New year, new upsets in NCAA College Basketball
The GIST: It may be 2023, but both men’s and women’s hoops saw the same No. 1 squads from 2022 reign supreme in the new year…at least for now. Over the break, the gals saw five ranked-unranked upsets with poll movement to match, while the fellas saved their best drama for Monday.
The women: Last Thursday, a trio of Top 10 teams — Indiana, NC State and Virginia Tech, the then–Nos. 4, 6 and 7, respectively — all suffered upsets by unranked opponents in a single day for the first time in over 20 years. New Year’s Day also saw underdogs dominate, with Oregon State beating then–No. 10 UCLA and Illinois taking down then–No. 12 Iowa.
- The slew of upsets shook up Monday’s Top 25. While No. 1 South Carolina, No. 2 Stanford and No. 3 Ohio State held steady, Indiana missed the Top 5 at No. 6, and Virginia Tech and NC State now sit at Nos. 9 and 10.
- The biggest plummet? UNC, who dropped nine spots to No. 22 after losing all three of their games last week. How do you strap a parachute to a Tar Heel?
The men: As for the fellas, the top two teams in the country both suffered their seasons’ first losses, starting with then–No. 2 UConn tumbling against then–No. 22 Xavier on New Year’s Eve. UConn now sits at No. 4 while Xavier jumped to No. 18.
- Purdue remains at the top, but perhaps not for long. Just hours after this week’s rankings dropped on Monday, the No. 1 Boilermakers stumbled hard in a stunning 65–64 loss to unranked Rutgers for the second season in a row.
- The Boilermakers are in hot water, but they may receive a thank you from the No. 21 New Mexico Lobos, who are now the only undefeated men’s hoops squad in Division I. Not only that, but it’s the Lobos first 14-0 start in 55 years. Topping 2023 already.
What to watch: Cue up multiple screens tomorrow at 7 p.m. ET as the men of No. 1 Purdue attempt to redeem themselves against No. 24 Ohio State, and the No. 9 Virginia Tech women look to bounce back against tough intrastate rival Virginia at the same time.
