'Tweak some things'

Did you spend Monday night catching up on errands after a marvelous sports weekend? Don't worry; we've got you covered — because two significant college hoops upsets happened, including an unbeaten team losing for the first time.

1. Changes coming to Kentucky's offense

May as well get right to it.

This is what happens when you score just 53 points (the fifth-lowest in the John Calipari era at Kentucky) on the heels of struggling against Yale, Michigan and Bellarmine. That last one, a 60-41 win on Nov. 29, should've been a signal that the offense needs tweaking.

Well, tweaking might be underselling it. Kentucky is 7-3, but without its offensive rebounding (read: Oscar Tshiebwe), it would be a below-average offensive team. It is 94th in Bart Torvik's adjusted offensive efficiency, discounting preseason projections. Consider these shooting stats:

• 51.4% effective field goal percentage, 115th in KenPom

• 66.3 percent from the free-throw line, 306th in D-I

• 49.1 percent from inside the arc, only 3 Kentucky teams have been worse

And this includes hitting 38 percent from beyond the arc, but as noted in the Lexington Herald-Leader, that figure drops to 32.6 percent in its four games of note (Michigan State, Gonzaga, Michigan and UCLA).

Shooting isn't the only thing cramping the offense, but it is driving most of the issues. On Saturday, the Cats couldn't create any space inside for Tshiebwe or for dribble-drives because UCLA sagged off the perimeter, intent on clogging the lane. That left them with aggressive drives to the basket or floaters, and neither of those worked against the Bruins, either.

The lineup change (likely Chris Livington for Jacob Toppin at the four) should help a bit. Toppin isn't a factor from deep (3-of-20 on the season; shades of Keion Brooks), while Livingston is 6-of-14 thus far. And UK certainly needs more consistent shooting out of Antonio Reeves (3-of-11 his past two games) and CJ Fredrick (just two shots in 15 minutes the past two games).

But it's not just one or two players. It's everything. They've got Florida A&M on Wednesday, then SEC play begins. Better find that lineup combination fast.

2. And then there were four

Utah State entered Monday night as one of five unbeaten D-I teams and one win shy of its best start in school history. But its offense stalled at home against Weber State, losing 75-72, leaving Purdue, UConn, Mississippi State and New Mexico as the only unbeaten teams.

The Aggies (9-1) entered as 17-point favorites thanks to their superb shooting. They lead the nation in 3-point field-goal percentage (42.7) and score 1.10 points per possession. And Monday started like a typical game.

They opened a double-digit lead in the first half, propelled by Sean Bairstow (he scored their first eight points and finished with 14), and led by 18 midway through. Then Weber State (5-7) started to close down on the shooters, clogged the lane and cut into the lead little by little. Utah State scored just seven points over a 15-minute stretch into the second half, trailed 53-49 and never led again.

They had a chance to tie it with 25 seconds left, but Taylor Funk missed a 3, and Weber State closed it out on the free-throw line.

“It’s a crappy feeling,” guard Rylan Jones told the Herald-Journal News. “We’re going to think about this one a lot tonight and the things that we fell short on in the second half. But tomorrow is a new day and we’re going to come back with a better focus, more discipline and ready to take on tomorrow.”

Both teams had five players in double figures. Dillon Jones led Weber State with 16, while Steven Ashworth had 16 for Utah State.

Other results to know from Monday:

UT Arlington 68, San Francisco 63The Mavs (5-7) blitzed the Dons at the start, opening an 8-point lead in the first three-and-a-half minutes. San Francisco (9-4), which hadn't lost a home non-conference game since 2019, cut it to one shortly thereafter, then got down double-digits for most of the second half and made a run in the final minute. Tyrell Roberts paced them with 24 points.

Charleston 83, Coastal Carolina 69Quick, name the two D-I teams with 12 wins! It's UConn and the Cougars (12-1), who got 23 from Reyne Smith and 18 from Dalton Bolon. It's their 11th consecutive win. Pat Kelsey is doing things Winthrop fans recognize.

Liberty 75, Grambling 56Darius McGhee scored a season-high 36 points and set a school record by going 9-of-13 from beyond the arc as the Flames (8-4) nearly doubled up the Tigers (6-5) in the second half, outscoring them 42-24.

Siena 76, St. Bonaventure 70Javian McCollum scored 23 points, and the Saints (6-5) were clutch late, going 8-for-8 from the free-throw line in the final minute, holding off the Bonnies (6-6), who have lost three straight.

Western Illinois 79, North Dakota State 60Grant Nelson topped 30 points for the second time this season, scoring 35 on 14-of-23 shooting. But he didn't get much help as the Bison (3-10, 0-1 in Summit) couldn't keep pace in the second half against the Leathernecks (8-4, 1-0).

Oral Roberts 79, South Dakota State 40The Jackrabbits (5-8, 0-1 in Summit) forgot their offense. Oral Roberts (10-3, 1-0) held them to just 26 percent from the field. For context, SD State made 32 percent of its attempts at Arkansas last month. This is now just the second time both Dakota schools are 0-1 in Summit League play.

Furman 106, Anderson (SC) 79JP Pegues scored 20, and Jalen Slawson added 18 as the Paladins (9-4) didn't need Mike Bothwell's heroics today. In fact, Saturday's star on the Field of 68 only took two shots.

Marshall 99, Glenville State 73The Herd (11-2) had five players in double figures, continuing the best start in Dan D'Antoni's tenure. They'll be favorites in every remaining game this season except when they travel to James Madison. Even better for Marshall? It gets the Dukes at home on New Year's Eve. that game might have 200 possessions.

3. Poll watching

Purdue solidified its spot atop the AP poll this week, claiming 40 of the first-place votes, a jump from 44 percent to 66 percent of the votes. UConn was a solid second with 20 votes, which, depending on your point of view, might be too big of a gap.

The Boilermakers (11-0) couldn't shake Davidson during Saturday's 69-61 win in Indianapolis. The Huskies (12-0) started slow at Butler but eventually pulled away for its 12th double-digit win of the season. (Wish we could've just had them play each other while in Indy.)

UConn is ahead of Purdue on most advanced metrics sites (though not always No. 1). Again, I'd rank it No. 1, but again, it's December. It'll sort itself out. Also, UConn didn't even have the most impressive week. That'd be UCLA. It's the ones with the biggest complaint this week, stuck at 13.

So what's good in the poll? The Top 10 is about right, and it's good Indiana and Kentucky didn't fall too much for a road loss and a neutral-court defeat. And it's great to see Marquette (24) and Arizona State (25) snag spots. Both have been among D-I surprise teams, claiming quality wins, which means voters are just now catching up.

This also means both Hurley brothers have teams in the Top 25. You know dad is proud. If this keeps up, we're gonna need an over/under for Bob Hurley media interviews. Bet Rivers, help us out.

4. Quick links

Some days, there is just too much news. Time for some bullet points.

• We've got our first COVID cancellation of the year. Thursday's Rhode Island-Milwaukee game is off and won't be rescheduled.

• Indiana might not have Xavier Johnson back for a while.

• Eric Musselman thinks Arkansas' defense is "a little bit ahead of where we thought it might be at this time of year." That's a promising thought for a team starting three freshmen.

• Ohio State doesn't have a timetable for when Isaac Likekele will return but does expect to see Gene Brown II on the floor soon.

• We touched on this in Monday's Daily, but Gonzaga's backcourt seems to have matured. It committed just nine turnovers Saturday vs Bama — in a game with 163 possessions. That's a "really, really big step for us," coach Mark Few said. "That stat is really standing out ... and these guys did a good job executing it in a really, really high-possession game."

• While Iowa waits on Kris Murray's foot to heal, it'll have to settle for Filip Rebraca. Sounds just fine. He dumped a career-high 30 points on Southeast Missouri State and only trails Murray in box plus/minus.

5. Explaining a surprising start

When Marquette blitzed Baylor last month, it could've been seen as an anomaly. After all, it followed that with an OT loss to Wisconsin. But when the Golden Eagles (9-3) ripped off three straight wins — including a resounding victory against Big East favorite Creighton on Friday — they cemented their spot among the Top 25.

Also, considering their only losses have come to three ranked teams with a combined record of 31-2 and an average KenPom rating of 24, we probably can bury any preseason thoughts about them finishing ninth in the Big East.

So what's the secret? Here's my favorite part: One of the best hoops sites out there, Paint Touches, used four stats to explain. Sure, there's info on Kam Jones (stud), Oso Ighodaro (defensive monster) and their work on the glass (!), but I like this bit on OMax Prosper.

This is the part where I remind you to take five minutes and read the entire thing. As one of my favorite places to read content (plenty of Marquette folks hit Cracked Sidewalks, but I wish they'd write more), it's worth an extra shout. Reminds me of the type of sites that I loved 10-20 years ago before pods took over and media companies cut back on hoops coverage. Keep it up, guys.

North Carolina senior Leaky Black has guarded just about everyone during five seasons and 134 games. That's how it goes when you're 6-8, long-limbed and pride yourself on always getting the toughest defensive assignment.

Saturday against Ohio State was no different. Leaky had to guard freshman Brice Sensabaugh. At 6-6, 235 pounds (most of it in his torso), Sensabaugh can be a load. He was the Buckeyes' go-to guy, scoring 22 points, primarily on mid-range jumpers where he repeatedly leaned into Black.

But Black got the last word. He made two key passes in the final seconds: A bullet from the baseline to RJ Davis that allowed the Heels a timeout — and set up this pass to Pete Nance.

He spoke to us after the game for Four Questions.

Q: How often have you had to make a pass like that? Cross court, the whole defense in front of you, just a second left. Looked like you had to be patient by design.

Leaky Black: That was my first time in a game, but I feel like I've practiced that pass a lot of times. Everyone knows I used to play football, used to play quarterback, so everyone knows I have a pretty good arm. So I'm kinda used to being in those positions. Even Coach [Roy] Williams would put me in those positions when I was young. But that was a fun pass. I've never done it in a game, but I'm glad it worked out the way it did. [Pete] was open for a while, but I just kinda had to hesitate because I didn't want to throw it away. That ball was in the air for a long time.

Q: You've guarded a ton of people, all different sizes, at pretty much every position. Do you feel like you need an ice bath after trying to check Sensabaugh?

Leaky Black: Man, he is as stocky as they come. Looking at him before the game, I'm looking at him like, "damn, that kid's a freshman, right?" He's definitely tough and is gonna be, is pretty good. Him getting to that mid-range, it's such a tough shot, he's gonna have to make it all game. Sure enough, he made it all game. He was up there for one of the toughest players I had to guard.

Q: Describe what the atmosphere was like at Madison Square Garden. You guys have played PK85 already, been to Indiana already, you made the NCAA Tournament run last year. How did it compare to those places?

Leaky Black: It's the Garden. You see all the stories. Just being in that atmosphere was different. It really felt like a home game, it was fun. First time I've played here and I didn't think it'd be all that. But seeing all the fans, Carolina fans, they really showed up.

Q: What's the Christmas plan? When do you guys get to relax a bit?

Leaky Black: We got another big one Wednesday in my hometown of Charlotte, against Michigan. We gotta take care of business and then we'll get some family time after that.

Cram session

Still trying to get everything done before the holidays? Make some time Tuesday night for college hoops. There are 50 games scheduled. Many will be blowouts (Elon playing an angry Indiana ... yeesh), but there is a handful of solid games thanks to the ACC and Big East, but Mississippi State vs. Drake (5 pm ET) might be the most interesting of the night. The Bulldogs (11-0) haven't been sharp the last two games, beating Jackson State and Nicholls State by a combined 11 points. Now they'll play Drake in Lincoln, Neb., in what should be a semi-home setting for the other Bulldogs (8-3). Darian DeVries' team also hasn't been sharp lately, but this could be a telling test before Miss State opens SEC play.

Other games to watch (All times ET), plus an amazing ACC tidbit

• Virginia (8-1) at Miami (11-1), 8:30 pm (ACC Network)

• Oklahoma (8-3) vs. Florida (7-4), 9:30 pm (ESPN2)

• Duke (10-2) at Wake Forest (8-4), 6:30 pm (ACC Network)

• Toledo (7-4) at Vermont (6-7), 2 pm

Could Xavier win the Big East?

The Musketeers are among the nation's most balanced teams, with five players averaging double figures. They've got a big frontcourt and one of the nation's most impressive transfers in guard Souley Boum. They just dropped triple digits on Georgetown.

So what's the ultimate upside for Xavier? Randolph Childress, Jim Root and Meghan McKeown discuss it on AFTER DARK.

Subscribe to The Field of 68 AFTER DARK on YouTube and click here subscribe to the AFTER DARK podcast.

Links as you try to remember character names in Avatar.

• Nice read from 247's Isaac Trotter: 10 takes, including why you should still be scared of the Vols.

• Texas interim coach Rodney Terry is the only one talking to the media. No players have been made available since Chris Beard's arrest.

• DePaul AD DeWayne Peevy was a bit ... peeved when the Blue Demons got stomped by Northwestern.

• Dayton forward Tyrone Baker entered the transfer portal. The former 3-star prospect played in three games for the Flyers.

• A detailed analysis of the decision that could signal NCAA athletes as employees.

You're running out of time to ensure that Duke fan in your life — every family has one — looks their best this holiday season. Save 20 percent on your order with promo code "DAILY."

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