Wisconsin, Wichita St., Virginia receive upsetting wake-up calls
The Final Four is making its way back to Houston in April. As the college basketball season unfolds, the path is laid out and the field is wide open for hundreds of teams that yearn to be the last one standing at NRG Stadium on April 4. We’ll take a weekly look at what’s going on in the season.
1 Top four upsets
The season started last week, and several of the top teams were upended in games that were considered easy wins. Western Illinois 69, Wisconsin 67. The then-No. 17 Badgers, who knocked off Kentucky on the way to last season’s championship game, lost on opening night to the Leathernecks. The loss dropped Wisconsin from the rankings. Tulsa 77, Wichita State 67. Wichita State has been the cause of many upsets over the years, but this time it was Tulsa that shocked the Shockers. Then-No. 9 Wichita State dropped to 1-1 with Tuesday’s loss. George Washington 73, Virginia 68. The No. 6 Cavaliers got a wake-up call this week when the unranked Colonials won at home. Monmouth 84, UCLA 81. The Bruins weren’t ranked to start the season but received several votes and were a team of note in a tough Pac-12. Then they started the season with an loss to Monmouth and a couple of days later struggled to beat Cal Poly 88-83.
2 Top four debuts by freshmen
Ben Simmons. The No. 1 recruit last year had 11 points, 13 rebounds and two blocks as LSU beat McNeese State 81-70 in its season opener.
Skal Labissiere. The Kentucky forward scored nine points, grabbed five rebounds and blocked four shots in a 78-65 win over Albany. He followed that performance with 26 points in the Wildcats’ next game against NJIT.
Brandon Ingram. The Duke forward opened the season with 15 points and five rebounds in a 92-74 victory over Siena.
Jaylen Brown. He needed only 15 minutes to score 14 points in California’s 97-65 victory over Rice.
3 Top four teams to watch
Oregon. The Ducks moved into the Top 25 this week and started off their ranked week with a 74-67 win over No. 20 Baylor. Oregon has four players averaging double-digits in points, led by freshman guard Tyler Dorsey’s 16 per game.
Old Dominion. The Monarchs are 2-0 with wins over Niagara and Buffalo and have upcoming games against Purdue, VCU and Richmond. Senior guard Trey Freeman is scoring 21 points per game for Old Dominion, which narrowly missed out on the Tournament last year.
Providence. The Friars have a tough schedule and won’t breeze through anything, but point guard Kris Dunn — one of the best in the country — opened the season with a 32-point, six-assist performance.
Houston. In their second year under coach Kelvin Sampson, the Cougars are intriguing. UH has a decent non-conference schedule with Rhode Island and LSU before it enters a stacked conference schedule with teams like UConn, Memphis and Cincinnati.
4 Top four games on tap
Creighton at Indiana, 6 p.m. Thursday. Creighton (2-0) will get its first real test of the season against No. 14 Indiana. Wisconsin vs. Georgetown, 4 p.m. Friday. Wisconsin didn’t start the season the way it had hoped, with a loss to Western Illinois, and Georgetown started 0-2. Xavier at Michigan, 8 p.m. Friday. Xavier is a team that frequently makes its way into the rankings or makes long postseason runs. A win over No. 24 Michigan would put the Musketeers in the national conversation. Texas A&M vs. Texas, 6 p.m. Wednesday. A&M and Texas renew their rivalry on the basketball court in the Battle 4 Atllantis tournament in the Bahamas next week.