There are lots of interesting games sprinkled throughout Saturday's schedule — among them are Kansas vs. Iowa State early and Gonzaga vs. Saint Mary's late. Arguably, the most compelling contest of them all is Purdue at Indiana because they're in-state rivals, one of which was the Big Ten preseason favorite (Indiana), while the other has been No. 1 in the CBS Sports Top 25 And 1 daily college basketball rankings 13 straight mornings.
Spoiler alert: It's about to be 14 straight mornings, guaranteed.
Win or lose Saturday afternoon, the Boilermakers will remain No. 1 in the Top 25 And 1 come Sunday morning because even if Purdue loses at Assembly Hall, it will still have the sport's best body of work and thus still be considered the No. 1 overall seed in any sensible projected NCAA Tournament bracket.
Let me show you why.
If Purdue wins at Indiana, the Boilermakers will improve to at least 9-1 in Quadrant-1 games — and it could be 10-1 if Maryland slides back into the top 30 of the NET — with zero additional losses. That would easily be the sport's best body of work, and nobody would try to argue otherwise. So if Purdue wins at Indiana, the Boilermakers will obviously remain No. 1 in the Top 25 And 1 and (presumably) a unanimous No. 1 in both the AP Top 25 and the Coaches Poll.
Now here's the important thing to realize: Even if Purdue loses at Indiana, the Boilermakers will still have the sport's best body of work because they'd still be at least 8-2 in Quadrant-1 games — or 9-2 if, again, Maryland moves from 32nd in the NET to inside the top 30 of the NET — with zero additional losses.
Put another way, no matter what happens in Indiana or anywhere else Saturday, on Sunday morning literally every team in the country will still either have fewer Q1 wins than Purdue and/or more losses inside of Q1 than Purdue and/or more losses outside of Q1 than Purdue. Most will still have all three.
So enjoy Saturday's games, everybody! I'll meet you back here Sunday morning, where Purdue will remain No. 1 for a 14th straight day regardless of whether the Boilermakers are 23-1 or 22-2.
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Top 25 And 1 rankings
Rk | Teams | Chg | Rcrd | |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1 |  | Zach Edey finished with 18 points and 13 rebounds in Wednesday's 80-60 win over Penn State. The Boilermakers' next game is Saturday at Indiana. | -- | 34-5 |
| 2 |  | Brandon Miller finished with 22 points and eight rebounds in Tuesday's 101-44 win over Vanderbilt. The Crimson Tide's next game is Saturday at LSU. | -- | 25-12 |
| 3 |  | Jarace Walker finished with 15 points and five rebounds in Thursday's 70-61 win at Wichita State. The Cougars' next game is Sunday at Temple. | -- | 32-5 |
| 4 |  | Jalen Wilson finished with 20 points and eight rebounds in Tuesday's 90-78 win over Kansas State. The Jayhawks' next game is Saturday at Iowa State. | -- | 23-11 |
| 5 |  | Timmy Allen finished with 18 points and six rebounds in Monday's 76-71 win over Baylor. The Longhorns' next game is Saturday at Kansas State. | -- | 21-13 |
| 6 |  | Azuolas Tubelis finished with 40 points and nine rebounds in Thursday's 91-76 win over Oregon. The Wildcats' next game is Saturday against Oregon State. | -- | 27-9 |
| 7 |  | Kansas State shot below 34% from the field in Tuesday's 90-78 loss at Kansas. The Wildcats' next game is Saturday against Texas. | -- | 19-15 |
| 8 |  | Jaime Jaquez Jr. finished with 15 points and 10 rebounds in Thursday's 70-61 win over Washington. The Bruins' next game is Saturday agianst Washington State. | -- | 16-17 |
| 9 |  | Jayden Gardner finished with 17 points and eight rebounds in Monday's 67-62 win at Syracuse. The Cavaliers' next game is Saturday at Virginia Tech. | -- | 23-11 |
| 10 |  | Tennessee missed 20 of the 25 3-pointers it attempted in Wednesday's 67-54 loss at Florida. The Vols' next game is Saturday against Auburn. | -- | 27-9 |
| 11 |  | Iowa State squandered a 23-point lead in Monday's 80-77 overtime loss at Texas Tech. The Cyclones' next game is Saturday against Kansas. | -- | 29-8 |
| 12 |  | Baylor missed 18 of the 26 3-pointers it attempted in Monday's 76-71 loss at Texas. The Bears' next game is Saturday against Texas Tech. | -- | 24-11 |
| 13 |  | Jack Nunge finished with 23 points and 14 rebounds in Wednesday's 85-83 overtime win over Providence. The Musketeers' next game is Saturday against St. John's. | -- | 16-18 |
| 14 |  | Tyler Kolek finished with 20 points and six assists in Wednesday's 73-64 win over Villanova. The Golden Eagles' next game is Saturday against Butler. | -- | 27-10 |
| 15 |  | Drew Timme finished with 15 points and 11 rebounds in Thursday's 88-70 win over Santa Clara. The Zags' next game is Saturday at Saint Mary's. | -- | 27-8 |
| 16 |  | Damian Baugh finished with 16 points and 10 assists in Tuesday's 76-72 win over West Virginia. The Horned Frogs' next game is Saturday at Oklahoma State. | -- | 21-13 |
| 17 |  | Bryce Hopkins finished 3 of 14 from the field in Wednesday's 85-83covertime loss at Xavier. The Friars' next game is Wednesday against Georgetown. | -- | 21-14 |
| 18 |  | Terquavion Smith finished with 32 points and five rebounds in Wednesday's 94-66 win over Florida State. The Wolfpack's next game is Saturday against Georgia Tech. | -- | 26-15 |
| 19 |  | Alex Ducas finished with 18 points and eight rebounds in Thursday's 68-59 win over San Francisco. The Gaels' next game is Saturday against Gonzaga. | -- | 26-8 |
| 20 |  | Nathan Mensah finished with 17 points and six rebounds in Friday's 72-52 win over Boise State. The Aztecs' next game is Wednesday at Utah State. | NR | 26-11 |
| 21 |  | FAU missed 28 of the 36 3-pointers it attempted in Thursday's 86-77 loss at UAB. The Owls' next game is Saturday at Charlotte. | -- | 25-9 |
| 22 |  | Norchad Omier finished with 21 points and eight rebounds in Tuesday's 91-83 win over Virginia Tech. The Hurricanes' next game is Saturday at Clemson. | -- | 15-17 |
| 23 |  | Kendric Davis finished with 26 points and five assists in Sunday's 80-68 win at Tulsa. The Tigers' next game is Saturday against Tulane. | -- | 22-10 |
| 24 |  | Johni Broome finished with 19 points and 18 rebounds in Wednesday's 94-73 win over Georgia. The Tigers' next game is Saturday at Tennessee. | -- | 27-8 |
| 25 |  | Jordan Hawkins finished with 26 points and five rebounds in Tuesday's 90-76 win at DePaul. The Huskies' next game is Saturday at Georgetown. | -- | 37-3 |
| 26 |  | Kobe Brown finished with 26 points and eight rebounds in Wednesday's 87-77 win over LSU. The Tigers' next game is Saturday at Mississippi State. | -- | 8-24 |
