Kansas, Kentucky and Purdue, the former top three teams in the nation, were upset in a matter of 36 hours this past weekend. First, No. 2 Kentucky went down on Saturday afternoon, followed hours later by No. 1 Kansas. Then No. 3 Purdue scored only 44 points on Sunday afternoon and turned in one of its worst performances in recent memory. When all the rubble had settled, Syracuse had established itself as the No. 1 team in the nation. However, with the 2010 NCAA Tournament only weeks away, no team has truly emerged as a favorite.
It all began at noon on Saturday when Kentucky traveled to Knoxville to face Bruce Pearl's then−No. 17 Tennessee Volunteers. Tennessee built up a 19−point lead early, only to see it dissipate in the last 10 minutes of the game. Kentucky finally drew even at 65−65 with 2:13 left in the game. With the result still in doubt, the Volunteers went on a 9−0 run to finish off the game and defeat the Wildcats 74−65. Senior J.P. Prince hit clutch free throws down the stretch to secure the victory for the Vols, giving Kentucky just its second loss of the season. Saturday marked the second time this season that Tennessee defeated a team ranked in the top two, as the Vols also took down then−No. 1 Kansas on Jan. 10.
Ironically, Kansas' second loss came mere hours after Kentucky fell, when the Jayhawks lost to a seasoned Oklahoma State squad 85−77. The unranked Cowboys were 10−19 from three−point land and held a comfortable lead for most of the game. Four players scored over 15 points for the Cowboys, including junior sharpshooter James Anderson who put in 27. The Jayhawks drew to within six with 1:08 remaining but ultimately came up short. The win all but ensures the Cowboys a spot in the tournament, and though Kansas will still be favored going into March, the Jayhawks looked vulnerable and pedestrian on Saturday.
Purdue fell to Michigan State 53−44 on Sunday, although its loss was unsurprising as junior Robbie Hummel — one of the team's leaders — suffered a season−ending knee injury in the Boilermakers' win over Minnesota on Wednesday. Hummel's injury may very well spell the end of Purdue's bid for a national title. Hummel averaged 15.7 points and 6.9 rebounds in the low−scoring Big Ten. Purdue's other two scoring threats, juniors E'Twaun Moore and JaJuan Johnson, combined to go 7−for−27 and contributed just 23 combined points. The Boilermakers have now lost four times this season and will have to do something special in the coming weeks to salvage a campaign that looks to be on the brink of collapse.
Kansas and Kentucky will still remain favorites going into the NCAA Tournament and very well may come away with No. 1 seeds when Selection Sunday rolls around in two weeks. Both squads now have two losses on the year, matching then−No. 4 Syracuse, who, by default, took over the top slot in the latest rankings.
The Orange were the only top−four team that won over the weekend, making a strong statement by routing a Big East rival, No. 8 Villanova. After a slow start, Syracuse took over in transition and ended the first half on a 20−6 run. They never looked back.
Syracuse dominated the undersized Wildcats in the paint and on the offensive glass. Villanova kept giving up second chance points and was never able to make a substantial run in the second half. Senior Scottie Reynolds shot only 6−for−14 and scored just five points in the latter 20 minutes.
Syracuse controlled the pace of the game throughout and passed the ball exceptionally well around the perimeter. The Orange run a solid seven−man rotation of players who have excellent chemistry with each other, as six Syracuse men finished in double digits on Saturday, though no player reached 20. Syracuse took over the No. 1 ranking at the start of this week and should go into the tournament as one of the favorites. Their meticulous, multifaceted attack and solid 3−2 zone defense will be hard to beat down the stretch.
With March Madness only weeks away, much is still in doubt. North Carolina was the favorite all of last year and ultimately delivered a National Championship. Kansas and Kentucky are still great all−around teams and may get No. 1 seeds. Syracuse may very well enter the tournament as the favorite and could go deep. However, don't be surprised if all of these teams are upset. There are a lot of solid, confident teams that do not reside at the top of the rankings.
The Big East, for example, is stacked with squads that could go all the way, such as AP Poll No. 10 West Virginia, No. 17 Pitt and No. 19 Georgetown. Fourth−ranked Duke has seasoned leaders in junior Kyle Singler and senior John Scheyer and will be tough to knock off as well. There are also a handful of mid−major teams sprinkled across the rankings that could make a splash in March, and the plethora of good teams makes it difficult to bank on one of the favorites going all the way.
Rankings in college football and basketball are essentially pointless, as the transitive property exists in math but certainly not in college athletics. If Texas beats Oklahoma and Oklahoma beats Nebraska, there is no guarantee that Texas will top Nebraska. Every matchup is unique, and it is impossible to say which team is really the best.
To be sure, some teams are better than others, but anything can happen in any given game. There is still an eternity of basketball left in the season. While it would be almost expected to see top dogs like Syracuse or Kansas cutting down the nets when it is all done, do not be blindsided by an unexpected team going all the way.
