Here are the biggest takeaways from the past week in NCAA Basketball, including a look at the potential ceilings for Dayton, Michigan, and Oklahoma State.
The first month of the NCAA basketball season is nearly in the books following all the non-conference tournaments that made up Feast Week, and the insane amount of games brought about plenty of unexpected results.
However, the most unexpected was not part of any neutral-site tournament. It was Stephen F. Austin, who rolled into Cameron Indoor Stadium and gave Duke their first non-conference home loss in nearly two decades.
Unbelievable.
— Josh Graham (@JoshGrahamShow) November 27, 2019
Duke’s 150-game non-conference winning streak ends against Stephen F. Austin in OT. pic.twitter.com/Tb6GrGFq5h
Duke became the third No. 1 team to lose through the season’s first four weeks and the second to lose at home to a mid-major foe.
Who will replace the Blue Devils at the top of the polls? Louisville could slide right in as they’re currently ranked No. 2, or Kansas could make the leap from No. 4 after winning the Maui Invitational in a thrilling game against a very good Dayton team.
However, I have made the case that Michigan should be the new No. 1 team following their victory at the Battle 4 Atlantis. They knocked off two top 10 teams on the way in North Carolina and Gonzaga, making them the only group to accomplish that through the early part of the season. They did so in convincing fashion, too, leading by at least 20 points in the second half in each contest. And, for good measure, the Wolverines are the only team with four wins against KenPom top 61 teams.
It would be unprecedented for an unranked squad to make the leap all the way to No. 1, but given the lack of a dominant team currently at the top of the polls, the Wolverines have a better resume than everyone else.
Here are my eight other biggest takeaways from the week, starting with the emergence of Obi Toppin and Dayton, in this new Rauf Report: