Bracketology: The Hangover

A hangover and a beatdown of historic proportions has jumbled the top of the bracket.

I had the pleasure of attending two of the best games so far this season last Saturday. I saw Syracuse win at then-No. 1 Louisville, and Butler's Roosevelt Jones hit a last-second shot to beat Gonzaga.

So often in college hoops, we see teams play exciting, emotional games and then go flat the next time out. With the exception of Gonzaga, that was the case here, too.

Syracuse did manage to win its next game, at home over Cincinnati, but looked pretty flat doing so. Butler played another close game but lost at LaSalle. That game put the Explorers in Friday's bracket. Louisville had nothing for Villanova on Monday night, and both the Cards and Bulldogs fell a seed line in this new bracket.

The big result, though, was the 27-point spanking that Miami gave Duke. It was the third-worst loss ever by a No. 1 team and the first time the Canes ever beat a top-ranked foe. Miami creeps all the way up to a No. 2 seed while Duke still stays on the top line but is now the fourth No. 1 seed instead of the overall No. 1.

Kansas takes over that role, followed by Michigan and Syracuse.

Arizona fell off the top line following its home loss to UCLA.

North Carolina State, which hasn't won since it beat Duke, lost at Wake Forest and fell two seed lines. Upsets weren't limited to the big boys, though. Besides Butler's loss, VCU and Creighton also lost on the road to teams that they probably should have been able to handle. Both teams dropped a couple spots in the bracket.

Maybe some normalcy will return this weekend. But with no dominant teams anywhere, this kind of week might be the norm.