In what was supposed to be a couple of action-packed nights (Tuesday and Wednesday), followed by a long break of no Basketball sans the Diamond Head Classic - College Basketball was hit brutally by a large number of program shutdowns due to Covid-19 protocols and ensuing game cancellations. The net was a very watered-down week in overall games played. The trend has unfortunately rolled into the coming weeks ahead and the sport is somewhat in limbo until either the virus spread slows down and/or the protocol limitations are relaxed. UPDATE - the CDC did announce that the requirements for quarantine will be reduced from 10 days to five days and we should soon see College Basketball conferences nationwide adopt these changes. The Diamond Head Classic did have two successful days of play, only to see the third and Championship day have issues. The Title game and 7th place game had to be canceled.
I made an appearance on the Greg Peterson Show, “Coast to Coast Hoops” to discuss all of the scheduling complexities and shed light on some of the work that takes place behind the scenes to get new games arranged. Feel free to check that interview out here:
Believe it or not, games were actually played this past week! There were some excellent stories to share on top of that. That’s what this column is all about! The Davidson Wildcats changed their season fortune with one win on a Tuesday in Birmingham. The Wright State Raiders may have saved their season by getting a major road win at an ACC school. The South Carolina State Bulldogs have gone from D1 futility to an incredible turnaround. That and more will be covered today.
COLLEGE BASKETBALL TEAMS OF THE WEEK
Davidson
Wildcats took on a game in Alabama at the last-minute. Wildcats ended up beating the Crimson Tide in Birmingham, 79-78. Resume changing victory for the campaign. The quartet of Hyunjung Lee, Michael Jones, Luka Brajkovic, and Foster Loyer carried this club by each scoring in double-figures and logging 30+ minutes of gametime. Davidson hit 50% (12-for-24) from deep, a trademark of when the program wins big like this.
Wright State
Grant Basile (23 Pts/14 Rebs) and the Raiders charged into Raleigh and took a win from NC State, 84-70. Wright St. made 94% of FTAs and 59% of 2-pt. Attempts. in the win. The Raiders turned on the afterburners during the second half, outscoring NC State, 47-32. The win was much needed for a proud program who had early-season struggles.
Vanderbilt
Commodores had an important resume win over BYU prior to the Title game being canceled against Stanford. Scotty Pippen Jr. once again stellar in willing Vandy to the crucial BYU victory. Pippen, Jr. had a team-high 23 points and continued to come up big in clutch moments. Vandy also took care of a road win at Hawai’i in the Quarterfinals. A renewed energy has shot into this program heading into SEC play.
Samford
Samford aka Bucky Ball has been trending for almost a week now after Samford won at Ole Miss on Tuesday. The Bulldogs were once again paced by Ques Glover (21 points). This is one of the more fascinating programs who is led by an SEC-caliber transfer (Glover) and coached by a former high-profile AAU Coach (Bucky McMillan). The Bulldogs are an impressive 10-2 with their only losses coming to San Francisco and Belmont. A team to watch out for in the SoCon.
Tennessee
The Vols managed to edge Arizona in a heavyweight showdown. Significant resume win for now was largely thanks to John Fulkerson's (24 Pts/10 Rebs) performance. The Volunteers have demonstrated now that they are a legitimate SEC Title contender and a sure-fire NCAA Tournament team with high aspirations. Here are highlights:
STRONGLY CONSIDERED
SOUTH CAROLINA STATE
Bulldogs are having a stunning start to the season behind Antonio TJ Madlock in his Frosh season. Bulldogs won the two-day Citadel tournament. Madlock averaged 19 pts/9 rebs.
CLEMSON
Snapped 11-game losing streak vs. Virginia. Won in Charlottesville for first time in 12 seasons. Tigers only committed seven turnovers and outrebounded the Cavs (35-26)
BOISE STATE
Broncos stormed into Spokane and outlasted Washington State in a defensive struggle. Abu Kigab was key in this game, leading BSU with 19 points.
BRADLEY
Braves went down to El Paso and won the Don Haskins Invitational by beating Sam Houston and the host UTEP Miners. Terry Roberts poured in 49 total points and was MVP in each game.
STANFORD
Cardinal finished 2-0 in Hawai'i during the Diamond Head Classic prior to unfortunately being shutdown due to Covid Protocol. Spencer Jones played extremely will in both wins over Wyoming & Liberty.
HONORABLE MENTION
Hofstra The Pride stayed hot with an impressive road win at Monmouth. Jalen Ray did it all in this one (19 Pts/6 Rebs/5 Assts) and played the full 40 minutes.
Utah Valley UVU completely controlled the game at Washington. Wolverines have a 9-3 record and now a high major road win to go along with a BYU win on their resume.
Towson Nicolas Timberlake had a fantastic performance in a win at Navy. 24 Points, included 5-for-6 from distance. The Tigers are red-hot going into CAA play.
UConn Road win at Marquette. Tyrese Martin and RJ Cole combined to score 45 points and Adama Sanogo made his return. Great news for UConn.
East Tennessee State Bucs snapped a two-game skid by winning on the road at Georgia. ETSU got back on track just in time before SoCon play tips-off later this week.
Charleston Cougars topped Old Dominion, 82-80, punctuated by a game-winning floater in the lane from freshman Babacar Faye with 27 seconds remaining. It proved to be the game winner.
UNC Wilmington UNCW, behind Jaylen Sims was able to emerge victorious over a tough Campbell program. Sims has helped lead the Seahawks to three straight wins.
Portland Pilots picked up their third road win of the year and their first over a Top 200 opponent (UC Davis). Mike Meadows made four triples and dished out six dimes in the victory.
Troy Trojans picked up their best win of the season at Mercer on Wednesday. Khalyl Waters led Troy with 19 Pts/7 Rebs and a perfect 10-for-10 evening at the Foul Line.
~Rocco Miller