New Mexico Lobos guard Jaelen House Troy Babbitt-USA TODAY Sports

Parity hits college basketball as last of the unbeatens go down

By Eric Smithling | Last updated 1/4/23

For only the second time since 1976-77, every college basketball team has a loss this early in the season, just as conference play kicks into gear.

New Mexico falls on the road to Fresno State and just like that, there are zero unbeaten teams in men's Division I.

This is the 2nd-earliest that every team has lost a game over the last 45 seasons.

The only earlier date was in 2017-18, when the mark was hit on December 30th.
— ESPN Stats & Info (@ESPNStatsInfo) January 4, 2023

This year marks the second shortest run of unbeatens since 1976-77. New Mexico was the last one standing but lost last night. The only other time there were no other unbeaten men's teams this early in the season was 2017-18, when Arizona St., Nova and TCU all lost on Dec 30.
— David Worlock (@DavidWorlock) January 4, 2023

Only three days into the new year, Associated Press No. 21 New Mexico (14-1, 2-1 in Mountain West) lost at Fresno State (6-8, 2-1 in Mountain West), 71-67. The previous night, No. 1 Purdue (13-1, 2-1 in Big Ten) lost its first game of the season to unranked Rutgers (10-4, 2-1 in Big Ten), 65-64.

Per ESPN Stats and Info, the only time in the past 46 seasons every team lost a game earlier than Jan. 3 was in 2017-2018. That season, Arizona State, TCU, and Villanova lost on Dec. 30, 2017 to ensure no one would finish the season undefeated.

No. 4 UConn (14-1, 3-1 in Big East) lost on Dec. 31 to No. 18 Xavier (12-3, 4-0 in Big East). The Huskies, Lobos and Boilermakers were the last three unbeatens in the sport.

At the end of the 2017-2018 season, Villanova cut down the nets after being one of the three final unbeaten teams in the regular season.

Per Oddschecker, Houston (+700) is the favorite to win the NCAA Men's Basketball Tournament. The Final Four will be held at NRG Stadium in Houston this year, so the Cougars (14-1, 2-0 in American) will certainly have home-court advantage if they are to win their region in March.

Rounding out the top five in championship odds are UConn (+1200) and a trio of teams at +1600: No. 5 Arizona (13-1, 2-1 in Pac-12), No. 3 Kansas (13-1, 2-0 in Big 12), and No. 10 UCLA (13-2, 4-0 in Pac-12).

Arizona previously won its only title in 1997; the last of UCLA's 11 championships came in 1995. Kansas would become the first repeat champion since Florida in 2006 and 2007. UConn last won the title in 2014 and has four total. Houston, New Mexico and Purdue are all seeking the first championship in program history.

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