Six schools that were in the top 10 of the preseason AP Top 25 poll, and six schools that are in the top 10 of the current AP Top 25 poll, have lost to currently unranked teams. What that suggests is that this season's best teams aren't as good as most season's best teams -- and that the gap between top-10 teams and teams just outside of the top 25 is relatively small.
I did the research.
The data supports what I believed.
So Matt Norlander and I opened Friday's episode of the CBS Sports Eye On College Basketball Podcast by discussing No. 4 Maryland's loss at unranked Penn State, No. 5 Michigan's loss at unranked Illinois, and what those two results, and other things that have happened this season, tell us about the top of the sport.
After that, the conversation went like this:
- 13:30: The Big 12 has been the nation's best college basketball conference for six consecutive seasons, according to KenPom. But, right now, the Big Ten ranks No. 1. So is the Big Ten really the best league in the country this season? Answer: It sure looks like it -- especially considering the Big Ten is on track to get nine bids to the 2020 NCAA Tournament.
- 27:30: We close the podcast each Friday by picking five games against the spread. This week, the games we picked are: No. 10 Oregon at No. 5 Michigan, No. 13 Memphis at No. 19 Tennessee, No. 23 Xavier at Wake Forest, No. 6 Gonzaga at No. 15 Arizona, and Oklahoma at Wichita State.
The latest "Eye on College Basketball" podcast is below. Give it a listen. If you're not already subscribed, please subscribe via Apple Podcasts. And if you've already done that, thank you. #ShoutsToDevanDowney.
