The race to 2000 wins: UK/UNC update

#1 - 1992 (4-0)
#2 - 1988 (4-1)

I know some Blue Bloods were a bit nervous last week when the Tar Heels had cut the all time wins margin down to a measly TWO games but UK actually had a good week with three wins and as I had hoped earlier, UNC did stumble, and UK is back at that four win margin.

UK was perfect for the week, winning all three of their games. They needed a little John Wall magic to hold off the Miami Redhawks 72-70 on Monday night, but got their offense into high gear with a 102-92 win over Sam Houston State on Thursday and a 92-63 thrashing of Rider on Saturday. UK is now 4-0 for the first time since the 2004 season.

The Tar Heels put their national ranking (#4 ESPN, #6 AP) on the line with two games against ranked opponents in the 2K Sports Coaches vs Cancer Classic in New York City. On Thursday, UNC had to survive a furious comeback from #15 Ohio State, but the Heels survived 77-73. In the second game on Friday, UNC ran into the buzzsaw that is the #24 (ESPN) Syracuse Orangemen and were blown out 88-71. Granted, I thought that it would be California that would beat UNC, but a UNC loss is pretty by any name.

THIS WEEK: Kentucky travels away from Rupp for the first time this season and heads south of the border for the semifinals of the Cancun Challenge. UK faces off against occasional NCAA team Cleveland State early Tuesday afternoon and then on Wednesday will face either Virgina or Stanford. UK should come home wearing the tourney crown but will face a little bit stiffer competition. Virginia recently handed Rider a 30 point blowout loss last week. It's a good way to take the act on the road and see how the Cats respond against tougher competition.

Like Kentucky, UNC has a pretty casual Thanksgiving week. UNC bloggers living in their parent's basement should have a field day bashing UK when North Carolina faces ... wait for it .... Gardner Webb on Monday. Then the Heels have a nice 5 day break before tangling with the Nevada Wolfpack Sunday night. Both games are in Chapel Hill and I don't foresee either team giving North Carolina a problem on their quest to 2000.

FORECAST: I really don't expect a lot of drama this week. It will be interesting to see how UK responds on the road, but I just think UK has far too much talent for any team remaining in the Cancun Challenge. Same goes for UNC. They loaded up on some Thanksgiving week cupcakes but this race to 2000 really heats up next week. Here is how the wins total should look next Monday morning: Kentucky 1994, UNC 1990.