If you listened to Sunday’s episode of the Eye on College Basketball podcast, you likely know Matt Norlander and I anticipated Tuesday night possibly getting wild with Purdue and Houston both on the road against unranked but quality opponents inside Pinnacle Bank and Hilton Coliseum, respectively.
It got even wilder than we thought.
Both lost.
First, Houston fell at Iowa State 57-53. Then, Purdue fell at Nebraska 88-72. The Boilermakers (No. 1) and Cougars (No. 2) led Tuesday’s morning’s CBS Sports Top 25 And 1 daily college basketball rankings, which means there’s a new No. 1 in Wednesday morning’s updated Top 25 And 1.
It’s Kansas.
Even as somebody who had KU No. 1 in the preseason, and as somebody who still believes Kansas will probably be my pick to win the 2024 NCAA Tournament, I can acknowledge the Jayhawks haven’t been consistently sharp this season. They’ve played closer-than-they-should’ve-been games with sub-100 NET teams like Missouri, Indiana and Eastern Illinois, and they were fortunate to get past unranked TCU at home this past weekend. All of that is among the reasons Kansas’ computer numbers aren’t great. But I’m forever more interested in résumés than I am in efficiency numbers, and KU’s résumé is super strong.
TRIVIA TIME: How many teams have three wins over schools ranked in the top eight of the Top 25 And 1 and zero losses to teams ranked outside of the top 15 of the Top 25 And 1?
Answer: Just Kansas.
The Jayhawks are 13-1 with three Quadrant 1 victories, but that alone doesn’t properly tell the story. All three of those Q1 victories — neutral-court wins over Tennessee and Kentucky, and a win over UConn at home — are among the best you can get. They are wins over the schools ranked No. 4 (Tennessee), No. 5 (UConn) and No. 8 (Kentucky) in the Top 25 And 1. And KU’s lone loss is to the school ranked No. 13 (Marquette) in the Top 25 And 1.
That’s why the Jayhawks are again No. 1 in the Top 25 And 1 heading into Wednesday night’s game at UCF. According to KenPom.com, Kansas projects as at least a four-point favorite in each of its next five games. So there’s a realistic scenario that has Kansas sitting at 18-1 heading into a Jan. 27 game at Iowa State, the same place where previously unbeaten Houston just lost.
Top 25 And 1 rankings
Biggest Movers
8
Iowa State
4
Colorado State
