The college basketball season is only a little over a month old, and there have already been four No. 1 teams to lose. On Tuesday night, the latest team was added to the list as part of a night of upsets to top-ranked teams.
The Louisville Cardinals fell 70-57 to Texas Tech in the Jimmy V Classic at Madison Square Garden. The Cardinals were down by three at the half before falling behind in the second half and losing by 13. They shot just 34 percent from the floor (18/53) while being defended by Chris Beard’s tough defense. Tech was led by Davide Moretti’s 18 points and won the game despite Jahmi’us Ramsey missing his third straight game due to his hamstring.
Louisville, now 9-1, joins Michigan State, Kentucky and Duke as the No. 1-ranked teams to lose this season. The win marked Texas Tech’s first against a No. 1-ranked team.
Wow. #TexasTech upsets #1 Louisville 70-57. During his postgame interview Chris Beard grabbed Avery Benson and called him “Arkansas tough” and punched his chest. #WreckEm pic.twitter.com/hYxS64HqF4
— Jon Sokoloff (@JonSokoloff) December 11, 2019
Earlier in the evening, there was another upset.
No. 4 Maryland lost on the road in a Big Ten game against Penn State 76-69. The Nittany Lions (8-2, 1-1) shot 42.6 percent from the field and became the fifth unranked team to beat a top-5 squad this season. They had balanced scoring — five players were in double figures — including Lamar Stevens and Mike Watkins, who each had 15 to lead the way.
Maryland is now 10-1 and 1-1 in conference play.
