One of the biggest surprises early in this college basketball season has been the 8-0 start by the Indiana Hoosiers. But reality could set in for Coach Tom Crean’s club when it hosts top-ranked Kentucky on Saturday afternoon in the biggest game at IU since Crean arrived to clean up the mess that Kelvin Sampson made. Kentucky is a solid favorite on Bodog’s NCAA basketball odds.
 
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Last year Indiana lost its final nine games of the year to finish 12-20 and 3-15 in Big Ten play. Under Crean, they Hoosiers were 28-66 overall and 8-46 in Big Ten play entering this season. But Crean’s recruiting classes are starting to pay off, and Indiana has won its first eight games so far this season by at least double digits for the first in more than 20 years. It’s the first 8-0 start for the school since the 2002-03 season. And it hasn’t been over all cupcakes – IU has beaten N.C. State and Butler, two teams likely to reach the NCAA Tournament this year.
 
The star is freshman Cody Zeller. Entering this week, Zeller leads all true freshmen nationally in field goal percentage (67.7) and steals (21). He is fifth in rebounds (60) and eighth at 15.5 points per game.
 
Top-ranked Kentucky (8-0) has a freshman class unparalleled in the nation, led by superstar center Anthony Davis. The Cats have been off since an epic 73-72 win over No. 5 North Carolina, the No. 1 team entering this season, last Saturday. Davis blocked John Henson's shot in the final seconds as UK held on in a potential national championship preview. Kentucky last reached No. 1 under John Calipari in 2009-10, but promptly lost its first game after receiving the ranking. Sophomore Terrence Jones leads UK in scoring (15.0 ppg) and is second in rebounding (7.6 rpg); he is one of five players averaging double-figure points.
 
Kentucky and IU played last season in Lexington, an 81-62 UK win. It was Kentucky's third straight win in the series, each by at least 17 points. But clearly this is the best Indiana team Crean has had.
 
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