The Week In Chaos: January 28

Introducing a new, recurring post here on SSS, The Week In Chaos. Following suit with the completely inane craziness that was the college football season, the year in college hoops has been a complete mess, with the turning point being the week before last, in which 15 of the AP top 25 lost (thankfully, when this happens to hoops, our season actually ends in excitement). I thought it might just be an anomaly, that better basketball was on the horizon, that parity didn't necessarily have to mean mediocrity. I was wrong. Seriously, there are about 20 teams that actually deserve one of the 34 at-large bids that will be given out and only about five teams with a legitimate shot of winning the title without receiving some kind of divine intervention. Barring some Cinderella runs, there are only two non-BCS leagues, the A-10 and West Coast, guaranteed to get multiple bids. It goes on and on.

While this weekend wasn't as bad, it still continued the disturbing trend in what I am now calling The Year Of Mediocrity, which I will now chronicle every Monday, not out of want, but out of necessity. Who else will tell the story of our hoops apocalypse?

Here's the rundown of the past week...

AP Top 25 teams going undefeated- 13
AP Top 25 teams going winless- 5. Vanderbilt, Dayton, Ole Miss, Villanova, Arizona State.

Most Ridiculous Displays of Mediocrity- Pitt, a team that has beaten Duke and destroyed Georgetown, got crushed by Rutgers at home. Rutgers, which beat two top 20 teams last week (Villanova), has lost to St. Peter's, which is, in fact, a real team; they are 4-16 overall, 1-9 in the powerhouse that is the MAAC and are called the Peacocks. They were taken to Red Lobster after the victory.

Elsewhere, Dayton, a team that devastated the aforementioned beacons of mediocrity Pitt and also won at Louisville, got manhandled by the Richmond Spiders. Richmond has lost to Maryland-Baltimore County (America East), Norfolk State (MEAC, 8-9), Marist (MAAC, no longer have Jared Jordan, that white guy everyone liked so much) and LaSalle (A-10, 7-11) this year. Dayton went from a potential No. 4 seed to squarely on the NCAA Bubble as they have now lost three straight and are below .500 in conference. They don't have freshman Chris Wright and Charles Little, two solid contributors, but seriously, you just can't give up 80 points to Richmond, (289th in possessions per game, 219th in offensive efficiency, never learned how to dribble).

Most Embarrassing Realization of Mediocrity- Vanderbilt, a team that was among the last of the unbeatens, a team that should have been in the Elite Eight last year and by all accounts improved, now sucks. Case in point, after 12 minutes of yesterday's "game" against Florida, a team that hasn't even hit puberty yet, the Dores were down 34-6 and lost by 22. Andrew Ogilvy has been doing his best Luc Longley lately, failing to reach his average in four straight games. After going 16-0, they are 2-3 in conference and are set up perfectly for one of those How In the Hell Did Vandy Get Into the Sweet 16 Again?-type performances.

Most Refreshing Exhibition of Expected Dominance- Kansas massacred Nebraska... again. The Jayhawks led by 29 at half and won by 35. You know, like they were supposed to. This appears to be the best team in the country, despite being coached by Bill Self, who has a clause in his contract to always underachieve come tournament time.

Most Refreshing Exhibition of Expected Dominance (Non Kansas/Memphis Division)- This could be filed under "Unexpected" but it's a top 10 preseason team that is finally healthy: Louisville. They have won six of seven and by simply crushing South Florida and St. John's, teams they were supposed to crush, have taken the Clusterfuck That Is The Big East by storm. That's all it takes. But seriously, doesn't this team remind you of Georgetown last year? Took about half a season to get healthy and in gear and the superior talent begins to shine through. Somehow they aren't ranked in either poll this week, but it appears Final Four aspirations aren't insane given the fews teams in the country that actually have a cohesive unit of good players and are well coached. (Now watch as they are destroyed by UConn tonight).

Most Unexpected Victory That Probably Should've Been Expected Anyway- THE DRAKE!!! Got to loooovvvvveeeeeThe Drake. And even though they were supposed to beat Northern Iowa at home Saturday and barely did, the simple fact that an overachieving team can actually sustain its level of success for a full week, is pretty darn impressive. If The Drake had been crushed by Northern Iowa no one would've blinked, especially after Tuesday's overtime victory at Creighton. In the Year Of Mediocrity, merely avoiding an upset counts as a huge step forward. This team, which was picked ninth in the preseason Valley poll, is now 9-0 in conference and probably a lock for an at-large even if they falter in the league tourney. Creighton gets another shot at The Drake Wednesday, and I think all The Drake needs to do to remain above Mediocrity is not get blown out. Yes it's that bad.