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One-on-One (on One): The best team in college basketball

It has been an unhinged season for college basketball less than one month after the season started. Already, preseason rankings have been scrambled, as nine of the top 10 teams in the Associated Press’s (AP) preseason poll have lost at least one game. With all the craziness afoot, we asked three of our writers who they think is the best team in the sport.

Houston on top

By Ethan Carbone

After a rough week, the Houston Cougars remained undefeated and were rightfully rewarded by the AP voters, who ranked them the best in the country.

Houston took on Oregon and beat them by a score of 66-56, dominating from the opening tip against a Ducks team that, prior to the season, was considered top three in the Pac-12. After that, the Cougars matched up against one of the better mid-major teams in Kent State, where they squeaked out a 49-45 win. This may seem like a bad thing, but to me this shows that the defense put in the work and was able to shut down the Golden Flashes. While the game may have been sloppy, to be the best team you have to win in all different types of circumstances, whether that be a blowout, a neck-and-neck game or a purely sloppy one.

The Cougars are undefeated at 6-0 and have one of the best players in the NCAA in Marcus Sasser, who will be the leading favorite to win the Bob Cousy Award. They also feature star role player J’Wan Roberts, who plays hardball in the paint and grabs rebounds over players who are bigger than him. Finally, another key player is the talented five-star freshman Jarace Walker, who dominates the paint on offense and defense as he can drive or post up and will make an opposing player regret attempting to score on him.

Although Saint Mary’s is coming to town soon, Houston’s next true test will be against No. 11 Alabama, who is one of three teams to beat preseason No. 1 North Carolina. Realistically, no team will go undefeated, but with the defensive grit drilled into them by head coach Kelvin Sampson and the star power led by Sasser, Houston at number one makes the most sense as they have been the best team and look like they will remain the best team when all is said and done.

Purdue deserves the top spot

By Jacob Hypke

When the preseason AP Top 25 poll included the Purdue Boilermakers, some fans voiced their confusion on the inclusion of the Big Ten squad. Head coach Matt Painter is the reason why they deserve to not just be in the rankings, but at the top.

With the Boilermakers’ success in Painter’s career, they almost demand a place in the poll no matter the supporting cast. That supporting cast this year, though, is filled with top 100 to 500 recruits like Fletcher Loyer, Mason Gillis, Ethan Morton, Braden Smith and perhaps most notably Zach Edey, who leads the Big Ten in scoring at 21.8 points, 12 rebounds, and almost three blocks per game.

One of the more impressive things about this Purdue team is how young they are. Few teams are as young but equally successful like Purdue. The Boilermakers have been to the Sweet 16 four out of the last five years, no matter who has left or joined their squad.

Everything points to another successful season and tournament run for Purdue. Loyer’s emergence versus Gonzaga with 14 points and then versus Duke with 18 shows he has cemented himself as a star for his team. Pair that with Edey’s 7-foot-4 frame and top 10 averages in points and rebounds, and this team is destined to exceed expectations this season.

The Cavaliers will soon take the top

By Caden Sexton

The now-third-ranked team in the country, the Virginia Cavaliers have played well enough to prove their dynasty is back. This 6-0 squad is playing incredible ball under head coach Tony Bennett and has shown me that they are the team to beat in men’s college basketball.

Other teams may also be undefeated, but no one else has beaten Baylor and Illinois during the start of their seasons. Baylor at the time was ranked fifth in the country and Illinois was 19th when they fell to the then-No. 16 Cavaliers.

Yes, Virginia did play their other four games against unranked teams, but in those games they had a combined plus-88 point differential, showing their domination. Their last victory was against Michigan, who had a great season last year and was undefeated before hosting the Cavaliers.

Virginia is playing well on both sides of the ball, with great offensive and defensive stats from each one of their stars. Kadin Shedrick leads with eight blocks, is tied for the most steals with 12 and has one of the best field goal percentages on the team. Yet, the team leader on offense is Reece Beekman, who’s hit an average of 22 field goals per game and is shooting 57 percent from beyond the arc.

Overall, this team has all the right tools to make a deep run in March. Bennett already has the experience of winning it all at the helm, and with this team he can once again reach the promised land.

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