The official begin to convention play for each league throughout the nation at all times brings some readability. This previous week was no completely different, and the record of unbeatens dwindled to only one after James Madison and Ole Miss suffered defeats Saturday.
That leaves Houston as the one undefeated staff left in Division I males’s faculty basketball in 2023-24, however how good, actually, are the Cougars?
They’ve the most effective protection within the nation by some margin, rating No. 1 in adjusted defensive effectivity, turnover proportion, 2-point protection, block proportion and steal proportion — and a lowly No. 4 in 3-point protection. Just one opponent (Texas A&M) cracked the 1.0 point-per-possession barrier. These metrics are going to be sufficient to hold Kelvin Sampson’s crew to a win most nights, however there’s additionally a top-15 unit on the different finish of the ground with elite offensive rebounders and high-level guards.
The large query with the Cougars is their résumé: Who’ve they overwhelmed? Their finest wins are over Dayton, Utah and the aforementioned A&M. And the latter two are struggling. The Cougars have just one true highway win, at Xavier, they usually’re going up a degree by shifting from the AAC to the Huge 12.
From my perspective, they’re pretty much as good because it will get within the sport. Sampson has been to the Candy 16 or additional in every of the previous 4 NCAA tournaments, and Jamal Shead and L.J. Cryer type an elite backcourt. They will be favored in all however one or two video games the remainder of the season. Highway journeys within the Huge 12 are a big problem, nonetheless, and that begins this week with video games at Iowa State and TCU.
On to this week’s awards and rankings …
0:23
Seton Corridor pulls off upset win after Marquette’s expensive turnover
Marquette turns the ball over on its remaining possession as Seton Corridor upsets the Golden Eagles on the highway.
Editor’s Picks
2 Associated
One month into 2023-24, issues weren’t wanting overly promising for Seton Corridor. The Pirates have been 5-4 and had simply misplaced at residence to in-state rival Rutgers. Shaheen Holloway was 22-20 since taking on as head coach two springs in the past. Since then, it has been assertion win after assertion win. Seton Corridor beat UConn by 15 at residence simply earlier than Christmas, then bounced again from a loss at Xavier with two large wins this previous week: at Windfall and residential vs. Marquette.
Windfall misplaced star ahead Bryce Hopkins halfway via that sport, however the Friars’ residence courtroom is named probably the most troublesome locations to play in faculty basketball, and Seton Corridor got here out with a victory. The Pirates overcame one among their worst offensive performances of the season by limiting Windfall to simply 0.83 factors per possession. After which the Corridor held serve in opposition to Marquette, stifling Tyler Kolek (5 factors) and getting large performances from guards Al-Amir Dawes and Kadary Richmond. The Pirates are squarely within the NCAA match hunt now.
0:14
Nice Osobor will get the basket plus the foul
Nice Osobor will get the basket plus the foul
When Osobor adopted Danny Sprinkle over from Montana State final 12 months, he was an underrated pickup. The 6-foot-8 England native had averaged 10.1 factors and 4.6 rebounds in simply 18.9 minutes off the bench for the Bobcats. In principle, with extra taking part in time, these numbers may skyrocket.
Properly, it is taking part in out that means. Osobor was dominant in a pair of Mountain West wins for the Aggies this previous week, going for 32 factors, 9 rebounds and 4 assists in a 28-point victory over Air Power after which ending with 20 factors and 14 boards in a press release victory over Colorado State. Osobor helped management the paint within the latter, grabbing seven offensive rebounds. He is as much as 18.5 factors and 9.5 rebounds per sport, averaging 31.5 minutes for Sprinkle.
1:48
Cincinnati Bearcats vs. BYU Cougars: Full Highlights
Cincinnati Bearcats vs. BYU Cougars: Full Highlights
Whereas BYU was getting extra notoriety as a thriller staff coming into convention play, Cincinnati form of fell in the identical bucket. The Bearcats have been 11-2 to finish nonconference play, with losses to in-state rivals Xavier and Dayton. They hadn’t overwhelmed a top-100 KenPom staff but this season. In the meantime, BYU was 12-1 with wins over San Diego State and NC State and a loss to Utah.
But it surely’s Cincinnati popping out of the weekend with slightly extra buzz within the Huge 12, after the Bearcats went into Provo and knocked off BYU by 11. The Cougars led for many of the first half and have been up by 10 early within the second half. After that, it was all Cincinnati. The Bearcats have been dialed in defensively, holding BYU to its worst offensive efficiency of the season by a large margin. Mark Pope’s staff made simply 4 of its remaining 22 3-point makes an attempt, and Cincinnati dominated across the rim, outscoring BYU within the paint 30-12. Viktor Lakhin (17 factors) led the way in which, however Jizzle James (12 factors) offered an actual activate the bench.
0:23
Meechie Johnson ices sport for South Carolina with late steal
Meechie Johnson rips away the ball from Mississippi State’s Dashawn Davis to ice the sport for South Carolina.
Yr 1 in Columbia was a troublesome one for Paris, who led Chattanooga to the NCAA match in 2022 after which moved to the SEC and promptly completed 11-21 general, 4-14 within the league. There was little motive for optimism coming into Yr 2, with GG Jackson leaving for the NBA and the Gamecocks picked 14th within the preseason SEC ballot.
Nonetheless, South Carolina has come out of nonconference play with a 12-1 report, together with wins away from residence over Grand Canyon and Virginia Tech, and the lone loss coming at Clemson. There is not lots of heft behind that report, however it’s already extra wins than final season, which represents an enormous step ahead. Paris is doing greater than that, although. SC gained its first league sport of the season Saturday, taking down Mississippi State by six. The Bulldogs jumped out to an early lead and managed many of the first half, however the Gamecocks, behind 24 factors from Meechie Johnson, made a run within the second half and saved Mississippi State at an arm’s size for many of the remaining 10 minutes.
Is South Carolina for actual? It is nonetheless too early to inform, however the Gamecocks are clearly higher than final season, and Paris has performed an unbelievable job turning issues round from a 12 months in the past.
Three groups with questions
Virginia Cavaliers: The Cavaliers’ highway struggles have gotten an enormous challenge. They’ve performed three true highway video games: a 23-point loss at Memphis, a 22-point loss at Notre Dame and Saturday’s 16-point loss at NC State.
Florida Atlantic Owls: Dusty Could’s staff took one other unhealthy loss over the weekend, falling within the remaining seconds at Charlotte, which entered the sport 6-7. That is now three losses to sub-100 KenPom groups for FAU, together with the Quadrant 4 losses to Bryant and Florida Gulf Coast.
FAU starters (excluding Johnell Davis) vs. Bryant, FGCU, Charlotte: 28-87, 32.2% FG, 6-35 3PTFAU starters (excluding Johnell Davis) vs. Arizona and Texas A&M: 34-67, 50.7% FG, 15-32 3PT https://t.co/jYKPKxYXGI
— Matt Eisenberg (@matteise) January 7, 2024
UCLA Bruins: I do not know what number of instances we are able to embrace UCLA on this class, however the Bruins hit a brand new low this previous week, shedding at residence to California for the primary time in 12 years. They’re now 6-9 on the season and have misplaced 9 of the previous 12.
Energy Rankings
1. Purdue Boilermakers (14-1)Earlier rating: 1This week: at Nebraska (Tuesday), vs. Penn State (Saturday)
Zach Edey had his lowest-scoring outing of the season in opposition to Illinois, notching 10 factors (his fewest since March 2022) on simply 5 photographs. But it surely was his put up accomplice, Trey Kaufman-Renn, who had the profession night time. Kaufman-Renn went for a season-high 23 factors, taking pictures 8-for-12 from the sector and grabbing 4 rebounds. It could possibly be an indication of issues to return subsequent season.
2. Houston Cougars (14-0)Earlier rating: 3This week: at Iowa State (Tuesday), at TCU (Saturday)
1:44
West Virginia Mountaineers vs. Houston Cougars: Full Highlights
West Virginia Mountaineers vs. Houston Cougars: Full Highlights
Houston’s Huge 12 tenure started a lot in the identical means most of its AAC video games ended over the previous few years. The Cougars battered West Virginia by 34, and maybe probably the most promising signal was Damian Dunn coming off the bench to attain 14 factors, his second straight sport scoring in double figures. He had been in a droop for many of the previous six weeks, and coach Kelvin Sampson wants his scoring.
3. Kansas Jayhawks (13-1)Earlier rating: 2This week: at UCF (Wednesday), vs. Oklahoma (Saturday)
Kansas was lucky to return out of Saturday’s sport in opposition to TCU with a win, however Hunter Dickinson’s 30 factors — together with the profitable layup within the remaining seconds — have been sufficient. This time it wasn’t the Kansas offense that struggled; the Jayhawks allowed TCU to attain 1.14 factors per possession. That is probably the most anybody has scored on them since Jan. 21, 2023, when these similar Horned Frogs scored 1.17 factors per possession and beat Kansas by 23 at Phog Allen.
4. UConn Huskies (13-2)Earlier rating: 4This week: at Xavier (Wednesday), vs. Georgetown (Sunday)
Stephon Fort’s emergence must be an enormous enhance for Dan Hurley shifting ahead. The five-star freshman was improbable within the first two video games of the season, then missed the following six due to a knee harm and took a number of weeks to spherical into type. However he had 14 factors and 7 assists in opposition to DePaul, then adopted it up with 14 factors, 9 rebounds and 4 assists in opposition to Butler.
2:50
Zeigler particulars how UT snapped Rebels’ undefeated spell
Zakai Zeigler breaks down the No. 5 Vols’ sport plan to defeat No. 22 Ole Miss and addresses the criticism on his skill to execute on the courtroom at his dimension.
5. Tennessee Volunteers (11-3)Earlier rating: 5This week: at Mississippi State (Wednesday), at Georgia (Saturday)
Rick Barnes inserted Zakai Zeigler into the beginning lineup after the Volunteers produced three subpar offensive performances on the Maui Invitational. Within the eight video games since, Zeigler is averaging 12.4 factors and 6.4 assists whereas Tennessee has scored higher than 1.20 factors per possession in 5 of these. He had 17 factors and 10 assists vs. Ole Miss.
6. Kentucky Wildcats (11-2)Earlier rating: 6This week: vs. Missouri (Tuesday), at Texas A&M (Saturday)
Whereas Kentucky’s freshmen have been getting many of the consideration in current weeks, do not forget about main scorer Antonio Reeves, who had 30 factors in opposition to Louisville and 27 factors in opposition to Illinois State. He additionally sparked the Wildcats’ second-half comeback in opposition to Florida, scoring 10 factors after the break and hitting large photographs to tie the sport on a number of events.
7. North Carolina Tar Heels (11-3)Earlier rating: 9This week: at NC State (Wednesday), vs. Syracuse (Saturday)
There was a six-game stretch from late November to mid-December when the Tar Heels’ protection was woeful. They allowed multiple level per possession in 5 of these six video games and went 3-3 in that span. In 4 video games since, Carolina hasn’t allowed greater than 0.92 factors per possession, holding each Pittsburgh and Clemson to under 60 factors and a mixed 6-for-47 from 3-point vary.
8. Arizona Wildcats (11-3)Earlier rating: 10This week: at Washington State (Saturday)
That was some bounceback week for the Wildcats. After shedding three video games in 15 days, together with giving up 100 factors in a defeat at Stanford, Arizona simply blew out maybe the second- and third-best groups within the Pac-12. The Wildcats averaged 94.5 factors within the two wins, beating Colorado and Utah by a median of 33.0 factors. And we bought to see the most effective move of the season.
Guess you possibly can’t watch this simply as soon as 👀🤩
📺 ESPN@BamBam_Boz pic.twitter.com/EQIhnuGq5W
— Arizona Basketball (@ArizonaMBB) January 5, 2024
9. Illinois Preventing Illini (11-3)Earlier rating: 8This week: vs. Michigan State (Thursday), vs. Maryland (Sunday)
Regardless of falling a spot within the rankings, Illinois had a constructive first week of 2024, blowing out Northwestern by 30 after which staging an enormous comeback in opposition to Purdue earlier than falling by 5. The most important trigger for optimism for a staff with out Terrence Shannon Jr. has been the play of Marcus Domask, who had 32 factors and 6 assists in opposition to the Wildcats, then went for 26 factors and 5 dimes in opposition to the Boilermakers.
0:20
Le’tre Darthard buries 3-point shot in opposition to Iowa State Cyclones
Le’tre Darthard buries 3-point shot in opposition to Iowa State Cyclones
10. Oklahoma Sooners (13-1)Earlier rating: 11This week: at TCU (Wednesday), at Kansas (Saturday)
After I talked to opposing coaches for a chunk final week about Oklahoma, BYU and Ole Miss, Le’Tre Darthard’s title barely got here up in dialog. But he was a key difference-maker within the Sooners’ win over Iowa State to start out Huge 12 play. The Utah Valley switch got here off the bench to hit three 3s and rating 11 factors, together with a 3 with 3:15 left to push Oklahoma’s result in 4.
11. Marquette Golden Eagles (11-4)Earlier rating: 7This week: vs. Butler (Wednesday)
It would not take an excessive amount of of a deep dive to determine what went incorrect for Marquette in its loss Saturday to Seton Corridor. Tyler Kolek completed with 5 factors on 1-for-6 taking pictures, his fewest factors in a sport since December 2022. Kolek has had different subpar video games (six factors in opposition to the Kansas Jayhawks, for one), however Marquette’s protection could not make up for his struggles this time. The Golden Eagles have been unable to include Al-Amir Dawes and Kadary Richmond, who mixed for 44 factors.
0:16
Mark Mitchell elevates for dunk vs. Notre Dame Preventing Irish
Mark Mitchell elevates for dunk vs. Notre Dame Preventing Irish.
12. Duke Blue Devils (11-3)Earlier rating: 13This week: at Pittsburgh (Tuesday), vs. Georgia Tech (Saturday)
Earlier this season, Mark Mitchell’s taking pictures woes have been a focus on opponents’ scouting studies. They merely opted to again off Mitchell, which made life troublesome for the opposite Duke gamers on the ground. It appears the sophomore ahead has figured it out, although. He had his two finest video games final week, going for 21 factors and 6 rebounds in opposition to Syracuse and 23 and 14 in opposition to Notre Dame. He additionally hit each of his 3-point makes an attempt in opposition to the Irish after coming into the sport 1-for-22.
13. Memphis Tigers (13-2)Earlier rating: 12This week: vs. UTSA (Wednesday), at Wichita State (Sunday)
Memphis was seconds from a possible 0-2 week, however Jahvon Quinerly bailed the Tigers out in opposition to each Tulsa and SMU with a clutch week, hitting 3s within the remaining seconds from virtually the very same spot to win each video games. Memphis goes to wish extra, particularly after Caleb Mills’ harm, however Quinerly singlehandedly gave the Tigers one other week within the rankings.
JQ referred to as sport. 😤 pic.twitter.com/zZiDvNTXXj
— Memphis Basketball (@Memphis_MBB) January 5, 2024
JJJQQQQQQQQQQQQQQ 👌😤🗣️💪 pic.twitter.com/uUpahifEj1
— Memphis Basketball (@Memphis_MBB) January 8, 2024
14. Baylor Bears (12-2)Earlier rating: 15This week: vs. BYU (Tuesday), vs. Cincinnati (Saturday)
Baylor is the No. 1 3-point taking pictures staff within the nation, making 45% of its photographs from behind the arc. It has made double-digit 3s in seven video games, going 33-for-61 from deep in its two video games earlier than dealing with Oklahoma State on Saturday. The Bears shot simply 2-for-15 from 3 in opposition to the Cowboys — and nonetheless managed to return out with the highway win in Stillwater.
15. Auburn Tigers (12-2)Earlier rating: UnrankedThis week: vs. Texas A&M (Tuesday), vs. LSU (Saturday)
Bruce Pearl’s staff has been a metrics darling all season, however it picked up arguably its finest win of the marketing campaign on Saturday, drubbing Arkansas on the highway by 32 factors. They’re clearly a top-three staff within the SEC. They’re deep, skilled and led by Johni Broome, who’s taking part in like top-of-the-line large males in faculty basketball. He is averaging 18 factors, 10.3 rebounds and three blocks over his previous 4 video games.
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16. Wisconsin Badgers (11-3)Earlier rating: UnrankedThis week: at Ohio State (Wednesday), vs. Northwestern (Saturday)
Wisconsin has now gained 4 in a row and 10 of its previous 11 video games since opening the season 1-2. The Badgers have their finest offense since Bo Ryan was on the sideline in Madison. They’ve scored no less than 80 factors in three straight video games and have hit no less than 1.11 factors per possession in all 11 of their wins. Connor Essegian made 4 3s off the bench Saturday, his first double-digit scoring sport all season after averaging 11.7 factors final season.
Dropped out: Colorado State Rams (No. 14), Clemson Tigers (No. 16)
Within the ready room
Colorado State Rams: After beginning the week with a completely spectacular win over Mountain West contender New Mexico, Colorado State’s profitable streak got here to a halt at Utah State on Saturday. When CSU struggles, it is the protection that has usually been the wrongdoer. The Rams have allowed no less than one level per possession in six of their previous 9 video games.
San Diego State Aztecs: The protection has seemed much more Brian Dutcher-like throughout its six-game profitable streak. Up to now 4 video games — in opposition to Stanford, Gonzaga, Fresno State and UNLV — the Aztecs have given up simply 5.0 3s per sport at a 23.8% clip. That is extra in step with the staff that ranked fourth nationally final season, permitting opponents to shoot simply 28.3% behind the arc.
Utah State Aggies: Persevering with with the Mountain West theme of the ready room, Utah State landed a press release win Saturday night time, backing up its gaudy report with a win over Colorado State. Head coach Danny Sprinkle has performed an unimaginable job in his first 12 months in Logan, discovering the correct mix of transfers and freshmen to show the Aggies into a right away risk.