Feb. 25, 2004
How wacky has this college basketball season been? Remember when Florida (15-8, 6-6 SEC) was No. 1 in the polls? That's right, in December the Gators were the best in America, but now they're unranked and battling for a spot in the NCAA Tournament.

There is such unbelievable balance in college basketball right now.

There is such unbelievable balance in college basketball right now. In late January, Indiana was 5-1 in the Big Ten and headed to Michigan State. It looked like the Hoosiers would contend for the Big Ten regular-season title. Now Indiana (12-12, 6-7 Big Ten) is on the verge of missing the NCAA tourney for the first time since 1985. Coach Mike Davis' team might not even make the NIT.

Louisville has struggled lately, losing five of its past six games. The Cardinals were 16-1 and unblemished in Conference USA. But now Rick Pitino's Cardinals are 17-6 (7-5 C-USA) and might have to play in the opening round of the C-USA tournament.

The parity is amazing, and it's impossible to predict what will happen come tournament time. There will be plenty of surprises.

C-USA leader Memphis was unranked for too long this season, though I've had the Tigers in my Sensational 16 for the past two weeks. Big 12 leader Oklahoma State is still flying under the radar. Big East leader Pittsburgh will be tough come tourney time.

Eddie Sutton's Cowboys and Jamie Dixon's Panthers have a common denominator -- they can flat-out defend. When you talk about basketball in March, defense -- especially in the half-court game -- is mandatory. Teams get so much more conservative in the postseason.

Ask Florida's Billy Donovan and Indiana's Mike Davis how stunning this season has been. It's like a soap opera -- "As The Season Turns," baby!

Dick Vitale coached the Detroit Pistons and the University of Detroit in the 1970s before providing color commentary for ESPN's first college basketball game in 1979 (he has been an ESPN analyst ever since). Send a question for Vitale for possible use on ESPNEWS.