Now that the college football regular season is in the rearview, perhaps you’ve just started paying attention to college basketball? If you’re joining the season late, you’ve missed quite a bit.
In short, no one is very good.
Monday marked the release of the seventh different Associated Press Top-25 poll. In those seven weeks, we’ve had five different teams ranked No. 1. For context, it’s already the first time ever we’ve had this many top-ranked programs before New Year’s Day. The record for an entire season is seven – at this rate we’ll hit that in mid-January. Just how crazy has the season been? We’ll catch you up:
Michigan State:
The Spartans were the preseason number one, opening up the year in the Champions Classic against second-ranked Kentucky. A 69-62 loss to the Wildcats knocked them from the top spot after a single week. Since then, they’ve lost in Maui to a Virginia Tech team picked to finish 14th in the ACC, and at home to Duke in a game that wasn’t nearly as close as the 87-75 score. They’re currently ranked 15th.
Kentucky:
The Wildcats’ win over Sparty bumped them up to No. 1 in Week 2, but in their first game with the ranking they were upset at home by Evansville 67-64. Prior to the stunner UK had never lost as the nation’s number one when facing an unranked, non-conference opponent at home (39-0 prior). Though they stumbled against the Purple Aces, Kentucky hasn’t lost since, and is sixth in this week’s poll.
Duke:
Duke slid up to the top spot for Week 3, and held onto the title for a whole week, before becoming the victim of an even bigger upset than Kentucky. Stephen F. Austin stunned the Blue Devils in overtime, with a buzzer-beating layup for the 85-83 victory. It’s the first time since 2000 that Duke lost at home to an unranked non-conference foe. And per KenPom, it was an even bigger upset than UMBC beating Virginia. It’s Duke’s only loss this year, and they sit fourth in the nation.
Louisville:
A 7-0 start, albeit against less-than-stellar competition, vaulted the Cardinals to the top spot for the third time in school history. They held the spot cleanly for one week, beating Michigan and Pitt. Then in their second week they, too, lost to an unranked opponent, but this one is more defensible. Texas Tech, the national runner-up a season ago, fell out of the polls, but is now back in following a 70-57 victory over Louisville at Madison Square Garden. It was the Red Raiders’ first-ever win over a top-ranked team. The Cardinals only dropped from first to third with the loss.
Kansas:
So now the Jayhawks hold the throne – for now. Since losing in the season-opener to Duke 68-66, the KU hasn’t lost, sitting at 9-1. But they need to be on high alert – they have their first true road game of the year on Saturday when they go to No. 18 Villanova. Then if they survive that, they travel cross-country to play at Stanford, followed by the start of Big 12 play against No. 25 West Virginia, a trip to rowdy Hilton Coliseum and Iowa State, then home to No. 10 Baylor. In other words – good luck getting through that 5-0.