With football out of the way, it's time for college sports fans to turn their attention to the hardwood. Everything you thought you knew in the preseason? Forget about it. Our experts will get you up to speed.
1.What team has been the biggest surprise?
Eamonn Brennan: Hello, Baylor? It feels like the Bears -- the nation's new No. 1 as of Monday afternoon -- were a fringe top-25 team to start the season, one of a dozen or so squads that belonged in the 25-35 range at the bottom of the poll ... and, wait, what? Baylor didn't receive a single vote in the preseason AP top 25?! Not one? Well then. Going from not-even-also-receiving-votes to No. 1 in two months is crazy no matter the situation, but this ascension is hardly the product of sheer poll attrition; Baylor beat Oregon, Xavier, Michigan State, Louisville and VCU in nonconference play alone. Baylor and Gonzaga are the last unbeaten teams remaining. The Bears earned this.
C.L. Brown: Creighton. Even with high-level transfers, you never know how well they will fit into their new environment. Marcus Foster, who transferred from Kansas State, has made a seamless transition (18.6 points per game). Freshman Justin Patton has been consistently good in the post, and it's tough to name a point guard who holds things together better than Maurice Watson Jr. Although the Bluejays lost to Villanova at home, they'll still have something to say in the Big East race.
Andy Katz: Baylor. The No. 1 team in the country continues to stun. No one could have predicted how productive and steady Miami transfer point guard Manu Lecomte would be for the Bears. No one predicted that they would beat Oregon (even without Dillon Brooks) and Xavier. Winning the Battle for Atlantis -- Louisville was in the field, and they also took down Michigan State -- was another unexpected plus. Now comes the test. How will Baylor handle West Virginia (Tuesday, 7 p.m. ET, ESPN2) and Kansas State (Saturday, 4:30 p.m. ET, ESPNU) on the road? If there is one criticism, it would be that the Bears haven't been as tested in true road games. We'll know more later this week.
Myron Medcalf: A year after winning just eight games, Richard Pitino's Minnesota squad is 15-2 and positioned to reach the NCAA tournament for the first time under the fourth-year coach. Now, the Gophers are legit players in the Big Ten after three consecutive wins: Purdue (road), Northwestern (road) and Ohio State. Pitino entered the year desperate to prove something to new athletic director Mark Coyle, who made a move on the school's football coach six months into his job. Would he be next? Now, Pitino could end the season as the hero who led the Gophers back to the NCAA tournament.
2. What team has been the biggest disappointment?
Brennan: Connecticut is probably the more popular answer here, but let's give a nod to Syracuse, for which the late-summer acquisition of Nebraska transfer Andrew White III -- and the ongoing development of stretch wing Tyler Lydon, whose prodigious shot-blocking helped lead the Orange to the Final Four last spring -- was supposed to portend a top-tier-of-the-ACC-type of team. Instead, the Orange are 10-6 with double-digit losses to St. John's and Boston College (and a neutral-court defeat to the aforementioned Huskies).
Brown: There are a lot of teams to choose from, starting with Michigan State and Connecticut, but they can point to injuries as a big reason for their struggles. I'd go with Syracuse because its season has been a head-scratcher. The late addition of White seemed as if it would help make up for the departure of Malachi Richardson. But guard play has largely been the reason for losses to teams such as St. John's and Boston College.
Katz: Georgetown. The Hoyas have talent, yet they're 9-8. When I talked to coach John Thompson III in the preseason, he was so high on this squad. He felt as if he had the missing piece in Rodney Pryor. Sure, Pryor has been the scorer he was advertised to be (18.2 points per game), but the Hoyas have melted down in too many close games. Their inability to finish games has been the most troubling aspect of this season. Georgetown has lost its edge. The hole the Hoyas have dug is not too deep to climb out of for an at-large NCAA berth, though.
Medcalf: Shaka Smart's Texas squad lost its nucleus from last season. We all knew Texas would need time to adjust with its young core after Isaiah Taylor bolted for the NBA. But who knew the Longhorns would have a 7-8 record entering the second week of January? Yes, the Longhorns are young. But they also have a five-star big man in Jarrett Allen and other talented youngsters. But they're poor at the free throw line (66.3 percent, No. 262 nationally) and the 3-point line (30.5 percent, No. 317). The Big 12 might devour this group.
3. Which player has been the biggest surprise?
Brennan: There are better answers for this question if we're talking strictly about basketball -- Baylor's Lecomte, UCLA's TJ Leaf, Jock Landale of Saint Mary's, Purdue's Caleb Swanigan, all of whom are better than expected to varying degrees -- but no player in college basketball has led to more sheer surprise than Duke's Grayson Allen. After an offseason of sincere reflection and promised self-improvement, it was crazy to see Allen trip yet another opponent midgame, the third in a calendar year, in December; it was even crazier to see him return after just one game of an "indefinite" suspension.
Brown: Duke's Luke Kennard. If there were a most valuable player award for the first half of the season, the sophomore guard would have to get serious consideration. While the Blue Devils dealt with a bevy of injuries, Kennard was instrumental in holding things together. He emerged as the team's leading scorer so far even though, when entering the season, it seemed his playing time would diminish because of the influx of talent in Duke's freshman class. Instead, Kennard has been an instrumental part of the lineup.
Katz: Swanigan. The Purdue big man is a legit All-American and Wooden Award contender. He is a double-double machine for the Boilermakers. When he was at the NBA draft combine, he didn't stand out. His size was a draw, but his game didn't command everyone's attention. There were questions about his buy-in. Well, no one is questioning his approach or commitment now. He has been all-in from the moment the school year started. If Purdue wins the Big Ten and/or goes deep in the NCAA tournament, it will be because of Swanigan.
Medcalf: Patton. He didn't average double figures as a junior in high school. Once he arrived at Creighton last year, he redshirted so he could build his body and game. We expected Creighton's backcourt to dominate. But Patton just turned himself into an NBA prospect and All-Big East contender with a breathtaking redshirt freshman campaign. The big man has made 75 percent of his shots inside the arc, and he's averaging 19.6 points and seven rebounds over the past five games.
4. Which player has been the biggest disappointment?
Brennan: Another quasi-off-the-floor answer from me here, and in this case, "off the floor" is meant literally: Allonzo Trier. The Arizona sophomore guard was a legitimate Pac-12 Player of the Year candidate entering the season, before UCLA's Lonzo Ball rode in and transformed the Bruins into a Mike D'Antoni fever dream. But Trier has yet to play a single game in 2016-17, owing to an indefinite suspension for reasons the school has yet to disclose. Recently, coach Sean Miller said he was optimistic Trier would have the chance to play this season. Until then, Wildcats fans can only wait -- and wonder.
Brown: Trier. Obviously it's not because of what he's done on the court. With Trier, the Wildcats could contend with UCLA and Oregon for the Pac-12 crown. The problem is he hasn't played in any of the Wildcats' 17 games (they're 15-2, 4-0 in the Pac-12). It's one of the most bizarre suspensions -- if you can call it that since the school has not announced exactly why he's out -- in recent memory. Here's hoping for a resolution, one way or the other, very soon.
Katz: Allen. It shouldn't even be close. And it has nothing to do with his production. He's producing, especially lately as he's playing more point. He may well be the difference for the Blue Devils on the court. But his suspension is all on him. He has made himself a distraction for Duke in every game. He had a clean slate once the season started, but all the equity he built up over the summer is gone. One ACC coach told me that his players weren't fans of Allen. How much that opinion is shared across the country is unknown. He will need to do a lot more to win back the respect of his peers, and it will be interesting to see how he handles himself over the final two months of the season.
Medcalf: Trier. He hasn't played a game. But that's the issue. We're not sure why he's still sitting, and Arizona officials continue to offer vague explanations for his absence. You add Trier and the Wildcats are national title contenders. Will he return in time for the NCAA tournament? Will he play at all? This is still one of the biggest stories in college basketball. And it's disappointing because we're not sure why a talented player has yet to play a minute this season.