| A liberal dose
Heading into the fourth week of January and less than two months from the start of the NCAA Tournament, a college football season has broken out.
No, we're not talking about the Bowl Championship Series or a playoff debate. The topic is upsets. Lots of 'em. Kinda like the 2007 college football season.
Top-ranked North Carolina and fourth-ranked UCLA lost on their home courts to unranked teams. Hmmmm. Top 10 teams losing to unranked foes? That sounds familiar.
Over the last week, teams ranked in The Associated Press Top 25 played 45 games. They lost 18.
The Insider doesn't need to track upsets to tell him that college basketball is a volatile, unpredictable sport. That is illustrated yearly by March Madness.
Most early bracket/seeding projections have four teams penciled in as No. 1 seeds -- Kansas, Memphis, North Carolina and UCLA.
As stated in Paragraph Three, two of those teams lost at home. The other two -- Kansas and Memphis -- are the only remaining undefeated teams in Division I.
All four of those projected top seeds are perfectly capable of winning the national title. But the season snapshot as of today would indicate that the Tar Heels (defensive shortcomings) and the Bruins (injury, offensive shortcomings) are vulnerable.
That feeling will prevail until Kansas and/or Memphis lose. It's all about perception, and perception is fleeting. A team can look like Final Four material after a victory and then like a first-round loser (or NIT participant) after a defeat.
Marquette provides the perfect case in point. The 13th-ranked Warriors slapped around Notre Dame 92-66 on Jan. 12 in Milwaukee. In its next two games, both on the road, Marquette was drilled 71-51 by Louisville and 89-73 by Connecticut on Sunday.
There will be a new No. 1 this week, Memphis or Kansas. Only three of the last 15 national champions finished No. 1 in the final poll before the NCAA Tournament started.
'Tis better to be upset now than in March.
PLAYER OF THE WEEK
Leemire Goldwire. The Charlotte senior guard had 61 points as the 49ers split Atlantic 10 Conference games. In Wednesday's 70-66 victory over Saint Joseph's, the 5-11 guard had a career-high 36 points. In the two games last week, he made 12 of 31 3-point attempts.
TEAM OF THE WEEK
Tennessee. The Volunteers won the battle of their home state Thursday with a convincing 80-60 defeat of Vanderbilt. On Saturday, Tennessee stepped out of the Southeastern Conference and defeated Ohio State 74-69. The Vols are in strong contention for a No. 1 seed in the NCAA Tournament.
UPCOMING
Texas at Oklahoma State, 8 tonight, ESPN: The Longhorns can't afford another Big 12 road loss. Last year's game in Stillwater was a triple-overtime classic.
Drake at Creighton,
Tuesday: A Missouri Valley Conference upstart (Drake) visits one of the league's perennial powers.
Dayton at Xavier, 7 p.m. Thursday, CSTV: Atlantic 10 losses by each team last week diminished the impact, but this still should be a free-flowing, high-scoring game.
UCLA at Oregon,
10:30 p.m. Thursday, FSN SW: The Bruins visit the Pacific Northwest to face the team that handed them their first loss of last season. After losing at home to USC, UCLA needs this one.
Gonzaga at Memphis,
11 a.m. Saturday, ESPN: Coach John Calipari loaded up his nonconference schedule to help boost his team's power ratings. The visiting Bulldogs are showing signs of coming together.
Connecticut at Indiana, noon Saturday, KTVT/
Ch. 11: An intriguing nonconference game. The Hoosiers could enhance their NCAA Tournament seeding with a victory.
Duke at Maryland, Sunday: Upset alert for the Blue Devils. Duke's lack of size could be a factor.
SUTTON NEEDS ONE MORE
Eddie Sutton won his first game as San Francisco's coach and the 799th of his career Saturday. Dior Lowhorn, a transfer from Texas Tech, had 19 points and seven rebounds as the Dons (5-12) edged Portland State 60-59. 'When you leave the dressing room, it's a lot more fun winning than when you lose,' Sutton told Portland's The Oregonian. 'I thanked the players for the effort they gave. Some of them have almost a defeatist attitude, they've lost so many games.' Sutton needs one more victory to become the fifth Division I coach with 800 victories. San Francisco plays at Gonzaga tonight.
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