregon in the second half to win by a comfortable 88-80 margin, completing a Pacific 10 Conference season marred only by a loss to Stanford.

But no team has beaten more top-25 opponents this season than Kentucky (26-3), which has bagged 11. Arizona (25-2) is second, with seven.

Who’s better? Louisiana State Coach John Brady stirred up controversy earlier this season when he declared it was Kentucky because of its defense after his Tigers beat Arizona by one point in December and lost to Kentucky.

Arizona’s Lute Olson declared that Brady was no expert on Arizona, and noted that in addition to Luke Walton sitting out the game because of a lingering ankle injury and graduation, Arizona was playing on the road on the heels of final exams.

Regardless of which team eventually survives longer, Kentucky’s 20-game winning streak has been an amazing run by a team that isn’t loaded with future NBA players and was vilified earlier this season after losing to Pitino’s Louisville team, its fiercest rival.

The Wildcats’ leading scorer is guard Keith Bogans, considered an underachiever until this season. The leading rebounder, Chuck Hayes, is a mere 6 feet 6. Guard Gerald Fitch, forward Erik Daniels and center Marquis Estill are the other starters on a team that goes eight deep and somehow just clicks.

Chalk up the success to defense, transition offense, committed team play and Coach Tubby Smith, who despite all the talk about how tough UCLA coaches have it, has the most pressure-filled job in college basketball.

Smith’s team plays smothering defense. During the 20-game streak, 12 teams have shot less than 40% against the Wildcats.

In their 62-point victory over Vanderbilt last week, the Wildcats held the Commodores to 15 second-half points.

And despite winning by only two points against Florida -- and having to survive a last-second shot to do it -- Kentucky has won 10 of its 16 SEC games by at least 15 points. This is a conference that is the best in the country according to RPI ratings.

One word of caution: RPI ratings tend to be self-fulfilling, and there is suspicion the SEC might not be as strong as believed.

The league was 5-6 in the NCAA tournament each of the last two seasons. The Pac-10 -- though granted, not as strong this season -- was 9-6 last season and 13-5 in 2001.

Who’s better, Arizona or Kentucky?

It might be April in New Orleans before we know the answer.

Bound for the NBA?

It’s time to meet Chris Kaman, a 7-footer from Central Michigan who looks like a first-round pick if he comes out after his junior year, and maybe a lottery pick if he stays another season.

Kaman had 39 points and 22 rebounds in Central Michigan’s 86-66 victory over Ball State Saturday in his regular-season finale, making 14 of 19 shots and 11 of 15 free throws as the Chippewas (21-6) prepare to make their bid for the NCAA tournament in the Mid-American Conference tournament this week.

Kaman’s stock has been leaping, with NBA scouts flocking to see the Chippewas play.

He was little-known out of high school in Wyoming, Mich., a suburb of Grand Rapids -- partly because he was only 6-2 as a high school freshman. By his junior year, he was 6-10.

“I never thought I’d be tall. Then one day all of a sudden I woke up and I was 7 feet,” Kaman said. “But I never played guard. That was just a rumor that was going around.”

Kaman grew in other ways too. Diagnosed with attention-deficit order, he used to struggle at school.

“In junior high, middle school, and my freshman and sophomore year, I was unable to concentrate and used to get thrown out of class,” he said. “I was obnoxious. My coach knew something was wrong, and they found out I’d been throwing my Ritalin into the trash.

“I took it my junior year, and then I knew I could do it myself. At times I still struggle to concentrate, but I just knew I had to master it and grow out of it.”

The late-bloomer started to draw attention but never heard from Michigan or Michigan State. He committed to Central Michigan after his junior season, excited about the chance to play close to home so his family could come to his games.

Now NBA scouts are following, too. Though they aren’t permitted to comment on underclassmen, those who have seen him play see a skilled player who can use either hand deftly and has enough of a shooting touch to make 75% of his free throws.

“I haven’t made my mind up [about whether to turn pro.],” Kaman said. “Right now, I’m telling people I’m staying so they’ll have something to write. After the season, I’ll sit down and think about it.”

March Badness

Fresno State banned its team from the postseason because of academic fraud under Jerry Tarkanian. St. Bonaventure’s players called it quits after they were banned from their conference tournament because of an ineligible player. And now Villanova has suspended 12 players for making unauthorized phone calls.

But the story that won’t quit is the saga of Georgia Coach Jim Harrick, who faces more accusations of impropriety revealed by the Providence Journal Saturday after the paper reviewed documents in a sexual harassment case against Rhode Island, where Harrick coached from 1997 to 1999.

The lawsuit, in which former employee Christine King said she was subjected to harassment by Harrick and former assistant Mike Wilson, was settled last month for $45,000.

But documents related to the case include charges by King that Harrick arranged for players to receive cars, housing and money from boosters, falsified expense reports, paid a member of the women’s basketball team to cover up an assault by one of his players, used an ineligible player and sought to influence and change players’ grades.

The university said it is continuing to investigate.

Meanwhile, Harrick’s chief accuser at Georgia, former player Tony Cole, has more trouble of his own.

A warrant for his arrest was issued this week in Georgia for bouncing a $578 rent check in December. A bad check written for an amount above $500 is considered a felony.

Cole, who has been living in Louisiana, would be arrested in that state only if he is stopped for another reason, and could face extradition to Georgia.

Knight Falls Fast

Bob Knight’s first Texas Tech team made the NCAA tournament, and others will follow.

But this season’s prospects appear bleak after a 74-68 loss to Baylor left Texas Tech at 6-10 in the Big 12 and 16-11 overall, with an RPI around 40.

The Red Raiders have lost their last three games, and Nick Valdez quit the team after a dispute with Knight.

Knight’s buddy Dave Bliss, the Baylor coach, defeated his mentor for the first time in four tries, but he has his own problems with a 14-13 team

After Baylor had blown a 16-point lead with seven minutes left in the game, leading scorer Lawrence Roberts yelled at teammate Terrance Thomas after a blown possession, “I’m in the post, man.”

Responded Thomas: “Shut up.”

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Times wire services contributed to this report.