A running bit on the Eye On College Basketball Podcast is me talking about buildings I trust and buildings I don't trust as it pertains to providing home-court advantages that move the needle. There are lots of them out there. And, on Wednesday, the country was reminded that the CHI Health Center in Omaha is definitely one of them.
Final score: Creighton 76, Kansas 63.
Did Kansas enter undefeated, ranked No. 1 and with wins over Duke, Michigan State and North Carolina? Yes. Did Creighton enter 6-3, unranked with no great wins and multiple losses to unranked teams? Yes.
But none of that mattered in Omaha.
Sparked by an impactful crowd, Creighton shot 47.2% from the field, 41.4% from 3 and 82.4% from the free throw line. Meanwhile, Kansas was 11.5 percentage points worse from the field, 6.6 percentage points worse from 3 and 20.2 percentage points worse from the free throw line. Consequently, the Jayhawks fell behind 2-0 and were never even tied again.
Creighton led wire-to-wire.
"I thought we did some good things — considering we weren't very good and they were really good," said Kansas coach Bill Self. "I thought we could have put some real game-pressure on them, and we never really did that."
So who should be No. 1 now? That's the question, right?
There's no easy answer. But I talked myself through it. And, if you have a couple of minutes, I'll walk you through my thought-process.
Let's start at the top.
Kansas was the preseason No. 1 and, in my opinion, a reasonable option to keep No. 1 as long as the Jayhawks kept a zero in the loss-column. But that's over now. So KU can't be No. 1. And I've been doing this long enough to know that if you try to move No. 2 to No. 1 immediately after a loss, even an expected loss, it rarely makes sense and, even when it does, almost nobody understands it, which means Auburn -- No. 2 in the CBS Sports Top 25 And 1 on Wednesday morning before losing at Duke, 84-78, on Wednesday night -- can't be No. 1.
(Let's keep moving down the list.)
Next up, at No. 3 on Wednesday morning, is Iowa State. The Cyclones beat Marquette, 81-70, on Wednesday night. Great victory. But all that means is that Iowa State is now 6-1 with a best-win over Marquette and a neutral-court loss to Auburn while Auburn is 7-1 with wins over Iowa State, Houston, Memphis and North Carolina — and a lone loss at Duke. Simply put, I can't make sense of having Auburn behind an ISU team it recently beat on a neutral. So the Cyclones can't be No. 1, neither.
(Let's keep moving down the list.)
I just told you the Cyclones just beat Marquette by 11. So, obviously, I can't move Marquette from No. 4 to No. 1 after a double-digit loss at Iowa State. And, again, I don't think I can rank a one-loss Iowa State team ahead of a one-loss Auburn team that just beat a one-loss Iowa State team on a neutral, and I also don't think I can rank a one-loss Marquette team ahead of a one-loss Iowa State team that it just lost to.
(Let's keep moving down the list.)
That brings me to Tennessee!
UT is 8-0 with all eight victories coming by at least 15 points. The Vols won at Louisville by 22. They smacked Syracuse by 26 at home. They beat Baylor by 15 on a neutral. Simply put, Tennessee is the best option for No.1, right now -- if you're looking for a team that's undefeated, in possession of good (and overwhelming) wins and strong computer numbers. So Rick Barnes' Vols are the new No. 1 in Thursday morning's updated CBS Sports Top 25 And 1 daily college basketball rankings. According to KenPom.com, they're projected as favorites in their next 11 games. So they could be here for a while.
Top 25 And 1 rankings
Rk | Teams | Chg | Rcrd | |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1 |  | Chaz Lanier finished with 26 points and four rebounds in Tuesday's 96-70 win over Syracuse. The Vols' next game is Tuesday against Miami. | 4 | 8-0 |
| 2 |  | Denver Jones was 0 of 4 from the field in Wednesday's 84-78 loss at Duke. The Tigers' next game is Sunday against Richmond. | -- | 7-1 |
| 3 |  | Keshon Gilbert finished with 24 points and seven assists in Wednesday's 81-70 win over Marquette. The Cyclones' next game is Sunday against Jackson State. | -- | 6-1 |
| 4 |  | David Joplin was 3-of-12 from the field in Wednesday's 81-70 loss at Iowa State. The Golden Eagles' next game is Saturday against Wisconsin. | -- | 8-1 |
| 5 |  | Trey Kaufman-Renn finished with 25 points and 13 rebounds in Friday's 80-78 win over Ole Miss. The Boilermakers' next game is Thursday against Penn State. | 1 | 7-1 |
| 6 |  | Hunter Dickinson was held to four points in Wedesday's 76-63 loss at Creighton. The Jayhawks' next game is Sunday at Missouri. | 5 | 7-1 |
| 7 |  | Andrew Carr was 1 of 7 from the field in Tuesday's 70-66 loss at Clemson. The Wildcats' next game is Saturday against Gonzaga. | -- | 7-1 |
| 8 |  | Cooper Flagg finished with 22 points and 11 rebounds in Wednesday's 84-78 win over Auburn. The Blue Devils' next game is Sunday at Louisville. | -- | 6-2 |
| 9 |  | Ben Gregg finished with 24 points and eight rebounds in Friday's 90-65 win over Davidson. The Zags' next game is Saturday against Kentucky. | -- | 7-1 |
| 10 |  | Jackson Shelstad finished with 24 points and two rebounds in Wednesday's 68-60 win at USC. The Ducks' next game is Sunday against UCLA. | -- | 9-0 |
| 11 |  | Mark Sears finished with 20 points and seven assists in Wednesday's 94-79 win at North Carolina. The Crimson Tide's next game is Dec. 14 against Creighton. | -- | 7-2 |
| 12 |  | PG Haggerty finished with 23 points and six assists in Wednesday's 81-71 win over Louisiana Tech. The Tigers' next game is Sunday against Arkansas State. | 1 | 7-1 |
| 13 |  | Coen Carr finished with 12 points and three rebounds in Wednesday's 90-72 win over Minnesota. The Spartans' next game is Saturday against Nebraska. | 1 | 7-2 |
| 14 |  | Kasparas Jakucionis finished with 23 points and six rebounds in Thursday's 90-77 win over Arkansas. The Illini's next game is Friday at Northwestern. | 2 | 6-1 |
| 15 |  | Dre Davis finished with 20 points and four rebounds in Tuesday's 86-63 win at Louisville. The Rebels' next game is Saturday against Lindenwood. | 2 | 7-1 |
| 16 |  | Ja'Kobi Gillespie finished with 23 points and four assists in Wednesday's 83-59 win over Ohio State. The Terrapins' next game is Sunday at Purdue. | NR | 8-1 |
| 17 |  | Vladislav Goldin finished with 24 points and five rebounds in Tuesday's 67-64 win at Wisconsin. The Wolverines' next game is Saturday against Iowa. | 1 | 7-1 |
| 18 |  | Max Klesmit was 3 of 14 from the field in Tuesday's 67-64 loss to Michigan. The Badgers' next game is Saturday at Marquette. | 1 | 8-1 |
| 19 |  | Will Richard finished with 27 points and four assists in Wednesday's 87-69 win over Virginia. The Gators' next game is Dec. 14 against Arizona State. | 4 | 9-0 |
| 20 |  | Michael Nwoko finished with 18 points and 11 rebounds in Wednesday's 90-57 win over Pitt. The Bulldogs' next game is Sunday against Prairie View A&M. | NR | 7-1 |
| 21 |  | Tre Johnson finished with 18 points and two rebounds in Wednesday's 63-59 win at NC State. The Longhorns' next game is Sunday against UConn. | 1 | 7-1 |
| 22 |  | RJ Davis was 7-of-24 from the field in Wednesday's 94-79 loss to Alabama. The Tar Heels' next game is Saturday against Georgia Tech. | 7 | 4-4 |
| 23 |  | Enoch Cheeks finished with 23 points and eight rebounds in Tuesday's 77-69 win over Western Michigan. The Flyers' next game is Saturday against Lehigh. | 1 | 7-2 |
| 24 |  | Magoon Gwath finished with 25 points and 10 rebounds in Wednesday's 84-62 win at Fresno State. The Aztecs' next game is Saturday against San Diego. | 1 | 5-2 |
| 25 |  | Joseph Tugler was 1 of 6 from the field in Saturday's 73-70 overtime loss to San Diego State. The Cougars' next game is Saturday against Butler. | 1 | 4-3 |
| 26 |  | Jeremiah Fears finished with 18 points and five rebounds in Tuesday's 76-61 win over Georgia Tech. The Sooners' next game is Saturday against Alcorn State. | NR | 8-0 |
