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//  Saturday, July 31, 2010

Upsets Galore Weekend Sets the Tone for a Wild Regular Season Ahead

Wednesday, January 13, 2010
Posted by Thomas Cochet

Now that the college football bowl season is over, the NFL regular season is complete, and the year 2009 is history, we can now shift our focus to America’s greatest sport: college basketball. 

If the first official weekend of the conference regular season is any indicator for the upcoming two months, then we are in for a wild ride. Five teams in the top ten were defeated this past weekend, including top-ranked Kansas to a depleted Tennessee squad. 

Kansas rocked on Rocky Top: The Jayhawks looked invincible following a 32-point thumping of Temple in Philadelphia a week ago, yet fell from the ranks of the unbeatens this past Sunday. They received a scare from Cornell at home earlier in the week, but appeared ready for the challenge in Knoxville having already beaten Memphis, Michigan, California, and Temple. Not to mention, the Vols were undermanned after four players were suspended following an arrest on gun charges. 

Yet Bruce Pearl was able to get his team to compete without star forward Tyler Smith, as well as Melvin Goins, Brian Williams, and Cameron Tatum. Tennessee shot 48% from the field in the 76-68 victory, and always had an answer when the Jayhawks made a run. Many, including myself, are still trying to contemplate how such an undermanned Tennessee team knocked off the top-ranked Jayhawks. Tennessee moved up into the top ten with the victory, and it will be interesting to see if they can compete with Kentucky without star forward Tyler Smith. 

Boilers beaten again: There is no shame in losing to Wisconsin on the road. Few teams come out of the Kohl Center with a victory, including Purdue this past weekend who suffered their first loss of the season. But to follow that loss up with shaky Ohio State at home yesterday is questionable. The Boilers, who started the season 14-0, are now 14-2 on a two-game losing streak. Now I understand that Ohio State might be considered shaky since most of their losses were without Evan Turner who was injured for a month, but Purdue is not going to be considered a championship contender when they cannot take care of business at home. 

The Boilermakers have already notched victories over Wake Forest, Alabama, and West Virginia which will be beneficial come NCAA selection time. But Purdue needs to learn how to pull out close games if they plan on competing with Michigan State for the Big Ten title. The schedule does not get any easier as Purdue visits Northwestern this weekend, followed by a trip to Illinois next Tuesday night. The home-and-home series with Michigan State is not until February. 

Duke cannot survive the Ramblin Wreck: Just when you thought Duke might be real for the first time in years, they crawl back to their ways which have defined this program the past few years. Duke came up short to an inferior Georgia Tech squad in Atlanta over the weekend, which has doubters talking again. The Devils have failed to reach the Final Four since 2004, which is unacceptable by Duke standards under Coach K. It is hard to imagine Duke competing for a Final Four against the likes of Texas, Kansas, and Kentucky, when they lose to a team like Georgia Tech, who suffered a loss to Georgia earlier in the week. 

Five Teams that have not reached preseason expectations and therefore can be considered OVERRATED: West Virginia, Washington, Butler, Michigan State, California

Five Teams that have surpassed preseason expectations and therefore can be considered UNDERRATED: Kansas State, Temple, Cornell, Pittsburgh, BYU

Now I understand many question the validity of Temple’s Top 25 ranking after their thrashing at the hands of Kansas, but their 13-3 record and number three RPI should be an eye-opener. This is a Temple squad that was picked to finish seventh in the Atlantic-Ten this season after superstar Dionte Christmas graduated. The Owls have already notched victories over Siena, Virginia Tech, Villanova, Seton Hall, and Rhode Island. Temple also lost a heartbreaker in the final seconds to the Georgetown Hoyas on the road back in November. This is a team that has won the Atlantic-Ten Tournament the past two years, and is capable of making a serious run come March this season. 

West Virginia might be one of the toughest teams to figure out so far this season. The Mountaineers have victories over Texas A&M, Ole Miss, Seton Hall, and Marquette which will be beneficial for seeding in the NCAA Tournament. But they have a blowout loss at the hands of Purdue, and a two-point loss against Notre Dame in a game where they were down by as many as 21 points this past Saturday. West Virginia certainly is not worthy of a top five ranking at the moment, but will rebound by the time March comes around. The Mountaineers are capable of a number one seed in both the Big East and NCAA Tournaments, as long as they don’t continue to get behind teams by wide margins like they did against Purdue and Notre Dame. 

One Final Note: If you are looking for a team that might be ranked higher than they have proven so far, look no further than the UCONN Huskies. Ranked fifteenth in the nation, the Huskies really don’t have much to show for that ranking. They have close victories over Seton Hall and Notre Dame at home, and have lost every time in the national spotlight against a ranked team. They came up short against Kentucky and Duke and looked like the inferior squad, and they also have blew a 19-point lead over the weekend to Georgetown in a 72-69 loss. The Huskies blew another shot at a victory over a ranked team last night as they fell to a Pittsburgh squad by ten points at home. The Huskies have failed to beat a ranked team this season, and it is hard to envision them returning to the Final Four this April.

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