Kentucky is College Basketball's Team of the Week after Kansas Beatdown

LAWRENCE, KS - JANUARY 29: TyTy Washington Jr. #3 of the Kentucky Wildcats drives the ball against Kansas Jayhawks defense in the second half at Allen Fieldhouse on January 29, 2022 in Lawrence, Kansas.
Oscar Tshiebwe — (Photo by Kyle Rivas/Getty Images)

Many people are saying that Kentucky is the best college basketball team in America. It’s hard to blame them after watching the Wildcats pulverize Kansas for 40 minutes on their home floor Saturday night.

Kentucky spent most of its Saturday night leading the Jayhawks by 20+ points. The night ended with an 80-62 Kentucky victory over the fifth-ranked team in the country. This was Kentucky’s largest margin of victory (18 points) in school history against a top-five team in a true road game and the second-worst loss Bill Self has suffered at home since he became the Kansas coach in 2003.

Following the impressive victory, Kentucky was named March Madness Team of the Week by Andy Katz. Yes, it is odd to call a team the “March Madness Team of the Week” in January, but it’s nevertheless a nice nod to UK’s efforts.

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🏆 Weekly Awards from @TheAndyKatz!

Team of the Week: Kentucky
Player of the Week: Jaden Ivey pic.twitter.com/jEbS2PGcyw
— NCAA March Madness (@MarchMadnessMBB) January 31, 2022

Andy Katz was not the only one impressed with the Wildcats. Dick Vitale proclaimed Kentucky as his team of the week, with Oscar Tshiebwe as his national player of the week after racking up 17 points and 14 rebounds at Phog Allen Fieldhouse. If he had to pick one today, Vitale would make Tshiebwe the Naismith National Player of the Year.

“They are so LUCKY that he is wearing a BBN uniform,” Vitale Tweeted. “He’s truly a WINDEX MAN!”

Oscar was amazing, but you cannot overlook Keion Brooks’ contributions against Kansas. The junior forward had the best game of his UK career, recording a career-high 27 points, including 15 of UK’s first 17 second half points, to propel the Cats to the promised land.

A sensational Saturday for @KeionB_12 🤩

Brooks’ 27 points are the most on the road in a UK victory against a top-five ranked team since Fred Cowen had 27 on 2/14/80 at No. 5 LSU. pic.twitter.com/NQfCrg8MOM
— Kentucky Men’s Basketball (@KentuckyMBB) January 30, 2022