Chaotic Day In College Basketball With 11 Ranked Teams Losing

It was a Saturday to remember in college basketball with 11 teams ranked in the AP Top 25 falling. No. 3 Iowa State, No. 5 Florida, No. 6 Houston, No. 7 Michigan State, No. 9 Marquette, No. 11 Kansas, No. 12 Kentucky, No. 14 Mississippi State, No. 21 Louisville, No. 23 Ole Miss and No. 24 Vanderbilt all lost. The two biggest losses of the day came when Texas Tech snapped Houston’s 33-game home winning streak and Kansas blew a 21-point lead to Baylor.

The 11 losses by AP Top 25 teams were tied for the most by ranked teams in a single day in poll history. Only time will tell if Saturday is a sign of things to come in college basketball or if it is just a blip in a long season. Five of those 11 losses came against other ranked teams. With a little more than a month remaining in the college basketball regular season, what else does the sport have in store?

College Basketball Storylines

It has been an exciting college basketball season with a few stories rising above the rest this year. The Duke Blue Devils, led by freshman Guard Cooper Flagg, have had a stellar regular season. His performance has him as the prohibitive favorite to win the John R. Wooden Award. This award is given to the best player in college basketball each year. Duke is 19-2 and has only lost to No. 19 Kentucky and No. 1 Kansas this season. Both losses came on a neutral court as the Blue Devils are undefeated at home and on the road.

Another headline this season has been the performance of the two-time defending champion UConn Huskies. The Huskies have dropped out of the AP rankings multiple times and saw their title defense get off to a miserable start. UConn traveled to participate in the Maui Invitational and lost three consecutive games to finish in eighth place. Head Coach Dan Hurley’s sideline antics were also questioned as the team looked rudderless.

Hurley has done well to get the team back on track. They are 12-3 since their Maui debacle. The team already has six losses this season after only losing three times on their way to the National Championship last season. UConn lost only eight times during the 2022-2023 season which resulted in their first of back-to-back titles. Even though it is never wise to count out a champion, the UConn Huskies do not seem as formidable as in years past.

Final Thoughts

The Auburn Tigers have looked like the best team in college basketball this year. They are ranked No.1 in the AP Poll and their lone loss came on the road against Duke in November. Auburn has deftly gone 8-0 in an SEC that is as good as ever. The SEC has a whopping 10 teams ranked in the current AP Top 25. That illustrates the strength of the league this year. They have six of the eight best odds to win the National Championship.

Sunday will not be as action-packed as Saturday, but there are still three ranked teams in action. No. 16 Oregon hosts Nebraska, No. 18 Illinois hosts Ohio State, and No. 19 Memphis visits Rice. These ranked need to ensure that a day like Saturday does not happen again as they may not be able to overcome such chaos. Monday will feature a marquee Big 12 matchup between the No. 3 Iowa State Hawkeyes and No. 11 Kansas Jayhawks. Both of these teams are coming off losses on Saturday. They will look to rebound and get back in the win column.