Inside College Hoops

Changing Of The Guard - January 10th

Prelude

Ebs and flows, not enough time to prepare, roster issues, gameplan flaws - all can and will continue to have an agonizing and thrilling place in league races nationwide.

Welcome to Changing of the Guard. A new weekly column here at Bracketeer.Org solely focused on the conference races. This will be your one-stop shop in the future to see what is happening for the race for the regular-season crown in each of the 32 leagues.

Some leagues provide us with a different leader or a proverbial “Changing of the Guard” at the top of the standings each and every week. Other leagues, may have one team run away with it from wire to wire. No matter how it shakes up, we will be here to provide the summary for you. If you happen to be new to Bracketeer this season, conference race changes are leveraged in each Bracket Forecast update to A) Exhibit a variety of outcomes within the Bracket that could very well be in play come March and B) Give more schools notoriety for the stellar play and achievements during the regular season.

 

Changing Of The Guard

A brief summary (this will be reflected on the upcoming Bracketology Big Board) of who our new leaders are this morning, following this weekend’s action.

  • ACC - Clemson Tigers

  • America East - New Hampshire Wildcats

  • ASUN - Stetson Hatters

  • Big South - Longwood Lancers

  • Horizon - Milwaukee Panthers

  • IVY - Princeton Tigers

  • MAAC - Siena Saints

  • Pac-12 - UCLA Bruins

  • SoCon - Samford Bulldogs

  • Southland - Texas A&M - Corpus Christi Islanders

  • Sun Belt - Southern Miss Golden Eagles

  • WAC - Stephen F. Austin Lumberjacks

 

Conference Race Recap for All 32 Leagues

Big12 – Iowa State (3-0) knocked off TCU on the road with Gabe Kalscheur’s heroic shot, 69-67. Kansas (3-0) ran away from WV in Morgantown, 76-62. Kansas State (3-0) won a classic in HC Tang’s return to Waco, 97-95 in OT. All three leaders picked up road wins. K-State’s Marquis Nowell had another impressive day, with 32 points and 14 assists!

B1G – Wisconsin’s (3-1) loss to Illinois, 79-69, and Michigan’s (3-1) loss to MSU, opened the floodgates for a massive six-way tie in the loss column (1 Loss) between the Badgers, Purdue, Michigan State, Ohio State, and Northwestern. No unbeaten teams remain.

SEC – Alabama (3-0) rolled over Kentucky, 78-52. Tennessee (3-0) blitzed South Carolina on the road, 85-42, and Texas A&M (2-0) took care of home business over LSU, 69-56.

Big East – Providence (6-0) fought tooth and nail to beat St. John’s, 83-80. Xavier (5-0) won at Villanova in The Finn, 88-80. The Musketeers have a perfect 4-0 record in true road games. Zach Freemantle was big here with 29 points, 11 rebounds, and four assists.

Pac-12 – Utah’s (5-1) home loss vs. Oregon, 70-60, opened the door wide open for UCLA (5-0) to have full control of the standings. Bruins had the weekend off and will face the Utes on Thursday Night in Pauley Pavilion.

ACC – Clemson (5-0) stands alone at the top of the standings after winning the league supremacy showdown at Pittsburgh, 75-74. Tigers will host Louisville and Duke next week.

MWC – San Diego State (3-0) got the job done in Laramie, defeating Wyoming 80-75. Nevada (4-0) stayed hot with a 67-40 win at San Jose State. The Pack has won six in a row. Utah State (2-1) fell from the unbeaten group, suffering a loss to Boise State (2-1), 82-59.

AAC – Temple’s (3-1) home loss to Tulane, 87-76, cleared the path for Houston (4-0) to have the league lead to themselves. Cougars once again handled business, this time at Cincinnati, 72-59.

WCC – Gonzaga (3-0) rallied past an eager Santa Clara team on the road, 81-76. Saint Mary’s (3-0) demolished Portland, 85-42.

CUSA – Florida Atlantic (4-0) held off a late charge from Charlotte, 71-67. The Owls have won 13 straight and remain in first place alone.

A 10 – Dayton (3-0) was idle. St. Bonaventure (2-1) fell from the unbeaten ranks at Saint Louis (2-1), 78-55. The Flyers have first place in the loss column all to themselves, heading to Fordham on Tuesday.

WAC – Stephen F. Austin (4-0) outlasted Grand Canyon (3-1) in a key matchup, 73-68. Utah Valley (4-0) remained perfect by winning at UTRGV, 75-61.

MVC – Indiana State (6-0) has a commanding two-game lead in the standings now. ISU Blue took care of UIC, 80-60.

Ivy – Princeton (3-0) had an impressive road win at Cornell (2-1) who was previously hot, 75-68. The win puts Princeton alone at the top of the Ivy League.

Sun Belt – Southern Miss (3-1) took down UL Monroe (3-1), 65-60.
Troy (3-1) handled home business vs. Arkansas State, 66-54.
Georgia Southern (3-1) took an OT loss vs. Old Dominion, 81-75. That gives us a four-way tie for first here. There are also no teams without a win and a bunch with a 2-2 record. About as unpredictable of a league race as you will see early on.

Big West – UC Santa Barbara (3-0) picked up a road win at Cal Poly, 62-57. Gauchos have won eight straight. UC Irvine (3-0) won the Black & Blue Rivalry game over Long Beach State, 87-70. 

SoCon – Samford (4-0) went on the road to win the important showdown at UNC Greensboro (3-1), 70-68. Spartans had a final three attempts partially blocked at the buzzer.

MAC – Kent State (2-0) survived a scare from Miami-Ohio, 69-66.
Ball State (2-0) continued to impress with a 70-63 victory over Akron.
Buffalo (2-0) ran past Northern Illinois, 80-62.
Bowling Green (2-0) had a quality win over Ohio U, 88-79. Four-way tie for first here early on.  

ASUN – Liberty (3-1) fell on Sunday to the hands of Eastern Kentucky, 62-59. Stetson (4-0) has improved tremendously this year and now has first place all to themselves – following the 95-85 OT win at North Alabama. Jalen Blackmon had 29 points to lead the way for the Hatters.

Big Sky – Eastern Washington (4-0) picked up another solid win, over Sacramento State, 78-75.
The surprising Idaho State Bengals (3-0) got a win at Weber State to keep the party going, 67-57.

Big South – Longwood (4-0) handled Winthrop at Home, 85-71.  Lancers will face each of the teams tied for second place during the upcoming week (At UNCA on Thursday, and USC Upstate on Saturday).

MAAC – Iona (4-1) got smacked at Quinnipiac in a surprising result, 81-58. Siena (5-0) seized the opportunity and now has full control in the MAAC race following the Saints’ victory over Rider, 68-63.

CAA – Charleston (4-0) and UNC Wilmington (4-0) continued to lead the CAA charge for the title. Cougars took down Delaware, 75-64, and the Seahawks outlasted North Carolina A&T on the road, 66-61. The day we’ve all been waiting for comes this Wednesday when Charleston gets its stiffest road test since facing UNC, playing at UNCW with a true Changing of the Guard moment sitting right in front of the Seahawks. Will be an excellent battle.

Horizon – Milwaukee (5-1) capped off a wonderful week by winning at Purdue Fort Wayne, 74-70. Northern Kentucky (5-1) held on for a 78-76 thrilling OT win over Detroit Mercy to keep pace with the Panthers. These two leaders will meet on Thursday night in Milwaukee.  

Summit – Oral Roberts (4-0) – “Midcourt Max” Abmas hit the shot heard round the Summit from (of course) midcourt to stun Kansas City, 74-71 at the buzzer. Abmas finished with 35 points in another epic performance. ORU now owns a two-game lead in the loss column. ORU did suffer a loss on Monday in non-conference play at New Mexico, but still sitting pretty in the league standings.

America East – Vermont (2-1) suffered a surprising loss at New Hampshire (2-1), 67-60. UMBC (2-1) rolled into Bryant and got an impressive win, 81-73.  UMass-Lowell (2-1) suffered the biggest stunner of all, losing badly to Albany, 89-63. So, it’s a four-way tie for first.  

Patriot League – Colgate (4-0) got a close call from Army but prevailed 77-75.
American (4-0) also had to squeak one out against Boston U, 76-74.

MEAC – Norfolk State (2-0) cruised by Delaware State on Monday, 78-65. Morgan State (1-0) got an important home win in OT vs. NC Central, 78-73.

Ohio Valley – SIU Edwardsville (3-1) became the first team to win at Southern Indiana all year, 69-62. Morehead State (3-1) kept pace with the aforementioned Cougars by defeating Eastern Illinois, 69-59.

Southland – Texas A&M Corpus Christi (3-0) is the last of the undefeated teams as they beat Incarnate Word for the second time in the same week 80-71. A five-way tie (UNO, Nicholls, SE Louisiana, TAMU Commerce, McNeese) for second exists at 2-1.

SWAC – Jackson State (3-0) handled Alabama A&M, 72-64 and Southern U (4-0) smoked Bethune-Cookman, 102-75. SU’s Tyrone Lyons had 23 points/eight rebounds/three assists to lead the Jags to the comfy victory.

NEC – St. Francis PA (3-0) pulled away late to beat Wagner on the road, 68-63. Fairleigh Dickinson (3-0) was red-hot in a 101-89 win over LIU.

Stay tuned tomorrow for the Bracketology Big Board’s 2023 debut. You will see each of these leaders stack ranked by tiers which should provide you with simple digestion of the info.

Rocco Miller

Bracket Watch: December 28th - 30th

Bracket Watch: Most Important Games of the Coming Days

The presents have been opened, the office Holiday parties have come and gone, and it’s full steam ahead into the calendar year of 2023. Bracket Watch is back for the first time this season. Far too early to know how the bracket will start to form, some games this week will begin to help that process as conference races will both launch and relaunch.  With Non-Conference play over 90% complete nationwide, the landscape has shifted to a conference championship focus.

Several teams will elevate their play in league play, and several will disappoint. It is the nature of the beast. It is the nature of having advanced scouting and knowing your league inside and out. Complex defenses will be displayed more frequently. Unlikely heroes will emerge. Surprise teams will steal headlines. We love it all. So let’s dive into the very early stages of the 32 races.

In each Bracket Watch column, the games previewed are most clearly divided into three important categories.

· Heavyweight games: Games that will impact the top 16 teams on the seed list. Better known as protected seeds.

· Bubble games: Games that will most influence teams inside or outside of the bubble.

· Conference Leader games: The opportunity for the lead in any given league to change hands.

The top five games in each grouping are selected for the coming time period. This is a carefully reviewed process that takes into account the full schedule and amount of opportunities (especially in the conference races section). Enjoy!

HEAVYWEIGHT GAMES

Blake Hinson has led Pitt to a resurgent month of December and 2-0 start in ACC play. Can the Panthers handle UNC at Home?

5. North Carolina at Pittsburgh, Friday, Noon ET, ACC Network

No, Pitt does not quite qualify as a heavyweight yet. But you cannot discount the surging Panthers winning eight of its past nine contests. Blake Hinson (pictured) has been simply dynamite of late. Hinson has achieved “KenPom MVP” status in four of the eight victories, scored in double-figures in all games during the streak, and has an exceptional 118.4 ORating while playing at a 78.7% minute share. Hinson, at 6-7, has the Panthers dreaming big in a down ACC. After a 1-3 start, Pitt is now 9-4 and most importantly, 2-0 in ACC play following two road wins in the conference over NC State and Syracuse. At large aspirations are realistic right now. A home win against UNC of course would get them further on the radar. The Tar Heels have played their worst ball when outside of the State of North Carolina. Losing at Indiana handily, struggling in Portland (losing twice), and a tough visit to Virginia Tech. Since the road woes occurred, the Heels are “getting right” with wins over Ohio State (in NYC), Michigan (in Charlotte), and Georgia Tech at Home.

This game serves as a true litmus test for where both programs stand. And both teams come into it feeling good, which adds to the excitement.

Coach Matt McMahon enters SEC play with a lot of questions that will be answered in short order.

4. Arkansas at LSU, Wednesday, 9 PM ET, ESPN2

We begin here with a look at the Hogs who are dealing with a key injury to Nick Smith and won’t play. Of course, Arkansas has already lost Trevon Brazile for the season as well. The Razorbacks will lean on a rotation similar to the one used in its win vs. UNC Asheville just before the Holiday break. Likely starting two Frosh in Anthony Black and Jordan Walsh, to go along with Davonte Davis, Makhi Mitchell, and Ricky Council. Last time out, Arkansas also had solid contributions from Jalen Graham, Kimani Johnson, and a third Frosh – Joseph Pinion. I fully expect this to be the main eight going forward rotation-wise. Will this group travel well? We are about to find out. Currently, Arkansas would be somewhere around a 3-seed bracket-wise at 11-1 and quality outings in Maui. The heavy lifting begins now in the rugged SEC. For LSU (also 11-1), the journey has been less sexy. LSU lost in a tough Championship Game to Kansas State in its only loss (by two and with controversy). Tigers were able to survive a cluster of home game scares vs. Wofford (by three), UT Arlington (by four), and ETSU (by four). The Tigers had a resume win in Atlanta vs. Wake Forest in the closing seconds.

With Senior leadership and big game experience from KJ Williams and Justice Hill, LSU might just be a late-game team. The Tigers are closing out most tight games thus far, but the concern is that the talent gap hasn’t been there against seemingly inferior competition in too many games. That tells me that LSU will clearly need to grind out SEC wins. Will they grind out enough to stay in the NCAA hunt? That mission begins with Arkansas at home.

Uros Plavic and the imposing Volunteer frontline may be too much for Ole Miss.

3. Tennessee at Ole Miss, Saturday, 5 PM ET, SEC Network

The Rebels provided a boatload of cold water onto this preview with its stunning 66-65 loss to North Alabama on 12/20. Ole Miss now enters SEC play with an 8-4 record and work to do. The win over shorthanded Florida Atlantic (#11 NET) and a couple of decent wins over Stanford, Chattanooga, and Temple did at least provide room for hope. In the battle back to the NCAA picture a marquee win or two will be required. Enter the Tennessee Vols. No better way to get an awful taste out of your mouth than beating a top team in the country and a potential league favorite. Ole Miss does have mostly strong defensive marks, the question becomes how will they generate enough points in this one? Since returning from the Orlando event during Thanksgiving weekend, the Rebels have not scored more than 65 points in any of their five outings. Shooting numbers are poor (Ole Miss is #199 in eFG%). Three-point numbers are worse (31.4% as a team, good for #275 in the country). Theo Akwuba, a 6-11 Grad Transfer from Louisiana is the only player above 6-8 in the rotation, yet only logs around 15 minutes per game at most. This is a massive challenge against an imposing Tennessee front line that has 7-1 Uros Plavsic, 6-9 Oliver Nkamhoua, 6-11 Jonas Aidoo, and two lengthy 6-8 frosh Julian Phillips and Tobe Awaka in a deeper rotation. Hard to envision a Rebels win, but Tennessee simply doesn’t show up at times and Ole Miss should be angry after the UNA embarrassment.

2. Kentucky at Missouri, Wednesday, 7 PM ET, SEC Network

Tiger fever has reached a decade-long high after the blowout win over Illinois in the annual Braggin’ Rights game last week. Missouri has played largely well in non-conference play but the skeptics wondered about the competition they faced. After all, Mizzou did not play in a traditional high-level tournament, instead, they hosted Coastal Carolina and Mississippi Valley State and wrapped the two games into a larger traveling event under the NCAA’s recent MTE standards. That coupled with six other home guarantee games against no teams in the Top 150 left a lot of mystery. A blowout loss to Kansas made the prognostications sketchier. But Dennis Gates and crew got a key win in Sunrise, FL over UCF and earlier in a rally at Wichita State that may have altered the confidence level of this group. How else do you explain a 22-point drubbing over Illinois that was not competitive? So now the hype is at a fever pitch and in comes Kentucky.

A perpetual target is on the back of John Calipari-led teams. Here we have a classic matchup between a hot team that has waited years to be good again and Kentucky, led by Calipari. Kentucky’s season has been less than smooth. In three of the four “showcase games,” the Wildcats failed. Convincing losses to west coast powerhouses Gonzaga and UCLA, and a tough double OT loss to Michigan State have many wondering what is wrong in Lexington? Kentucky has taken care of business in all other performances, most notably a four-point win against a struggling Michigan team. A lot is left to be determined, however. The Wildcats have really struggled to get to the foul line and convert when they do get there. They are also not forcing a lot of turnovers. Look for Kentucky to start cranking up the intensity now that SEC play is here. Perhaps a road win in Columbia is just what the doctor ordered?

Oh baby! The Hump will be rocking for this SEC Opener.

1. Alabama at Mississippi State, Wednesday, 9PM ET, SEC Network

The Tide and Bulldogs have both made headlines throughout non-conference play. Has there been a better coach personality and institutional fit than Chris Jans at Mississippi State? I say no. His ability to find players and get them through the gates works wonderfully well in Starkville. The Bulldogs had an unbelievable performance in the Fort Myers Tip-Off win over Marquette by holding the Golden Eagles to zero second-chance points. I read a ton of box scores, and haven’t seen that (although I’m sure it’s happened somewhere). The point is that MSU has a physical grinding team that rebounds exceptionally well and will play through 6-11Tolu Smith at times. In fact, in MSU’s only loss vs. Drake – Smith had his fewest shot attempts. Lesson: feed the big fella! The Bulldog defense has been tenacious, ranking in the top ten in several important categories nationally – Adj. D Efficiency, eFG%, Foul Line frequency, opposing two-point % shooting, and Steal rate. These guys are absolute pests out there and will physically drain you. Is Alabama ready for this? We shall see. The Tide possesses an arsenal of offensive weaponry. A team under Nate Oates will never be shy to accelerate the pace, fire from deep, or attack the basket. The excellent spacing provides more opportunities to beat a great defense. This is what makes this matchup so intriguing, no question. Alabama’s win at Houston is arguably the best resume win right now in the nation, but they could not handle UConn and got outpaced by Gonzaga. With a strong SEC season, Bama is in play for a one-seed. For the Bulldogs in Jans first season, securing a bid would be a great success. This start paves the way. Beating Alabama and other top teams will only continue to raise the bar. Looking forward to a great chess match tonight.

BUBBLE GAMES

5. San Francisco at Santa Clara, Thursday, 10 PM ET, WCC Network

A void fills the bracketology landscape with the fall of the Atlantic 10 and both the ACC and Pac-12 having some uncertainties at the moment. Enter the competitive WCC, where both San Francisco (NCAA last year) and Santa Clara (NIT last year) are on the ascent as programs. Locally, they brand this game as “The Battle of the Bay.” Last season, I was fortunate to cover both of the matchups. Which seems mostly meaningless now due to Todd Golden’s departure and key personnel differences this season. One exception could be the ultra-high-level offensive showcase that occurred on the Hilltop last January, an 88-85 regulation win by the Dons. The game featured a high level of skills, shot-making, and dynamic offense. I feel like these traits have a chance to hold true Thursday night at the Leavey Center. The big story in the South Bay is Illinois transfer Brandin Podziemski. Better known as “Podz” to us, Podz has a wide-ranging skill. He has been a stat-sheet stuffer and has not always been the go-to guy. He’s been accepting of it when it is not his night to score. On the flip side, he has been a top scorer in the WCC. Opened the year with two straight 30+ point games and later hung 27 on both Iona and Sacramento State. Guard Carlos Stewart has had the more frequent hot hand, going for 22+ points in four of the past seven SCU games. Two proven scorers now are surrounded by experience and team winners – Keishawn Justice, Jaden Bediako, and Parker Braun. The Broncos improved to 12-3 on the year after taking care of a tough Boise State club by 15. It’s the second key win of the season to go along with the Iona win in Vegas. Unfortunately, SCU has a home loss to local rival San Jose State and will need more big wins. This game vs. the Dons looms large and is followed by Saint Mary’s (also at Home) this Saturday. Coach Herb Sendek needs to formulate an NCAA Tournament-type strategy to prepare his Broncos for two wins in three days against high-level competition.

The Dons of USF come in after an exhausting, yet fruitful week. Four games in six days were played by the Dons prior to the Christmas Holiday. The Dons achieved resume-building wins at UNLV and a memorable blowout victory over Arizona State (who came in 11-1). The issue is the home loss to UT Arlington (currently #285 in NET) will not leave Q4 status this season. Dons cannot think about that now, they’ll need to be a top-three team in the WCC and earn wins like these on the road to warrant serious consideration. I am enthused by the effort and character of this San Francisco roster and at Santa Clara for that matter. A great game between three-loss teams who challenged themselves outside of the WCC is in store.

When PJ Hall is in rhythm, good things happen at Clemson. Can the Tigers build on its 2-0 ACC start?

4. N.C. State at Clemson, Friday, 4 PM ET, ACC Network

A matchup between squads who aspire to be in the bubble discussion in two months and have enough upside to be encouraged about. The Clemson Tigers are 2-0 in ACC play and that is a great way to build on the positives. Losses to South Carolina and Loyola-Chicago certainly aren’t doing favors for its resume, but Clemson has at least somewhat of a key home win over Penn State at home in addition to the Wake Forest and G-Tech wins. The Tigers have a two-game road swing through Virginia Tech and Pitt right after this contest, so a premium will likely be placed on securing a win. At 10-3, the Tigers will almost assuredly to get above 20 wins to have a shot at dancing. This is based on its relatively low number of quality wins away from ACC play. The Wolfpack enter Littlejohn Coliseum at 1-2 in ACC play and do not have a true road win (0-1). The roster is really intriguing behind Terquavion Smith. Jack Clark has been playing well, DJ Burns is logging all-time high minutes and is a matchup nightmare, Casey Morsell is experienced and brings a winning attitude, and Jarkel Joiner has played a ton of ball. All of this is exciting for a Pack team that also went 2-1 in the vaunted Battle 4 Atlantis. The Pack has wins over Dayton, Butler, and Vanderbilt all on neutral courts that they hope age better than they stand now. In the meantime, a road resume is also required work for an at large. That can begin at Clemson. In a tiny sample size, Clemson has the most efficient ACC-play defense and #2 Offense. Let’s see if the Wolfpack can disrupt.

3. Boise State at Nevada, Wednesday, 10 PM ET, Mountain West Network (Online)

This section is all about the bubble. Now, we don’t have a clear picture of what that is – we do know that Nevada needs some wins to be a part of it. No better place to start than the MWC league opener. These Wolf Pack have shown flashes in wins over Tulane, Akron, Grand Canyon, and upstart Sam Houston. All good programs and Sam Houston win matters right now, but Nevada will need to make their mark on a super-competitive Mountain West to get any serious consideration.

Nevada has done a fantastic job of protecting the basketball, getting to the foul line, and knocking down free throws. It can demoralize opposing defenses, especially at the friendly confines of the Lawlor Events Center. That is certainly the key tonight in my eyes – as Boise State has made a ton of hay on defense, with the 15th-best defensive efficiency in the country. It’s the most daunting in the league. The Broncos do such a great job at limiting second chances and contesting shots. The Bronco offense can go through long stretches without a consistent flow, however, and that has created issues. Nevada’s defense can cause poor shooting percentages, so it’s certainly in play as well. Boise State picked up a road win at Saint Louis and beat Colorado and Texas A&M on neutral courts. They could use some help from all three going forward, otherwise, they have a lot of work to do in the MWC like Nevada. Key matchup at this stage.

Auburn’s Chris Moore is part of a deep Tiger rotation and makes his minutes impactful.

2. Florida at Auburn, Wednesday, 7 PM ET, ESPN2

Yes, another SEC matchup! With the majority of power leagues starting on the weekend, the SEC is taking center stage immediately. The spotlight solely is on the Gators tonight. In Todd Golden’s first year at the helm - trends are forming. A tendency to annihilate inferior opposition and fold a little quicker against teams in their weight class or better. The first point has allowed the Gators to remain a Top 50 NET team thus far, but they do not have a quality win to show for it. Gator losses to FAU, Xavier, West Virginia, UConn, and Oklahoma leave UF in a position outside of the Big Dance for now. The SEC is full of opportunities. The first one comes tonight in Golden’s SEC debut at Auburn to take on his old mentor, Bruce Pearl. The Tigers would safely be in today, but it’s a resume not built on a lot. The schedule was below average, and the Tigers took a loss at USC last week before pounding Washington in Seattle. Gators can be a loose team with multiple options, so it’s always interesting to see where the focus level lies On the Plains. The Gators need to expect Auburn’s A-game here in the league opener and will need to really improve shot selection and decision-making in a tough road environment.

1. Xavier at St. John’s, Saturday, 9 PM ET, FS1

Here is one to feel good about. Two teams who can easily be in the bubble picture for the long haul. Yes, Xavier would be in today and St. John’s would be out. However, the Big East schedule yields to a variety of ups and downs. Tonight’s matchup could provide our first swing – at least the Red Storm hope so. The Johnnies (1-1 in Big East) have handled its business against inferior talent. That includes wins over Syracuse, DePaul, Florida State, Temple, Nebraska, and a slew of low-major teams. Yet when tested against Villanova last week and earlier against Iowa State – they failed. Xavier will easily be the toughest home test for SJU (currently 10-0 in NYC area games). Can the Johnnies roll? Won’t be easy.

Red Storm are a perfect 10-0 in the NYC Area. Xavier will bring its toughest test yet.

The Musketeers enter this one on a six-game win streak that includes beating a hot West Virginia program in early December. Xavier has a top ten offense, the sixth best eFG%, and are the third best shooting team from distance. Weapons, weapons, weapons. That presents multiple challenges for St. John’s who hasn’t guarded that strongly to date. Xavier has more holes defensively that new coach Sean Miller is trying to clean up. I’d expect an offensive showcase that should come down to the wire. No doubt, St. John’s needs this one.

CONFERENCE LEADER GAMES

5. Cleveland State at Youngstown State, Thursday, 8 PM ET, ESPN+

The Vikings were the surprise of early league play in early contests against both Detroit Mercy and Oakland, beating them in convincing fashion. CSU will take its 2-0 league record east to Youngstown to take on a quality YSU team, who was my preseason pick to win the league’s automatic bid. The Horizon League will have battles that create rollercoasters throughout the year due to the travel partner and one-day-off configuration. Many coaches prefer to go all in on the first game, and that should certainly be the case in a competitive tilt like this one. An important week for the Penguins with a hot Purdue Fort Wayne visiting on Saturday. CSU heads to RMU, another feisty team of late. So, we’ve got a big week across the board. Now to the matchup.

Cleveland State will need to generate consistent offense as they did in the first two Horizon games to handle an efficient YSU attack. This could be tricky because Detroit Mercy and Oakland have little resistance on defense and the Penguins are a step up. When CSU left league play they scored less than 60 points in all three matchups against the Bonnies, Kent State, and LMU. Sure, that’s stiffer competition – but the Vikings had no flow. They’ll need that here. When YSU has the ball, CSU will depend on its Top 50 defensive eFG% to cause forced shots and poor Penguin decisions. CSU arguably has the most effective defense in the Horizon, and that will keep them in games all year – should it continue. YSU has been a well-oiled offensive machine thru 13 games. High marks in free throw shooting, 3-point shooting, 2-point shooting, eFG%, and second-chance opportunities have carried the Penguins to a 9-4 start. Youngstown State has been even more explosive in their home digs of the Beeghly Center, where they’ve scored 79 or more in all contests to date. Vikings have their defensive work carved out. Difficult to envision a scenario where YSU scores less than 70 in this building, so the question comes back to the Vikings’ offense – where is the scoring going to come from?

4. UC Santa Barbara at Cal State Fullerton, Thursday, 9 PM ET, ESPNU

When the Big West is on ESPNU – we are typically in for a treat. I believe we will see that this evening at Titan Gym in Fullerton. It’s the Big West opener. CSUF is your defending Big West Tourney Champs. UCSB is the preseason pick to win the league. National TV. What more can you ask for?

Titans are breaking in new faces following last season’s run to the NCAAs, yet still have Latrell Wrightsell Jr. running the point, Vincent Lee, Tory San Antonio, and Jalen Harris – who each had roles last year. Wrightsell is someone to watch closely as he missed the win vs. Sacramento State just before the Holidays with Back Spasms. In that CSUF win, the Titan defense held the Hornets to 49 points and got Jalen Harris going again – who led the squad with 19. Harris had rough outings in a lot of the CSUF outings, getting positive production from Jalen has been a key ingredient to success for CSUF early on. Big West play offers new life for the Titans and the chance to start over. In come the Gauchos of UCSB. Led by the super Sophomore, Ajay Mitchell. Joe Pasternack’s bunch comes at teams in waves. He went nine deep (all guys getting at least 10 minutes) to wear down Appalachian State in the Jerry Colango Classic recently. Mitchell is the steady constant piece out there as long as the game is tight, the other eight seem to rotate rather interchangeably. Andre Kelly was the big portal prize, transferring in from Cal. In a few recent games, Kelly got in early foul trouble and Pasternack trusted and leaned on 6-9 Frosh, Koat Keat Tong in the App St. game. Tong rarely shoots or scores, but he brought down nine rebounds in that one and clogged things up on defense. This more speaks to the varying strategies you may see from game to game from the Gauchos. They haven’t been able to completely dominate like some preseason models suggested (Preseason #80 per Torvik), so they are creatively grinding out wins and treating each possession like gold. UCSB is a Top-15 team in defensive rebounding, so limiting the opponent to one shot is a vital element of the plan. One other note, Gauchos were swept by the Titans last season and that has to be on the mind of the uber-competitive Pasternack.

3. Troy at Southern Miss, Thursday 8 PM ET, ESPN+

If you would have told me that the opening night of Sun Belt play would have this as the game of the night, I would have done a double-, no scratch that, triple-take back at you. Southern Miss has been The Surprise of all of the land this season in non-conference play. Early wins at Vanderbilt and Liberty put the Golden Eagles on the radar. Consistent play beyond that has proven they are a legit contender at 11-2 entering league play. Southern Miss has been efficient on both ends of the floor and has a great ball pressure system that is causing turnovers on 22.5% of opponent possessions and allowed the team to be in the Top 25 in Steal rate. Easy buckets are lovely, and coach Jay Ladner’s team is looking for them at all moments. The Golden Eagle program has been down for years and Ladner’s first three years back at his Alma Mater were not friendly (9-22, 8-17, and 7-26). They have only won a total of 10 conference (CUSA) games under Ladner. Now, the program is rejuvenated. There is also a new league and new history ahead within the Sun Belt. Can Reed Green Coliseum get rockin’ for Sun Belt games? I’d hope so. This school has an unbelievably well-supported Baseball and Football program – so it’s time to get rowdy for Hoops!

Reed Green Coliseum has been mostly empty in recent memory. Will the fans pack this place for Sun Belt action?

Enter the Troy Trojans. Coached by the maestro himself, Scott Cross. One of the most respected coaches you will find in the region – he maximizes his talent consistently and will throw a wide variety of defensive schemes at teams, particularly good teams. I’d argue that this is the most talent Cross has had at Troy since his arrival in ’19-20. Like So. Miss, the Trojans have forced a high volume of turnovers. More specifically, they cause confusion. A lot of misguided passes out of bounds, charge calls, dribbles off the foot, etc. It can be a nightmare in segments for opposing ball handlers. On offense, they are a Top 40 team at both ball protection and not getting a shot blocked – which is a clue into shot selection in the paint being a strength for these Trojans. They do not shoot well from distance very often, and that helped Mercer upset Troy last week (Trojans fired 24 threes, sunk just seven). Troy did win at Florida State earlier this season, and they are a team we expect to pull off multiple upsets during Sun Belt play. Does it begin tonight?

The Dynamic Duo of Woodbury and Justin Harmon look to stay hot against At-Large Hopeful Sam Houston in Orem.

2. Sam Houston at Utah Valley, Thursday, 8 PM ET, ESPN+

Things are heating up with this matchup. UVU caused this matchup to achieve blockbuster status by winning at Oregon recently. You couple that with the Wolverines’ dominant win at BYU and you’ve certainly got my attention. The esteemed Jordan Majewski made a comment about UVU playing thru its wings this season (both Trey Woodbury and Justin Harmon) in lieu of the big man (Fardaws Aimaq, now at Texas Tech) of old. Since the 18-point loss at Boise State over a month ago, UVU has ripped off six straight wins which include the high-profile road wins at Oregon and BYU. Sam Houston has been the darling for many for the non-conference with even bigger road wins at Oklahoma and at Utah under its belt. Sam will suffocate offenses with immense pressure to the tune of becoming the seventh-best forced turnover team in the country and the eighth-highest steal rate. Like many programs in Texas, ball pressure is king. The dream is alive still today on December 29th for an at-large bid, but the rugged WAC travel and parity make that unlikely. Still, Coach Jason Hooten has a talented group. Will the ball pressure travel to the altitude again? Offensively, the Bearkats are a Top 20 team from distance in the country. However, in the losses at Oklahoma State and at Nevada – they shot under 30% in each, making just six and five treys respectively. To earn a road win here, they have the skill behind Donte Powers to knock down treys. This makes to be a splendid WAC opener. The Wolverines are perfect at home this year, but only hosted two D1s (Long Beach State and NAU).

1. Florida Atlantic at North Texas, Sunday, 2PM ET, ESPN2

Apparently, I surprised some folks at The Field of 68 when I had the Owls as my fourth-ranked team in the preseason for the Mid Major Poll ballot. Turns out, I was lowballing the Owls! FAU has been an absolute juggernaut through seven weeks of the season. If not for a Michael Forrest injury ahead of the Ole Miss loss, this squad could realistically be a 12-0 team. As it stands, Florida Atlantic sits at 11-1 with that loss and a key win at Florida. Today they are second in the poll and pushing Charleston for #1. The Owls also own a CUSA league win over local rival FIU. Now the meat of the schedule has arrived as we approach the new year. A trip to Denton to take on the brilliant Grant McCasland, Mr. Sensational – Tylor Perry, and the defending Regular Season champions of North Texas followed by a visit next week from UAB. UNT got off to a slow start by missing Perry from the lineup for the trip to Saint Mary’s, which went poorly. Since his return, the Mean Green are playing a lot more like their usual selves. A blemish in the championship game against UNCW is the only thing holding UNT from being perfect since the SMC debacle. Perry has earned “Game MVP via KenPom” in five different wins including key wins against GCU in Phoenix and UMass in Massachusetts. In the CUSA opener, Abou Ousmane took center stage as UNT obliterated UTSA in the closing ten minutes to walk away from San Antonio with a 78-54 triumph. Ousmane 15 made field goals! All from two-point range, as the Roadrunners couldn’t handle his 6-10, 230-pound frame and skill combo.

The matchup with FAU will be different. The Owls are playing a Top 50 caliber of Hoop both offensively and defensively. UNT will of course put the clamps on a lot of what the Owls want to do in the no-middle defensive scheme under McCasland. Mean Green would love a grinder and likely will achieve that. It’s been almost a full year since UAB came into Denton and left with a win. In that game the Blazers only launch ten treys and made half, they relied heavily on a two-point attack (which is most welcomed to dribble-penetrating programs like UAB and FAU). I’m guessing the Owls watched that tape ahead of this blockbuster matchup. The Owls’ win at Florida was a crazy string of runs and an eventual hang-on-for-dear-life finish for FAU. Tonight will likely need to be a deliberate tone-setting and consistent possession-by-possession effort if the Owls plan to end the 11-game home win streak of UNT (excludes NIT loss to UVA last year).

Enjoy the action this week everyone!
~Rocco Miller

Pac-12 Media Day, 22-23 Edition

Pac-12 Media Day Summary 22-23

By Rocco Miller

For the final time, Media members, coaches, and players gathered together at the Pac-12 Studios on 360 3rd Street in San Francisco. The league intends to not renew the lease on the beautiful property at the end of this school year. For me, that hurts a little. We need as many College Basketball events in San Francisco as we can get, the city loves basketball - and we saw just how popular the NCAA Sweet 16/Elite 8 were here last March. For a league on shakier ground than ever before, due to the departure of USC and UCLA in 24-25, the financials aren’t making sense for the league offices to remain in the City. Alas, we have one final Media Day for MBB today.

Commissioner Talk - George Kliavkoff, Commissioner & Jamie Zaninovich, COO & Deputy Commissioner

Kliavkoff and Zaninovich were hit quickly with UCLA/USC departure-type questions to go along with the future of the PAC questions, which inevitably get asked at this type of forum. For us in Basketball only, it was a tad frustrating because it can set a tough tone for the rest of the day. Kliavkoff handled the questions as well as possible and had his answers ready. Once we got rolling onto more basketball-centric topics, I asked about the league’s scheduling strategy as a response to the league statement surrounding optimizing at-large bids. Right up our alley, eh? You can see Zaninovich’s response and the question around the 29-minute mark below. Also, the full 35-minute Q&A is in here as well.

Stanford

Spencer Jones & Harrison Ingram were both selected to the all-Pac12 First Team, and had this to say about why they decided to come back to Stanford instead of pursuing professional opportunities:

HARRISON INGRAM: Definitely just my conversations with Coach Haase and just seeing the bigger picture. My dream is the NBA, but another dream is making March Madness, and I feel like we have a great chance to do it this year. I trust Coach, trust Spencer, trust my teammates to get it done.
 

SPENCER JONES: I was certainly ecstatic coming back. I feel like our play styles feed off each other well, him being an excellent passer and playmaker and me being an excellent shooter. Yeah, I felt like we had some unfinished business end of the year, definitely knowing we could do better, and now we have the chance to do it.

Head Coach JEROD HAASE enters his seventh year as the Head Coach at Stanford and is seeking an NCAA Tournament appearance for the first time since taking the job. He understands that is the expectation this year. Here is his opening statement:

Certainly excited to be here, and excited about the season. Last year was a year I think we can build off of. Culturally we did some really nice things and on the court we did some nice things. We were pretty

young last year, and having said all that, I think it builds into this year. Generally, we're a year older. These two guys next to me coming back (Ingram & Spencer Jones) is going to be a big deal for us. We have an extremely difficult schedule but also an opportunity to make some noise in the nonconference schedule.

Arizona State

The highlight here was when Desmond Cambridge, Jr. discussed being at dinner with his brother and now teammate - Devan Cambridge and Head Coach Bobby Hurley - only to suddenly get texted by Danny Hurley, Head Coach at UConn (Bobby’s brother).

BOBBY HURLEY had some reflecting to do over the offseason, and here are some of his thoughts on what 22-23 will look like.

As far as like coaches always self-evaluate and you take a look at what you can get better at and what your team needs to do better. Certainly for us is put more points on the board coming off last year's team. We were top 30 in the nation defensive efficiency, and we struggled to score all year. I think we've addressed that through recruiting and bringing some guys in, like Desmond Cambridge, who are capable of making shots. Hopefully Marcus Bagley is healthy right now and will continue to stay that way and take a little pressure off this guy to my left who really carries a load for us offensively, D.J. Horne.

Colorado

As TAD BOYLE casually strolled onto the stage (seen in video above), it was a microcosm of how content he feels about his Buffaloes program heading into this season. Here are some deeper thoughts from Tad:

We haven't taken a lot of four-year transfers at Colorado. We've had a handful of them in the 12 years I've been there. But we really look at the graduate transfers as a way to plug holes in your roster, and we've got two of them this year, both from the Ivy League, Ethan Wright from Princeton, and Jalen Gabbidon from Yale. We feel like graduate transfers bring a certain amount of experience. They've done what they set out to do, which is graduate from college. So they usually come in with an attitude of I've got one year, let's make the most of it. Ethan and Jalen have both done that. They're coming from winning programs, Yale and Princeton. Well coached, big-time culture guys that understand the team comes first. We really shy away from a lot of four-year transfers because you don't know what you're going to get.

Washington State

The highlight here was TJ BAMBA, when asked about the prospects of facing his former teammate and roommate, Noah Williams (now at Washington):

I know Noah; Noah know me. He knows what's going to happen when we play them. Practiced against him for three years. He know my tendencies. I know his. Every time he call me, I feel like he's trying to soften me up. Every call I tell him, you know you're a fool, right? Just to remind him he's on the other end. It's going to be fun playing against him. He's a competitor. He talks a lot of smack. I'm just looking forward to locking him up and getting that W versus UW, you know.

HEAD COACH KYLE SMITH also had admiration and confidence stemming from San Francisco’s 2022 run to the NCAA Tournament, a program he helped build prior to taking the Washington State job.

California

I thought Cal had one of the more interesting appearances on stage during Media Day. MARK FOX was candid about the Bears summer being a challenge, and “it wasn’t all ice cream.” Coach Fox also went on to add that this Cal team “is the most enjoyable team he has coached in over a decade.” The overall sentiment from the Bears was that they are much more athletic than before and there are multiple players on the roster that will catch people by surprise this season.

One of the better quotes of the day, came from Lars Thiemann on the goals for the season:

Break Time for lunch meant a great opportunity to go visit with multiple coaches, media members, and players. It also meant Bill Walton and Commissioner Kliavkoff would roam around the rooftop and say hello to several folks - a warm and friendly environment. And ICYMI - the PAC-12 Donut Bar stole the show!

Oregon

Perhaps the most significant item is that Oregon appears to be down a couple of players heading into the season. This type of thing has hurt Oregon in previous Novembers, so we will wait and see what the severity is. Here is what DANA ALTMAN had to say about it.

Our preseason practice has been a little disrupted by injuries. We've had a little hard time getting everybody on the floor and playing five-on-five, we haven't had enough guys to do that. So we're moving along slower than I anticipated, but I do like the guys. I think eventually we'll get most of the guys back on. I'm a little worried about two injuries that we have that we may not get a couple of guys back for a while. But I think the rest of the guys we can get back and get to work.

In general, the Ducks are widely picked third in the league and considered to be a tournament team, despite last year’s bumps in the road. Altman went on to talk about how that was their worst defensive team since he took over at Oregon, and a lot of roster issues were addressed.

Oregon State

There is no sugarcoating that the Beavers are in full rebuilding mode. Here is what Head Coach WAYNE TINKLE had to say about addressing that exact issue.

We didn't think going the route of veteran guys out of the portal to sell to our program what's really important, the tradition, the pride. We wanted to do it with a younger group, much like we started it with that 2015 class. We know there will be some road blocks along the way, but we've got a group that will be able to dust itself off, get up, learn from it, and move forward. When we have guys that will be able to take coaching, play hard, play together, we've had a good amount of success at Oregon State, and we expect to get right back there quicker than most people think.

Washington

Coming into the day, a lot of the recent UW buzz in practice was about true Frosh Keyon Menifield, Jr. Head Coach MIKE HOPKINS did not mince words when asked a questions about his progress:

HOPKINS later went on to talk a lot about how the improved defensive front line will move the needle this season with the additions of Franck Kepnang (via Oregon) and Braxton Meah (via Fresno State). When I asked him about UW having a closer to help win tight games decided in the final minutes, he had this very entertaining answer for me:

It's why you practice. You have multiple guys who can be put in multiple positions. You look at Jaquez from UCLA. Tiger Campbell might have it sometimes. It could be who's growing at that time. You win games at the end by being able to get a stop, make foul shots, and execute on the offensive end because a lot of these games come down to really being close. The big thing I want to focus on is the scoring thing about to happen. We've got talented players. We've got multiple go-to type guys that we can put the ball in their hands in areas that we can produce. We've got to be able to get stops. That's the biggest thing. That's who we are. That's what we're about. Tougher together, baby. Get in the zone. Be active. Multiple-player mentality. Come on, Ben. Let's go, baby. And we've got them.

USC

I got to catch up a little bit with Drew Peterson behind the scenes, he is extremely tall for a wing and in person! The overriding theme was working hard to become a long-time professional and help this USC Trojans team make their fourth consecutive NCAA Tournament. Here is a clip of both Peterson and Boogie Ellis taking about improvements to their game.

Utah

Head Coach Craig Smith brings great thinking and energy to Media events. He is joined by Branden Carlson and Marco Anthony.

The overall theme from CRAIG SMITH was that he is pleased with the renewed depth of this revised roster, especially if they can get Gavin Baxter (BYU transfer) back from injury sooner than later. He inherently understands the value in playing in altitude and outlasting opponents. As well as keeping guys fresh throughout the campaign. Smith really likes the versatility of this roster. Here is what he told me when I asked about depth:

The Utes very well could be the team that too many people are sleeping on. One thing is for sure, they will improve from their 122nd rating in KenPom last season.

Arizona

TOMMY LLOYD was joined on stage with KERR KRIISA and AZUOLAS TUBELIS. Of course, the first thing that jumped out at me was Kriisa still wearing his headband at a media event. Does he go to dinner like this? to Movies? to the Park? It’s becoming quickly iconic for the man who routinely fires up fans at McKale Center and gets under the skin of his opponents.

I also had a question for LLOYD about any takeaways from playing against TCU and Houston in the NCAAs, two incredibly physical squads and the prospects of facing a team like that again this season. Here is what he had to say:

Well, you're right. TCU and Houston are two really good programs. Incredibly physical. Very well coached. I thought we were a really physical team as well. For me, that's the number one standard. You have to like can you check that box? Can you go play in physical, high-level games. Are you a team that can go toe to toe? And so I really want to see if we can continue to build that at Arizona. I think we have some guys now in our program that do have -- that have shown that toughness. I think we have maybe some other guys in our program that might not be, quote, unquote, you wouldn't say they're a tough guy, but I think we need to establish that  identity, and we're going to continue to grow.

UCLA

Behind the Scenes: UCLA’s Jamie Jaquez cross-over dribble for the cameras.

UCLA’s Head Coach MICK CRONIN was joined by TYGER CAMPBELL and JAMIE JAQUEZ.

In reviewing Campbell’s shooting numbers between the ‘21 season to the ‘22 season, Tyger took a tremendous step forward, going from 25% from distance to 41% year-over-year. Thats a dramatic increase. Campbell already brings a high level of leadership, ball protection, ball distribution, and on-ball defending to the table. This is the final feather in his cap. Here is what he had to say about the improvement made:

Yeah, that was just in the summer coach was on my back telling me to get in the gym. So I was there four or five times a week and trying to get game-ready shots. Just stay in the gym, living there, because it's helped. You've seen the results, and it makes you want to just keep doing it.

The other thing I asked Tyger about was his size. With so many opposing teams getting longer and bigger by the year, His 5-11 frame is beginning to stand out as one of the smallest guys in the league. Here is what he said.

I've always been a smaller guard. I've always had to play with a chip on my shoulder. Just what you said, all the rosters around the country, their point guard is 6'2", 6'3". That's never really bothered me. I've always gone out and tried to play with as much heart as I can, and I've been like that since I was a kid.

PRESEASON PAC-12 MEDIA POLL

PRESEASON ALL-CONFERNECE TEAMS

State of the Program: Davidson

Davidson Wildcats: 2022-23 season outlook

A look at Roster changes, expectations, the non-conference schedule, and more.

Entering the Harry L. Vance Athletic Center hallway as a Davidson visitor, you are immediately welcomed with the decorated success of Bob McKillop, Steph Curry, and the past three decades of Basketball success. All Davidson's athletic achievements are available to be viewed as well, but one thing is abundantly clear at Davidson: This is a Basketball school.

As I waited to be greeted by then Associate Head Coach, Matt McKillop, I did my best to take in all that Davidson viewed as achievements.

How much longer will Bob stay? I recall thinking at the time, in late April. The news of Jay Wright at Villanova had recently hit the wire and we’ve already seen Coach K and Roy Williams step aside. The mystery was even quieter out at Davidson with less of the national spotlight, Coach McKillop didn’t need to worry as much about additional “pressure.” He could leave on his terms and timing. Eventually, I asked his son, Matt (Associate Head Coach), that very question. He gave me a respectful answer and said it would mean a lot to him (Matt) to be able to stay at Davidson long-term even if his Father moved on.

The rest is now history.

Matt McKillop is the new Head Coach at Davidson, following the retirement of his legendary Father, Bob. The announcement came about six weeks after our visit together. Let’s dive into what to expect in the Matt McKillop era.

STAFF CHANGES

Unfair to deem the go-forward staff at Davidson as “new.” They are a collection of deep-rooted Davidson Basketball experts and strategists. Matt McKillop takes over as Head Coach after 14 years as an Assistant Coach and a successful playing career. Matt has a firm grip on everything that goes on within the Davidson program, which was evidenced by my visit. Several players came over and said hello and shook my hand unprovoked, the facility plans were thoroughly explained. Matt knows the ins and outs of schemes and transfer portal strategies and clearly knows that Davidson can’t take every player due to its commitment to high-achieving academics. They find the players who fit them and have deep relationships coast-to-coast within the high school spectrum to continue funneling intelligent, talented players in a shooter’s offense to come to play a fun style and win big as a Wildcat. It doesn’t take long to see the draw.

Matt Matheny was hired to take Matt’s place on the bench as an assistant. Another individual who is no stranger to the Davidson program. Matt played for Bob McKillop between 1991-93 and served as Assistant Coach between 1993-2009 before taking the head job at Elon. We are talking about two decades of Davidson Basketball knowledge. Matheny spent last season calling games on ESPN+ and is ready to dive back in with a fresh set of eyes.

Joshua Heyliger received a promotion to Assistant Coach. Heyliger previously served as Director of Operations for three seasons, where he built a strong reputation as a tireless worker and someone dedicated to Davidson’s success. He spent time in the Ivy League as a Grad Assistant with Dartmouth and has ties to New York.

What about Bob? How involved will he be?

Matt will undoubtedly lean on Bob to bounce questions off of him throughout the season. After all, they don’t know any other way to do it and both love the program and the game. Matt also says that his Mother will not want to miss any of her son’s games. She also won’t want to go to the games by herself. What does that mean?

Expect to see Bob at Davidson games this year next to his wife, Cathy.

SEASON SUMMARY

History was made in a wildly successful A-10 campaign for the Wildcats in ‘21-22. By setting a new program record for A-10 wins in a single-season going 15-3, Davidson secured the outright conference championship Going 15-3 in such a competitive league, especially after being picked sixth in preseason, is pretty astonishing. The steady lineup of Hyunjung Lee, Foster Loyer, Luka Brajkovic, Michael Jones, and Sam Mennenga proved to be lethal as a cohesive unit.

In covering Davidson’s early February road win at St. Bonaventure, I quickly saw first hand just how lethal this team was and how many challenges they posed to opposing defenses. Wildcats run great actions and really landed the ideal personnel with addition of Loyer to make it reach near-max potentional. Here’s a snip from Eric Fawcett on one of the foundations of Davidson’s offense.

As you can tell, the ball movement is crisp and unselfishness is a premium at Davidson. The high level of execution creates an abundance of good looks throughout the course of a Basketball game.

The Wildcats avoided any bad losses in non-league play and had a marquee victory by beating Alabama in Birmingham. But the journey was never as smooth as the Wildcats would’ve preferred due to a road loss against #142 Rhode Island. Nevertheless, we here at Bracketeer.Org were never that concerned because the Wildcats did great damage away from home by also adding a key road win at VCU, at St. Bonaventure, and at Richmond that all landed in the Top 2A of their resume. Despite the elimination from the A10 Tournament at the hands of the eventual champs (Richmond), the ‘Cats were safely in and were rewarded with the 10-seed in the West.

The West Region selection paired the Wildcats with Michigan State, Foster Loyer’s former team. It played out to be one of the tournament’s best games. Unfortunately for the Cats’ they lost a heartbreaker which turned out to be Bob McKillip’s last game and the last game played for Lee and Brajkovic, who had 18 points in the defeat.

IMPORTANT DEPARTURES

Hyun-Jung Lee - Lee was in a tough position this offseason per the Davidson staff. South Korean citizens have a military requirement at Age 26 to enlist. This meant Lee’s clock was sped up much faster than the common NBA prospect. The staff believes he likely would have stayed in normal circumstances, however in Lee’s case, it just made sense to start earning income as a professional as soon as possible.

Lee was an all-conference selection who ranked sixth in the league in scoring (16.5), 11th in three-point field-goal percentage (.386), and seventh in three-pointers per game (2.4). Recorded four double-doubles. Made at least four treys in a contest on eight occasions. He will be remembered for a long time around here.

Luka Brajkovic - Never easy when the Atlantic 10 Player of the Year leaves your school, which is what occurred when Brajkovic made the decision to play overseas professionally. Luka brought both a double-double and three-point threat to opposing defenses and was a crisp passer like nearly all Wildcats are. He will be remembered as well. Luka is off to play professionally for CB Breogán in Spain, part of Liga ACB.

Michael Jones - Jones is on his way to Stanford to play in the Pac-12 and pursue academic endeavors. Jones really improved in 21-22, Jones finished as the third most offensively efficient player in the A-10. In fact, this trio of Juniors all landed in the top four:

Top 10 in ORtg - All Atlantic 10 players, 2021-22.

WHO’S BACK?

Foster Loyer - This was the big win for Matt McKillop this summer. Loyer has suffered multiple leg injuries in his career, including the one that sidelined him for four games in late February. During my visit it was unknown if he would use his extra year or potentially retire and jump straight into the coaching profession. Loyer has had his eyes dead set on being a coach as soon as his playing days are over. After all, his father, John, is an NBA scout with a long resume of coaching experience including a stint as interim Head Coach of the Detroit Pistons in 2014. Younger Loyer is serious enough about it that he interned for LA Clippers during NBA Summer League during the offseason. He also put in six weeks of intense individual workouts to fully recover. All of this points back to the way Foster plays and commands the floor. Very easy for the common fan to see his coaching mentality while playing the game he loves. After a few additional months of conditioning, Loyer announced he feels good and ready for one run with the Wildcats. Coach McKillop also stated that he feels great right now.

Sam Mennenga - Sam played a valuable role in the ‘Cats run of 21-22. Starting in every game but one, Mennenga piled up 14 games with double-figure scoring. Very quietly I might add, being in the shadows of Loyer/Lee/Brajkovic for recognition. This 22-23 campaign will be where Sam emerges as that next great Davidson player with the ability to be all-A10 if things go well. Matt McKillop acknowledged that a much heavier load of the offense could run through Sam on this roster, while he also raved about his skill set. Look for a breakout year here.

Grant Huffman - Another player who will see an increased role. Huffman made five starts last season and looked the part in a 12-point second half vs. Saint Louis in the A10 Semifinals last March, where he didn’t miss a shot. And he gained some valuable extra minutes when Loyer was out, logging as many as 32 minutes against Duquesne. Huffman is also known as an active defender with his hands. His continued development will be important to the overall team's success.

Desmond Watson - Appeared in every game in his first season as a Frosh. Watson picked up needed valuable experience behind a veteran team. The upside is high for Desmond. He was a big-time bucket-getter in High School (24.5 PPG) and led his team to the Ohio State Championship Game. A path that many Davidson recruits have in common, a background that includes teamwork and winning. Watson like many others on the team fits the model well and brings additional athleticism.

KEY NEW GUYS

David Skogman - Will have the tough role of filling Luka’s shoes. However, Skogman fits what McKillop is looking to do. He absorbs information quickly, he has a nice stroke from the outside, he’s also a good athlete and rim protector. Matt McKillop is impressed with how much he has picked up already this summer. Skogman transfers over from Buffalo, where he was a blossoming big at the end of last season. He ended up with five double-doubles, all after January. He steadily increased in usage throughout the season. That was on a Buffalo team stacked with talent and he earned his playing time. He’ll have even more importance this year at Davidson. Skogman is known to have a heart condition where he plays with a mini-defibrillator. Here is the full story from CBS last season:

Connor Kochera - On December 4th, 2021 , Davidson ble out William & Mary 70-46 in a dominating effort. One of the lone bright spots for the Tribe that day? Connor Kochera. Kochera went for 18 (39.1% of team pts.), nine boards to go along with three assists. It was enough to impress the Davidson staff and offer him to transfer up. Kochera is a two-year starter who was heavily used, 11th highest Minutes% in the CAA last season. Davidson feels that he will fit the system and be an additional leader.

THE NON-CONFERENCE SCHEDULE

Davidson worked early on in the process to gain a neutral game vs. Purdue in Indianapolis. That allowed the Wildcats to anchor a bit and be more selective on any new series matchups. The ‘Cats already had return games with San Francisco (Home), Northeastern (Home), Delaware (Away), and Charlotte (Home). Add in the Charleston Classic, which was signed well over a year ago and there wasn’t a lot left to go after. Since my time visiting in April, Davidson did add a home contest with VMI. And prefer to play at home to open the season, but that has not been finalized at press time.

As you can see with the manageable schedule, Davidson may need a Purdue win to really carry weight for an At Large or a big win or two in Charleston. The A10 should be much improved with a loaded Dayton team and formidable Saint Louis and VCU showing strength. Add in a tough Loyola-Chicago, a George Mason team with Josh Oduro back, and other quality teams - the Wildcats will also get more chances to build a resume in the league. Furthermore, the Wildcats already have their league-play schedule and will in fact get two cracks at Dayton, VCU, and Saint Louis. Will not be easy.

The 2022-23 Non-Conference Schedule.

 

EXPECTATIONS

The Davidson program is rooted in high performance and fairly high expectations. As you can tell from this State of the Program update - the types of players that Davidson recruits are rooted in high intelligence and have strong shooting ability. It’s a combination that can win a handful of games in College Basketball by default. Any team that beats Davidson has to earn it typically.

Matt McKillop will bring a more science-based approach to in-game strategy and recruiting. As he enters into more of a CEO role, it will be interesting to see how things flow on the Davidson bench.

As Bob said during the press conference: “One of the interesting dynamics that occurred in the last five years was Matt’s performance on the bench,” his father said. “He was a pain in the butt. He was constantly offering opinions, challenging decisions …” adding, “I coach by gut.”

This Wildcats team is forecasted at #104 on the Bart Torvik Forecast. The forecast is designed I believe to get a general idea of how teams stack up. Per KenPom, the Wildcats have not finished lower than 85th since 2016. Based on how things have come together and as long as Loyer’s health remains intact, there is no reason why they shouldn’t be a Top 85+ squad..

The 2022 Nassau Championship - Bracket Reveal

2022 Matchups

The 2022 Baha Mar Hoops Nassau Championship will include San Jose State, Missouri State, North Texas, Ball State, UNC Wilmington, Vermont, Long Beach State, and Oakland. They will spend Thanksgiving Week in the Bahamas in what is being announced as the largest College Basketball Event in 2022 featuring 20 schools in total. Baha Mar is also hosting an eight-team Women’s event (Pink Flamingo Championship) and the four-team Bahamas Championship featuring Oklahoma State, UCF, Santa Clara, and DePaul. The 2022 Tournament is set for Friday through Sunday, November 25-27.

VERMONT vs. BALL STATE (NOON ET) - The reigning America East regular season and tournament champions, Vermont, will take the court in the early matchup against Ball State. The Cardinals begin a new era this November with the hiring of Michael Lewis. The Catamounts lose the long-time greats in Ben Shungu and Ryan Davis but expect to be right back in contention. UVM made waves by landing Dylan Penn from Bellarmine in the Portal. Aaron Deloney, Nick Fiorillo, and Evan Guillory all return to play key roles alongside Penn. For Ball State, the freshly appointed Coach Lewis will likely rely on an old Ball State friend, Jarron Coleman II, who transferred back to Muncie via Missouri. Coleman had a breakout season as a Sophomore for the Cardinals two seasons ago.

MISSOURI STATE vs. UNC WILMINGTON (APPROX 2:30PM ET) - Missouri State is coming off of a season where they finished Top 70 in KenPom and competed all year for the MVC title. The Bears under Dana Ford will have a new look in 22-23 as 10 newcomers are joining the team after a flurry of activity that included Isaih Mosley transferring to Mizzou and Assistant Coach Corey Gipson leaving to take the Northwestern State coaching job. Don’t fear Bears fans, Coach Ford has reloaded the roster with vets like Bryan Trimble, Jr., Kendle Moore, and Matthew Lee, plus Donovan Clay returns. UNC Wilmington was one of the best stories of the 2021-22 season by winning a surplus of games where they trailed in CAA play. The Seahawks finished a remarkable 15-3 in the league and one game away from the NCAA Tournament. They used the momentum to win the CBI Championship. Shykeim Phillips, Trazarien White, and Jamahri Harvey are all back to lead UNCW even further. This could certainly be the best of the Quarterfinal games on the 25th.

NORTH TEXAS vs. SAN JOSE STATE (5:30PM ET) - The Mean Green are the likely favorite to win the Nassau Championship if we’re being honest here. UNT was knocking on the NCAA Tournament door as an at-large (and I believe deserved more consideration due to 10 true road wins) in 21-22. Grant McCasland and an excellent core of players including Tylor Perry are back to help the Mean Green compete for another Conference USA Title. San Jose State heads into year two under Tim Miles and features an exciting young core of players returning. Omari Moore is the primary scorer and returns as well. If you haven’t seen PG Alvaro Cardenas handle the rock, you are in for a treat in this event. Spartans will use these three games to build cohesion and improve heading towards a tough Mountain West season in January.

OAKLAND vs. LONG BEACH STATE (8PM ET) - LBSU might be my sleeper pick to win this event. You heard that correctly. A team that was as hot as anybody last year in the second half of the season, surprised many by winning the Big West regular-season championship. This season they have added Marcus Tsohonis (via VCU and Washington) to a core that includes Joel Murray, Jadon Jones, and Aboubacar Traore. Great roster on paper. Oakland Head Coach Greg Kampe is no stranger to great mid-major players. He has Rocket Watts, Keaton Harvey, and Lorne Bowman all coming in this season! Jalen Moore and Trey Townsend are also back in the fold for the Golden Grizzlies. This nightcap promises to be a fantastic matchup. Let’s also not forget that Oakland won the 2021 Gulf Coast Showcase, which included a quarterfinal round win over Vermont.

 

BRACKET

2022 Nassau Championship Schedule and Bracket


Baylor, Gonzaga finalizing agreement to meet in 22-23

Baylor and Gonzaga are finalizing an agreement to play a neutral site game in December at the Sanford Pentagon in Sioux Falls, South Dakota, per multiple sources.

There is no timetable for an official announcement.

A much-anticipated rematch of the 2021 National Championship Game is in store, making up for a canceled game set for December 5th, 2020.

Baylor coasted to a 86-70 win over Gonzaga in the 2021 National Title Game.

Baylor finished 27-7 last season following a dominant National Title run in 2020-21. Scott Drew’s Baylor Bears would have also been a one-seed had the 2020 NCAA Tournament occurred, meaning the Bears are on an effective three-year streak of earning a one-seed. The Bears will return Adam Flagler, who yesterday announced he is withdrawing his name from the NBA and returning to Waco for his senior season. Flagler will be joined by an abundance of talent: LJ Cryer, blue-chipper Frosh Keyonte George, Flo Thamba, Jonathan Tchamwa Tchatchoua, Jalen Bridges Langston Love, Caleb Lohner, and more are in the fold. Baylor is the #1 ranked team currently in the 2023 Bart Torvik Forecasted. rankings

Gonzaga will be out for some level of revenge in this game, after falling short in that 2021 National Title Game. Gonzaga may also have Drew Timme and/or Julian Strawther back in the fold (Still no announcement at press time). Gonzaga has been a national powerhouse for the better part of the last two decades and has earned the top overall one-seed in the past two NCAA Tournaments. The Bulldogs also bring back super Sophomores Hunter Sallis and Nolan Hickman to go along with vets Anton Watson and incoming big man Efton Reid via LSU.

The matchup figures to feature a battle of two Top five teams come December. Stay tuned for more details.

The 2022 Palms Division, part of the Fort Myers Tip-Off

2022 TEAMS Revealed

The 2022 Rocket Mortgage Fort Myers Tip-Off Palms Division will include Northern Illinois, South Dakota, Sam Houston, and LIU Brooklyn. They will spend Thanksgiving Week in Southwest Florida. The 2022 Tournament is set for Monday and Wednesday, Nov. 22 and 23, at Suncoast Credit Union Arena on the campus of Florida SouthWestern State College.

ON-CAMPUS MATCHUPS - All to be played on November 17th

  • LIU Brooklyn at Marquette

  • South Dakota at Mississippi State

  • Northern Illinois at Georgia Tech

  • Sam Houston at Utah

ABOUT THE PALMS DIVISION

The quartet of Sam Houston, NIU, South Dakota, and LIU Brooklyn will play a four-team bracketed tournament on November 22nd and 23rd.

SAM HOUSTON - The Bearkats are coming off of a successful season as a first-year member of the WAC. SHSU finished 13-5 in league play and one game out of first place. This season the Beakts bring in Qua Grant via Wichita State and big man Kaosi Ezeagu via Kansas State to help bolster a rotation worthy of competing for the WAC title again. In fact, the Bearkats are an early projected Top 100 team, per the Bart Torvik 2023 forecast at press time.

SOUTH DAKOTA - The return of AJ Plitzuweit is all of the offseason rage in Vermillion this offseason. Plitzuweit missed the 21-22 season with a medical redshirt. He had a stellar 20-21 campaign, earning Summit League Newcomer of the Year, All-Summit League First-Team honors, and put up two performances of 37+ points. The rest of the Coyotes are tough too, highlighted by the return of Kruz Perrott-Hunt and Tasos Kamateros, plus the intra-conference addition of Paul Bruns (via North Dakota).

LIU BROOKLYN - The Sharks will make the trip south to Ft. Myers accompanied by some preseason NEC buzz - thanks to the addition of the efficient Maurice Commander (via UIC) and key returnees Tre Wood, Alex Rivera, and Kyndall Davis.

NORTHERN ILLINOIS - Huskies will enter the second year of the Rashon Bruno era with plenty of optimism. Keshawn Williams and Kaleb Thornton are back in the fold with another year of experience under their belt. Two players who can really fill it up for NIU.

Head Coach Jason Hooten’s Bearkats are poised to win the Palms Division this November.

In its first four years, the Rocket Mortgage Fort Myers Tip-Off has quickly become one of the top early-season events in the country and a fixture in the Southwest Florida sports calendar. In 2021, both nights of the Rocket Mortgage Fort Myers Tip-Off Beach Division were played in front of sold-out crowds that saw the in-state Florida Gators defeat the Ohio State Buckeyes with a dramatic buzzer-beating 3-pointer to take home the Tournament title. The Tournament, which has hosted several Final Four-caliber programs in its first four seasons including Gonzaga, Kansas, Auburn, Loyola (Chicago), Florida, and Ohio State, will welcome four power conference programs to the Beach Division for the second straight year. Additionally, three teams from the 2020 field – Gonzaga, Kansas, and Auburn – are potential No. 1 seeds in the NCAA Tournament.

The 2022 Beach Division includes Mississippi State, Utah, Georgia Tech, and Marquette.

The 2022 SoCal Challenge Field is HERE!

ANNOUNCEMENT

San Juan Capistrano, CA:
The SoCal Challenge announced the teams for the second edition of its 8-team Multi Team Event, taking place on November 21st and 23rd at the Pavilion at JSerra in San Juan Capistrano.

We are pleased to announce the field for the Second Annual SoCal Challenge.

SURF DIVISION

The Surf Division will include Minnesota, UNLV, Cal Baptist, and Southern Illinois.

Once again, the SoCal Challenge has a Power school in the event in Minnesota. Last year it had TCU.

Minnesota Head Coach Ben Johnson said. "We know our student-athletes will have a first-class experience at such a well-run national tournament. I’m excited for our Gophers fans to experience a fun, warm destination that they can travel to and enjoy.”

UNLV will enter the season as one of the most discussed Mountain West programs. The Rebels finished strong last year by knocking off two NCAA Tournament teams late in the year (Colorado State and Wyoming). The hype will be strong with the additions of Elijah Harkless (via Oklahoma), Luis Rodriguez (via Ole Miss), Eli Parquet (via Colorado), and several more talented players under second-year head coach Kevin Kruger.

Cal Baptist becomes eligible for the NCAA Tournament for the first time in 2022-23 after finishing out its four-year probationary period as a new D1 member. HC Rick Croy and the Lancers are poised to make an immediate run at the WAC title by adding Riley Battin from Utah, Joe Quintana from LMU, and Hunter Goodrick from South Dakota to go along with an experienced nucleus that includes Ty Rowell and the dynamic Armstorng’s (Tre and Taran). Lancers will be a tough out in this event.

Southern Illinois is looking to take the quantum leap in the Missouri Valley in the 22-23 season. A core of veterans is back behind the established leadership of Marcus Domask and Lance Jones. Head Coach Bryan Mullins enters his fourth year in Carbondale and a good showing at the SoCal Challenge will be a key goal for the Saluki’s non-conference plans.

SCHEDULE

Games are to be played on November 21st.
Minnesota vs. Cal Baptist
UNLV vs. Southern Illinois Sand Bracket

Winners and Losers will play on November 23rd.

ON-CAMPUS GAMES

DATES TBA

Central Michigan at Minnesota
High Point at UNLV
Tennessee State at Southern Illinois
CSUN at Cal Baptist

The inaugural SoCal Challenge was praised for its high energy, professional event management and its beautiful location - San Juan Capistrano.

SAND DIVISION

The Sand Division Features Cal State University Northridge, Central Michigan University, High Point University, and Tennessee State University.

  • CSUN’s entry provides another local team from SoCal and the Big West the opportunity to experience the SoCal Challenge firsthand. Cal Poly was in the event last season.

  • Central Michigan is coached by long-time coach and player legend, Tony Barbee. Barbee enters his second season and his staff has worked hard to re-tool the roster to compete in the upper half of the MAC.

  • High Point is now coached by GG Smith, the son of Tubby and the former popular Kentucky player who has nothing but basketball pedigree in his blood. High Point is a potential sleeping giant in the Big South with great access to resources and facilities. The SoCal Challenge will be a great opportunity to see GG and the Panthers early on in the 22-23 season.

  • Tennessee State will feature Jr. Clay as an intra-conference transfer from Tennessee Tech. Clay has had several OVC accolades over the course of his career and will provide a boost to the Tigers’ offense. Ultra-productive Zion Griffin is also in the fold for TSU via Illinois-Chicago. At UIC, Griffin had multiple 20+ point performances and is an inside-outside weapon. TSU also brings back experienced leaders in Marcus Fitzgerald and Christian Brown.

SCHEDULE

Games are to be played on November 21st.
CSUN vs. Tennessee State
High Point vs. Central Michigan

Winners and Losers meet on November 23rd

“Teams and fans alike loved the first SoCal Challenge,” said Steve Barnes, Founder and Co-Executive Director of the SoCal Challenge. “We had a packed venue for both nights and are grateful that we were accepted by the college basketball media as if we’d been around forever, making sure we reached millions of people. This year's lineup of teams will be just as competitive and exciting.”

“We're looking forward to playing in the SoCal Challenge and facing some great competition Thanksgiving week,"

To learn more about the SoCal Challenge go to www.SoCalChallenge.co

State of the Program: Winthrop

By Rocco Miller

Winthrop Eagles: 2022-23 season outlook

A look at Roster changes, expectations, the non-conference schedule, and more.

Welcome to a new offseason series called State of the Program, we hope you enjoy it. The team overviews are intended to provide the College Basketball community with an overall state of the program for personnel updates, coaching staff, non-conference schedule updates, and more.

Our goal from the start will be to meet with coaches on campus about their program. We may end up including zoom videos as well as we go, but a lot of that will come down to timing. With a national footprint to operate with, the sky is the limit here, and we may end up at your favorite school next!

The first season is in the books for Mark Posser as the head man at Winthrop. Prosser went 23-9, 16-3 vs. Big South competition.

SEASON SUMMARY

Head Coach Mark Prosser was hired in April 2021 to replace the highly successful Pat Kelsey (who moved on to the College of Charleston). Prosser was no stranger to Rock Hill though, he served as the Winthrop Associate Head Coach between 2013-2018 prior to getting his first crack at Head Coaching at Western Carolina, where he would spend the next three seasons.

Coach Prosser got to work right away in preparation for the 21-22 campaign by bringing Cory Hightower (13.8 PPG/6.2 RPG at WCU) and Sin’Cere McMahon over with him from Cullowhee. The big win was keeping big man and difference-maker, DJ Burns, in Rock Hill. Prosser also re-recruited key players like Michael Anumba, Chase Claxton, and others to stay. Then the additions of Drew Buggs (Hawai’i/Mizzou vet) and Patrick Good (part of great ETSU teams, deadly shooter) rounded out a great roster by Big South standards.

Some early success in non-league play - a win at Washington and key home wins over Furman and Mercer, paid dividends heading into Big South play. The Eagles were once again dominant in league play, going a perfect 8-0 at home, and dropping just two on the road (At Longwood and High Point) for an overall 14-2 Big South record. DJ Burns was named Player of the Year in the league after putting up 15.3 points per game and shooting a conference-leading 63.5 percent from the field. Burns became just the fifth Eagle to reach the 1,000-point plateau before his senior season. A truly unique talent. Patrick Good received votes for all-conference as well. Good had some incredible performances, including making 11 three-pointers in a loss at Washington State.

The Big South Tournament went according to plan in the Quarterfinals and Semifinals. The Eagles dismissed High Point (78-61) and Gardner Webb (76-67) to reach their third straight Big South Championship game to take on Longwood. All of the momenta was seemingly in Winthrop’s hands, getting to play in nearby Charlotte at a neutral arena and having a decisive crowd advantage. It was also their 10th straight win.

Championship Sunday was not kind. The Eagles’ dream of returning to the NCAA Tournament was merely gone early on as Longwood forced 11 Winthrop turnovers in the first half. The Lancers were hot offensively and went on multiple runs to build an early 34-14 lead and took an 18-point lead to the locker room. The deficit was too deep for Winthrop to overcome, and Longwood advanced to its first-ever NCAA Tournament.

The outcome and overall season left several positives to build on and with Cory Hightower, DJ Burns, and others expected back in 22-23, optimism is real high in Rock Hill.

OFFSEASON MOVEMENT

DEPARTURES
The transfer portal came calling early for two role players, Russell Jones (who landed at Western Carolina) and Josh Corbin (who landed at Robert Morris). Seniors Patrick Good and Drew Buggs have said their goodbyes as they are out of eligibility.

When I attended a Winthrop practice in April and met with the staff, DJ Burns was fully expected to return for another campaign. Burns was absent from practice due to being sick, and it was a bummer to not meet him - but not much was thought of it at that time. Well, things change quickly for players like Burns in today’s College Hoops world and I believe it was less than a week later that he entered the portal. It wasn’t long after that Burns decided to go north to Raleigh and play for Coach Kevin Keatts at NC State. His Big South legacy was made, you cannot knock him for testing his game at the ACC level. For Winthrop, a major interior void was suddenly created.

ARRIVALS
Kasen Harrison spent two seasons at Lamar, a struggling program, but carried himself well and showed he is a quality D1 player in about a season and a half for the Cardinals. In 21-22, he missed chunks of time. In one of his final performances, the struggling Cardinals nearly upset Abilene Christian (85-82 loss), thanks to Harrison’s 19 points, six rebounds, four assists, and perfect foul shooting (seven-for-seven). Harrison received All-Freshman teams honors in the Southland in 20-21 and has three more years of eligibility heading into his Winthrop experience.

A lot of down transfers from large conferences can make a big splash at the Big South level of course. That is what the Eagles are hoping to have with Isaiah Wilson (6’0, 170) coming in from Richmond. Wilson was part of a Richmond team that won the A10 Tournament and an opening-round NCAA game vs. Iowa. By that point in the season, Wilson had been seeing less time and had multiple DNPs in February/March. When Richmond got Andre Gustavson completely back up to 100% in January, Wilson’s minutes took a dip. The experienced Wilson was able to gain through being a starter 15 times and getting 30+ minutes against teams like Saint Louis, UNI, and Drake - will pay off for him later in his career with the Eagles.

The hole left by Burns was addressed by bringing in a bigger name from the recruiting circles. The 6’10 Michael Moore from IMG Academy has a 7’4 wingspan. Moore had offers during his Junior circuit from Seton Hall, VCU, Virginia Tech, DePaul, and others. And during the final recruiting push picked up an offer from St. Bonaventure. So this was a major pickup for Prosser and Winthrop. For Moore, visualizing himself in the DJ Burns role has to be exciting as well. Moore will be an intriguing player to follow immediately in Rock Hill.

I believe this leaves the Eagles with one open scholarship as we write this on May 23rd. Still, plenty of time to make that count. Also, Michael Anumba is back in the fold for 22-23 to provide quality and experience.

NON-CONFERENCE SCHEDULE

Prior to my visit, it was public knowledge that the Eagles would be participating in the Cancun Challenge. The event gives Winthrop a spotlight road game at Auburn (Nov. 15) and the two bracketed games in Mexico against two of Southern Miss, Purdue Fort Wayne, or Eastern Michigan.

It was later revealed by LSU Sports that Winthrop would visit LSU on December 17th. Giving the Eagles two SEC road games. Here is what we know today about the Eagles schedule:

22-23 Winthrop Eagles non-conference schedule.

Winthrop is in the midst of a series with four schools, confirmed by the coaching staff: CCU, MTSU, Furman, and Mercer. The Eagles also have plans to host two non-D1 schools.

The unknown is if the Big South will move to an 18-game schedule instead of the 16-game schedule we have become used to. With the league downsizing to 10 teams (losing NC A&T and Hampton), this would create a full round-robin format and allow two fewer non-conference games. At last check, the Eagles have at least three spots to fill regardless.

EXPECTATIONS

If it’s not obvious by now - the Winthrop Eagles have been the toast of the Big South for a while. Winthrop has been to 18 Big South title games and won 13 Championships since the 1987-88 season. The next closest school has five (UNC Asheville and the long-departed CCU Chanticleers). Needless to say, the expectations are high in Rock Hill. After seeing upstart programs like Longwood, Garnder Webb, and Radford breakthrough for bids in the past few seasons, the stakes are high and some luck is always needed in a single-elimination tournament for one bid conferences like the Big South.

The lineup in 22-23 should feature Anumba, Hightower (out til September following offseason surgery), Claxton, Harrison, and perhaps Moore (right away). Isaiah Wilson, Kelton Telford, and Sin’Cere McMahon round out a solid top eight rotation on paper, while still allowing for other guys to break in with advanced development and/or another addition to the roster.

In summary, the Winthrop Eagles’ culture is strong. Coach Mark Prosser has a stellar reputation when it comes to taking care of his players in a family-first environment. It is rare to see a player willing to leave the program under Prosser, even in today’s era. The Burns situation is what it is because he is talented enough to take a crack at ACC Hoops. I came away thoroughly impressed with how this program is operated plus they do a number of things to stay close and connected to the Rock Hill community. It’s no surprise why these Eagles are an annual staple at or near the top of the Big South Conference.

Todd Golden with Rocco Miller ahead of March Madness

The San Francisco Dons are headed to the NCAA Tournament! San Francisco takes on Murray State tomorrow night. The San Francisco Dons earned its first At-Large bid in 40 years (1982) and first overall bid since 1998.

Coach Golden and I caught up this week to discuss:

  • Selection Sunday Stress

  • What it means to the program and University

  • Murray State - initial impressions

  • Legacy of Jamaree Bouyea and Khalil Shabazz

  • New Goals

And much more.

FULL INTERVIEW

Head Coach Exclusives: Todd Golden, San Francisco

The San Francisco Dons program is rich with history. The 2022 season has a great chance to build on such legendary great teams from the 50s, 60s, and 70s. The USF program has also been great to this website over the years.

This season, we have the world’s of Dons Basketball and Bracketology have collided, as the San Francisco Dons are seeking their first At-Large bid in 40 years (1982) and first overall bid since 1998.

This was the ideal moment for:

  • Reflecting on a memorable season

  • Dive deeper into successful winning analytics

  • WCC Tournament Preview

  • Bracketology feelings, thoughts, perspective

FULL INTERVIEW

Saint Mary's 67, Gonzaga 57 Recap

POSTGAME

Randy Bennett gave us 11 minutes to review perhaps the biggest win in the history of the UCU Pavilion.

HIGHLIGHTS

FINAL STATS

FINAL THOUGHTS

Saint Mary’s came in more than prepared for Gonzaga in a game where 24-year old Point Guard Tommy Kuhse once again provided unflappable leadership. The Gaels’ defense came together in a fashion that few people thought was possible before the game. A real commitment to team defense, unselfish play, and doubling Drew Timme in the post, paid significant dividends for SMC. Kyle Bowen came through with the two big threes late as Coach Bennett touched on above. It was a magical night for the Gaels, who suddenly find themselves in the conversation for a 5-seed and the upside to be a top-four seed with a second win over Gonzaga in the WCC Tournament.

On Gonzaga: Watched the Bulldogs play two vastly different games this week. Against San Francisco, GU was able to get and create a ton of open looks and gain a lead early and run with it. Tonight against Saint Mary’s it was almost a polar opposite result. Gonzaga was taken out of their game - practically from the opening tip onward. Saint Mary’s had the personnel and maturity to race back on defense following a make or a miss. Most teams do not, like 95% of the country does not. Gonzaga will get into the tournament and likely overwhelm their first two opponents. Once they are in the Regional rounds, I am very curious to see who they match up with. Bigger and older teams can potentially give Gonzaga trouble. I believe a team needs both of these characteristics to pull it off. This formula could give a potential upset some legs, however, it still takes a well or perfectly executed game plan to beat the Bulldogs. Otherwise, Gonzaga remains a likely favorite in each game the rest of the season.

It’s a game I won’t soon forget. 2022 has been kind to me. Earlier this year I was in Columbus to see #1 Duke lose at Ohio State. To see the top team get beat twice in the same season takes both luck and fortune. Thank you all for following along. March promises to be special.

Postgame Audio: Santa Clara at San Francisco - Todd Golden

Todd Golden’s thoughts after an 88-85 victory over Santa Clara.

  • Dons are 17-5, 4-3 WCC

  • Todd Golden picked up career win #50 in his young career

  • Golden talks about the talent of Santa Clara and how difficult they were to defend.

Postgame Video: Herb Sendek

Herb Sendek was gracious and proud in defeat today.

  • Satisfied with the way his Broncos have played this week in two impressive performances.

  • Acknowledged how stressful the game was late

  • Discussed having everyone back at full strength

Weekend Bracket Watch: January 28th-30th

Time to prepare you for another critical weekend! A very busy couple of days of important College Hoops action is right in front of us. With around 175 games happening between now and Sunday, refer to this guide as to which games mean the most in this week’s Bracket Watch.

Each week, the games previewed for this column are most clearly divided into three critical categories.

  • Heavyweight games: Games that will impact the top 16 teams on the seed list. Better known as protected seeds.

  • Bubble games: Games that will most influence teams inside or outside of the bubble.

  • Conference Leader games: The opportunity for the lead in any given league to change hands.

Our top five favorite games in each grouping were selected for the coming weekend.

Can anyone cool off Marquette? The Providence Friars and a Northeast Winter Storm will do their best this weekend.

HEAVYWEIGHT GAMES

5. Tennessee at Texas, Saturday, 8PM EST, ESPN
Rick Barnes returns to Austin! Great storylines for this one. Yet, the first thing that jumped off the page in the Coach Beard press conference on Thursday was that BEVO, the renowned football live mascot, was going to be making a special appearance for this game. I have no context on how rare this is, but it seems like a BIG deal. That factor combined with the Longhorns’ dominance over TCU on the road earlier this week, has me thinking Texas has all of the right momentum heading in. For Tennessee, they have outstanding predictive metrics going for them. Yet, they still lack any real substance away from Knoxville on their resume. The best win is still the North Carolina win back in November at the Mohegan Sun. UNC has since regressed into bubbleland. Both the Vols and Horns put the clamps down defensively, ranking in the Top 13 in Adj. Defensive Efficiency. A real key will be if Texas can avoid committing turnovers against a Tennessee team that is Top 10 nationally in forcing them. A lot of Orange for all in this primetime matchup and a key game for each squad’s resume.

Bevo is celebrating his 7th Birthday inside of a Hoops Arena? That’s the word on the street.

4. Ohio State at Purdue, Sunday, Noon EST, CBS
Purdue looks to be in great form coming off of a 83-73 dominant road win at Iowa on Thursday. Jaden Ivey returned to the lineup off the bench and looked his usual self - scoring 15 points and mostly filling the box score. Also, looking good for Purdue is playing in Mackey Arena, where the Boilermakers are 10-1 on the season with most wins being a typical blowout. The Ohio State Buckeyes enter this one by coming off a road victory of their own at Minnesota on Thursday. The Buckeyes had a nine-day break prior to Minnesota and looked fresh. The Buckeye-Boiler matchup presents a clash in the paint with Zach Edey/Trevion Williams going against EJ Liddell, Kyle Young, and Zed Key. We saw three of these matchups in ‘20-21, where it was these Buckeyes who eliminated Purdue in Overtime from the B1G Tournament. Boilers however swept the regular season series in two nail-biters. If this is anything like last year, expect it to come down to the wire. A Buckeye road win here would provide a resume game-changer. Currently, Ohio State’s best win away from home is Seton Hall (which has recently lost some of its luster).

3. Baylor at Alabama, Saturday, 4PM ET, ESPN
Inconsistency, Maturity, Chemisty all appear to be off for Bama coming off another disheartening loss at Georgia. The big gaping hole however, is three-point execution. They showed it vs. Gonzaga (13 makes - 38% success rate). But overall, the Tide are just under 31% on the season and that ranks 296th out of 358 squads. Baylor holds opponents to 29.4% makes, not good news on a key front. From last year's team. Bama lost Josh Primo/Jordan Bruner/Alex Reese - who combined to hit 99 triples. John Petty, Jr. also gone - made 77 triples by himself. That’s been harder to make up for then originally thought. On the good side, Tide are 9-1 in Coleman Coliseum (Elite wins over Houston, LSU, Tennessee), and this game should be electric. Baylor just got the services of Jeremy Sochan back and will be curious to see how much he can bring after playing 21 minutes in his return. Keep in mind - Baylor is undefeated when Sochan plays. Alabama will really need to rise to the occasion in order to be successful in this one.

2. Marquette at Providence, Sunday, 12:30 PM ET, FS1
You would be hard-pressed to find a matchup between two hotter teams than this. I don’t think any team has taken the nation by storm in recent weeks quite like the Marquette Golden Eagles. Winners of seven in a row, that list includes away wins at Villanova and at Seton Hall. A rare thing to see Marquette have so much success on the East Coast trips. Credit to HC Shaka Smart and the team he’s been able to build and get to gel. Marquette is ninth in the country in assists per game (17.6), that begins to show how effective they are at sharing the rock. Justin Lewis has exploded onto the scene during this streak, he has scored in double-figures in each game, avoids foul trouble and gets an adequate amount of rebounds. He’s been so analytically valuable to this Marquette team that KenPom now has him as the third highest-rated player in the Big East! The Friars also have a lot to brag about as well. This team is 17-2 and finds all kinds of ways to win despite missing AJ Reeves lately. In this matchup the Friars should be able to get to the foul line with regularity, and its a home game so that could really tilt to their advantage. Marquette will need to stick to what they do best to pull off another major road win: Protect the ball, find their teammates, take great shots. Should be a dandy at the Dunk.

1. Kentucky at Kansas, Saturday, 6PM, ET, ESPN
This will be a well-hyped blockbuster coming to you in Primetime at the Phog. The Wildcats have looked sharp lately and hope to get Tyty Washington back in time for this key matchup. The ‘Cats really struggled without him earlier this week in an overtime win at home over Mississippi State. Conventional wisdom certainly favors the Jayhawks, especially if Tyty is missing. Kansas is coming off an exhausting double overtime thrilling win over Texas Tech. Do they have another war in their tank? Kentucky is really searching for an elite win to match their elite metrics, can they pull this one off?

BUBBLE GAMES

5. Virginia at Notre Dame, Saturday, 6PM ET, ACC Network
Two of a big batch of ACC teams hovering near the bubble, will square off in South Bend on Saturday evening. The Caviliers really need to perform well due to a current NET ranking of 96. Without going any further into UVA’s resume, that’s way too low for at-large worthy consideration. So if the Cavs are going to right the ship, they need to pack some punch to help their overall metrics too. Notre Dame comes in feeling slightly better than before, as the Irish are on a three-game win streak. Unfortunately a lot of these lower to mid-tier ACC wins are not moving the needle like they usually do. So the Irish are forced to keep on winning and drop one at home to Virginia would equal a giant step backwards. Pressure galore here. Virginia’s defense only ranks #102! It’s unbelievable to read that, but its true. So Notre Dame has a nice offensive edge on paper.

4. Boise State at Fresno State, Friday, 11PM ET, FS1
The Bulldogs get to host the red-hot Broncos on a late night national TV game. I saw these very Bulldogs knock off Utah State last week in my first visit to the Save Mart Center, and it was a great facility. The hope locally is for a real solid Friday night crowd. Boise State has been suffocating everyone lately, highlighted by the 42-37 rockfight win at San Diego State last weekend. An undertold story is what Freshman Tyson Degenhart has been able to bring to this Broncos club, seems like he takes the MWC Frosh of the Week Award each Monday. Broncos boast the 8th best adjusted defense in the land, and Fresno State loves to play physical. Should see a really intense battle here. Watch out for Orlando Robinson’s health. He hasn’t had to miss a game yet, but only logged 15 minutes in a tight win at New Mexico earlier in the week. Something to monitor closely.

Anthony Holland (Center) does it all for this Fresno State team. Watch for him to make key plays down the stretch.

3. LSU at TCU, Saturday, Noon ET, ESPN2
This section is all about the bubble. Can’t think of a more extreme bubble team today than TCU. And look what just landed in the Horned Frogs lap? The Big12/SEC Challenge against a great opponent! This is not only a great opportunity to land a Q1 win for the Frogs but also a chance to rescue their horrid non-conference strength of schedule (currently #334). TCU already has their work cut out for them in a rugged Big 12. I’ve been impressed by their wins at Iowa State and vs. Oklahoma. However, the blowout home loss vs. Texas was a warning sign earlier this week. In this LSU matchup, the Frogs will go up against the top-ranked adjusted defense. The Tigers could make life real difficult in the backcourt where they typically feast on opposing guards and cause poor decisions when it comes to shot-taking.

2. Michigan at Michigan State, Saturday, 12:30PM ET, CBS
The Michigan Wolverines have had a sideways season to say the least. Big expectations were in place for a team returning Hunter Dickinson, Eli Brooks, and a solid core plus the additions of DeVante Jones and Caleb Houstan. Things haven’t exactly gone according to plan in Ann Arbor. However, a big recent road win at Indiana and the subsequent win over Northwestern has restored a bit of cautious optimism. Let’s have a look at the current Resume:

You can see the Wolverines have struggled against the top two quadrants holistically. And just a .500 record (7-7) against the top three quadrants. Also, the Resume metrics (KPI & SOR) are in agreement that Michigan is below the at-large bar ranked 56th and 69th respectively. The good news? When you play in the mighty Big 10 things can change in a hurry. Michigan is a couple of huge wins away from being in the field. It can all begin in East Lansing this weekend.

1. West Virginia at Arkansas, Saturday, 2PM ET, ESPN 2
Does not get much more bubbly than this in the current moment. These two took completely different routes to get near the bubble. West Virginia has been “safe” for quite a while after a solid non-conference slate. Life in the Big 12 has hit them in the face though during a current four-game skid. Mountaineers were also home on Wednesday when they took a tough loss to Oklahoma and now have to travel to Fayetteville…where they will face a hot Arkansas team. The Razorbacks were unimpressive earlier in the campaign when they stumbled to an 0-3 SEC start. Since then, the Hogs are starting to get the Muss Buss rolling again and are on a five-game win streak highlighted by a marquee win at LSU. The road LSU win is doing wonders for the current resume, and this non-conference showcase game should really improve their other main concern: a 272nd ranked Non-Conference Strength of Schedule. Mountaineers certainly have their work cut out for them at Bud Walton Arena, will need to force turnovers early and get the Hogs out of rhythm early to have a good chance.

CONFERENCE LEADER GAMES

5. Winthrop at Longwood, Saturday, 3PM ET, ESPN+
This one has been circled on Longwood’s calendar for a long time. The vaunted Winthrop Eagles come pay a visit to Farmville. Longwood’s season came to an end last year in the Big South Semifinals at the hands of Winthrop, a team who beat them three teams a year ago. Furthermore, Winthrop has won at Longwood’s Willett Hall six consecutive times and beat the Lancers 15 out of the past 16 times. To say this means a ton to Longwood, would be a gross understatement. One concern for the Lancers is this is their sixth game in 14 days, will fatigue be a factor? Leslie Nkereuwem came off the bench to pour in 24 points in the win over North Carolina A&T earlier this week, so perhaps Longwood has more heroes lined up and ready to surprise. Winthrop is coming off an OT thrilling win over USC Upstate. Winthrop was mostly left for dead, until a game-tying shot at the buzzer by Patrick Good got them to Overtime. That demoralized the opposing Spartans. Longwood comes in unbeaten in league and Winthrop has just the lone loss at High Point last week. This shapes up to be must watch Big South action.

4. Sam Houston at Seattle U., Saturday, 4PM ET, ESPN+
Okay, something has to give between these two:

This is an unlikely battle for the top of the WAC standings and I dare you to find two hotter teams than this. Seattle U. has an incredible story under Interim Head Coach Chris Victor and boasts two of the best players in the WAC in Damion Trammell and Cam Tyson. The Redhawks managed to sweep their Texas road trip (ACU + Tarleton) last week by protecting the ball well and knocking down foul shots at a high rate. They did more of the same earlier this week in a showcase win over Stephen F. Austin in the NHL’s Climate Pledge Arena. In this one, they will not have that luxury, as they are back to the much smaller Showare Center in Kent, WA. Could be good news for shooters however, as that venue has great sight lines. Sam Houston brings a high-major player in Savion Flagg (mentioned in Tweet above) and is on a six-game win streak that includes victories of the league’s best (NMSU + GCU). The entire Bearkats roster is doing a tenacious job at crashing the offensive glass. This matchup promises to be an interesting clash and the winner will land in Monday’s Bracket.

3. Jacksonville State at Liberty, Saturday 7PM ET, ESPN+
Yet another battle of conference unbeatens! Jacksonville State’s first year in the ASUN and under legendary coach Ray Harper is set to step foot on the campus of Liberty, where the ASUN Title has traditionally ran through. Will not be an easy task for the Gamecocks to slow down Darius McGhee and the Flames, but JSU is playing their best basketball of the season. JSU can snipe from deep and gets 40.3% of their production from beyond the arc. We all know that Liberty can stroke as well, they get 39.7% production from behind the three-point line themselves. The Gamecocks have had the more vulnerable defense throughout the season, however Harper teams play a variety of zones that tend to get stronger over time. We’ll see if Jacksonville State can go into Lynchburg and shock the world, will be a fun battle of bombs.

2. North Texas at Louisiana Tech, Saturday, 4PM ET, Stadium
Grant McCasland’s Mean Green are a perfect 4-0 in true road games this season. Pretty remarkable when you consider two of those wins were at really difficult venues in Wichita State and Western Kentucky. The Mean Green go for five on Saturday at LA Tech. These two teams are part of a current trio tied at 7-1 and boldly in charge of Conference USA. Louisiana Tech is one week removed from another home showdown vs. UAB, where the Bulldogs fell short. This UNT challenge will be much different, as the Mean Green take their time on each possession and play stellar defense compared to UAB’s blazing speed and quicker shots. Bulldogs may have revenge on their minds here as well. LA Tech was eliminated in the CUSA Tournament last season and Kenneth Lofton was held to just 10 points. Should be an excellent battle, and both teams will be rooting for UAB to lose when its over.

1. Loyola-Chicago at Drake, Sunday, 2PM ET, ESPN2
If you were around for any of the 2020-21 Missouri Valley season, you’ll know that it doesn’t get much better than this. Loyola-Chicago and Drake had their wars last year, that ultimately tilted to the Ramblers when push came to shove in the Arch Madness Championship Game. However, Drake’s split with LUC during the regular season proved to be huge as Drake was then selected as an at-large team into the First Four of the NCAA Tournament. This season hasn’t been as rose-colored for Drake. They’ve had several games come down to the wire. Winning three of their four OT games and avoiding near-disaster with a one-point win at Evansville. At this point their may not be enough chances left for Drake to get an at-large, but a win on Sunday over recent rival Loyola would put the Bulldogs in a first place tie at 7-2. The Ramblers have had a real strange stretch of league play where they struggled mightily in four recent games vs. Bradley, Valpo, Missouri State, and SIU. Amazingly the Ramblers dug themselves out of a hole in three of these four games. Still, its not the dominant Loyola team we saw in many games last season that elevated all the way into Top 10 KenPom status. Should be an excellent, competitive battle in Des Moines and on ESPN 2 which is great for the league.

Enjoy the action this weekend everyone!
~Rocco Miller

Bracket Watch: January 14th - 16th

It’s time to prepare you for the Weekend! A very busy weekend of important College Hoops action is right in front of us. With 175 games happening between now and Sunday, refer to this guide as to which games mean the most in this week’s Bracket Watch.

Each week, the games previewed for this column are most clearly divided into three critical categories.

  • Heavyweight games: Games that will impact the top 16 teams on the seed list. Better known as protected seeds.

  • Bubble games: Games that will most influence teams inside or outside of the bubble.

  • Conference Leader games: The opportunity for the lead in any given league to change hands.

Our top five favorite games in each grouping were selected for the coming weekend.

Oscar Tschiebwe has been a rebounding maching in Lexington. They host the mighty Tennessee Vols on Saturday.

HEAVYWEIGHT GAMES

5. West Virginia at Kansas, SATURDAY, 2 PM EST, CBS
They say, “your season doesn’t really start until you win on the road.” For the West Virginia Mountaineers, that means it began when they were able to knock off UAB in Birmingham back on December 18th. Since then, WVU has had some cushy home wins over Youngstown State, Oklahoma State, and Kansas State (who did make them sweat a bit). The only road game? A 15-point unenthusiastic loss at Texas. Will Saturday be similar in Kansas? Could certainly be the case, but WVU does have the opportunity here to play on the national stage and pick up what would be considered an elite road win. For that alone, it’s worth tuning in. Also helping is the return of Taz Sherman, a real difference-maker for the Mountaineers. For Kansas, things have become very interesting lately. They fell at Texas Tech last weekend and barely rallied to beat Iowa State earlier this week. Can the Jayhawks right the ship? ICYMI - here are highlights and the final sequence between KU and Iowa State from Tuesday night:

4. Seton Hall at Marquette, SATURDAY, NOON EST, FS1
The Seton Hall Pirates simply couldn’t get out of a funk in a Thursday night loss at DePaul. Despite a wild rally late, the Pirates took a disappointing road loss. Now an early tip-off in Milwaukee against a hot Marquette team is here. No time to digest, just play hoops. The Pirates survived a classic one week ago in overtime vs. UConn. Kevin Willard’s group will need to tap into that level of effort in order to achieve a road win here. For Marquette, they’ve won three straight Big East games and all by double-digits. Things are really clicking currently and Tyler Kolek has been their motor on both sides of the ball. This shapes up to be an excellent matchup statistically as well. Marquette has been really efficient lately in taking good shots. Can they continue to do it against the #31-ranked eFG% defense that Seton Hall brings?

3. Texas at Iowa State, SATURDAY, 2 PM EST, ESPN+
Hilton Magic. We’ve all seen it, we’ve missed it, and the question is - is it back? Iowa State has been one of the most intriguing stories of the young College Basketball season. We now find ourselves entering the meat of conference play and ISU is faced with a rugged Big 12 path to maintain its relevance in the national spotlight. Texas provides an opportunity not only to continue this Cyclone quest toward relevance but also to re-establish that Hilton Magic. The signs are all there with wins at home over Iowa and Texas Tech already in hand. For the Horns, a work in progress is unfolding. Part of the year one Coach Chris Beard experience is teaching his team toughness in challenging road environments. Texas has fallen short in other chances at Gonzaga, at Seton Hall, and even last week at Oklahoma State. This game represents a big chance to take a step forward as a program. Also, Tre Mitchell only played two minutes in the win this week over Oklahoma, keep an eye on his health.

Creighton F Ryan Hawkins’ game has converted beautifully from D2 to D1

2. Creighton at Xavier, SATURDAY, NOON EST, FOX
A national spotlight game for two of the Big East programs not located on the East Coast. Xavier’s home court has been a major weapon for the Muskateers all season long. Some of that was just watered down however by Villanova this week in a narrow loss. Creighton has an improving team that has already turned a lot of heads this season. The Jays feature a mix of young talent and old veterans (see Ryan Hawkins, a fifth-year, former D2 national champion who is getting an extra year to play and getting to do it on the big stage). Jays have had 10-days to ponder their shortcomings in a 34-point loss at Villanova and “get right” before heading to Cincinnati. No excuse for Creighton not to be emotionally invested in this one. A road win in this game would do wonders toward earning an at-large bid.

1. Tennessee at Kentucky, SATURDAY, 1 PM EST, ESPN
I am sure you have been aware of this one due to the ESPN hype machine. For once, we agree on this being a blockbuster matchup. Oscar Tschiebwe has been turning heads in Lexington with his astronomical rebounding numbers and sheer ability to move. Standing at 6’9 and built with little to no body fat, he is a specimen that is somewhat unfair for collegiate competition to try and contend with. His knowledge and film study combined with all of the athleticism, make him one of the great rebounders of this generation. Kentucky enters this game 11-0 at Rupp Arena, though the Wildcats have yet to face a top-tier talented team at home. That changes here, as Tennessee, with their crop of talent (both young and old) and skill, enter Rupp on Saturday. The Vols fell just short at Alabama (73-68) and lost at LSU, mostly down the stretch. What did they learn from those road experiences? I expect this game to establish a really fun flow to it, as neither team gets to the foul line frequently. Should be excellent high-lever viewing.

BUBBLE GAMES

Disclaimer: It’s still January. That means the Bubble has not formed whatsoever. It’s a daily moving target. Based on what we know today, these are the games that would have the biggest impact on the eventual bubble:

5. Oklahoma at TCU, SATURDAY, 4 PM EST, ESPN2
TCU remains one of the great mysteries of the Power 6 schools. One glance at the Horned Frogs record, tells you that they are 11-2. Pretty, pretty good. A deeper look under the hood will tell you that they have just two wins vs. Top 100 competition against Texas A&M and Kansas State. Two teams who aren’t exactly tournament locks. The Frogs were also blown out in November vs. Santa Clara in the SoCal Challenge. Home games against quality Big 12 teams will go a long way in determining how seriously the NCAA Selection committee should view them. For Oklahoma, they are in the midst of a Texas two-step road swing. The first leg wasn’t pretty in Austin the other night, so I’d expect a strong effort in this one from Porter Moser’s team. TCU loves creating second chances by crashing the offensive glass, OU has been pretty good at preventing this so far this year - could be a big factor to watch for.

4. Wake Forest at Virginia, SATURDAY, 4:30 PM EST, ESPN+
The Wake Forest dream of making a run to the NCAA’s maybe slipping on to thinner ice after the double-digit home loss vs. Duke on Wednesday. The Deacons now get their chance to add to their road resume at Virginia. This is a state that was already kind to the Deacs in their statement win at Virginia Tech by 19 in December. The ACC this season has so many Top 100 teams that just need help getting Q1 and Q2 wins. If a team like Wake or Virginia gets hot in these games, there is plenty of basketball to play their way in. Virginia has shown bright spots lately in their wins vs. Clemson, Syracuse, and Virginia Tech. A win vs. Wake won’t necessarily move the needle, but it will be supportive to the overall story UVA would like to tell: A team who can consistently win quality games in a power conference.

Peyton Willis and Jamison Battle have been fantastic finds in the transfer portal for Ben Johnson’s Gophers.

3. Iowa at Minnesota, SUNDAY, 2 PM EST, B1G Network
This is really about Minnesota last night. The Gophers have been a tremendous story. A team who was picked last in the B1G, only to come firing out to a 7-0 start and later to a 10-1 start. Now sitting at 10-3 and staring down a ton of difficult league games, it will be vital to demonstrate that the Gophers can stop the bleeding on their home court against a solid Iowa team. Iowa has the look of a tournament team and played very well on Thursday night in the second half to knock off Indiana. A road win here for Iowa would help continue their case as one of the upper echelon teams in the conference. The Hawkeyes are up to third in the nation in Adj. Offensive Efficiency, can the Gophers slow them down at all?

2. Alabama at Mississippi State, SATURDAY, 6 PM EST, SEC Network
The endless tour of big games for Alabama continues on. Due to Alabama’s ridiculous non-conference schedule which included the massive win over Gonzaga, and losses to tourney hopefuls Iona and Davidson - Alabama finds itself in this strange middle ground where everyone near the bubble should feel confident against them. Up next? The Mississippi State Bulldogs. A game they’ve got a find a way to win at home. MSU is right there near the proverbial bubble and is hopeful to have Tolu Smith available in this game. The Bulldogs do everything well offensively in the Four Factors, particularly offensive rebounding, where they are a top-15 squad. Resume-wise, they need help. The Bulldogs have yet to do a lot away from the Hump, and lost at home to Minnesota which may not age well. A win vs. the Tide will help them anchor off something more significant and give them confidence heading into the belly of SEC play.

1. BYU at San Francisco, SATURDAY, 11 PM EST, CBS Sports Network
The WCC has been a great story in 2021-22. We are finally getting into a stretch where the four top teams are beginning to match up. BYU got a rough taste of Gonzaga’s medicine on Thursday night. Cougars had one of the top adjusted defenses in the country and found themselves allowing 110 points in a rough 26-point beating. I think that alone makes this a potentially dangerous game for San Francisco. BYU doesn’t want to go home 0-for-the road trip. USF has looked dynamite since the Loyola-Chicago loss, beating both San Diego and LMU by wide margins. The Dons have already passed good home tests against Fresno State, Nevada, and Davidson (NBA Arena). This should be a great chess match between Mark Pope and Todd Golden, where this may be the first time that the Dons have actually had the size advantage.

CONFERENCE LEADER GAMES

5. BIG SOUTH: Gardner-Webb at Longwood, SATURDAY, 3 PM EST, ESPN+
Tim Craft’s GWU Bulldogs have been heating up a late. Winners of five consecutive games, and a 3-0 start to Big South play, suddenly has the Bulldogs as the highest-rated Big South team in KenPom. D’Maurian Williams and Lance Terry have helped carry the scoring load and improved quite a bit from last season. They will take the four-and-a-half-hour bus ride northeast to Longwood. A hungry bunch of Lancers awaits. Longwood won their Big South opener in a thrilling OT game at Radford earlier this week. This game serves as the Conference home opener. Longwood comes in 20th nationally in O Reb% rate, which will be an interesting dynamic in this one. The Big South has gone to two divisions this season, but the winner of this figures to be the league representative in our initial bracket - coming next week!

Mixed reports on Chattanooga star David Jean-Baptiste, leaves the Mocs stellar season hanging in the balance.

4. SOCON: Furman at Chattanooga, 3 PM EST, CBS Sports Network
As pictured above, the headline for this game has shifted to the spotlight of one man: David Jean-Baptiste (14.6 PPG, 91% FT, 42% 3PT). The Mocs unexpectedly did not have his services in their stunning loss at Western Carolina. Mixed reports suggested that he was ineligible. IF that is a permanent deal, the outlook for Chattanooga and the entire SoCon changes quite a bit. Chattanooga has had a stellar year and has the most talented team in the SoCon at full strength. Furman (4-1 SoCon), another very talented team, visits Chattanooga (3-1 SoCon) on Saturday in a very cool showcase game for the conference. It is not often they are featured on a CBS property. The current league standings will tell you how the winner has a firm grip on the league race.

3. WCC: Gonzaga at Santa Clara, SATURDAY, 4 PM EST, NBC Sports Bay Area
Not that we believe there will be much of a race in the WCC, Gonzaga owns this league annually and this year appears to be no different - it’s still early enough to dream of some kind of race. Santa Clara is sitting out there still as an unbeaten team in the league and the first quality WCC team to host the Zags. Santa Clara had a very impressive start to the year, prior to star play Josip Vrankic catching a long-term Mono sickness. Lately, the Broncos have started to elevate their play again during blowout wins over San Jose State and Pacific. Gonzaga on the other hand is playing an NBA caliber of offense in scoring 117 vs. Pepperdine and 110 vs. BYU. For Santa Clara to have any chance, they need to make it a half-court game and take great shots. At any point, it can get away from them. Let’s at least hope for a quality game.

2. OVC: Murray State at Belmont, SATURDAY, 5 PM EST ESPN+
The hype for this one started early this week for these two schools who are both on their way to the Missouri Valley next season. If you missed the MM Field of 68 show, I was a guest this week and we discussed here:

The bottom line is this: Belmont will look to get easy looks both inside and outside. The Bruins will be comfortable on their home court. What can Murray State do to keep up and/or disrupt the Belmont flow? When Murray State has the rock, they will look to tenaciously attack offensive rebounds. Does that plan work? or just lead to additional run-outs by Belmont? Should be a fascinating high-level game and we get another version of this in February!

1. ATLANTIC 10: VCU at St. Bonaventure, FRIDAY, 7:30 PM EST ESPN2
A real showdown landed in our collective laps today with suddenly healthy VCU headed to St. Bonaventure. The big recent A10 news has been the recovery and play of Ace Baldwin. VCU has won six in a row since his return, and seven in a row overall. The Rams can establish themselves as the team to beat in the A10 with a road win in Olean tonight. St. Bonaventure is a team picked by virtually everyone to repeat as A10 champions and brought back the entire starting five. The Bonnies were recently hit with Covid though and finally returned to the court in a game earlier this week that was a real struggle at La Salle. Now they get to come home in front of their beloved and crazy fans. This just sets up as an incredible A10 matchup, going to enjoy it. The winner will join Davidson as the team to beat early on in conference play.

Enjoy the action this weekend everyone!
~Rocco Miller

Teams Of The Week: December 20th - 26th

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

Teams Of The Week: December 6th - 12th

Big East fans! Wow! There’s a really good chance you are in a great mood this morning. Salud! It was an incredible week for the conference, and you’ll notice several of your programs are recognized here today. It was also a massive week for a bunch of darkhorse programs. This is clearly becoming Minnesota and Iowa State’s world, and we’re just living in it. Narratives have formed, but we like to dive deeper than the narratives around here. So let’s go under the hood in College Basketball to find some great stories out there.

With the season now over a month in, certain programs (Bowling Green as an example) have still not had their complete roster available to them. Other squads are still finding their way (see South Carolina) with appropriate tweaking and rotation adjustments. For the bulk of College Basketball, it is a week-to-week sport that is subject to unexpected surprises and results. It gives us a big reason to love this game irrationally. Let’s take a wide look across the entire sport to see who truly had a tremendous week.

COLLEGE BASKETBALL TEAMS OF THE WEEK (12/6-12)

DePaul

David Jones scored 23 of his career-high 33 points in the second half. DePaul fought past Louisville 62-55 on Friday night in a statement win. Blue Demons also pounded Duquesne earlier in the week. The Blue Demons win at Louisville is a rare away marquee win in any recent program history, here are the winning highlights:

Arizona

What else can be said at this point? The Cats now have a premier road win at Illinois, they punished previously unbeaten Wyoming, and have kept the 80+ points streak alive and well. Christian Koloko was particularly impressive defending the preseason All-American: Kofi Cockburn.

Texas Southern

Tigers absolutely stunned the Gators on Monday night. The 13th best offensive rebounding team in the country proved themselves (14 Offensive Rebounds) and an overall 46-23 rebounding edge in this major upset. KenPom gave the Tigers a 2% chance of winning prior to tip-off. All of this came over an SEC team with a loaded roster. Hats off to Johnny Jones and his program on an improbable win.

James Madison

Sell-out crowd witnessed a massive regional win over Virginia. JMU is not able to participate in the CAA tourney this year, so this likely made the season for the Dukes. It was the first win in program history over Virginia. The Dukes held UVA to near 15% three-point shooting, and got the win despite not have one player score in double-figures. JMU also beat Radford.

Notre Dame

The Irish outscored Kentucky in the paint (38-26) while limiting the Wildcats to just 61 possessions on offense. On the glass, Notre Dame held a plus-five advantage over Kentucky. Strategic win for MIke Brey and Notre Dame, as they look to turn things around this season.

 

STRONGLY CONSIDERED

NEW MEXICO STATE

Two road wins in a week. Revenge win at New Mexico on a circus shot by Nate Pryor (pictured here). The Aggies then took down LMU by 5 on Saturday. Aggies are 8-2 now and have won three consecutive true road games. Here is the clip of Pryor beating New Mexico at the horn:

IOWA STATE

CyHawk rivalry game turned out to be a laugher, as the Cyclones dominated Iowa, 73-53. Izaiah Brockington was unbelivable in the win (29 pts./10 rebs. on 11-for-14 shooting). Cyclones continue to make major statements each game.

ST. FRANCIS-BROOKLYN

Coach Bracia had plenty to be happy about this week. Terriers entered the week at 0-8 and faced two road games at Saint Peter's and Delaware St. The Terriers ended up playing extremely well and won both by double-digits. Larry Moreno had 18 points to lead the upset over Saint Peter’s. If Moreno’s name sounds familiar, it’s likely due to his incredible basketball trick shot videos he made during 2020. Here’s one:

WEST VIRGINIA

The Mountaineers solidified themselves with a key win vs. UConn at home. It was important for the resume. Also, WVU took care of Kent State in a tricky follow-up game rather handily.

BUTLER

Butler went on the road and took down Oklahoma in OT. It was a gutsy performance by Chuck Harris and Simas Lukosius. Bulldogs may have in fact revived their season.

 

HONORABLE MENTION

Baylor The Bears handled an elite Villanova team in Waco. It was a defensive clinic that produced the lowest scoring game under Jay Wright that Villanova has ever had.

Murray State Tevin Brown and Justice Hill each had 20+ points to lead the Racers to a big road win at Memphis. Ja Morant being in Memphis made this a little extra special.

Seton Hall Pirates picked up a signature home win over Texas. For an encore, they lit up their rivals - Rutgers, by 14. Great week for SHU.

Belmont Bruins went into Saint Louis and came away with a crucial away win. Grayson Murphy did it all, 14 pts/9 assts/8 rebs. in the win.

Texas Tech It wasn't pretty. However, it counts. The Red Raiders outlasted Tennessee in a win that figures to carry a lot of weight by March.

Creighton The Sanford Pentagon hosted a clash between BYU and the Jays. Jays were Runnin and gunnin’ all afternoon, and got a major win.

South Carolina The Gamecocks picked up a significant win over Florida State by being especially disruptive on the defensive end of the court.

Georgetown Took down rival Syracuse. That came after blowing out UMBC. Hoyas are getting stellar play from their blue-chip Frosh, Aminu Mohammed (23/13 vs. Cuse)

Stephen F. Austin Beat a tough Liberty team by double-digits in Fort Worth. SFA really got it done defensively, holding the Flames to 22% three-point shooting.

Michigan State Spartans picked up a road win at Minnesota. For the time being, that is a big one as nobody else has figured out the Gophers. Sparty also tamed Penn State over the weekend.

Mercer Neftali Alvarez got injured in the game at Coastal Carolina. Bears still persevered and won at CCU, then beat their local rival, Ga. Southern over the weekend.

Ohio State In the comfort of home, the Buckeyes blitzed a good Wisconsin team on Saturday. Also, tOSU fought off a scrappy Towson squad earlier in the week.

SIU Edwardsville Overcame the tornado tragedy by beating Kansas City on Sunday. Also blew out IPFW earlier in the week.

Alabama Won a wild one over Houston that came down to a somewhat controversial no goaltend call that couldn't be reviewed.

Eastern Michigan Stan Heath moved to 5-0 at home in his first year as Head Coach. The Eagles survived a 4 OT war vs. FIU. They also beat a solid Niagara team during the week.

Colorado State Rams stormed back to beat Mississippi State. A key 17-2 run late pushed the Rams over the top. CSU is in an excellent position to make the NCAA's.

St. Joseph's Two wins in the Big 5 this week, included a blowout over Temple. Hawks have some good bragging rights in hand and played efficient hoops too.

Maryland The Terps outlasted Florida to gain Danny Manning his first win as interim Head Coach. Buffalo Key road win at WKU, not an easy place to win. Bulls moved to 6-3 by week's end.

Tennessee State TSU entered this week 1-6 and searched for answers. They manhandled a bad IUPUI team on Friday. The follow-up win at Lipscomb on Sunday could be a real season-changer.

SMU SMU took care of red-hot Dayton in their only game this week. Kendric Davis once again led the Mustangs, with 19.

Bowling Green BGSU is returning closer and closer to full strength and now they have a quality win in hand after knocking off a hot Oakland Golden Grizzlies team.

UCLA Mick Cronin’s Bruins dealt with ridiculous travel circumstances, and still won at Marquette by double-digits. All this with Cody Riley out still.

Stony Brook Took care of local rival Hofstra, 79-62. Impressive win. Seawolves did not have a letdown over the weekend either, beating Bryant, 86-78.

Loyola-Chicago Stellar play continued for the Ramblers as they went into SEC country and took care of Vanderbilt, 69-58.

TCU Frogs played outstanding in a win over Utah, then edged Texas A&M in Houston. Great week for Jamie Dixon's club.

Texas A&M-Corpus Christi Islanders are off to a 9-1 start under Steve Lutz. It has been impressive to see them beat a lot of teams in their own weight class. Two more wins in the bank this week included a road win at Omaha.

Southern Utah Thunderbirds cooled off a hot Utah Valley team, holding them down in a 60-56 win. T-Birds have won six straight.

Xavier Third straight victory in the Crosstown Shootout under Travis Steele. Throw in a 46-point win over Ball State, and it was a great week.

Winthrop Toughed out a home win over Furman, 85-80. Five Eagles finished in double-figures.

Weekend Hoops Watch: December 10 - 12

Welcome back to Weekend Hoops Watch! One of our favorite columns is back for this busy weekend of important College Hoops action. Although we would regularly not kick-start this column until January, the eagerness to prepare for these games directly in front of us was simply too strong to not write about them.

By January, the games previewed for the column are most clearly divided into three categories.

  • Heavyweight games: Games that will impact the top 16 teams on the seed list. Better known as protected seeds.

  • Bubble games: Games that will most influence teams inside or outside of the bubble.

  • Conference Leader games: The opportunity for the lead in any given league to change hands.

Our top five favorite games in each grouping were selected for the coming weekend. For December only, I’ll focus on five under-the-radar games to highlight instead of conference games due to many teams still being in the thick of non-conference play.

Jeremy Sochan and the Baylor Bears host a blockbuster vs. Villanova this weekend.

HEAVYWEIGHT GAMES

5. Wisconsin at Ohio State Saturday NOON EST B1G Network
Badgers are a heavyweight? It sounds shocking based on preseason expectations right? The answer is yes for today, the Badgers are playing like heavyweights. They’ve played their way into this conversation. Johnny Davis has completely elevated his game after getting to spend the summer on the Team USA U19 FIBA team. Davis continues to hit big shot after big shot and demonstrates next-level athletic ability. The Badgers are coming off an emotionally charged 25-point comeback win at home vs. Indiana. Now the league demands them to travel to Columbus to take on an Ohio State team who defeated Duke at home. For the Buckeyes, EJ Liddell has once again asserted himself as an AA candidate himself and they are getting great production from Sophomore, Zed Key. If Wisconsin brings the right energy, this should be an excellent matchup. Ohio State takes really efficient shots, ranked 11th today in eFG%. Wisconsin is protecting the basketball at an elite clip, 8th in the country in TO% (13.0).

4. UCLA at Marquette Saturday 8:30 PM EST FS2
The major news for the Bruins is that Cody Riley made it back to practice this week. It appears that Riley will give it a go in this one. UCLA did not have much trouble with UNLV or Colorado since their tough night vs. Gonzaga, so this game should tell us a bit more on where they are at. For Marquette, Shaka’s first year is going about as well as hoped to date. The Golden Eagles are coming off a difficult away win at Kansas State and already beat Illinois and West Virginia this season. The Fiserv Forum will be rocking for this one. Marquette has been really good at getting to the foul line, will that continue? And can Marquette limit the second chances for UCLA on the offensive glass? Those will be key to an upset.

Update: UCLA at Marquette will start later today due to travel issues for the Bruins on Friday.

3. Arizona at Illinois Saturday 5 PM EST FOX
Well well well, FOX has themselves quite a double-header on Saturday. Nobody is hotter and scoring at a frenetic pace than Arizona. Tommy Lloyd’s team hasn’t scored less than 80 points in any game. The Cats are already #1 in NET rankings, the computer loves the blowout wins. The test for Arizona now comes in their second true road game of the year, that also includes two time zones of travel (always a big deal in College Basketball). Illinois has started to get back on track, primarily thanks to the red-hot Alphonso Plummer. Plummer knows some of these Arizona players well, as he is a transfer from Utah. Illinois will do their best to take their time on offense to limit possessions in this one. A massive key is Illinois ball protection, they currently have a high rate of turnovers and could be exposed if they let Arizona get running.

2. Houston at Alabama Saturday 10 PM EST ESPN2
Back on November 23rd, Houston lost a frustrating game in Las Vegas to Wisconsin by two. Since that day, the Cougars have been on a demolition path. Destructing the next four opponents by 29, 41, 66, and 32 point margins. That list included the Oregon win. Clearly, Coach Sampson has his team focused on all possessions regardless of score. UH will need that level of focus in order to pull off what would be a major road win in Tuscaloosa. The Tide are riding high after their big win in Seattle over Gonzaga. So many weapons on this Alabama team. However, this Houston matchup will likely not have a high pace and could play much more similarly to Bama’s game vs. Iona which ended in a low-scoring defeat.

1. Villanova at Baylor Sunday 3PM EST ABC
How did we get so lucky to have this many great matchups in a two-day span? This one is ELITE. Both Villanova and Baylor have national championship caliber rosters and coaches. Even further proof is in the pudding for Nova, despite the two gut-wrenching losses to Purdue and UCLA. The Cats have proven that on a possession-by-possession basis, they are an Elite team that can effectively score and defend. Baylor has shown really no flaws in their undefeated quest to date. They won the most difficult MTE at Atlantis which included a convincing win over Michigan State in the Final. Jeremy Sochan, LJ Cryer, and Kendall Brown have been even better than advertised. James Akinjo was a natural fit after his stellar season at Arizona last season. This matchup should give us great team basketball on all possessions and a thrilling game. The travel for Villanova might be a factor, but remember this: Villanova won at Texas on December 6th last season and played great. Cats will be ready.

Colorado State is ready to take on their first of two SEC opponents. Vital games for the Rams resume.

GAMES THAT MAY HELP SHAPE THE BUBBLE

5. Texas A&M vs. TCU in Houston, TX Saturday 6:30 PM SEC Network
In a matchup of in-state mystery teams, both have tournament aspirations that are alive. This game serves as a nice resume win for the winner and some bragging rights. You cannot talk about the Aggies and Frogs without addressing what happened in the transfer portal this past summer. Emmanuel Miller and Cashius McNeilly both transferred from Texas A&M to TCU. McNeilly would later go back into the portal. But Miller has become a primary piece of Jamie Dixon’s lineup. And now Miller will face his former team in the Rockets’ Toyota Center. He will be highly motivated. The Frogs are coming off their best performance of the season over Utah, 76-62. As for the Aggies, they did pick up a win over Notre Dame on the final day of Maui in Vegas. Overall, they are 7-1 with the lone loss being to Wisconsin. Frogs also just have the one loss, so we have a lot to figure out on both sides. Should be an intense battle with two fiery head coaches (Buzz & Dixon).

4. Minnesota at Michigan Saturday 6:30 PM EST FS1
Added this game because the Gophers are trying to make a season out of this. Well, a win in Ann Arbor would garner serious attention. Gophers were able to open some eyes last weekend with an impressive win at Mississippi State (teaser, more on them soon). A home loss vs. Michigan State earlier in the week is their first setback of the Ben Johnson regime. How do they respond? Meanwhile, Michigan is on the path to “getting right” after manhandling San Diego State and Nebraska in consecutive games. So, the question is what can Minnesota do to slow down the Wolverines? Two things pop out on paper, the Gophers have been excellent in keeping teams off the foul line defensively. Also, Minnesota is fourth in the country at protecting the ball. If both of those trends continue - this will be a great battle.

3. BYU vs. Creighton in Sioux Falls, SD NOON EST FS1
The first thing that jumps out here is the early tip-off time of 11 AM Central. Creighton has limited travel and plays in the same time zone, so it’s a mini-edge to the Jays from that standpoint. Creighton has had mixed results with this super young and super talented roster early in the 21-22 campaign. All told, they are sitting at 7-2 with losses to Iowa State and Colorado State - not exactly bad at all. An opportunity here vs. a banged-up BYU club and what should be a packed Pentagon could springboard the season for the Jays. As for the Cougars, they are coming off an emotionally charged in-state win over Utah State:

Mark Pope needed to regroup his team after that to prepare for this unique game in the Pentagon. Gideon George is back in the rotation at BYU and that helps a lot, but missing Baxter will sting for a bit until the Cougars are fully adjusted. Creighton’s defense has really done well keeping opponents off the free-throw line, but can they keep BYU off the offensive glass?

2. Crosstown Shootout: Cincinnati at Xavier 8:30 PM FS1
One of the best rivalries in the sport, hands down. This game would have made one of my lists in any given season - just an incredible intensity and passion goes into this game annually. We do get the added bonus of Cincinnati being an early-looking bubble team and Xavier (who is finally healthy) playing like an NCAA team. The key will be can Cincinnati neutralize the weaponry of Xavier, and can they do it in the hostile Cintas Center? Furthermore, can the Bearcats improve on their shot selection? They’ve currently struggled in this area, ranking just 235th in eFG%.

1. Colorado State vs. Mississippi State in Fort Worth, TX Saturday 2 PM EST ESPNU
The unbeaten Rams looked unstoppable in a home win over Saint Mary’s and further legitimized themselves as not only a tournament contender but a team who could actually wear white in the first big dance game. CSU is about to embark on a couple of tests vs. SEC foes. That begins on Saturday on a neutral court vs. Ben Howland’s Mississippi State club. Interestingly, it is Mississippi State who may need the win more in this immediate moment. The Bulldogs dropped a home tilt to Minnesota and were beat in the Bahamas by Louisville. A win vs. CSU gets them right on track. For the Rams, they only get a couple of more opportunities outside of the Mountain West to add a resume win. The Bulldogs will have a real challenge trying to slow down the Rams effective and efficient offense, it really hums. Conversely, the Rams will be tasked with trying to limit second chances when the Bulldogs attack the offensive glass (13th in the nation in OReb’s).

Will the Anteaters build on their wins over Santa Clara and Boise State, when they visit Fresno this weekend?

CRUCIAL UNDER THE RADAR GAMES

5. Cal Baptist at UC Riverside Saturday 7 PM EST ESPN+
The Battle of Riverside seems to get more important by the year. Locally this is a big one ever since CBU entered the D1 ranks four years ago. Last season unfortunately this newish local rivalry was postponed. In 2019-20, CBU defended the home court and beat UCR by 12. Since that time, the Highlanders have improved considerably and are one of the top programs in the Big West under Mike Magpayo. The Lancers have continued to progress under the guidance of Rick Croy. The Lancers are off to an 8-1 start. All eight of those wins were at the friendly confines of CBU Events Center. Now CBU is going cross town to UC Riverside’s SCR Arena where it should be a fun atmosphere. The Highlanders really pride themselves on defense but have been sloths on offense. Perhaps the CBU defense can help a bit, Lancers are one of the worst D1 teams at forcing turnovers. Such a contrasting style of ways these teams succeed.

4. Morehead State at East Tennessee State Saturday 4 PM EST ESPN+
Two of the stronger teams in the OVC and SoCon are set to do battle this Saturday in Johnson City. ETSU got a lot of attention after winning the Naples Invitational Tournament last month. Desmond Oliver has only been on the job for ETSU for a handful of months, yet was still able to keep both of the Brewers (Ty and Ledarrius) in the fold. His team is now sitting at 6-3 and performing like a Top 25 mid-major team. Morehead State started the season on a rough note, taking blowout losses to Auburn and UAB. The defending OVC Tourney champs have responded well lately, however, by winning their last four in a row and the Arkansas State MTE. The Eagles still have star player Johni Broome playing great basketball and appear to be ready for another run in the OVC.

3. Yale vs. Iona in Brooklyn, NY Sunday 8 PM EST FLOHoops
First, let’s hope this game happens. Just before press time, Rick Pitino had this to say, via Twitter:

Assuming the game is still on, Iona will be scrapping a bunch of under-the-weather Gaels together to get a victory. At this point, if you are Iona, you just need to keep winning. The Gaels of course, already have an elite win in hand over Alabama on the resume. As for Yale, this is an exciting opportunity to play at Barclay’s Center and get a big win as they approach Ivy League play. Yale protects the ball at a superb rate and that should keep them in it throughout the game. On the flipside, Iona gets to the charity stripe early and often. There doesn’t appear to be a sign of Yale preventing that in this one.

2. Liberty vs. Stephen F. Austin 7 PM EST FloHoops
This one has been circled since the late spring when the Hall Of Fame announced their Dallas/FW event details. Both the Flames and Lumberjacks have done damage in March over the past decade and created memories for their burgeoning fan bases. So this game is quite fun. The Flames have started to right the ship after a stunning loss to Manhattan last month, by blowing out Missouri in a home feature game. For SFA, they too are shaking off a rare home loss to South Dakota State a month ago. With the jury out on both schools, this is an important game for each side. Look for the Lumberjacks to really crank up the defensive pressure against Liberty in front of their semi-home crowd. SFA also should have their way on the offensive glass. What keeps the Flames in it here, is their top-notch eFG% (54.0).

1. UC Irvine at Fresno State 7 PM EST MOUNTAIN WEST NETWORK
The West Coast has been fortunate in the early going. Several programs appear to be in the mix and improved in general. On top of that, teams from the Mountain West, WCC, and Big West are scheduling each other early and often. Here we have yet another intriguing matchup as Fresno State (who had San Francisco on the ropes momentarily this week) hosting UC Irvine. To add more to the scene, the City of Fresno has experienced rare freezing weather this week. So let us hope this game is played with no interruptions and the Anteaters can travel safely to and from the Save Mart Center.

In this matchup, look for a tremendous interior matchup between Orlando Robinson and Collin Welp. Two elite players in the west and similar heights. Robinson of course, will be more mobile and out on the perimeter at times. But seeing them go for rebounds and in the screen game will be fascinating. The Bulldogs are a Top 100 program defensively in all of the four factors (ORebs allowed, forcing turnovers, defending shots, and keeping opponents off the foul line). That’s really impressive. UC Irvine is elite, however, when it comes to defending jump shots and limiting second-chance points. Eaters are one of the best in the nation in those areas, and in general UC Irvine is the tallest team in the Big West by a mile. It’s a matchup issue for most, if not all. Jemarl Baker of Fresno State will be in his second game back, curious to see his usage rates in this one.

Enjoy the action this weekend everyone!
~Rocco Miller

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