The upsets keep coming in a college basketball season that appears as wide-open as any in recent memory. The Blue Zone takes a look at the latest AP poll:
Duke climbs five spots after two key ACC victories
With Amile Jefferson still out due to injury and guards Grayson Allen and Matt Jones in foul trouble, the Blue Devils had to rely on their freshmen and center Marshall Plumlee for much of the second half in a 91-75 road victory against Wake Forest. Duke got another solid performance from the big man Saturday as it pummeled Virginia Tech at home behind the strength of his career-high 21 points and seven 3-pointers in the game's first seven minutes. Although both the Demon Deacons and Hokies were unranked, both had the potential to test the Blue Devils' short rotation. The pollsters took note of Duke's performance and the team climbed five spots to No. 9 this week
Arizona drops 11 spots after consecutive conference losses
After reaching the Elite Eight a year ago and going 12-1 in non-conference play, the Wildcats have struggled early in the deep Pac-12 and suffered two heartbreaking losses this week. Arizona fell 87-84 to UCLA Thursday when guard Bryce Alford—the son of the Bruins head coach Steve Alford—hit a step-back three with just 1.8 seconds remaining in the game. Looking to rebound, the Wildcats traveled to take on Southern California Saturday but once again fell short in a 103-101 quadruple-overtime defeat. Perhaps more significant for the team is the loss of guard Alonzo Trier—the team's leading scorer—who suffered a broken hand and will be out four to six weeks. Arizona is trending down in this week's poll and fell 11 spots to No. 18.
Kansas reigns supreme in triple-overtime thriller with Oklahoma; Sooners stay at No. 2
The top two teams from last week's poll faced off in the game of the season Monday. In a back-and-forth affair, the Jayhawks finally reigned supreme 109-106 despite 46 points from Sooner guard Buddy Hield. After failing to capitalize on its chances to win the game in regulation and the first two overtimes, Kansas finally forced a turnover late in the third overtime as exhaustion started to set in for both teams. The Jayhawks were rewarded with the top spot in this week's poll with the win, and the Sooners kept their grip on the No. 2 spot despite the tough loss.
South Carolina and Southern Methodist remain undefeated
The Gamecocks and Mustangs are the final unbeatens in the country, which is just another testament to the parity in college basketball. After South Carolina failed to make the tournament a year ago, the team moved to 15-0 on the year after a 69-65 win against Vanderbilt Saturday. The Gamecocks currently sit at No. 19 in the poll—up three spots from last week—and appear to be one of the top teams in the SEC.
Although Southern Methodist is ineligible for this year's tournament for NCAA infractions including academic misconduct, the Mustangs have showed tremendous fight en route to a 15-0 record. The team survived rallied from a seven-point deficit with nearly four minutes to go Thursday in a 59-57 win against Cincinnati, despite playing with only six men for much of the game. Southern Methodist emerged victorious once again Sunday when they toppled Central Florida 88-73 without head coach Larry Brown.
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