CBB Upset Alert, Week 3: Why Purdue and Tennessee need to be careful

The college basketball season is barely over two weeks old and we have seen plenty of dramatic upsets already. Opening night delivered a stunner as UCF fans stormed the court after the Knights upset a ranked Texas A&M squad while Arizona went on the road last week and lost to an unranked Wisconsin team.

Throughout the regular season, we'll check in every Tuesday in this space to identify the ranked college basketball teams that should be on high alert for a potential upset. Without further ado, let's start out our Week 3 upset alert guide with a look at why Purdue could be in some trouble this week.

College Basketball Week 3 Upset Alert Index

No. 6 Purdue

One of the biggest statement games of the early college basketball season came last Friday when Purdue played host to then-No. 2 Alabama and beat the Crimson Tide by nine. The result was an impressive one for Matt Painter's new-look Boilermakers, who are trying to establish themselves as a national title contender despite losing Zach Edey to the NBA.

Trey Kaufman-Renn has helped fill some of the post presence vacated by Edey and put up a career-high 26 points to help knock off Alabama. It is worth noting that the Boilermakers shot over 50 percent from the perimeter in their win over the Crimson Tide, which overshadowed the fact they had to fight tooth and nail to get past Yale at home earlier in the week.

Tuesday marks the first true road game of the season for Purdue, which heads to No. 15 Marquette, which already survived a road test of its own with a 78-74 victory over Maryland last week. The Golden Eagles retain most of the roster from a team that was a No. 2 seed in the NCAA Tournament last year and are ready to make their first major statement with an upset of Purdue.

No. 8 Alabama

One of the things that makes Alabama's Nate Oats such a good coach is that he isn't afraid to schedule difficult competition in the non-conference portion of the season. Oats believes that playing top tier foes sets up his team for success in the one-and-done NCAA Tournament so he is willing to take on a loss or two in November and December in order to better serve the bigger picture.

Alabama is coming off a loss at Purdue on Friday night and has another difficult game on tap as they play a (technically) neutral-site contest against No. 25 Illinois on Wednesday. The matchup will be played in Birmingham, so it is a virtual home game for the Crimson Tide, but Illinois is one of the most underrated teams in the country.

The Fighting Illini have the kind of high-powered offense necessary to go up and down the floor with Alabama, giving them a strong chance to stay in the contest. When you factor in potential NBA talent like guard Kasparas Jacucionis, Illinois has everything it needs to go on the road and deliver a second straight loss to Oats if the Crimson Tide aren't locked in.

No. 11 Tennessee

Rick Barnes had his work cut out for him in the offseason with Tennessee after losing a ton of experience from last year's team, including first-round pick Dalton Knecht. The Vols did a good job reloading their roster and have raced out to a 4-0 start, although three of those games were buy games against mid-majors and the fourth was a road date against Louisville, which is just starting a rebuild after the disastrous Kenny Payne era.

This week sends the Volunteers to the Bahamas for the Baha Mar Hoops Bahamas Championship, where their first game will come on Thursday against 3-0 Virginia. While this isn't a vintage Cavaliers team, interim head coach Ron Sanchez has maintained the group's signature Pack Line defense, which has smothered its foes to the tune of allowing just 53.7 points per game thus far.

It takes a certain mentality and patience to succeed against the Pack Line, which Tennessee should have thanks to the leadership of senior guard Zakai Zeigler. This game could end up being a struggle, however, and if Tennessee presses too hard they could become the latest victim of the Pack Line on a neutral floor.

No. 19 Wisconsin

There is no better example of how the polls in college basketball are reactionary than what has happened with Wisconsin. Despite being picked 12th in the Big Ten's preseason poll, the Badgers surged into the Top 25 after an upset of Arizona at home, raising hopes that Wisconsin could be a factor in one of the country's deepest conferences.

The Badgers followed up that effort by nearly blowing a buy game at home to UT Rio Grande Valley on Monday, winning by just three as they improved to 5-0 on the year. All five of those wins have come at home, however, and Wisconsin finally leaves the cozy confines of the Kohl Center to take on UCF at the Greenbrier Mountain Tip-Off event in West Virginia.

As we mentioned earlier, the Knights made a big mark early in the year with an upset of Texas A&M and have the talent to consolidate that effort with a victory over the Badgers to enhance their resume. Wisconsin will need to put forth a far better effort than they showed on Monday to win a neutral-site clash with a dangerous power conference foe.