Biggest Jekyll-and-Hyde Teams in College Basketball in 2016-17

Dr. Jekyll was the name of a really good college basketball team from back in the day. Mr. Hyde was a really bad college basketball team. But get this: They were the same team!

I'm nothing if not highly literate and literary. I celebrate that spirit today by reviving the plot of this old novel about college basketball by listing the modern-day teams that most closely fit the Jekyll-and-Hyde mold established many years ago.

The following teams all have a tendency to get fanbases excited with high-level play, only to disappear at critical (or non-critical) times, only to resurface at some other point down the road, lather, rinse, repeat.

Got it? Here we go.

Xavier Musketeers

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Trevon Bluiett (right)

Key wins: Creighton, Providence
Key losses: Creighton, Providence, Villanova, Cincinnati

Pro tip: When you see the same team as a key win and a key loss, you might just be reading about a Jekyll-and-Hyde team.

Most of the time, Xavier keeps things close, but not with a great assist to themselves. The Musketeers tend to look good in the first half only to fade for much of the second 20 minutes. Sometimes they can pull it out of the fire, sometimes they can't.

The most emblematic Xavier game this season is its 86-78 defeat to crosstown rival Cincinnati. Behind a sparkling game from their best player, Trevon Bluiett, Xavier took a 44-36 advantage into the half. But poor rebounding and a general inability to get a stop allowed the Bearcats to storm back and get a signature win.

Xavier can hang with anybody when the shots are falling, but the blue-collar aesthetic that has defined it in recent years is lacking this season, and it's holding the team back down the stretch.

Michigan Wolverines

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Derrick Walton

Key wins: Michigan State, Wisconsin, Indiana (2x)
Key losses: Michigan State, Wisconsin, UCLA

On Jan. 29, the Wolverines lost to rival Michigan State by eight points, 70-62.

Barely a week later, they beat the same team by 29.

That's the story for Michigan, whose squishy defense—101 in the KenPom ratings, compared with their 11th-ranked offense—comes and goes and undergirds its hot-and-cold rep. 

It continued Thursday when it upended No. 11 Wisconsin by six points. You know, the same Wisconsin that beat the Wolverines by four on Jan. 17.

Iowa State Cyclones

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Monte Morris

Key wins: Kansas, Oklahoma State
Key losses: Kansas, West Virginia, Baylor, Gonzaga, Texas

As Troy Hyde of the Newton Daily News pointed out, of the Cyclones' nine losses on the season (as of Feb. 17), seven came by six points or fewer.

"The largest margin of defeat this season came inside Carver-Hawkeye Arena against instate rival Iowa by 14 points," Hyde wrote. "West Virginia also pulled away from the Cyclones inside Hilton Coliseum to win by 13 more recently. Other than that, the Cyclones have either won or lost games by one or two possessions."

That three-point overtime win over Kansas on Feb. 4 buttressed Iowa State's tournament hopes. At this point, though, it seems destined to play close games with everybody. Don't forget that the team followed up that Kansas win with a two-point loss to 10-14 Texas. Ugly like a power-mad physician.

Kentucky Wildcats

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De'Aaron Fox

Key wins: North Carolina, South Carolina, Michigan State
Key losses: Florida, Louisville, Kansas

This is the risk you run when you cast your lot with the young guys.

Sometimes it works out, sometimes it doesn't. Malik Monk, De'Aaron Fox and the rest of the Wildcats' freshmen contingent have struggled to gain their sea legs. Spotty shooting and plenty of turnovers have led to more than one loss in an ostensibly winnable game.

“I’m tired of talking," said head coach John Calipari, per Kyle Tucker of SEC Country, after what was arguably the season nadir, an 88-66 loss to Florida. “Sometimes you’ve got to hit bottom. Maybe we have hit bottom, and maybe we haven’t hit bottom. But I knew after Tennessee we had an issue, and I said, ‘You’re going to lose the next two or three if you don’t change.’ We know how they can play, because we’ve all seen it. Now we see them at their worst. Now it’s a choice: Do you want to be at your worst or do you want to be at your best?”

The Wildcats may have turned a corner in the intervening weeks. But we'll only know for sure after their rematch with the Gators on Feb. 25 in Lexington.

Florida Gators

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Canyon Barry (left)

Key wins: Kentucky
Key losses: Gonzaga, Duke, South Carolina

And hey, speaking of those Gators.

At 14-5, Florida looked relatively pedestrian. That was Jan. 21, and the Gators were coming off of a two-point loss to a bad Vanderbilt squad in which Florida, known for its defense, allowed the Commodores to hit 10-of-25 shots from deep.

That was the tail end of a two-game losing streak. Florida hasn't lost since. 

That includes that big home win over Kentucky and some other impressive victories besides. In its 114-95 drubbing of Auburn, the team set a program record for most points scored in an SEC game.

On the other side, look at those key losses. Tough teams all, and Florida hasn't proved it can consistently hang at that level.

This Florida team isn't loaded with lotto picks, but it is a veteran group that understands how to play together. We'll see if the team is really jelling or if it is primed for another market correction.