Now more than eight weeks into the college basketball season, the hundreds of teams in the nation have been competing at a high level, each playing around a dozen games or more to this point. After all of that chaos, just six teams remain with an unbeaten record. No team has had a perfect season since Indiana way back in 1976 and it’s very unlikely that any of these six teams even make it to the Big Dance unblemished. Let’s rank these teams and consider when those first losses will come.
6. Miami-Ohio Red Hawks (13-0)
Unquestionably the surprise name here is the RedHawks, the lone mid-major among the unbeatens. A fringe Top 100 team in most efficiency metrics, Miami hasn’t exactly played a murderer’s row through 13 games but they aren’t just staying at home either. December alone saw the RedHawks pick up four road wins, including their most impressive performance at Wright State a week before Christmas.
Many still won’t have this team as the favorite in the MAC, as Akron looks great already this season. Tuesday provides another big road test against a talented Bowling Green squad and even if the RedHawks win that they actually play the Zips this upcoming Saturday. If they survive and get to 15-0, a tough test at Toledo awaits the following Friday. The RedHawks have looked awesome but it’s likely that they’ll fall sometime soon.
5. Nebraska Cornhuskers (12-0)
Nebraska’s hot start to the season has seen them jump into the Top 25, but they’ve also played one of the weaker nonconference schedules. It’s not their fault that teams like Creighton, Kansas State, and Oklahoma weren’t as great as expected, but that didn’t stop the Cornhuskers from taking care of business. More impressively has been their start in Big Ten play, crushing Wisconsin by 30 points before a stunning win at Illinois a few weeks back.
Looking ahead, it’s a tough stretch right away for Fred Hoiberg’s crew in conference play. They should handle New Hampshire with no issues on Tuesday but then they’re welcoming Michigan State to town and that’s a game that could go either way. Afterwards, Nebraska will play at both Ohio State and Indiana and it’s likely they’ll at least fall in one of those hostile road environments.
4. Vanderbilt Commodores (13-0)
The Commodores didn’t play the same level of opponent as some of their league rivals, but let’s not act like they’re only beating up on nobodies. This team has three solid road wins, including that 31-point blowout at Wake Forest just over a week ago, and also got double-digit wins over Saint Mary’s, SMU, and VCU already this season.
The Commodores look the part of a top contender in the SEC but the roadblocks get significantly tougher in the days ahead. Their first road trip in SEC play is very winnable at South Carolina, but a home date with Alabama could easily go awry just over a week from now. Major tests with Texas and Arkansas come in the middle of January and it’s hard to imagine Vanderbilt remaining perfect on the road too much longer.
3. Iowa State Cyclones (13-0)
There haven’t been many challenges for the Cyclones in recent weeks, but we haven’t soon forgotten their great showing at the Players Era Festival or that 23-point win at Purdue at the beginning of December. T. J. Otzelberger’s crew answered every question lobbed at them during these first thirteen games and now enters Big 12 play with much higher expectations than we imagined a few months ago.
After hosting West Virginia to open league play, the Cyclones get a tricky game at Baylor which could certainly be their first defeat. A week later, a trip to Kansas is even trickier, though this is the worst of their January schedule. If Iowa State can get two more great efforts in those environments, they could reasonably remain undefeated for some time. The middle of February includes their only game (at home) against Houston and they don’t see Arizona until early March in Tucson.
2. Arizona Wildcats (13-0)
Speaking of which, the Wildcats themselves have had a really impressive opening salvo to this season. They knocked out defending champion Florida on opening night, got a great win at UConn a few weeks later, and blew past Alabama in a 21-point win in the middle of December. Arizona has found ways to win when parts of the offense or defense aren’t at peak efficiency and it’s been a truly impressive performance to this point.
Very winnable matchups greet to start Big 12 play and the first big challenge may be at BYU on January 26th. A slip-up before than is always possible but the Wildcats look elite and ready to make a run at their first Big 12 title. They actually have a pretty brutal February, including a pair of games with Kansas and a road game at Houston, meaning the chance for an unbeaten regular season is probably low.
1. Michigan Wolverines (12-0)
Michigan survived challenges in the first two weeks of the season, but this has been a different animal since then. Something changed with the Wolverines in mid-November and they’ve been absolutely destroying teams ever since. The Wolverines boast blowout wins over everyone since then, crushing Auburn, Gonzaga, San Diego State, as well as two league rivals in a 2-0 start against the Big Ten.
When you look in the immediate future, the upcoming schedule is pretty soft for the Wolverines. They do have a West Coast trip in mid-January but a slip against Washington or Oregon seems farfetched with their current level of play. The game to watch might be January 30th at Michigan State, but if they survive that then even more eyes will be on them in the back half of February. Michigan goes to Purdue on February 17th and play Duke just a few days later.