(1) is loneliest number for this steadfast voter

(1). The smallest thing can cause the biggest uproar.

It can bring the loons running in from the cornfields.

It wasn’t a number I expected to see Monday morning, a single first-place vote for Gonzaga in the Associated Press Top 25 college basketball poll.

I thought at least a (3) or a (4) would be next to the Zags, that some of the votes Miami lost when falling Saturday at Wake Forest would go by the way of Spokane, Wash.

In fact, two members of the national poll voted Gonzaga in the No. 1 spot last week. The Zags then won two conference games by an average margin of 26 points, so it stands to reason they would retain those votes and perhaps add a few.

Know this: Reason has nothing to do with how most cast ballots.

I voted Gonzaga in the No. 1 spot this week, the only member of a 65-person panel not to give Indiana top billing. Yes. It’s a wonder I haven’t been run over several times by one of those nifty Holland tractors in the past 24 hours, although I have been on the lookout for strange characters in overalls wandering the Summerlin streets.

My vote wasn’t the sinister move that such a large part of Hoosier Nation suggested on Twitter and via email following their team’s impressive win at Michigan State.

Miami held my top spot the previous two weeks, followed by Gonzaga and Indiana. The Hurricanes lost, and I simply elevated Gonzaga to No. 1 and the Hoosiers to No. 2.

The horror of it all.

The immediate reaction from IU fans was as if their school colors had been changed to those of Purdue.

A sample of the anger sent my way:

Are you really that stupid?

Is that a trick question, Coach Knight?

You are dumber than a box of rocks! You know nothing about basketball and should not be allowed an AP vote! Only voter out of 65 that did not vote for the best team (Indiana). You probably also voted for Obama.

Not so, Mitt.

You really should think of an alternative career with picks like this ... you are going to lose a lot of bets in Vegas.

You obviously haven’t met my wife. One needs money to bet.

You should go with Florida Gulf Coast next week as No. 1. It’s great having a rogue AP voter who clearly has some Vegas agenda.

Hey, don’t sleep on the Eagles. They have won seven of 10 and beat Miami this season.

Amazingly, the tweets and emails stopped at 6:24 p.m. Tuesday, about the time students at Minnesota were rushing their home court to celebrate this: Gophers 77, Hoosiers 73.

I get it. Indiana to basketball is Bill Gates to cash. The sport fits better there than anywhere.

But the lunatics, er, pleasant folks from the great state of Indiana were unified in their argument that strength of schedule alone proves the Hoosiers and their Big Ten resume are an obvious pick over the Zags and what annually is a weak West Coast Conference beyond the top few teams.

Yes, and no.

A few things: In participating in a mock NCAA Tournament bracket exercise a few weeks ago in Indianapolis, never once did I see or hear one thing about Top 25 polls as a possible tool from which the selection committee uses to gauge a team’s worthiness.

Polls are nice for fans and their message boards. They allow coaches to brag more to recruits.

But in the big picture of who earns an at-large berth and where a specific team is seeded, they are as important as what color spoons committee members use to eat their late-night ice cream servings.

While schedule strength is a significant barometer of how capable a team is, it can’t be the definitive reason for how votes fall. If so, Minnesota would be ranked No. 1 today given it has the nation’s strongest schedule rating.

The Gophers took themselves off the NCAA bubble by taking down Indiana, but they have no business near the top spot.

If strength of schedule is that vital, why isn’t New Mexico (SOS of 4) ranked higher than 14? Why isn’t Indiana ranked 26th and Gonzaga 66th based on their schedule ratings?

I’m not a big eye-test guy, although my vision has improved dramatically since undergoing a LASIK procedure. I believe this is the best Gonzaga team in school history. I also believe Indiana will receive the No. 1 overall seed come Selection Sunday and have every chance to win the national championship.

It’s that kind of season, when 10 or 11 teams could make an argument for a No. 1 seed, when 20 or so have a chance at making the Final Four, when the winner of an 8-9 game has a better opportunity to knock off a No. 1 than at any time the past several years, when eight to 10 teams could win it all.

Gonzaga hardly has held up its end in recent NCAA fields, having advanced to the Sweet 16 just twice in the past 10 years. It’s on the current team to prove itself better.

But past results shouldn’t in any way decrease the value put on this year’s team. Indiana could be the best team in a season when no sides are elite. March will tell all.

For now, I feel good that 46 voters ranked Gonzaga No. 2 this week.

The Zags must be pretty good, no?

Now watch them lose Thursday at Brigham Young.

If so, the cornfields will be empty as the loons unite once again.

They just won’t have as much to crow about, given what happened Tuesday at Minnesota.

Las Vegas Review-Journal sports columnist Ed Graney can be reached at egraney@reviewjournal.com or 702-383-4618. He can be heard from 11 a.m. to 2 p.m. Monday through Friday on “Gridlock,” ESPN 1100 and 98.9 FM. Follow him on Twitter: @edgraney.