RADIO
What an insane Saturday of college basketball this past weekend. 11 ranked teams lost, which was tied for the most in a single day in AP poll history.
While the actual game results were crazy, we didn't get many great games, unfortunately. Tennessee got back on track by blowing out a great Florida squad at home, Mississippi State almost got 30-pieced by Mizzou on their home court, Duke wiped the floor with UNC, and 10-11 Kansas State destroyed No. 3 Iowa State in Ames. There were about five or six additional game results that were similar to these.
What does that mean for college basketball as a whole? It means we have to fire off some takes about overrated and underrated teams yet again. It's time for the next article of a year-long series, Overrated and Underrated College Basketball Teams, after the release of the weekly Associated Press Poll. All rankings listed are based on the Week 14 AP Poll released Monday.
Overrated College Basketball Teams For Week 14
Tennessee Volunteers: No. 8 to No. 4
I am aware that this team just beat No. 5 Florida on their home court without their most important player, Zakai Zeigler. I am also aware that they lost to Kentucky with Zeigler at home as 11-point favorites.
The win over the Gators was one of the most impressive I've seen this season from anybody. However, I've just seen this story from the Vols too many times. They are an Absolutely lock-down, cream-of-the-crop defensive team (currently No. 1 in KenPom) but struggle to find their offense too often.
The Vols have been a top-5 defensive team every year since 2021, with an average seed of 4.25. They are 6-4 in the Big Dance in this four-year span.
Last season they had Dalton Knecht to bail them out consistently. While they probably would have made the Final Four if they could've avoided the seven-foot-four, two-time National Player of the Year, this team does not have a Knecht.
Early on, Chaz Lanier was looking like he could maybe shoulder the offense load that Knecht did with over 20 points per game and 40% from three, but now the jury is out. He's not that guy. Lanier is a really good offensive player and elite shooter, but he cannot carry a team like Knecht.
Zeigler should be back next game according to him, but if he tweaks that injury and it becomes more of a problem, the ceiling of this team is drastically reduced. I already don't see them as a true Final Four contender, but if Zeigler is out of the picture, forget about it.
NO. 12 KENTUCKY TAKES DOWN NO. 8 TENNESSEE 😤
The Wildcats earn a major road conference win over the Volunteers 📈 pic.twitter.com/Q16rGqR3no
— NCAA March Madness (@MarchMadnessMBB) January 29, 2025
Underrated College Basketball Teams For Week 14
Clemson Tigers: Unranked (First in 'Others Receiving Votes')
The ACC is bad. There's no disputing that. One team ranked in the AP Poll, ten teams with double digit losses already, only four teams in the KenPom top 40. While the SEC is having a historically great season with around seven or eight final-four contenders, the ACC could not have gone more in the opposite direction.
This is about Clemson, though, not how bad their league is. While it's Duke and everyone else in this conference, Clemson has emerged as the clear No. 2, with a 10-1 ACC mark, including 11-1 at home.
The Tigers lead the ACC in three-point percentage at 39%, which also ranks 11th nationally. They have a legit star guard in Chase Hunter, a sixth-year senior who has spent all of his collegiate years donning a Clemson uniform, unheard of in the portal era. The growth of the Atlanta native has been incredible to watch.
Whatever he did in the offseason to improve his shot this past summer clearly worked because he's now a 45% three-point shooter (31% last season) and is No. 2 in the conference with an 89.6% conversion rate at the charity stripe.
I must give Ian Schieffelin his flowers as well. The 6-foot-8, 240lb senior is one of the best play-makers in the league, regardless of position. He's got the Robbie Avila / Cameron Krutwig archetype locked down.
If you're hip to these CBB stars, you know that means he's a matchup nightmare, which is extremely valuable in tournament play. Clemson already surpassed expectations last season by making their second Elite Eight in program history, and I would not be shocked if they made it No. 3 this March.
Only one men’s Division I player in the last 25 years has put up 10+ PTS, 20+ REB & 4+ AST in a win against an AP Top 5 opponent:
Clemson’s Ian Schieffelin last night.
Thats it. pic.twitter.com/D9Xftv6Urb
— Greg Harvey (@BetweenTheNums) December 4, 2024
