NEW YORK -- Oklahoma, ESPN.com's preseason No. 1 team and ranked third in both national polls, can't take back its opening-night performance -- a 68-62 loss to No. 8 Alabama.

The Sooners can, however, take heart in the fact that the past three Final Fours have featured more than a few teams who've suffered similar stumbles in non-conference events such the AT&T Coaches vs. Cancer Classic.

With television and exempted tournaments producing more marquee matchups earlier in the season, it's become almost commonplace to see a preseason top-10 team lose before the first regular season poll is released.

Remember, it was just a year ago when Maryland lost to an unranked Arizona team in the Coaches vs. Cancer event in Madison Square Garden. And the Terps turned out to be a pretty decent club come March.

Here is a look at some early-season surprises over the past three Novembers:

2002 FINAL FOUR TEAMS
Team	Early Stumble
Maryland	Lost opener to unranked Arizona in Coaches vs. Cancer Classic.
Oklahoma	Lost to Michigan State in second round of NIT Preseason.
Kansas	Lost opener to Ball State in first round of Maui Invitational.
Indiana	Lost third game to Marquette in Great Alaska Shootout final.

2001 FINAL FOUR TEAMS
Team	Early Stumble
Arizona	Lost fourth game to Purdue in Wooden Invitational.
Maryland	Lost second and third games to Illinois/Dayton in Maui Invitational.

2000 FINAL FOUR TEAMS
Team	Early Stumble
Michigan St.	Lost fourth game of season to Texas in Puerto Rico Shootout
North Carolina	Lost fourth game to Michigan State in ACC/Big Ten Challenge.
Florida	Lost third game to Purdue in Maui Invitational.
Wisconsin	Lost second game to Syracuse in NABC Classic.