News from the past week in college hoops, from the fall of #1 Indiana to a collapse in Arizona.
Butler stuns #1 Indiana 88-86 (OT)
Butler seemed to lose this game a few different times:
1) before the game even started. The Bulldogs were playing the #1-ranked Indiana Hoosiers. Their in-state rival. The best team in the country. Butler was going to lose.
2) with ten minutes to go in the game. Butler's center Andrew Smith and top playmaker Roosevelt Jones both had four fouls, and Indiana surged ahead by seven. Butler was going to lose.
3) with two minutes to go in the game. Sure, Butler had regained the lead, but Roosevelt Jones fouled out. Indiana instantly trimmed the Butler lead from seven to two. Butler was going to lose.
4) with thirty seconds to go in the game. Indiana pounced with a layup, quick steal, and another layup to pull within one. Butler made its free throws, but Hoosier point guard Yogi Ferrell sunk a three to tie the game with ten seconds to go, forcing overtime. Indiana had all the momentum. Butler's stars were fouled out. Butler was going to lose.
5) with two minutes to go in overtime. Cody Zeller hit a layup to put Indiana up by four. The game was basically over. Butler was going to lose.
6) with twenty seconds to go in the game. Butler had clawed its way back to a lead with back-to-back three-pointers. But Zeller tied the game with a basket of his own. Butler couldn't close. Butler was going to lose.
Then all of a sudden, with three seconds to go, former walk-on Alex Barlow sunk a floater to put Butler up by two, and Jordan Hulls missed a desperation heave, and Butler had beaten the best team in the country in overtime despite looking dead in the water no less than six different times. It was an unbelievable performance by a team that has been a gift to the sports world for these last three years.
And the funny thing is, Butler is legitimately a really good basketball team. This win wasn't about fluky Butler magic. They're now 8-2 on the season, boasting wins over Marquette, Northwestern, North Carolina (ranked ninth at the time), and now Indiana. Their losses are forgivable: to still-undefeated Illinois in Maui, and at Xavier. The Bulldogs shouldn't even be thought of as an underrated Cinderella anymore. They've evolved into a legit powerhouse basketball program.
#8 Arizona topples #5 Florida, 65-64
This matchup of undefeated teams would've been a much bigger deal had Butler-Indiana not stolen the spotlight. And its ending was just as thrilling -- Arizona point guard Mark Lyons drove for the game-winning bucket with just seconds remaining. Because of the win, Arizona has jumped to fourth in the national AP poll, while Florida has dropped to ninth. 64 of the 65 voters ranked Arizona ahead of Florida. So apparently only one of those guys actually watched the game.
Because the final score does not reflect how completely the Gators outplayed Arizona for roughly 38 of the 40 minutes. They just had two costly collapses -- during the final minute of the first half and the final minute of the second -- giving away a win they should've had in the bag. Arizona only led for maybe three total minutes in the entire game. And heck, the Gators were playing on the road, after all. Do the AP voters not acknowledge home court advantage? Sometimes the better team loses, which is why I still stubbornly rank Florida ahead of Arizona. Still, regardless of how it happened, it remains a massive win for both Arizona and the credibility of the entire Pac-12 Conference.
A Set of Subjective Power Rankings
1. Duke (9-0)
2. Indiana (9-1)
3. Michigan (11-0)
4. Louisville (9-1)
5. Syracuse (9-0)
6. Florida (7-1)
7. Kansas (8-1)
8. Arizona (8-0)
9. Ohio State (8-1)
10. Cincinnati (10-0)
11. Michigan State (9-2)
12. Illinois (12-0)
13. Gonzaga (10-1)
14. Butler (8-2)
15. Creighton (10-1)
IN: Butler
OUT: Kentucky
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