Is Anybody REALLY #1?

One thing that will always be certain: no college basketball team is safe in any game of the year. College basketball constantly brings hard-fought wins and Cinderella story upsets. So far this season all we've learned is that there may not be a #1 team in college basketball. This week in college basketball the #1 ranked Hoosiers fell to the unranked Fighting Illini on a last second layup by #42, Tyler Griffey. Last week it was the Wolverines at the top falling to Indiana, and the week before Duke falling to Miami.

That's not all folks! The week before the Duke upset Louisville fell to Syracuse, and before that Duke (at the #1 spot again) lost to North Carolina State (don't worry, though, they got revenge this week). So this week the #2 team has the chance of taking over as #1. Too bad they just fell to an unranked Arkansas! So the moral of the story: no team is safe.

(Photo MorgueFile)

The most upsetting loss in the Big Ten this week? #10 Ohio State falling to #3 Michigan in OT. This game was hard fought by both teams, and one of the most exciting games of the season thus far. Both teams battled back and forth all game, but Michigan made the most plays towards the end. Tim Hardaway Junior was the most influential player of the second half, hitting 5 straight three point shots.

Ohio State never gave up, however, matching Michigan point for point all the way up to the last buzzer in the second half. Despite both teams ability to score all game, neither team scored more than 5 points in the 5 minute overtime period. With a lead of 1, Michigan was fouled by Ohio State and had the bonus of two free throws. The first one was made, and the second missed. Then with less than 10 seconds left in the game, Aaron Craft took the ball coast-to-coast. As he got down in the paint he had two defenders to beat. Through a lot of contact (and no foul call) Craft managed to get a shot attempt up, but missed.

Michigan managed to hang on to the game, avenging their first loss of the season delivered by Ohio State on January 16th. Either way, if Michigan ends up as the new #1 team I wouldn't count on it lasting very long. Their next game features the Badgers of Wisconsin, with Michigan State following them, and we've already seen that no team is safe in college basketball.

As for Ohio State, the Indiana Hoosiers are coming to the Schottenstein Center to try to make up for the upset against Illinois. Either way, it'll be an exciting "Journey to the Tourney."