The past month in college basketball

         It's championship week in college football. So, I'll refrain from commenting on it until after this weekend. By then, the full Playoff picture will be in place.

         Shifting gears, I'm going to look at basketball and the recent ups and downs of the teams I cheer for.

BYU Cougars

         At first, it would seem BYU had a great start to their season.

         The Cougars were able to trounce a ranked team, beat their archrival, and more! Then, you gotta ask yourself, is that #12 spot cursed? The loss to UVU in overtime was pathetic.

         Neither team could make more than 1/3 of their field goals. They lived and died by 3's. There was some mild improvement in BYU's free throw shooting. However, giving 35 free throws attempts for the Wolverines was a recipe for disaster. Sure, they only made 71% of them, but that's still 25 points.

         And here I was, thinking BYU would stay ranked going into conference play. This makes even winning 1 game against Gonzaga this season seem a bit unlikely. But hey, don't take my word for it.

Villanova Wildcats

         The Wildcats managed to stay on top of the rankings after two gut-wrenching losses. UCLA and Purdue are two of the best teams in the country right now. Can we say quality losses? I hate that term. It's the most SEC thing to say.

         Besides those 2 games, everything seemed to be a breeze. Villanova's free throw percentage has improved as well. Granted, they haven't played any high-caliber opponents since Purdue.

         So, Wildcats are doing well, but are they worth that #6 rank? Before entering conference play, Villanova will still have to get past Baylor. That should be an interesting game.

         Win or lose, Villanova is a team that has shown they could win big even when the odds are against them. This is, after all, one of the two teams that won the Tournament as 8th seed, which is the lowest on recorded history. The other one being Butler.

         I'm telling you, these Big East boys are dangerous if you underestimate them. It can't be a coincidence that teams from this conference have managed to snatch championships as lower seeds. This is what makes basketball fun because anything could happen.