Duke moved back into the top five this week after Indiana fell in a shocking upset.
Indiana stunned by in-state foe
In the week’s most surprisingly riveting game, the third-ranked Hoosiers fell to Fort Wayne 71-68 in overtime. The Mastodons trailed for just 90 seconds in the game and hit three free throws down the stretch in overtime to seal the victory. Indiana had to mount a furious 13-3 run just to force overtime and was on its heels all game trying to deal with the feisty mid-major. This is a shocking turn of events for the Hoosiers, who had one of the most impressive victories of the year when they knocked off then then-No. 3 Kansas 103-99 on the first night of the season, but were humbled by the Mastodons.
Indiana dropped to No. 13 this week, but will face a huge test when North Carolina comes to Bloomington, Ind., Wednesday for the ACC/Big Ten Challenge.
North Carolina takes Maui Invitational
No. 4 North Carolina may have lost several players from last year’s national runner-up team, but it is not missing a beat. The Tar Heels rolled through the Maui Invitational field, swatting aside teams like Oklahoma State and No. 16 Wisconsin by wide margins. Point guard Joel Berry II keyed the win against the Badgers, scoring 22 points, and the Tar Heels’ suffocating interior defense held Wisconsin to just 38.2 percent shooting from the field as they look to avenge last year’s shortcomings.
North Carolina rose to No. 3 this week ahead of its marquee matchup with Indiana.
Arizona falls to familiar underdog
Butler captured a place in America’s hearts with its back-to-back runs to the NCAA championship game several years ago, but has fallen under the radar recently. The Bulldogs made a big statement this week, however, knocking off No. 8 Arizona 69-65 to win the Continental Las Vegas Invitational. Kelan Martin and Andrew Chrabascz led the Bulldogs with 16 and 14 points, respectively, as Butler climbed into the AP poll at No. 18 this week after receiving 14 votes last week. The Wildcats are still facing questions about the eligibility of star guard Allonzo Trier and will have to regroup after the loss. They fell to No. 16 and need to refocus, as No. 8 Gonzaga rolls into Tuscon this week looking for revenge after a close loss last season.
Bears ride big second half to defeat Louisville
At halftime of the Battle 4 Atlantis championship game, things looked bleak for No. 20 Baylor. It trailed by 15 points to No. 10 Louisville, which had used its suffocating press to devastating effect. But the Bears rallied and, despite still being down by 10 with 10 minutes left in the game, managed to unleash a 21-5 run to seize the lead. Johnathan Motley—the tournament MVP—paced Baylor with 15 points, and the Bears' bench outscored the Cardinals 36-18. Baylor now claims three wins against ranked teams—Louisville, then-No. 24 Michigan State and then-No. 4 Oregon—and rose to No. 9 in this week's AP poll with one first-place vote. Louisville, on the other hand, fell to No. 14 and will play No. 15 Purdue this week in the ACC/Big Ten Challenge.
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