Wroten, Noel respond to Bledsoe's claim Kentucky could beat 76ers

Whether Excellent College Basketball Team X could beat Bad NBA Team Y is an annual debate that needs to end. 

The question seems to be getting asked more frequently this year than any other, though it's easy to understand why: Kentucky is considered one of the best college teams in recent memory, while the winless Philadelphia 76ers are posting the worst average margin of defeat in NBA history.

Even if the very best college team upsetting the very worst NBA team is a long shot - and to be clear, it is - this debate seems to engage people. That includes players like Phoenix Suns guard Eric Bledsoe, a Kentucky alum who joked on radio this week that he'd take the Wildcats in a seven-game series.

"Nah, they can't beat us," 76ers guard Tony Wroten said on Wednesday. "He's crazy ... Yeah, it's insulting. He might be serious, but I know Bledsoe. I'm not going to take it personally."

The 76ers promptly went out and got rolled by 26 points against Bledsoe's Suns on Friday. There appeared to be some tension over the comments when Nerlens Noel, himself a Kentucky grad, hit Bledsoe with a hard foul early in the game, receiving a Flagrant Foul - Penalty 1 on the play.

"They were telling me before if I came into the paint they were going to do something dirty," Bledsoe said. "You can tell if you look at the tape. Like I said, they did it on purpose."

Noel denied any wrongdoing, saying he was just protecting the rim, though the officials obviously thought it was egregious. These teams square off again on Jan. 2, and it will be interesting to see if tempers flare.

Philadelphia could take some of the heat off its performance by winning a game and improving to 1-12 on Saturday against the New York Knicks. Although the Knicks may find that suggestion insulting, too.