Oklahoma’s 38-Spot Slide Leads 5 Biggest Surprises in KenPom Rankings After Two Weeks of College Basketball

Oklahoma’s early slide

Oklahoma opened the season with a home loss to East Texas A&M, then beat Mississippi Valley State and North Alabama. The Sooners won the latter game by nine points.

They entered the season ranked 29th in KenPom and fell to 67th after three games. Oklahoma has made only 30 percent of its three-point attempts while taking 57 percent of its shots from beyond the arc. Pop Isaacs, Xzayvier Brown and Dayton Forsythe have not yet produced efficiently.

UCLA rises quickly

UCLA beat Arizona on opening day and followed with two dominant wins in buy games. The Bruins moved from 25th in the preseason KenPom rankings to 16th. They have turned the ball over on 12.2 percent of offensive possessions and forced turnovers on 25.2 percent of opponents’ possessions. UCLA is making 43 percent of its threes, while opponents are shooting 22.6 percent from three against its defense.

Trent Perry and Jaylen Petty have combined to make 15 of 30 three-point attempts. Nikola Kusturica is 6-for-14, and Sergej Macura is 5-for-7.

Kentucky faces defensive questions

Kentucky is 2-1 and has slipped from 24th to 36th in KenPom. The Wildcats edged James Madison by nine points before losing to Kansas by 20 in the Champions Classic.

Kentucky allowed 1.18 points per possession to James Madison and 1.16 to Kansas. Opponents are making 33 percent of their threes, and the Wildcats have surrendered 11.7 second-chance points per game.

The offense remains a strength, ranking 14th in KenPom. Zoom Diallo and Malachi Moreno have been efficient scorers and offer Kentucky a two-man option.

Minnesota starts unbeaten

Minnesota has opened 4-0, with three wins coming in buy games. The Golden Gophers have looked dominant in those matchups. They also earned a true road win at Cincinnati. That early result adds to a promising start for Minnesota.