The State's Top 10

Kentucky is the best Basketball state in all of the land, and everyone loves the Wildcats. However, when not rooting for UK, Kentucky residents have a number of quality programs to cheer on, as well.

With that in mind, and just for the heck of it, I decided to break down a top 10 of teams within the Bluegrass state...

1.) Kentucky - The Cats are 22-1 and #2 in the country. Their place at the top of this list is a no-brainer. After this, it gets interesting though.

2.) Murray State - The Racers are undefeated in the OVC at 13-0 and are 22-3 overall. All three of their losses were to pretty good teams and were close games. They should win the OVC tourney and advance to the NCAA, where with the right draw, could advance to the Sweet Sixteen and be a Cinderella favorite.

3.) Louisville - Rick Pitino's squad has been up and down this year, and currently sit in the middle of the pack in the Big East. They're 15-8 overall and have a difficult stretch of games still on the schedule; including at Syracuse, at UConn, Georgetown, and Syracuse again at Freedom Hall. Then you can throw in some games where Louisville is favored but could easily lose, like at St. John's and at Marquette. Bottom line: The Cardinals are going to struggle to make the field of 65, but if they win some of these big games still on the schedule, it will certainly help their cause.

4.) Morehead State - If there's a team to push the Racers off the OVC perch, it would be the Eagles of Morehead. They're a respectable 17-7 overall and 11-2 in conference. They do have an absolute beast in big man Kenneth Faried, who averages 17.2 points per game and 13.7 boards. They're a very solid team.

5.) Eastern Kentucky - The Rebels of EKU are the third best team in the OVC and in my view, the fifth best team in the state. They're 17-8 and 9-4 and playing very well. They're another team that could challenge the Racers for the OVC invite to the NCAA tourney.

6.) Western Kentucky University - The Hilltoppers are not having their usual run in the Sun Belt, but remain in striking distance as tourney time nears. Here's hoping that WKU can put together a solid run down the stretch.

7.) Pikeville - Pikeville College is 16-2 and playing very solid basketball.

8.) Campbellsville - Campbellsville is now ranked #8 in the NAIA and recently beat Georgetown College for the first time in a while.

9.) Georgetown College - Similar to WKU, Georgetown isn't doing their usual domination in their respective conference but are still a solid team at 17-6.

10.) Mid-Continent University - Former Wildcat Winston Bennett continues to rebuild the MCU program and he's starting to see the results he's looking for. The Cougars are 13-10 overall and 6-3 in conference, a huge improvement over previous seasons in Mayfield.

So there ya have it; the top 10 college basketball teams in the state of Kentucky. Share your thoughts in the comments section.