When Louisville started its season 0-9, Cal did even worse (currently 0-12) and teams like Troy were winning on the road against opponents such as Florida State, some might have theorized a new era had dawned.
Maybe the rise of a very busy transfer portal means "buy games" -- a major-conference program pays an agreed upon sum to a mid-major opponent to play a game on the big school's home floor and, more often than not, the mid-major loses -- are no longer automatic wins for home teams. Perhaps the greater freedom of movement for players across programs in men's college basketball has translated into a new balance of power.
Possibly mid-majors are now stocked with talented transfers these programs never could have recruited straight out of high school. And maybe at least a few major-conference programs, though talented, are very young and thus particularly ripe for an upset early in the season.
Anyway, that was the theory.
It turns out, however, that the theory is at best unproven and at worst incorrect. This season, major-conference teams are 327-24 in what might be termed "presumed" buy games.
Final: Santa Clara 71, Cal 62
— Cal Basketball (@CalMBBall) December 18, 2022