🏀 The year of top-ranked teams losing to unranked teams. College basketball. Where the unexpected becomes the ordinary.

[TerryP]

We saw one when Bama took on UCF a few days ago. It was one of those games we've seen--at Bama, and a lot of other schools. If you missed it, UCF shot 50% from beyond the arc in the first half (5-10) and then shot 60% from the floor in the second. (For a good stretch of that second half they were around 70%.) Of course, Bama had their issues shooting...35% or so in the second half.

Last night Florida drops their home game to Loyola-Chicago. Their coach (UF) called his team soft. On the late night SC I heard numbers that were along the lines of 13-16--referring to a shooting streak Loyola went through. On UF's night, 2-19 beyond the arc (kills any team.)

To the original point ...

Arizona goes into a tournament and loses to an unranked team. Florida did last night. Kansas did last night as well. There's three top five teams will those types of losses.

Notre Dame (currently ranked 10th) drops a game to unranked Ball State. Minnesota is looking at their game with Nebraska and wondering who they were that night--another ranked losing to an unranked.

Avery says "Buckle Up." The season...the way it's starting across the board? May be good advice for all teams this season.

 

[TUSKtimes]

Bama is playing so many freshmen and this uptempo style is just asking for turnovers and mistakes. We seem to be a decent rebounding team and we will play defense, which is how we're getting anything done at this stage. Last night we couldn't keep our best player on the court and yet we gutted out another close win. Even Ingram and some of the upperclassmen are as sloppy with the ball as the younger Petty and the heartstoppers.

I feel for Avery.

 

[50+yeartidefan]

Plus u gotta do well at the charity stripe....
Cant give points away

 

[Destiny's Child]

I rewatched the game last night and I was impressed with out team.. at least as much as I was unimpressed with the way we played against UCF. Against UCF we allowed them to dictate the tempo and took shots not in the rhythm of the offense. They wanted to slow it down to a snails pace and we went right with it, had a bad shooting nights (mostly because we took bad shots) and missed at least 5 layups.. that will get you beat. Our Freshmen looked like freshman that night.

Last night we faced adversity with sexton being knocked out of the game early, Rhode Island is a great defensive, senior laden squad that will be an NCAA team. They force turnovers on everyone, it's what they do. We had up to a 13 point lead during the game and Rhode Island went on a run. We gutted it out and really played well down the stretch..

I know it sounds weird but to me that was a quality win and one that I think will look better and better as the year progresses.

 

[TheChief]

URI is a turnover machine. I thought Bama played well. AJ Junior usually protects the ball, and he was even susceptible last night.

If the Tide beats either Oklahoma, Arizona, or Texas and goes 9-9 in SEC play (I think we do better), I think this team's in with about 20 wins. By year's end, I think the RPI is still high. The SEC Tourney and regular season is up for grabs this year as well.

Still feeling good about the Dance.

 

[Destiny's Child]

URI is a turnover machine. I thought Bama played well. AJ Junior usually protects the ball, and he was even susceptible last night.

If the Tide beats either Oklahoma, Arizona, or Texas and goes 9-9 in SEC play (I think we do better), I think this team's in with about 20 wins. By year's end, I think the RPI is still high. The SEC Tourney and regular season is up for grabs this year as well.

Still feeling good about the Dance.

Agreed. I think Arizona and Oklahoma are doable Texas looks really good to me and that center and point guard they have will be a tough mach up for us. That guard from Texas southern and the one from URI got in the lane at will against our guards. That Texas guard will hang 30 on us if we don't do a better job moving our feet and that center has like an 8 foot wing span and is athletic

 

[TerryP]

And it hits again with a top 10 team as UNC loses to Wofford last night--an ACC team losing to a SOCON team.

 

[alagator]

Do I hear you banging a specific drum again, @TerryP

 

[TerryP]

Do I hear you banging a specific drum again, @TerryP

It's not the congo like I've seen so many wear out--there are two sides to my drum.

I get it people look at a loss to a SOCON team, or a Sun Belt team, etc. and it's immediately called a "bad loss." Wofford wins, Furman takes it to UT, and people only look at the conference the team hails from--not the talent that's on that roster.

I saw a comment the day about the Bama game against Mercer with the thought "Bama plays up to its competition" with little, to no regard, Bama was facing a upperclassmen, laden basketball team in Mercer--another SOCON team.

Some opinions I take as pure sarcasm like this one:

More interest in being snarky than a legitimate observation (or giving credit where it is due.)

Some opinions I take as uninformed like those who say their teams' win over a smaller conference foe means nothing.

 

[Max]

 

[50+yeartidefan]

Well....really only takes one player in bball to change a team from mediocre to very good/great....
Happens in Bball tournament all the time...

 

[TUSKtimes]

The one thing that CAJ has accomplished the first two seasons was getting the best out of the talent we had available. The pace of the game we played at was important to the success we enjoyed. I think AJ couldn't wait to get this uptempo style going once he had the trigger man to pull it off. At the halfway point it still looks like a lot of work to be that team. It's gonna be interesting to see what the SEC schedule brings.

 

[Tidestalker]

Mid and low majors have extremely competitive teams. One of the things I love about hoops compared to football... More parody. With the prevalence of transfers in college hoops there are usually multiple dudes that could have played at a higher level but didn't work out. Lastly, lots of big name coaches are big name coaches due to their talent in recruiting... there are some low and mid major coaches that run circles around high major staffs. Fun to watch!

 

[TUSKtimes]

Mid and low majors have extremely competitive teams. One of the things I love about hoops compared to football... More parody. With the prevalence of transfers in college hoops there are usually multiple dudes that could have played at a higher level but didn't work out. Lastly, lots of big name coaches are big name coaches due to their talent in recruiting... there are some low and mid major coaches that run circles around high major staffs. Fun to watch!

The parity doesn't come from a better system. It comes about because it only takes 5. Nothing basketball player can do under NCAA rules that a football player doesn't do all the time.

 

[Tidestalker]

The parity doesn't come from a better system. It comes about because it only takes 5.

I don't disagree.

Except NCAA football is also much more top heavy because of divisions. Meaning a fraction of FBS teams compared to the 360 D1 teams in college hoops that play for 1 title. Players regularly go from high majors to mid and low majors in hoops... Football doesn't have low majors competing at the same level... They are in the 1AA division. Almost impossible for those teams to get a top 25 win.

 

[TUSKtimes]

I don't disagree.

Except NCAA football is also much more top heavy because of divisions. Meaning a fraction of FBS teams compared to the 360 D1 teams in college hoops that play for 1 title. Players regularly go from high majors to mid and low majors in hoops... Football doesn't have low majors competing at the same level... They are in the 1AA division. Almost impossible for those teams to get a top 25 win.

I would say the difference in the 2 sports will always create the same dynamics as far as a level playing field and parody are concerned. The 25/85 rule is what it is and will always obviously allow for top-heavy conferences. In college football just let the non-power 5 teams go their own separate way and play whatever bowl/playoff they would like. The lower FCS teams have already taken matters into their own hands decades ago and only occasionally come up for air when they want a big payday. Cut them both completely loose once and for all. What we are left with is about 60 teams playing each other exclusively and then qualifying for a playoff. That would create different dynamics in time for all these major teams and that frankly would be about all the parody I would be interested in.

 

[TerryP]

#2 Duke drops a game to NC State (unranked) and #5 Xavier loses to Providence (also unranked.)

These losses are really starting to go back in the history books. ESPN Stats and Info posts, "...top-5 teams have now lost 13 games at the hands of unranked opponents. That's the most through January 6 in AP Poll history (since 1948-49.")

 

[TerryP]

Texas Tech, Auburn, Tennessee, A&M, and OU: five ranked teams that lost Saturday to unranked teams.