The Week in Chaos: February 11

OK, this week wasn't so bad. I at least feel like it's safe to leave the house; we have staved off the apocalypse for a little while longer. But that doesn't mean some weird stuff didn't happen that should still make us question our existence. And yes (SPOILER ALERT), UCLA, who I had touted as the best team in the country last week, losing to freaking Washington is an example of some "weird stuff."

AP Top 25 teams going undefeated- 18. (Memphis, Duke, Kansas, Tennessee, Stanford, Butler, Michigan State, Texas, Xavier, Indiana, Drake, Texas A&M, Connecticut, Kansas State, Notre Dame, Vanderbilt, Purdue, St. Mary's)
AP Top 25 teams going winless- 1. (Marquette)

Most Ridiculous Display of Mediocrity- Ugh, this pains me. But seriously UCLA, after a precise destruction of Washington State on the Cougars home floor Thursday that felt like looking into the eyes of God (or at least the eyes of Erin Andrews), you simply cannot come back and lose to Washington. Yes, the same Washington that was pummeled by 25 by the unstoppable force that is Oklahoma State. The Bruins shot 34 percent (1-16 from three too... perhaps at that point you should stop shooting them), were outrebounded by 12 and still lost by 10 despite Washington missing 14 free throws. I suppose it's only fitting for The Year of Mediocrity that a team which had been absolutely eviscerating opponents in the best conference in the country -- a team that finally seemed to provide a stable output of high-level basketball -- would let us down just as we began to trust it. I'm not counting out the Bruins based on one performance, what I saw against Washington State still puts them as my favorite title contender, but this makes me a little unsure that they can avoid any sudden stinkbombs in March. Ah college hoops, you are a fickle mistress.

Most Embarrassing Realizations of Mediocrity- There is no shame in losing at Louisville, but Georgetown certainly could've done a better job of hiding their flaws in doing so Saturday. The Hoyas backcourt continues to struggle in maintaining any type of consistent scoring and it's starting to look like overcoming this weakness in March might not be a problem. Jessie Sapp and Johnathan Wallace, for all that they do well, have a strange tendency to occasionally disappear on the offensive end when Georgetown needs buckets. Against the Cardinals Sapp/Wallace were 4-15 combined (1-10 from three) and scored just nine points. Staying on the perimeter, DaJuan Summers, a guy most people had very high hopes for this year, has been a complete enigma. Despite his physical and athletic advantage on most opponents, he has been shooting a ton of threes (1-6 against Louisville) and seems to follow up his best games with some awful ones (he had 24 against South Florida the game before). Now it's highly possible the poor shooting was a result of Pitino's Vertigo-inducing suit -- I blacked out three times during the first half -- but Georgetown has really struggled to score the ball this season. It all adds up to a team that is supposed to be the class of the Big East but whose only good road win is a lucky one at West Virginia and only good home wins are against Notre Dame and Connecticut.

Most Refreshing Display of Expected Dominance- Despite being down 16-3 in the game, leaving hoops pundits across the country in a hot frenzy to denounce them to the NIT, Tennessee completely turned the tables on Florida last Tuesday and ended up winning by 22, dropping 60 in the second half. Now, Florida isn't a very good team, but it is exactly the type of team that will make you pay if you give it any bit of confidence. The Vols did just that, and then pounded the smile off the Gators' pre-pubescent faces. The Smith Named Tyler, The Smith Named JaJuan and Chris Lofton all had at least 23, reminding everyone that Tennessee may have more quality perimeter options than any team in the country (and will get to prove just that against Memphis next Saturday). They hit 13 threes and had 14 steals and appear to have locked up the SEC East title, unless Patrick Patterson can add nuclear weaponry to his one-man show at Kentucky.

Most Unexpected Victory That Probably Should've Been Expected Anyway- After Washington State lost three in a row at home and looked to be on its way out of the Top 25, I was ready as anyone to bury the Cougars. "They don't have consistent enough scoring;" "Their defense isn't as good as in years past;" "Robbie Cowgill and Aron Baynes may be homicidal vagrants." I've heard all the concerns. But I still didn't think there was any way they would lose to USC Saturday, AGAIN at home. So when they absolutely throttled the Trojans, held USC's non-freshmen to just 15 points and caused Tim Floyd to likely murder a hitchhiker on the way home from an ejection, I felt a calming return to normalcy in the Pac-10 (this was, of course, before UCLA lost to freaking Washington). How they build off this win will be very important for the Cougars seeding, which once looked like a two or a three but now may be hovering in the 5-8 range.