There was a lot of exciting action during Feast Week in college basketball, including our fair share of upsets. While Kansas falling to Marquette in the Maui Invitational wouldn't really qualify, Alabama losing to Ohio State on a neutral floor certainly does, and that was one of the shots called in this space last week.
The Crimson Tide paid the price for that stumble, dropping from No. 17 all the way to No. 23 in the AP Top 25 poll, and they won't be the last ranked team to fall victim to an upset this season. Let's take a look at three more potential upset victims in the next seven days, beginning with a pair of matchups from the ACC/SEC Challenge.
3 Ranked College Basketball Teams On Upset Alert In Week 4
No. 7 Duke Blue Devils (At Arkansas 11/29)
Thanks to realignment and TV contract changes, the annual Big Ten/ACC Challenge is no more. In its place is the ACC/SEC Challenge, which sees some top programs in two huge Power 5 leagues face off for non-conference bragging rights.
The top target for SEC schools is a shot at Duke, which has looked like one of the best teams in the country in the early going with its lone loss coming at home to now-No. 2 Arizona on Nov. 10. There hasn't been a really dangerous road test for the Blue Devils yet but they will get one on Wednesday at Arkansas.
The Razorbacks have stumbled a bit in the early going but this team was ranked in the Preseason Top 25 for a reason and Eric Musselman will be motivated for revenge after the Blue Devils knocked out the Razorbacks in the 2022 Elite Eight. Going to Fayetteville is never easy either so Duke may get knocked off if they aren't careful.
No. 14 Texas A&M Aggies (At Virginia 11/29)
Let's stick with the ACC/SEC Challenge for our next potential upset victim in No. 14 Texas A&M. The early results have been strong for the Aggies, whose only loss came to Florida Atlantic in the ESPN Events Invitational last week and has road wins over Ohio State and SMU already.
Expectations are high for the Aggies, who rode a late-season surge into the NCAA Tournament a year ago and have built on their strong finish at the start of this season. While Texas A&M has been battle-tested in the early going, they have not had the experience of playing a rugged defensive team like Virginia yet.
The Pack Line defense remains strong for Tony Bennett's team as the Cavaliers allow just 53.8 points per game. Virginia has used its defense to race off to a 5-1 start that includes wins over another SEC school in Florida and West Virginia, which the Cavaliers topped 56-54 on a neutral floor last week.
Playing in Charlottesville isn't easy as Virginia is already 3-0 at home and its student section is among the rowdiest in the ACC. Texas A&M hasn't seen a road environment or a defense like this yet, leaving them very vulnerable to an upset if they aren't able to execute against the Pack Line.
No. 24 Illinois (At Rutgers 12/2)
While Purdue has established itself as the class of the Big Ten, there is a clear opening for the second-best team thanks to some early struggles from Michigan State. Illinois has made its case for that mantle with a 5-1 start that saw the lone loss come at home against Marquette, which is now No. 3 in the country, and the Fighting Illini played very well in that game.
Apart from the Golden Eagles, however, Illinois really hasn't been challenged in non-conference play. Four blowouts and a nine-point win over Oakland aren't doing much to get Illinois ready for the rigors of Big Ten play, which begins for the Fighting Illini this week as they travel to East Piscataway to take on Rutgers.
Many wrote off the Scarlet Knights after their Opening Night loss to Princeton but that defeat looks better with the Tigers off to a perfect 6-0 start of their own. Rutgers has a balanced attack that has four different players averaging at least 10 points per game and they are incredibly tough to beat at Jersey Mike's Arena, where they have pulled a ton of big upsets under head coach Steve Pikiell.
That combination of ingredients is a bad one for Illinois, which may not be ready for its first true road game of the season to come against a team ready to pull a big shocker to jump start their Big Ten slate. Rutgers will be ready to play on Saturday and if the Fighting Illini can't match their intensity they will find themselves outside the Top 25 next week by becoming the latest victims of Jersey Mike's Arena's upset voodoo.
