The Case for No. 1

Thanks to Jordan Taylor's incredible performance on Saturday, leading Wisconsin from 15 down in the second half to knock off Ohio State in Madison, Bob Knight's 1976 Indiana team will remain the last undefeated team in college hoops for another year.

It also means that the debate over who should be the No. 1 team in the country will be a lively one. There should be a consensus to who the top four teams in the country are -- Pitt, Texas, Kansas, and the Buckeyes.

Who is the best? What order should they be ranked? We break it all down for you:


The case for Kansas:

• Rankings: No. 2/No. 2
  
• Kenpom/RPI/SOS: No. 2/No. 1/No. 12
• Record: 24-1, 9-1
  

The Jayhawks hit a rough patch in their season about three weeks ago.

Thomas Robinson's mother passed away on the heels of both of her parents dying in the span of a month, leaving a teammate without a family. It was devastating to hear and read about. I can't imagine what it was like to live through or to see a teammate deal with. Robinson's mom died the night before Texas came to visit, and most of the team spent the night sitting up with the young man.

Not exactly the ideal way to prepare for what is the biggest game of the regular season.

The Jayhawks came out torrid on that Saturday, jumping out to an 18-3 lead and holding onto that lead for much of the first 25-30 minutes. But, eventually, the adrenaline wore off and the effects of a sleepless night took over. Texas made a phenomenal comeback, and Kansas was handed their only loss of the season.

Robinson missed the road trip to Colorado, but since he has rejoined the team, the Jayhawks have been nothing short of a buzzsaw. They've won five straight, all by at least 17 points, while scoring an average of 91.2 ppg. Two of those wins were against Missouri and Kansas State at home. Two were at Nebraska and Texas Tech. One was a 23 point win over an Iowa State team that made 14 three pointers.

No one in the country is playing better basketball than the Jayhawks are right now. And if it weren't for tragic circumstances, this team could very well be undefeated today.


The case for Ohio State:

• Rankings: No. 1/No. 1
  
• Kenpom/RPI/SOS: No. 1/No. 3/No. 31
  
• Record: 24-1, 11-1

Maybe I'm old school, but I find it tough to fault the Buckeyes for losing to a top 15 team at one of the most difficult places in the country to win.

No one beats Wisconsin at the Kohl Center. Well, I take that back. 11 teams have beaten Wisconsin at the Kohl Center in 161 games under head coach Bo Ryan. And no one in the country was beating the Badgers on Saturday. Hell, the Minnesota Timberwolves might have left with a loss the way Jordan Taylor was playing.

My point is that this loss shouldn't effect the way you look at Ohio State. If you thought they were the No. 1 team in the country heading into Saturday -- as all 96 people that voted in either the AP or the Coaches Poll did -- you should still consider them the best team in the country after Saturday.

But that isn't how the rankings work. If you lose, even if the loss is just as "good" as the Kansas loss to Texas at home, you drop. Fair or not.


The case for Pitt:

• Rankings: No. 4/No. 4
  
• Kenpom/RPI/SOS: No. 5/No. 6/No. 17
• Record: 23-2, 11-1

Of the four teams that we look at in this post, Pitt is probably the least likely to earn the top spot in the polls.

They've lost twice, their computers numbers aren't as pretty, and they lack the kind of star power and NBA potential that litters the rosters of Kansas, Texas, and Ohio State.

But that is exactly what Pitt wants you to think of them.

There is not a tough, more physical team in the country than Pitt. They don't win because they have the most talented players. They win because they are the best team, in every sense of the word. Think about this -- the Panthers played without Ashton Gibbs this week, their leading scorer and a candidate for Big East player of the year. It didn't matter. The Panthers still went into West Virginia and into Villanova in prime time games (on Big Monday and on Gameday on Saturday) and came away with wins.

Could Texas win at Kansas and Texas A&M without Jordan Hamilton? Could Kansas win in Austin or at Missouri with Marcus Morris? Ohio State couldn't win at Wisconsin with Jared Sullinger.

The counter-argument is that Pitt at full strength couldn't beat any of those three teams at full strength, and if you believe that, its fine. I'm not sure I'd argue with you.

And neither would Pitt. Its exactly what they want you to think.


The case for Texas:

• Rankings: No. 3/No. 3
  
• Kenpom/RPI/SOS: No. 3/No. 7/No. 18
• Record: 22-3, 10-0
  

Texas has the worst record of these four candidates with three losses. They also have easily the worst loss, a 17 point whooping they took at the hands of USC back in December.

That said, they are the only one of the four that is still undefeated in conference play. They haven't been squeaking by their opponents, either. On Saturday, LaceDarius Dunn led a second half comeback that fell short, as Baylor lost to the Longhorns 69-60. It was the closest conference game Texas has played yet this season. Before that, they had beaten Kansas by 11 at the Phog and knocked off Missouri by 13 in a game in which they shot 12-26 from the free throw line.

Texas isn't just beating people right now.

They are choking the lifeblood out of them. The Longhorns don't just have a great defense, they don't just have the best defense in the country, through ten Big 12 games, they are playing defense at a historic level.

If you look at the entire resume of each of these four teams, the Longhorns clearly have the worst. But since early January there hasn't been a better team than Texas.