The annual NCAA March Madness Men's Bracket Preview show aired Saturday afternoon at 12:30 p.m. ET on CBS. That's when the selection committee confirmed what I've been telling you for more than a month – despite the results of the AP Top 25 poll suggesting that Purdue, not UConn, actually has the sport's best assets.
But is that still true?
That question is certainly harder to answer now than it was when the selection committee announced Purdue with the No. 1 overall pick on Saturday, because what happened about 90 minutes later was certainly something special.
Final score: UConn 81, Marquette 53.
The Huskies were more or less told that the selection committee thought less of them than the AP voters, then they went out and picked up a Quadrant 1 win by beating another top-five team and a Big East rival . It was an impressive defeat from start to finish. Cam Spencer made sure to let Marquette know.
“We were just trying to prove who we were,” UConn center Donovan Clingan said.
Got it, young man! Point awarded!
Regular readers of the Top 25 And 1 or listeners of the Eye On College Basketball podcast will understand that I have never insisted that Purdue is “better” than UConn, because that is obviously a subjective and debatable thing. All I've ever written or said is that at this point in the season, the team with the best performance, the team that would be the No. 1 overall seed in the NCAA Tournament, should be No. 1 – and yes, I still think it's Purdue. Is the gap now smaller than before? Yes. I confirmed this in the first paragraph. But Purdue is still 15-2 in the first two quadrants with nine Q1 wins and only Q1 losses, while UConn is 14-2 in the first two quadrants with nine Q1 wins and only Q1 losses. It's very close. But we agree that 15 is more than 14, right?
Additionally – and this is, in my opinion, the biggest difference in resumes – Purdue has seven wins against schools in the top 25 in the NET, while UConn has four. And while I admit that Purdue didn't do anything as impressive as what UConn did against Marquette on Saturday, I still give the Boilermakers the edge in the top 25 and 1 based on the totality of the work.
If you're into computers, Purdue continues to lead UConn in NET, BPI, KPI and at BartTorvik.com – but the Huskies have overtaken Purdue at KenPom.com and EvanMiya.com, with the Boilermakers poised to win their nine games On Sunday afternoon, a record-breaking series and highest strength of record is at stake at Ohio State. The game will begin at 1 ET on CBS with Tom McCarthy and Jim Spanarkel.
Sunday's top 25 and 1 rankings
Biggest movers
Rk | teams | Change | Rcrd |
|---|---|---|---|
1 | — | 23-2 | |
Zach Edey finished with 24 points and 15 rebounds in Thursday's 84-76 win over Minnesota. The Boilermakers' next game is Sunday at Ohio State. | |||
2 | — | 24-2 | |
Donovan Clingan finished with 17 points and 10 rebounds in Saturday's 81-53 win over Marquette. The Huskies' next game is Tuesday at Creighton. | |||
3 | — | 22-3 | |
Jamal Shead finished with 16 points and 11 rebounds in Saturday's 82-61 win over Texas. The Cougars' next game is Monday against Iowa State. | |||
4 | 1 | 20-5 | |
Caleb Love finished with 15 points and three rebounds in Saturday's 105-60 win over Arizona State. The Wildcats' next game is Thursday against Washington State. | |||
5 | 1 | 19-6 | |
Jonas Aidoo finished with 11 points and eight rebounds in Saturday's 88-53 win over Vanderbilt. The Vols' next game is Tuesday at Missouri. | |||
6 | 1 | 19-6 | |
Jayden Nunn finished with 20 points and four assists in Saturday's 94-81 win at West Virginia. The Bears' next game is Tuesday at BYU. | |||
7 | 1 | 20-5 | |
Keshon Gilbert finished with 24 points and eight rebounds in Saturday's 82-74 win over Texas Tech. The Cyclones' next game is Monday in Houston. | |||
8th | 4 | 19-6 | |
Tyler Kolek was two of 11 players in Saturday's 81-53 loss to UConn. The Golden Eagles' next game is Wednesday against DePaul. | |||
9 | 1 | 20-6 | |
Armando Bacot finished with 25 points and 12 rebounds in Saturday's 96-81 win over Virginia Tech. The Tar Heels' next game is Saturday at Virginia. | |||
10 | 1 | 20-6 | |
Hunter Dickinson finished with 20 points and 16 rebounds in Saturday's 67-57 win at Oklahoma. The Jayhawks' next game is Saturday against Texas. | |||
11 | 1 | 20-5 | |
Jared McCain finished with 35 points and three steals in Saturday's 76-67 win at Florida State. The Blue Devils' next game is Wednesday in Miami. | |||
12 | 1 | 21-4 | |
DaRon Holmes II finished with 29 points and 10 rebounds in Saturday's 78-70 win over Fordham. The Flyers' next game is Wednesday at George Mason. | |||
13 | 4 | 20-6 | |
Auburn shot 30.9% from the field in Saturday's 70-59 loss to Kentucky. The Tigers' next game is Saturday at Georgia. | |||
14 | — | 18-7 | |
Mark Sears finished with 23 points and four assists in Saturday's 100-75 win over Texas A&M. The Crimson Tide's next game is Wednesday against Florida. | |||
15 | 1 | 19-6 | |
Marcus Domask finished with 19 points and 12 rebounds in Saturday's 85-80 win at Maryland. Illinois' next game is Wednesday at Penn State. | |||
16 | 1 | 20-6 | |
Jaedon LeDee finished with 23 points and four steals in Friday's 81-70 win over New Mexico. The Aztecs' next game is Tuesday at Utah State. | |||
17 | 3 | 20-6 | |
Isaiah Stevens finished with 18 points and eight assists in Saturday's 75-55 win over Utah State. The Rams' next game is Wednesday at New Mexico. | |||
18 | 5 | 19-7 | |
Baylor Scheierman finished with 27 points and 10 rebounds in Saturday's 79-57 win over Butler. The Bluejays' next game is Tuesday against UConn. | |||
19 | — | 20-6 | |
Myles Rice finished with 14 points and five assists in Saturday's 72-59 win over Stanford. The Cougars' next game is Thursday at Arizona. | |||
20 | 5 | 21-5 | |
South Carolina missed 14 of 20 3-point shots attempted in Saturday's 64-63 loss to LSU. The Gamecocks' next game is Saturday at Ole Miss. | |||
21 | NO | 18-7 | |
Walter Clayton Jr. finished with 21 points and five rebounds in Saturday's 88-82 win at Georgia. The Gators' next game is Wednesday at Alabama. | |||
22 | NO | 18-7 | |
Adou Thiero finished with 14 points and eight rebounds in Saturday's 70-59 win at Auburn. The Wildcats' next game is Wednesday at LSU. | |||
23 | 5 | 17-9 | |
Max Klesmit was two of 10 players in Saturday's 88-86 loss at Iowa. The Badgers' next game is Tuesday against Maryland. | |||
24 | — | 21-6 | |
Augustas Marciulionis finished with 28 points and six assists in Thursday's 103-59 win over Pepperdine. The Gaels' next game is Tuesday against San Francisco. | |||
25 | NO | 18-7 | |
Micah Peavy finished with 26 points and nine rebounds in Saturday's 75-72 win over Kansas State. The Horned Frogs' next game is Tuesday at Texas Tech. | |||
26 | NO | 20-5 | |
Johnell Davis finished with 17 points and six assists in Thursday's 80-68 win over Temple. The Owls' next game is Sunday at South Florida. | |||