NCAA Basketball: Creighton’s fall, Mountain West success among biggest takeaways

3. A revolving door at #1?

There are always several teams competing to be the best in the nation. Sometimes, one or a few teams seem to dominate that conversation, like Baylor and Gonzaga seemed to do just two seasons ago. It’s rare to see a team top the charts for a significant run of the season, and it certainly looks like that won’t be the case this season, as we’ve already had multiple changes at the top of the rankings.

Following its run to the national title game last season, North Carolina returned most of its talent and started the season atop the rankings. After losing four straight games and struggling in a few other contests, the Tar Heels aren’t even ranked anymore; we’re honestly not sure what to expect from this squad.

The Tar Heels were replaced atop the chart by a very talented Houston squad, with the Cougars bringing back their own plethora of talent from last year’s success. However, they were tripped up at home by the Crimson Tide last week and fell from their perch atop the rankings. Houston still certainly looks like a top team, but they’re fallible and there’s a new team atop the charts.

This week that seat is held by Purdue and it’s a very well-deserved ranking, especially with what the Boilermakers have accomplished this season. At this point, this team looks well ahead of everyone else on their schedule, but we said the same thing about Houston last week. When you also consider how Virginia and Connecticut have looked so far (all three teams remain unbeaten), you could easily argue any of them could be our #1 team right now. This is going to be one of those seasons where the #1 team changes regularly. Could that mean we’re in for a classic battle in the NCAA Tournament between these elite programs?