The seventh-place game of the 2017 Battle 4 Atlantis, as my colleague Matt Norlander noted in a column posted Wednesday, should go down as the best seventh-place game in regular-season tournament history. It was a matchup between Purdue and Arizona played the day after Thanksgiving. And the two teams entered that game -- which Purdue won 89-64, by the way -- with a combined record of 7-4 featuring losses to SMU, Western Kentucky and NC State.
They're a combined 33-1 since returning to the United States.
Matt Painter's Boilermakers haven't lost since the Battle 4 Atlantis. Sean Miller's Wildcats have only lost once. So now Purdue is projected to win the Big Ten while Arizona is projected to win the Pac-12. Both recorded simple wins late Wednesday and are No. 3 and No. 14 in Thursday morning's CBS Sports Top 25 (and one).
Purdue at No. 3 seems perfect. I'm not sure the Boilermakers, all things considered, make sense any higher or lower, and even Purdue fans mostly appear to agree. But Twitter suggests Arizona fans think No. 14 is way too low for the Wildcats. And perhaps it is, based on ability and potential. But the truth is that Arizona still has just one win over a team also ranked in the Top 25 (and one), and the Wildcats are only 2-2 against top-50 KenPom. They also have two sub-60 losses on the resume.
That's not great.
So any slot in the top 15 is probably fair, if not generous, based on the actual resume. At least that's what I think. The Wildcats' next game is Saturday at Washington. Their next game against a currently ranked opponent is Feb. 15 at Arizona State.
Thursday's Top 25 (and one)
Rk | Teams | Chg | Rcrd | |
---|---|---|---|---|
1 | The Wildcats' resume features three wins over teams also ranked in the Top 25 (and one) - specifically Xavier, Gonzaga and Tennessee. Villanova's lone loss is a single-digit loss at Butler. | -- | 15-12 | |
2 | The Cavaliers have won 13 straight games since losing at West Virginia. They're 10-0 in the ACC and at least two games ahead of everybody in the league standings. | -- | 13-13 | |
3 | The Boilermakers have won 18 straight games since losing consecutive games to Tennessee and Western Kentucky. Fifteen of Purdue's 22 wins are double-digit wins. | -- | 19-8 | |
4 | The Blue Devils are 6-1 against top-50 KenPom teams with two sub-50 losses. They own wins over Michigan State, Florida State, Florida, Miami, Texas and Notre Dame. | -- | 23-3 | |
5 | The Jayhawks are 9-3 against top-50 KenPom teams with one sub-50 loss. They're alone atop the Big 12 standings heading into Saturday's game with Oklahoma State. | -- | 17-9 | |
6 | The Spartans are 4-3 against top-50 KenPom teams with zero sub-25 losses. They've won five straight games since losing to Michigan. | -- | 21-5 | |
7 | The Musketeers have won five straight games since losing at Villanova. Their resume includes seven top-50 KenPom wins and only one sub-50 loss. | -- | 17-10 | |
8 | The Bearcats will take a 13-game winning streak into Saturday's game with UConn. They're 9-0 in the AAC and at least two games ahead of everybody in the league standings. | -- | 15-10 | |
9 | The Red Raiders' resume features six top-50 KenPom wins and just one sub-45 loss. They've won three straight games since losing at Iowa State. | -- | 20-6 | |
10 | The Tigers have won 18 of their past 19 games to improve to 8-1 in the SEC. They own a two-game lead over Kentucky and Florida in the SEC standings. | -- | 23-2 | |
11 | The Sooners' resume features seven top-50 KenPom wins and just one sub-55 loss. They're tied in the loss column with Texas Tech and West Virginia for second place in the Big 12 standings. | 1 | 16-10 | |
12 | The Gaels' 16-game winning streak includes victories at Gonzaga and at BYU. Their lone losses came more than two months ago. | 1 | 23-4 | |
13 | The Zags have won three straight games since losing to Saint Mary's. Their resume features three top-50 KenPom wins and only one sub-25 loss. | 1 | 20-7 | |
14 | The Wildcats have won seven straight games since losing at Colorado. They're 2-2 against top-50 KenPom teams with two additional sub-60 losses. | 1 | 18-8 | |
15 | The Tigers' resume includes six top-50 KenPom wins and just two sub-50 losses. They're 12-0 at home and 3-1 in neutral-court games. | 1 | 21-5 | |
16 | The Mountaineers' resume includes six top-50 KenPom wins and only one sub-35 loss. They've dropped five of their past six games after starting 4-0 in the Big 12. | 5 | 15-10 | |
17 | The Tar Heels' resume includes three victories over schools also ranked in the Top 25 (and one). Their first game with Duke is next week. | -- | 15-11 | |
18 | The Vols' resume includes three top-50 KenPom wins and zero sub-55 losses. They'll take a four-game winning streak into Saturday's game with Ole Miss. | -- | 21-5 | |
19 | The Shockers' resume features three top-55 KenPom wins and zero sub-45 losses. They're tied in the loss column with Houston for second in the AAC standings. | -- | 15-10 | |
20 | The Buckeyes' resume includes wins over Michigan State and Michigan. Ohio State is 9-1 in its past 10 games. | -- | 15-11 | |
21 | The Wildcats' resume includes four top-50 KenPom wins and just one sub-60 loss. They own victories over West Virginia and Louisville. | -- | 17-8 | |
22 | The Rams have won 13 straight games since losing at Alabama. Two of their three losses are to teams also ranked in the Top 25 (and one). | -- | 17-8 | |
23 | The Sun Devils' resume includes double-digit victories over Kansas and Xavier. They're 2-1 since losing at Stanford. | -- | 12-14 | |
24 | Four of the Wolverines' six losses are to schools ranked ahead of them in the Top 25 (and one). Michigan's resume includes a double-digit victory at Michigan State. | -- | 20-5 | |
25 | The Wolf Pack's four losses have come by an average of just 3.3 points. Nevada is on track to win the Mountain West for the second consecutive season. | -- | 15-11 | |
26 | The Pirates' resume includes four top-50 KenPom wins and just one sub-55 loss. Next up is Sunday's game at top-ranked Villanova. | NR | 7-19 |