Andy Katz | NCAA.com Correspondent | December 11, 2019 Parity at No. 1 and the new 3-point line have dominated early season college basketball trends Dan Gavitt on college basketball's parity after Louisville's loss to Texas Tech Share There have already been four different Associated Press No. 1 teams this season. According to the NCAA’s David Worlock, if there is a fifth, which there will be next week (and it should be Ohio State) following top-ranked Louisville’s loss Tuesday night, then that will be the seventh time a season has featured five different No. 1 teams. If a sixth team reaches the top of the poll — and it will — it will be the eighth time that many teams reached No. 1 in the same season. If a seventh does it — and it will — it will be just the second time seven different teams were ranked first by the AP. The other season? 1983. And since it’s Jimmy V Week, it’s only appropriate we’re talking about a season that ended with Jim Valvano’s North Carolina State team winning a title in one of the most memorable endings in sports history. Maybe that’s the path we’ll be starting down when the Madness begins in 97 days. Given what’s happened in the first five weeks of the season, it would only be appropriate. That’s the type of season college basketball is in and likely heading toward. It’s the good kind of chaos where high-profile teams are on equal footing, meaning the bracket will be busted quite often. Could there be a one-bid conference team that makes a run (like Stephen F. Austin or Vermont)? Sure. Could there be a brand team — albeit not from one of the power conferences that makes it to Atlanta (like say Dayton out of the A-10)? Sure. MM365: Listen to Anthony Cowan Jr. talk Maryland basketball and his clutch performance against Illinois “It’s very unusual,’’ said Dan Gavitt, the NCAA’s Executive Vice President in charge of basketball. “There is a lot of parity in the game. The great teams haven’t emerged yet. A lot of good teams but they prove to be beatable. We’ve already seen four really good ones early.” This is what we call a trend. So, too, are a number of great wins so far. Texas Tech coach Chris Beard's special Fireside Chat after huge upset of No. 1 Louisville The best wins so far through Tuesday night, as reported by Michigan State assistant athletic director of administration Kevin Pauga, who operates a well-respected power ranking called KPI are the following: (The number next to each win evaluates the quality of each win/loss on a rough -1 to +1 scale with -1 being about the worst loss, +1 being about the best win, 0 being a virtual tie). Top 25 Wins by KPI through Dec. 10: 1. 1.03 Stephen F. Austin at Duke 2. .98 Seton Hall at Saint Louis 3. .93 Wichita State at Oklahoma State 4. .92 Louisville vs Michigan 5. .92 Purdue vs Virginia 6. .91 Missouri at Temple 7. .89 Northern Iowa at Colorado 8. .88 St. John’s vs West Virginia 9. .88 Temple at USC 10. .88 Georgetown at Oklahoma State 11. .88 Buffalo at DePaul 12. .87 Ohio State at North Carolina 13. .86 Penn State vs. Maryland 14. .86 Penn State at Georgetown 15. .86 Duke vs Kansas (N) 16. .85 Gonzaga at Washington 17. .84 Duke at Michigan State 18. .84 Indiana vs Florida State 19. .84 Kansas vs Colorado 20. .84 Texas Tech vs. Louisville (N) 21. .83 Louisiana Tech at Mississippi State 22. .82 Ohio State vs Villanova 23. .82 Stanford vs Oklahoma 24. .82 Auburn vs Richmond 25. .82 UNC Greensboro at Georgetown The best resume so far belongs to Ohio State with a road win at North Carolina, and home wins over Cincinnati, Villanova and Penn State. The KPI rankings highlight these 15 resumes overall through Dec. 10: 1. Ohio State 2. Duke 3. West Virginia 4. Kansas 5. Auburn 6. Maryland 7. Michigan 8. Florida State 9. Louisville 10. Baylor 11. San Diego State 12. Butler 13. Penn State 14. Oregon 15. Virginia Baylor picked up a quality home win over Butler Tuesday night. Louisville dropped with the loss to Texas Tech. Maryland slipped with the road loss at Penn State. Penn State got into the top 15 with the home win. UPSET ALERT: Down goes No. 1 (again) as Texas Tech upsets Louisville at the Jimmy V Classic Neutral and road wins matter most. And Michigan’s three wins in Atlantis and Maryland’s three in Orlando help tremendously. So, too, do Kansas’ in Maui, Florida State’s two in a Florida tournament, Baylor’s in South Carolina, Butler’s in Kansas City and Auburn’s in Brooklyn. Gonzaga’s win over Oregon in Atlantis, wins at Washington and Texas A&M are also significant. DePaul and San Diego State have impressive 3-0 records in true road games — something the selection committee will look longingly at throughout the selection process. Here are the top five remaining non-conference dates in December: Saturday, Dec. 14 Oregon at Michigan Syracuse at Georgetown Gonzaga at Arizona Utah State at BYU Wednesday, Dec. 18 North Carolina at Gonzaga Tennessee at Cincinnati Saint Mary’s vs. Arizona State, Phoenix Thursday, Dec. 19 Maryland at Seton Hall Saturday, Dec. 21 Kansas at Villanova Indiana vs. Notre Dame, Indianapolis Purdue vs. Butler, Indianapolis Utah State vs. Florida, Sunrise, Fla. Ohio State vs. Kentucky, Las Vegas Dayton vs. Colorado, Chicago Cincinnati vs. Iowa, Chicago LSU vs. USC, Los Angeles Saturday, Dec. 28 Wisconsin at Tennessee Louisville at Kentucky “You don’t know how good or bad these losses are until you get a full body of work,’’ said Gavitt. “Opportunities for teams in the next three weeks to get quality wins. Critically for conferences to get wins out of the league to help verify what happens in their league.” The most significant rule change was the moving of the 3-point line back to the FIBA distance of 22.15 feet. Through Monday’s games, Saint Mary’s was the No. 1 3-point shooting team at 44.4 percent. A year ago, Lehigh was the best at 42.3 percent. Idaho State was top at 18.6 percent in defending the 3-pointer. Houston was the best last season at 36.8 percent. Essentially, 20 teams so far this season are shooting 40 percent or above on 3s while last season only five reached that mark. A year ago, only four teams held teams to 28 percent or less on 3s. This season, 50 teams are holding teams to 28 percent or less on 3s. So, it’s still a wash and too early to tell how this is working out for shooters. Draymond Green on Michigan State jersey retirement: 'It exceeded any dream that I could ever had as a child' “It’s exactly what we thought it would be after two years of experimentation in the NIT,’’ said Gavitt. “The 3-point percentage is down a point and the number of attempts is as well.’’ Gavitt said the reset of the shot clock to 20 seconds on an offensive rebound is also contributing to offensive efficiency as teams are still figuring out how to run their offense. “Players are adjusting to the game and it opens up the court more and provides more driving opportunities,’’ said Gavitt. “Really good shooters aren’t affected by (the new line).’’ All of these numbers will continue to add to even more of an unpredictable season. Here are the 8 longest home runs in College World Series history (that we know of) The longest home run in Men's College World Series history at Charles Schwab Field Omaha unofficially belongs to Arkansas' Brady Slavens, who went deep 436 feet in 2022. Here is the full top 8 since the stadium opened in 2011. READ MORE Men's College World Series: Auburn scores six unanswered runs to eliminate Stanford Auburn scores six unanswered runs to eliminate Stanford in the Men's College World Series. READ MORE Illness and a swollen shin: Grit defines Auburn's Men's College World Series win over Stanford Facing College World Series elimination, Auburn found a way to win, knocking off Stanford 6-2 READ MORE
Draymond Green on Michigan State jersey retirement: 'It exceeded any dream that I could ever had as a child'