We had our first weekend of upsets in college basketball. Top 25 teams went down across the country including headliners like Duke Wisconsin, Arizona, Oklahoma,And Louisville. What did we learn? What can we learn from this weekend moving forward? Who can we buy stock in? And who’s time might be now to start selling their future?
Let’s not pretend to think that any conference road game is easy. However, some are theoretically easier than others and some are on except the bull to lose for top teams like Wisconsin. Losing at Rutgers even if they are shorthanded losing Kaminski and Jackson, is not something that we looked for Wisconsin to do whether they had their men or not. Now that they have lost it’s time to sincerely question the badgers in their quest for Big Ten championship. Teams like Michigan State and Indiana are on the upswing right now while teams like Ohio State have struggled lately which still leaves the window wide open for Wisconsin to get back on track and return to their spot on the top seeds line for the end-of-the-year tournament. However, without Kaminski and the unknown status of Jackson forward, Wisconsin looked vulnerable and it causes no more questions that are bigger than whether or not Sam Dekker can be the player for this team that we all thought he would be. Now I’m not ready to sell Wisconsin’s stock quite yet however with the Big Ten starting to emerge as the conference that we thought it could possibly be teams that we have previously mentioned it is time to legitimately question whether or not the badgers can run the table in a similar fashion talked about before I say to stay settled down about Wisconsin’s chances going forward and to hold out and wait to see how they fare in the next few games.
The Atlantic Coast Conference is going to be a grind for the conference title; we were aware of such things. However, losing North Carolina State is not exactly what we projected into looking at potential losses for the Blue Devils. Obviously Duke is a talented team, especially with big man Jahlil Okafor. But if Duke is going to challenge for the national championship like we all expect them to be able to do, they’ll need to utilize their big man more than they ever have before. Late in the game as they cut North Carolina State’s lead down, they practically froze out the big man, completely diminishing their prime advantage over the Wolfpack. It will be up to their perimeter to decide just how far this team can go in March. I’m still buying stock on Duke, and I suggest others do as well.
Then there was Arizona losing in Corvallis to an upstart, yet still average, Oregon State team. My question about the Wildcats is the same that it’s always been: Who scores from the perimeter, and in clutch situations? T.J. McConnell is a fine college point guard, and one of the great competitors that we have in the game, but he can’t be your best perimeter threat if you’re trying to win a national title, which Arizona fans expected this team to be capable of doing. This team’s defense is improving as the year progresses, and Rondae Hollis-Jefferson is still a match up nightmare on both ends of the floor. However, right now–and as I’ve said for the last week-plus–Utah is the Pac-12’s best team. They can score inside and out, something that Arizona can’t do consistently. This may seem harsh, and their record at the end of the year should still earn them a top three seed in the NCAA Tournament, but I’m selling my stock on Arizona and buying in on Utah.
Oklahoma has been hot and cold throughout the year with early performances that suggested that many’s pick to go to the final four might have been premature. However as of late, the Sooners have looked strong and look to be one the toughest their conference. Losing to a struggling Kansas State was a reminder of this team’s bust potential, and something that we cannot ignore moving forward. Buddy Hield is still one of the most talented scorers in the country, and TaShawn Thomas is a work horse inside, especially paired alongside Ryan Spangler. This is a team that can beat an equally talented team if they fall somewhere between a six and eight seed. However, as I said, they’re also a team that could be an upset special on the first weekend of March Madness. Currently, I’m selling Oklahoma.
