College Basketball Rankings: Purdue’s fall as the No. 1 team in the top 25 and 1 remains unmatched

There are many interesting games spread across Saturday – including Kansas vs. Iowa State early and Gonzaga vs. Saint Mary’s late. Arguably the most compelling competition of all is Purdue in Indiana because they are in-state rivals, one of whom was the preseason favorite of the Big Ten (Indiana) while the other was #1 on the CBS Sports Top 25 And 1 Daily College -Basketball rankings for 13 consecutive mornings.

Spoiler alert: it’s almost here 14 Just tomorrow, guaranteed.

Win or lose Saturday afternoon, the Boilermakers remain No. 1 in the top 25 and 1 Sunday morning because even if Purdue loses at Assembly Hall it will still have the best work in the sport and therefore still count as the No. 1 overall seed in any reasonably projected NCAA tournament bracket.

Let me show you why.

If Purdue wins in Indiana, the Boilermakers will improve to at least 9-1 in Quadrant 1 games — and it could be 10-1 if Maryland slips back into the NET’s top 30 — with no additional losses. That would be the sport’s best work by far, and no one would try to argue otherwise. So if Purdue wins in Indiana, the Boilermakers will obviously remain #1 in the Top 25 and #1 and (presumably) a unanimous #1 in both the AP Top 25 and the Coaches Poll.

Now it’s important to realize: Even if Purdue loses in Indiana become the Boilermakers quiet have the best job in the sport because they would still be at least 8-2 in Quadrant 1 games — or 9-2 if Maryland climbs into the NET’s top 30 again from 32nd on the NET — with zero extra losses .

Put another way, no matter what happens Saturday in Indiana or elsewhere, by Sunday morning literally every team in the country will still have either fewer Q1 wins than Purdue and/or more losses within Q1 than Purdue and/or more losses outside of Q1 than Purdue. Most will still have all three.

So everyone enjoy the games on Saturday! I’ll see you back here Sunday morning where Purdue will remain No. 1 for the 14th straight day whether the Boilermakers are 23-1 or 22-2.

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Top 25 and 1 rankings