Seven ranked teams were in action Wednesday with the average spread in those games landing at 27.3 points. That should serve as your annual reminder that too much of college basketball's schedule features games between teams that should never be on the court together.
Take UConn vs. Le Moyne, for instance.
That was more or less the equivalent of the Boston Celtics against the South Bay Lakers (with or without Bronny James). UConn was a 37.5-point favorite in that 40-minute game Wednesday, which is like being a 45-point favorite in a 48-minute NBA game. For context, understand that the biggest spread in the history of the NBA is 21.5 points; most spreads in that league are single digits. And this really is my biggest argument in favor of shrinking Division I -- so that great programs will cease playing five or six or even seven total mismatches each year, representing somewhere between 16% and 23% of their regular season.
Just so there's no confusion, this should not be interpreted as a criticism of UConn-Le Moyne specifically. I used that matchup only because it was the Wednesday game with the biggest spread, and because the Huskies predictably cruised to a 90-49 victory. But, to be clear, this is a college basketball problem, not a UConn problem, and it's a problem that should have some season-ticket holders questioning why they're paying full price for a package of games when a good chunk of them are total mismatches on paper.
Anyway …
Everything about Thursday morning's updated CBS Sports Top 25 And 1 daily college basketball rankings remains unchanged from Wednesday because every ranked team that played Wednesday won easily. If you're wondering, no ranked teams are playing Thursday. So the Top 25 And 1 will remain unchanged until at least Saturday -- with Alabama-Purdue, Marquette-Maryland, Arizona-Wisconsin and Ohio State-Texas A&M among the games on Friday that could shake things up.
Top 25 And 1 rankings
Rk | Teams | Chg | Rcrd | |
---|---|---|---|---|
1 |
Kansas
| Hunter Dickinson finished with 28 points and 12 rebounds in Tuesday's 77-69 win over Michigan State. The Jayhawks' next game is Saturday against Oakland. | -- | 7-0 |
2 |
Alabama
| Grant Nelson finished with 22 points and seven rebounds in Monday's 72-64 win over McNeese. The Crimson Tide's next game is Friday at Purdue. | -- | 6-2 |
3 |
Auburn
| Johni Broome finished with 18 points and 12 rebounds in Wednesday's 79-56 win over Kent State. The Tigers' next game is Monday against North Alabama. | -- | 7-0 |
4 |
N. Carolina
| RJ Davis missed 12 of the 15 shots he attempted in Friday's 92-89 loss at Kansas. The Tar Heels' next game is Friday against American. | -- | 4-3 |
5 |
UConn
| Alex Karaban finished with 17 points and two assists in Wednesday's 90-49 win over Le Moyne. The Huskies' next game is Tuesday against Texas A&M Commerce. | -- | 5-3 |
6 |
Iowa St.
| Curtis Jones finished with 20 points and five assists in Monday's 82-56 win over Kansas City. The Cyclones' next game is Monday against IU Indy. | -- | 5-1 |
7 |
Gonzaga
| Braden Huff finished with 21 points and four rebounds in Sunday's 88-80 win over Arizona State. The Zags' next game is Friday against UMass Lowell. | -- | 7-1 |
8 |
Houston
| Milos Uzan finished with 13 points and five assists in Wednesday's 91-45 win over Louisiana. The Cougars' next game is Nov. 22 against Hofstra. | -- | 4-3 |
9 |
Purdue
| Braden Smith finished with 22 points and five steals in Monday's 92-84 win over Yale. The Boilermakers' next game is Friday against Alabama. | -- | 7-1 |
10 |
Tennessee
| Igor Milicic Jr. finished with 18 points and 10 rebounds in Wednesday's 92-57 win over Montana. The Vols' next game is Sunday against Austin Peay. | -- | 7-0 |
11 |
Ohio St.
| Bruce Thornton finished with 20 points and five assists in Monday's 80-72 win over Texas. The Buckeyes' next game is Monday against Youngstown State. | -- | 5-2 |
12 |
Arizona
| Tobe Awaka finished with 18 points and 15 rebounds in Saturday's 102-44 win over Old Dominion. The Wildcats' next game is Friday against Wisconsin. | -- | 3-4 |
13 |
Kentucky
| Andrew Carr finished with 17 points and four rebounds in Tuesday's 77-72 win over Duke. The Wildcats' next game is Tuesday against Lipscomb. | -- | 7-0 |
14 |
Duke
| Kon Knueppel missed 15 of the 20 shots he attempted in Tuesday's 77-72 loss to Kentucky. The Blue Devils' next game is Saturday against Wofford. | -- | 5-2 |
15 |
Marquette
| Stevie Mitchell finished with 17 points and three steals in Monday's 70-62 win over Central Michigan. The Golden Eagles' next game is Friday against Maryland. | -- | 8-0 |
16 |
Indiana
| Mackenzie Mgbako finished with 18 points and seven rebounds in Sunday's 90-55 win over Eastern Illinois. The Hoosiers' next game is Saturday against South Carolina. | -- | 5-2 |
17 |
Baylor
| Jayden Nunn finished with 19 points and four assists in Tuesday's 104-67 win over Sam Houston. The Bears' next game is Sunday against Tarleton State. | -- | 5-2 |
18 |
Arkansas
| Adou Thiero finished with 19 points and seven rebounds in Wednesday's 65-49 win over Troy. The Razorbacks' next game is Monday against Pacific. | -- | 5-2 |
19 |
Texas
| Tre Johnson finished with 19 points and two rebounds in Tuesday's 105-58 win over Chicago State. The Longhorns' next game is Saturday against Mississippi Valley State. | -- | 6-1 |
20 |
Creighton
| Ryan Kalkbrenner finished with 16 points and five rebounds in Wednesday's 78-43 win over Houston Christian. The Bluejays' next game is Saturday against Kansas City. | -- | 5-3 |
21 |
Texas A&M
| Zhuric Phelps finished with 16 points and seven assists in Monday's 97-71 win over Lamar. The Aggies' next game is Friday against Ohio State. | -- | 6-2 |
22 |
Florida
| Rueben Chinyelu finished with 14 points and three rebounds in Monday's 86-62 win over Grambling. The Gators' next game is Friday at Florida State. | -- | 8-0 |
23 |
Rutgers
| Dylan Harper finished with 24 points and six rebounds in Monday's 75-65 win over Saint Peter's. The Scarlet Knights' next game is Friday against Monmouth. | -- | 5-3 |
24 |
Cincinnati
| Dillon Mitchell finished with 14 points and nine rebounds in Friday's 83-56 win over Morehead State. The Bearcats' next game is Friday against Nicholls. | -- | 6-0 |
25 |
Ole Miss
| Sean Pedulia finished with 27 points and four steals in Tuesday's 64-54 win over South Alabama. The Rebels' next game is Saturday against Colorado State. | -- | 6-1 |
26 |
St. John's
| RJ Luis Jr. finished with 13 points and five rebounds in Wednesday's 66-45 win over Wagner. The Red Storm's next game is Sunday against New Mexico. | -- | 6-2 |