Earlier this week, we looked at the most pleasant surprises of the college basketball season. Now it’s time to flip the script and take a look at the programs that just aren’t cutting it this year.
College basketball predictions have become an increasingly inexact science in the NIL and transfer portal era, but there are still certain programs everyone expects to see playing deep into March. If something does not change quickly, these teams may be gone before the first weekend, if they even make the field at all.
These schools were highly regarded when the season started, but not all has gone right. Here are the biggest disappointments in men’s college basketball this year.
Kentucky
Kentucky has not been a complete disaster, but it has not been close to good either. The Wildcats are just 2–6 against ranked opponents and are coming off a 25-point loss to Vanderbilt that raised some serious red flags.
They would still make the tournament if the season ended today, but this is Kentucky. The expectation is not to sneak in as a No. 9 seed. It is to compete for Final Fours. This roster does not look remotely capable of doing that right now.
There is still time to turn things around, but the schedule offers little relief. Trips to Arkansas, Florida, Auburn, and Texas A&M are still ahead. This could easily get worse before it gets better for Mark Pope’s team.
Tennessee
Maybe, just maybe, Tennessee is starting to figure things out.
The Volunteers found a way to lose at Syracuse between defeats to Kansas and Illinois, then followed that up by getting drilled on the road at both Arkansas and Florida. It felt like the season was slipping away fast.
Then Tennessee went into Alabama and delivered its best performance of the year, followed by another road win. It does not completely erase the disappointment, but it gives the Vols something to build on.
Right now, Tennessee would land somewhere around the 7 line. That is not where preseason expectations were, but it is still salvageable. The Vols just need to look more like the team that showed up in Tuscaloosa and less like the one that got embarrassed in Fayetteville and Gainesville.
Creighton
Creighton seemed perfectly positioned to get back on track. A road trip to face a struggling Marquette team followed by a home game against UConn felt like an opportunity to reset the season.
Instead, the Bluejays were down 29 at halftime in Milwaukee.
They went on to lose by 24, and that result summed up how far off the rails this season has gone. Creighton sits at 12–9 and does not even have a resume strong enough for the First Four conversation.
With only one Quad 1 win all season, upcoming games against UConn twice and a road trip to St. John’s feel like must-wins if Greg McDermott wants to keep his NCAA tournament streak alive.
Oregon
Oregon should have been better than this. Instead, the Ducks look completely out of their depth in the Big Ten.
At 8-13, Dana Altman is staring at his first losing season in Eugene squarely in the face. Oregon simply does not score well enough to compete in this league, and the problems do not look fixable.
The Ducks are riding a seven-game losing streak and have failed to break 60 points in four of their last five games. None of the past six losses were decided by fewer than 10 points.
This does not feel like bad luck or a tough stretch. It feels like a roster that just is not good enough.
Kansas State
Kansas State actually looked promising in November. The Wildcats nearly knocked off Nebraska in Kansas City, which would have been one of the better early wins in the country.
Instead, that became one of four losses by five points or less. Those close defeats piled up, and now K-State sits under .500 and near the bottom of the Big 12.
With trips to Houston, Texas Tech, and Kansas still ahead, there does not appear to be much relief in sight. What once looked like a solid tournament team now feels closer to a complete miss.
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