Top-ranked Kentucky may not always overwhelm teams the way it did in its 72-40 win over No. 5 Kansas on Tuesday night. But after that pummeling, the rest of college basketball knows full well what the Wildcats are capable of doing.
Which brings us to Wednesday. If you just glanced at scores: No. 2 Arizona over UC Irvine 71-54; No. 3 Wisconsin 84-60 over Green Bay; No. 13 Gonzaga 94-42 over Saint Joseph's; and if you only caught No. 18 Oklahoma's second half lead of 42-24 over Creighton, it would appear every ranked team presents the same fear factor as Kentucky.
That is not the case.
It was certainly not the case with Arizona and UC Irvine. The Wildcats' 17-point win over the Anteaters would suggest they breezed by their Big West foe.
On the contrary.
The Anteaters were leading 46-45 with 7:53 left when their 7-foot-6 game-changer Mamadou Ndiaye picked up his fourth foul. Although the sophomore from Senegal only scored nine points and had five rebounds to go with one block, his presence in the lane changed how Arizona ran its offense.
It wasn't until sophomore forward Rondae Hollis-Jefferson challenged Ndiaye in the lane and threw down a left-handed dunk that Arizona ignited its offense.
Once Ndiaye left the game, the Wildcats quickly reeled off an 11-0 run and never let their lead dip below nine points. Hollis-Jefferson, who is coming off the bench, scored a game-high 19 points and went 11-of-13 from the free-throw line.
Arizona did nothing to quell the doubts surrounding its perimeter shooting. It shot just 39.6 percent -- including just 28.6 percent (4-of-14) from behind the arc.
No. 18 Oklahoma, bolstered by the NCAA granting Houston transfer Tashawn Thomas a waiver to play immediately, proved that many teams ranked farther down in the Top 25 don't possess Kentucky's intimidation factor.
The Sooners led Creighton by 18 early in the second half. The Bluejays didn't blink. They rallied behind 17 points, 11 rebounds and six assists from senior guard Austin Chatman to pull a 65-63 upset.
Saint Joseph's clearly isn't the same team that nearly ended Connecticut's NCAA title run last season -- losing in overtime in their second-round matchup. The Hawks lost three key players from that squad and opened the season with a loss to Fairleigh Dickinson.
The Zags' 52-point win was nothing more than a sure sign that they can flex at home against a lesser-talented team. The Bulldogs were impressive in beating No. 22 SMU at home on Monday, but their real test awaits Dec. 6 at Arizona.
Green Bay was hardly fazed playing at Wisconsin, a point Keifer Sykes spent the opening minutes establishing. The 5-foot-11 senior guard got clearance in the lane and nearly landed a one-handed dunk on the All-American face of Badgers center Frank Kaminsky, but the ball bounced high off the back of the rim.
No matter, the next possession Sykes threw an alley-oop, completed by Greg Mays, as the Phoenix played with the Badgers through the first half before foul trouble sabotaged their efforts.
Wisconsin did as Wisconsin does by methodically adding to its lead with multiple players contributing until it was unsurmountable.
Kaminsky: He got his 20 points, 15 rebounds and seven blocks.
Sam Dekker: He chipped 19 points on an efficient 6-of-12 shooting from the floor.
Nigel Hayes: He scored a career-high 25 points and grabbed 11 rebounds.
Were they efficient?
Of course.
Were they precise?
Absolutely.
Were they intimidating?
Well, not exactly.
The message from watching ranked teams play on Wednesday was quite different than what Kentucky displayed on Tuesday. Instead of instilling fear in their opponents, they may have emboldened more challengers.