The Bilas Index, Vol. III: Ranking the top 68 teams in men's college basketball - ESPN

This has been a season unlike any other in recent years — if ever. There are reasons for the volatility, the unpredictability and the dreaded concept of «parity» (traditionally used by coaches to rationalize losses), but there has never been a season in my lifetime in which results and performance were so challenging to gauge and evaluate. Winning on the road has been a singular test this season, and it knows no conference boundaries.

Take Kansas. How does one square the Jayhawks shooting a scorching 69% while missing only 14 shots in 40 minutes against a historically good defensive team in Houston, then missing 15 shots in the first half and 40 overall at Kansas State two days later? The same team that beat Kentucky, UConn, Houston and Tennessee lost to UCF, West Virginia and Kansas State — all unranked. The Jayhawks are not alone. More top-10 and Top 25 teams than ever are finding wins on the road elusive, if not downright impossible. Without regard to point spreads, picking the home team in college basketball this season is the percentage play.

Even with all of the disequilibrium in the game, a few teams have shown high-level consistency on offense, defense and conversion. Connecticut and Purdue have separated, yet they are not at all unbeatable. The difference in teams ranked in The Bilas Index, Vol. III is not only their results and performance metrics against the field, but their ability to elevate toward the end of the season. Remember that metrics tell us what a team has done in the past, but not necessarily what it is capable of in the future. Some teams are ascending while others are, quite frankly, frauds that will be found out by season's end. There are always upsets, where the better team stumbles. And there