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Well, holy Boilermakers, this was around the time last season that Purdue University’s men’s basketball team got to where it had never been before, on top of the heap of in the top 25, the problem was it didn’t last long as it dropped its next start and tumbled to No. 4.
In the postseason, the Indiana school got to the round of 16 before its hopeful season had ended. In the pre-season this time, the Boilermakers opened at No. 8 on the list, then after four impressive victories, jumped to the top once again, and then barely got past unranked Davidson to avoid another quick stunner.
So at 6-0, tall and taller Purdue under long-time head coach Matt Panter, is hanging around the top of the charts. The men are there, not so for the women. These Boilermakers might not be ready yet to join their list, and neither are the men of University of South Carolina. That’s correct. while Dawn Stanley’s undefeated ladies sit handily a-top their list, no Gamecocks join them on the men’s charts.
But there are 10 other Division I schools that do. Among the men, there’s Connecticut at No. 2, Kansas at No. 4, Arizona at No. 5, Arkansas at No. 9, Gonzaga at No. 10, UCLA at No. 11, Baylor at No. 12, Indiana at No. 16, and North Carolina returns as No. 25. The Tar Heels had begun as No. 1, but after losing their first four, were completely removed from the list.
Then come the women. Behind South Carolina are Indiana at No. 4, UConn at No. 8, UCLA at No. 10, North Carolina at No. 13, Arizona at No. 18, Gonzaga, usually much higher, No. 19 this time, Kansas at No. 22. Baylot at No. 23, and Arkansas at No. 24.
Now among the women, perennial power UConn, with a record 11 national championships under Geno Auriemma, lost its All-America junior Paige Bueckers for the season when she torn her ACL in a pre-season playground pick-up game. Then came a flurry of injuries and a depleted lineup in losses at No. 8 Notre Dame and No. 13 Maryland.
Which is why the Huskies have gone from No. 3 to No. 6 to No. 9, and now at No. 8 with an overall 9-2 record as they prepare for 11th-ranked Big East rival Creighton in a Wednesday road game played in Omaha, Neb. Now, Geno the genius is almost at full strength again with Bueckers his sideline assistant and main cheerleader.
With all this, UConn’s totals of 2 and 8 are the best on the two charts. Then comes Indiana at 16 and 4 for 20, UCLA at 11 and 10 for 21, Arizona at 5 and 18 for 23, Kansas at 4 and 22 for 26, Gonzaga at 10 and 19 for 29, Arkansas at 9 and 24 for 33, Baylor at 12 and 23 for 36, and North Carolina at 25 and 13 for 38.
It’s still early to jump to conclusions, but the Huskies do have South Carolina visiting on Feb. 5 at their XL Center in Hartford, one of three Auriemma’s program sites in the state, and he should have sophomore guard Arizzi Fudd returning from a right knee injury to add to all but Bueckers.
Then you’ve got untested Indiana, and with the men you’ve got UConn, Kansas and Arizona. The question is the same, how long will Purdue stay up there with its inside strength of 7-3, 7-1. 6-11, 6-10, a young and promising backcourt, and dreams of hoisting the championship trophy for the first time.
Who, what, when, where, go figure.
