College Basketball Couch Power 10 (Jan. 31st)
Oklahoma's stunning demolition of Alabama knocked another Couch darling from atop their perch
Welcome back to the Couch Power 10, college basketball fans! It's the last day of January, and the penultimate month of college basketball beckons. Right on time, the madness is underway.
In the six days since you heard from me last, no less than 13 ranked teams lost. 13! In 6 days! And what's even more wild than that... all but 3 of those losses were to unranked teams. This included inaugural Couch #1 team Alabama getting spanked by 9-loss Oklahoma in the Big 12-SEC challenge. It included Iowa State blowing a 23-point lead to Texas Tech. It included that same Iowa State team getting blown out by Missouri, and on the same day, in the very same inter-conference challenge, TCU and Auburn falling to Mississippi State and West Virginia. It, tragically, also included our Top 10, bracket-busting favorites College of Charleston dropping their first decision since November.
I've said it before, I'll say it again: it's been a wild and unpredictable season. Despite this, I’ll try my hand at ranking the top teams based on what they’ve done to date:
1. Purdue
I was a holdout through last week, but after Alabama's massive L, I can't deny the truth any longer: Purdue is the #1 team in the country. I'm still not sold on their schedule strength, but while other teams keep dropping decisions, the Boilermakers just keep winning, sweeping the two Michigan teams since the last Couch Power 10.
2. Arizona
Although they sit at #5 in the AP, and all the way down at 7th in the Coaches Poll, Arizona moves up to #2 in our Power 10. The Wildcats passed an 'Evergreen State Test,' sweeping Washington State then Washington on the road, and remaining in contention for not only the Pac-12 title, but a top seed.
3. Houston
Despite being on noticeably different pages last week, this is already the second time the AP poll and I agree this time around: Houston at #3. There's still not a whole lot to write home about from the Cougars' resume, but they recovered nicely from their blip against Temple with two double-digit conference wins. Plus, if Temple, who has pulled into outright 2nd place in the American, can stay in the Top 2 and even more importantly, sneak into the tournament, that leaves Houston without any bad loss to date.
4. Kansas State
Kansas State was fresh off their close loss to Iowa State at the time of the last writing, so all that has happened since the last Power 10 is their nice recovery win, a blowout of Florida in the Big 12-SEC Challenge. The Wildcats control their own destiny in a competitive Big 12 race, but this upcoming 3-game stretch (@ Kansas, vs. Texas, vs. TCU) will be decisive.
5. Kansas
The Jayhawks got a much-needed win over Kentucky last weekend, stopping a 3-game skid. And even if the Wildcats have disappointed thus far this season, Kentucky is Kentucky; for Kansas to get a 10-point victory in that matchup speaks to the potential they still have. Even with that 3-game skid, even with 4 losses on the season, Kansas still owns the #3 strength of record according to ESPN, thanks to the #1 ranked strength of schedule in the country.
6. Virginia
What do you do if you believe you're a good team, but your unimpressive schedule strength doesn't give you too many opportunities to prove it? You focus on winning games comfortably, and winning your conference. The Cavaliers made easy work of Boston College over the weekend, and slightly tougher work of a decent Syracuse team last night, and share the ACC leaderboard with Clemson (who has not yet played Virginia, Miami, or North Carolina). So far, so good.
7. Alabama
Dropping Alabama to #7 might seem harsh, given that they were my #1 team last week, and only dropped to #4 in both major polls. But here at The Couch, margin of victory and defeat matters. So does loyalty. When I place my faith in you, Crimson Tide, and you repay me by getting shellacked by a mediocre team, that hurts me deeply! I still think the Tide are a good, good squad with an incredibly high ceiling, and as such, am inclined to believe Saturday was an aberration. But with only one regular season game against a ranked opponent remaining, opportunities to assure me and others of their 'elite status' will be few and far between.
8. Tennessee
That one ranked opponent Alabama has left? #2 Tennessee, who has not faced the Tide yet this season. It's not often-- in either football or basketball --that the Couch Power 10 isn't as high on a team that isn't a traditional major power that the polls are, but I'm just not convinced yet that the Volunteers are a Top 2 team in the country. Their 18-3 record is impressive, but their 52nd-ranked schedule strength is not. Their wins over Kansas, at Maryland and just last weekend, over Texas are eye-opening. But their decisive home losses to Colorado and Kentucky are... well, eye-opening, but for a different reason. A 2-week span that sees them go on the road to Kentucky, as well as host Auburn and Alabama, will help provide some insight into the team they are.
9. Texas
Texas was flirting around the Power 10 last week, and lost their "flirt bubble" game to Tennessee over the weekend. Why do the Longhorns find themselves in the Power 10 after all? Well, losses by other higher-ranked teams help, but so does turning around winning another "flirt bubble" game, which is what they did last night over Baylor. The Longhorns' record is inferior to every other team on this ranking. but they have the 6th-rated strength of record, thanks in no small part, I'm sure, to wins over Gonzaga, Creighton, and TCU.
10. Florida Atlantic
With College of Charleston sadly falling, Florida Atlantic alone now takes up the banner for the underappreciated mid-major sides. Luckily, the Owls continued to take care of business with machine-like efficiency, beating conference foes by a combined 25 points.
Just missed: UCLA, Baylor, Xavier, Iowa State, Marquette, Tyler Hansbrough's career vs. Duke
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