#1 Purdue is getting WORKED by IU. It's 43-28 late in the first half. TN got crushed by the Gators and barely beat Aub today with helps from the refs. Bama was kilt by OK last week. VA lost today to VT. UConn has fallen way off after looking like a major title contender. KU was embarrassed by Iowa St today. Even Gonzaga, who usually plays nobody and gets ranked way too high is outside the top ten. Is this a symptom of parity? Transfer portal? Voodoo?
NC & Duke both unranked for their matchup for the first time in a million years. Who are the real championship contenders?
IDK . . . but if it keeps up we're in for some good March Madness games and this kind of stuff makes a gritty, defense-first team even more dangerous.
Part of what happens is that all the teams are into the conference grind and have a lot of film of their opponents. And a lot of familiarity too.
Precisely. It’s usually like that this time of year, plus you are on the road a lot more than November-December, playing in front of hostile (often rival) crowds, and it all just wears on you. Our 2005-06 team opened 17-0, as I recall, then went 5-6 before winning its last 11. And our 2006-07 team lost its only three conference games in February. What separates the contenders is their ability to bounce back and win on neutral courts in the postseason.
Conference play is really tough. As to the ‘Zags, they play what might be the toughest non-conference schedule in the country each year along with playing in one of the best mid-major conferences. This season, the ‘Zags have played Michigan State, Texas, Kentucky, Purdue, Xavier, Baylor, Washington and Alabama.
The Zags need to play a tough non-conf schedule. Their conf may be tough compared to to other mid majors, but it's nothing like playing in the Big 10, Big 12, etc. Even with those tough non-conf games, their SoS is maybe mid 20s. Gonzago almost always gets fat on a weak schedule and then get a wake up call in the dance. Look at the SoS of the teams you mention: Mich St - 2 Texas - 9 UK - 36 (outlier) Purdue - 16 Xavier - 11 Baylor - 3 Bama - 4 Massey Ratings - College Basketball : NCAA D1 Ratings Washington doesn't belong on the list. They're 13-12 against a mediocre schedule and will not make the tourney.
