LAWRENCE, Kan. (AP) — The season was barely a week old when Michigan State lost to Kentucky in the Champions Classic, a defeat of the nation's No. 1 team that could be written off easily as a high-profile battle of heavyweights on a neutral court early in the season that didn't go the Spartans' way.

Then the Wildcats rose to No. 1 and lost to Evansville. Duke took over and lost to Stephen F. Austin. Louisville climbed to No. 1 and fell to Texas Tech. Kansas ascended to the top spot and lost at Villanova.

Good luck finding excuses for all those losses, other than perhaps this one: There is a pa...