3 ranked college basketball teams on upset alert this week

No. 16 Miami Hurricanes vs. Colorado on 12/10

The ACC has been in a down cycle for a few years and it was discouraging for the league to see Miami get smoked by Kentucky in the ACC/SEC Challenge last week. The Hurricanes haven't exactly pushed themselves in non-conference play, with their top opponents outside of Kentucky being at a neutral site against Georgia and Kansas State, which isn't ideal at this juncture of the season.

Jim Larranaga's scheduling choices were certainly understandable after the Hurricanes lost two key members of their Final Four team with Isaiah Wong and Jordan Miller departing, forcing others to step up alongside Nigel Pack to carry the scoring load. Another big test awaits Miami on Sunday as they travel to Brooklyn to take on Colorado in the NABC Brooklyn Showcase.

The Buffaloes are a near mirror image of how Miami operates with an explosive offense that is slightly better in terms of rebounding and assist rate. A loss to Florida State on a neutral floor knocked the Buffaloes out of the Top 25 but they have enough talent to rate as the Pac-12's second-best team after Arizona.

The neutral site scenario will hurt Miami in this game as it doesn't seem like a lot of alumni will be making the trip to Brooklyn on a Sunday in December. With a non-partisan crowd in attendance, expect the slightly more athletic version of basketball played by Colorado to make a serious push to pull an upset at the Barclays Center.