Closing in on conference championship time.

​     There are about five games left before conference tourneys. Did I mention we were witnessing a great college basketball season? I realize that I overstated when I used the term parity but what to make of all the upsets and volatility in rankings. Since we last talked Louisville, still at #5 before new polling, drops to another unranked team, this time Clemson. More ranked teams getting beat by schools downline; #10 Seton Hall loses to Providence, #11 Auburn falls to Missouri, #19 Butler loses to Georgetown, #20 Houston goes down by a point to SMU, #22 Illinois trounced by Rutgers, #24 Texas Tech beat by Oklahoma State and #25 LSU drops to Alabama. That's seven unranked teams taking down ranked schools. And that was only Saturday's games!
     I can't wait for tourney time to see the carnage that's left after the first weekend. A lot of guys that get paid much more than myself (I make nothing from this in case you were wondering) seem to think the four topline schools are clearly separated in quality from #5-25 but I'm not convinced. San Diego State hasn't played a single ranked team. Baylor has had an incredible season and have actually been pretty good over the last decade but have never even sniffed a Championship and that kind of pressure can do terrible things to the minds of nineteen year-olds during a deep tournament run, just ask Gonzaga. Who by the way, have been tested early and had much success but it's tough to believe the hype with such a squishy mid-major schedule. It's hard for me to say that because I love underdogs and watching mid-major or even minor conference schools advance, when they manage to. That leaves Kansas, the one blue-blood currently near the top. They're solid, but they are 3-3 against ranked schools, which equates to very beatable by goods teams.
     These squads are all vulnerable so if you're looking for an easy pick this year, there isn't one. The middle of the rankings are littered with schools that can play deep into March, the Big Ten is eating itself alive with talented teams, and North Carolina won't be getting in anyone's way this time around. How the mighty have fallen. Now if only we can have a first-time champion this year that would be cool.