NCAA Basketball News and Notes for December 17

The start of the college basketball season has led to some incredible performances, heartbreaking losses, and quite a bit of turnover in the college basketball rankings.
With so much excitement being generated from the play on the court, let’s take a look at some of the biggest stories off of it from last week.
Unlucky To Be No. 1 Early On
While everyone in the nation wants to be the best in college basketball, it might be concerning to be considered No. 1 right now. In the last four weeks, we have had four No. 1 teams, with the Baylor Bears being the most recent to hold the honor.
After winning the national championship last year, the Bears are back on top. However, if the previous top teams could give a word of advice, it might be to not get too comfortable.
For instance, No. 2 ranked Duke held the honor of being No. 1 overall after upsetting the previously top-seeded Gonzaga; however, their stint at the top was brief as they were then upset on the road by Ohio State in their next game.
Still, as the reigning national champions, Baylor might be here to stay. They are currently 9-0 overall and have dominated their competition. Most recently, they beat No. 9 Villanova 57-36 at home.
In fact, in nine games, they have won by single digits just once, and that was an eight-point win over VCU.
On the year, the Baylor Bears rank 20th in scoring, averaging 81 points per game, and rank third in scoring defense, allowing opponents just 54.1 points per game.
Despite their early dominance, they aren’t getting as much love in terms of odds. They have the second-best odds of winning the Big 12 at +200 (trailing only Kansas). In terms of the national championship, they have just the fourth-best odds to repeat at +1200.
For the time being, though, they are trying to settle into the top ranking in the nation and hope to be there for a while.
COVID-19 Rearing Its Ugly Head Again
Unfortunately, the COVID-19 pandemic is still a very real part of our current state of affairs, and the sporting world has felt the ramifications as of late. Professional leagues, particularly the NBA and NFL, have been crippled as outbreaks have occurred. This has led to superstars having to be put into health and safety protocols and has even led to some games being canceled.
It appears that the NCAA is not immune to this either. On Wednesday, just an hour before the tipoff between UCLA and Alabama State, the game was canceled due to COVID-19 concerns.
Prior to the cancellation, it has already been announced that UCLA coach Mick Cronin would not be on the sidelines due to health and safety protocols.
This isn’t the only game that has been affected by the resurgence of the virus. A matchup of top-25 teams between No. 15 Ohio State and No. 21 Kentucky was canceled for this Saturday due to COVID concerns with Ohio State’s team.
Sadly, this may get worse before it gets better and more cancellations would not be shocking. The NBA is already exploring alterations to its safety protocols that even has the Toronto Raptors decreasing attendance by as much as 50%.
While none of these changes have been announced for the NCAA, they may not be too far off.
Always Check Your Bets
In an unusual sports betting story, Illinois State and Chicago State were front and center of a betting controversy. In some sportsbooks, the Illinois State Redbirds were favored by 9.5 points, leaving many bettors frustrated as the final score was 80-71.
The only problem is the score was actually wrong. A free throw by Josiah Strong had not been counted during the game, which would have led to a 10-point victory and a cover by ISU.
While many sportsbooks have attempted to make things right with bettors, it just goes to show to always double-check your bets, and in this case, double-check the scorers too.