College Basketball: January 25th Update

A pet-peeve of mine, when it comes to College Sports, and more specifically College Coaches is that fit always matters. In professional sports, it does not matter where you are from. If the organization that hires you thinks that you are the best for the job, they will bring you in no matter where you came from. However, in college that can be a little different with recruiting being such a big factor. Now fit is not only based on where you are from. There are plenty of coaches in College Basketballincluding Florida’s Mike White (The son of former long time AD Kevin White) that have been moving around for a while now and are used to the constant change.

Marquette really prioritized the fit, this past offseason after they hired Wisconsin native and former VCU + Texas Head Coach Shaka Smart. Even though Shaka is a former Final 4 Coach, there was plenty of doubt surrounding this hire after last year’s Round of 64 Loss to Abeilien Christian officially signaled that it was time for a change. However, straight off the bat Shaka has shown that he is a better fit at a place like Marquette or VCU, that allows him to recruit his type of kids.

The typical Shaka Smart player is a guy ranked in the backend of the ESPN Top 100, but will also stay in school for a few years and get better and better. That was something that plagued Shaka at Texas, due to the fact that everytime he had a really good player or one that broke out, they would immediately head to the NBA instead of coming back to school to get better. The long list includes Mo Bamba, Jarrett Allen, Jaxson Hayes, Isaiah Taylor and more. With all of these players going one and done and the disappointing results for that amount of talent, it was clear that Smart was not the right fit in Austin.

Marquette was the perfect place for Shaka to go, also because they had a coach that in a similar way to Shaka, was underachieving relative to his talent. 5 of Marquette’s 7 leading scorers left at the conclusion of last season after Steve Wojciechowskiwas let go. Even after Shaka did a solid job in the Transfer Portal, getting guys like Darryl Morsell, Tyler Kolek, Omax Prosper and others there was still doubt just how good this team would be, especially in Shaka’s first year. However, just a few months into his tenure at Marquette, Shaka has his Golden Eagles ranked #22 in this week’s AP Top 25 poll after putting together 3 consecutive wins over Seton Hall, Villanova and Xavier, who will be playing the NCAA Tournament. The natural fit for Shaka at a palace like Marquette is not even comparable to Texas and we are currently getting a front row seat  to how important fit is.

On the other end of the spectrum it is very hard to believe just how badly things have gone for Chris Mack and Louisville, in such a short period of time. After Louisville and Rick Pitino went their separate ways, the thought by many was that they got themselves a gem in Chris Mack. This was the same guy, who had Xavier going to the second weekend of the NCAA Tournament multiple times, and was competing with Jay Wright and Villanova for Big East titles. Even during his first year in Louisville, Mack’s Cardinals overachieved relative to expectations by making the NCAA Tournament. Not to mention at one point during his second year which was only two years ago, Mack had Louisville ranked as the #1 team in the country. However, watching Louisville on Monday Night against Virginia, along with some of their other brutal losses it was clear that Louisville had quit on Mack. There are many factors why things have gone this badly.

Primarily, Mack bought in a top 10 recruiting class in the 2019, which has flopped in a big time way. The supposed gem of the class Samuel Williamson has not developed the way Cardinals fans had hoped as he is currently averaging only 5.7 points per game in his third year with Louisville. In addition David Johnson was able to get to the NBA, but left before he could make any real significant impact for the Cardinals that led to wins. With 3 other members of the class transferring out of the program, it is one of the more disappointing recurring classes in recent memory. In addition, Mack has already gotten the opportunity to change his coaching staff and tried to rebuild through the transfer portal this year, which has not paid off. All Louisville fans are on the same page that there is no reason to bring the guy back. A lot of which has to do with the fit.

However, as Smart has shown, even if you are a good coach not every fit is right for you. If Mack is willing to take another job, at any of the schools that are expected to open this offseason, it should be a good hire based on everything he has accomplished as a coach during his time at Xavier. Not everyone realizes just how important it is, until they have an experience close to the likes of Mack and Smart.

Quick Hits in Major Conferences

ACC –  For the first time all season, the cream is starting to rise to the top in the ACC. Part of what makes a sport like College Basketball so great is the parody across the entire sport, which is entirely present in the ACC with a handful of marquee programs underachieving. With that parody, comes teams battling it out every night and a number of results which may be confusing at the time. However, ultimately the best teams will find their way to the top when it is all set and done and we are starting to see that.

Duke took their second loss in ACC play on Tuesday Night against Florida State, which long term isn’t the worst thing in the world for the league. Florida State had as good of a week as anyone in the country, as they picked up two huge wins against Duke and at Miami. Even in a losing effort, it was hard not to be impressed with the Hurricanes, who came up 2 points short of completing a potential 26 point comeback against Florida State.

Wake Forest has been one of the most surprising teams in the country behind Steve Forbes and the transfers he was able to secure this offseason in Alondes Williams and Jake LaRavia. Wake has had some nice moments this season, but topped their 22 point rout of North Carolina on Saturday which felt like the most important Wake Forest game in some time.

Questions are starting to loom for first year Tar Heel Head Coach Hubert Davis after North Carolina got blown out against Wake and Miami this past week and neither game was remotely competitive. The Tar Heels were able to get back in the win column on Monday Night against Virginia Tech Tech but questions still remain on the defensive end. With the amount of blowout losses these Tar Heels have suffered, more will need to be shown for Hubert Davis’ team really wants to hit their stride.

On the opposite end of the spectrum as mentioned earlier in the article the Mack situation at Louisville is getting really bad, really quickly. Following their loss on Monday against Virginia, the Cardinals are now 11-9, and are nowhere close to NCAA Tournament contention. When you are the coach of a program like Lousivlle, that rightfully expects to see a better product on the floor than what we are currently seeing, you need to be better. It’s that simple.

Big East –  The top of the Big East continues to feel as jumbled as ever, as a handful of teams are starting to trend forwards and backwards. Marquette, entered the AP Top 25 on Monday, after their shocking win at Villanova.

This was the second conference game Villanova has lost at their primary home of Finneran Pavilion since the Big East realigned in 2014. Shaka Smart is making a legitimate case for National Coach of the Year, with the fact that his Golden Eagles have now picked up three consecutive wins over Seton Hall, Villanova and Xavier who will all  play in the NCAA Tournament.

Danny Hurely’s Connecticut Huskies are now fully healthy and are starting to look closer to the only team that has been able to beat Auburn so far this season. It was also great to see Providence back on the floor picking up two victories over Georgetown and Butler after a 12 day covid pause.

These two games were a nice tune up for the Friars, who will head to the Cintas Center on Tuesday Night to take on a Xavier team that hasn’t been playing their best basketball of late.

The one disappointment of the league remains St.Johns, who had another loss to a short handed Seton Hall team at home. Mike Anderson isn’t a bad coach, but the fit has always been a question and it is fair to ask if Anderson can’t get the job done with a team with this much talent, when will he ever?

Big 10 –  There were some significant results that took place in the Big Ten this past week, and in most instances, the teams who won were not able to continue the momentum and keep it rolling. Just after their biggest win of the season against Illinois, Purdue went to Indiana, and fell to the Hoosiers for the first time in their last 9 meetings.

By no means is this a bad loss, as Indiana should be playing in the NCAA Tournament and the Assembly Hall Crowd was absolutely electric. The Hoosiers win over Purdue, was great theater considering Indiana’s star play Trayce Jackson Davis was limited to only 12 minutes of action and 4 points due to foul trouble. In his place, Senior guard and West Lafayette Native Rob Phinisee had the game of his life, which included 20 points and the game winning three pointer to give Indiana the lead and they never looked back. However, as Hoosiers fans are all too familiar with a letdown followed, as Michigan put together their most complete effort of the season in a 80-62 victory.

Wisconsin had their first flat spot in a while on Friday against Michigan State. The Badgers were missing one of their key contributors in Tyler Wahl and looked tired after playing 5 games in 5 days. Michigan State on the other hand, had a full week off following their loss this past Saturday against Northwestern, took control of the game early and never looked back. It was the first time all season the Spartans looked hungry for blood in a complete effort from start to finish, and will head to Illinois on Tuesday Night which feels like a possible litmus test game following the Illni’s 0-2 week.

Big Ten Referees also made their presence known this past week after costing an Iowa team that looks bound to play in the NCAA Tournament their game against Rutgers. The refs called a ticky tack, spot foul late in the game, which you never call something unless it’s obvious on Iowa, which led to Rutgers Free Throws to secure the victory. It was terrible officiating.

Big 12 –  There is no longer an argument, which is the best conference in College Basketball.The answer is the Big 12 and it is not relatively close. Aside from Oklahoma State, who is ineligible for the Tournament due to an unfortunate NCAA ruling, all 9 of the other teams in this league are either in position or fighting to make the NCAA Tournament.

Kansas State, who many considered to be the worst team in the league going into the season has shown, the Octagon of Doom can still be a legitimate home court advantage, after they beat Texas Tech last week, and played a phenomenal first half on Saturday before ultimately falling to Kansas. With National Championship Contenders at the top of the league like Kansas and Baylor along with Texas Tech who continues to win big games based on their elite defense. All 3 of these teams are top 15 caliber teams and will have a good chance to make a deep run in March.

Kansas and Texas Tech played in one of the best games of the year to open up the Big Monday Slate. It was one of those games where, going in, we all knew just how good of a team Kansas was, and how great of a player Ochai Agbaji is, even before dropping 37 points in the victory. However, Texas Tech showed against Kansas why they are  going to be a serious problem for someone in March. UTEP transfer Bryson Williams is starting to become the go to guy for 1st year Head Coach Mark Aadams. Adam’s elite defensive game planning ability, has led the Red Raiders to wins over Baylor, Kansas, Tennessee and more. Everytime the Red Raiders play, there is more and more reason to be excited about the future of this Texas Tech program under the watch of a guy like Adams, who has seen it all in his 40 years of coaching.

Finally, TCU has been one of the main surprises in the Big 12, but are finally starting to get some notice after their biggest win of the season on Saturday at Hilton Coliseum against a very good Iowa State team. Iowa State has beaten Texas, Texas Tech and Iowa at home this year, while also giving Baylor a run for their money. There are very few better home court advantages in the country and for TCU to get a win like that is so big for not only their NCAA Tournament hopes but also confidence. Jamie Dixon did a good job taking advantage of the Transfer Portal by bringing in guys like Emmanuel Miller, Damion Baugh, Micah Peavy and Charles O’Bannon who along with star Point Guard Mike Miles have Horned Frogs fans excited going into their clash Tuesday Night against Texas.

Pac 12 –   The unfortunate truth about the Pac 12 at the moment, is that there are only 4 teams in the conference with a realistic shot to earn an at-large bid into the NCAA Tournament. However, for the first time all season the spotlight will be back on the Conference of Champions on Tuesday night. Arizona will head to UCLA in a top 10 matchup with fans being let back in the building, for the first time since the announcement was made on January 11th. Having a premier matchup like this in front of a rowdy UCLA fan base, is exactly what the conference needs, with a handful of teams disappointing to start the season, following the conference’s breakout 2020 NCAA Tournament.

Teams like Utah and specifically Colorado, had real opportunities to move the needle this week, with home games against UCLA and USC. In a similar way, to how it was good for the ACC that their clear best team in Duke took a couple losses, that is what the Pac 12 needs. This is due to the fact that the only wins you can get while playing in the Pac 12, that will help your NCAA Tournament resume is against the top 4. Meaning, if you don’t take advantage of your opportunities like Colorado did, you’re going to find yourself in trouble. 

Dana Altman has shown everyone, yet again why he is one of the best coaches in all of College Basketball. After Oregon’s 6-6 start to the season, the Ducks have now won 6 games in a row following their blowout victory over Washington on Sunday. The Ducks are slowly building an NCAA Tournament resume, as they were able to take advantage of the opportunities they got against UCLA and USC, on the road which makes it even more impressive. With a backcourt full of left handed shotmaking guards, this Ducks team will undoubtedly be a factor at the top of the Pac 12 in March.

SEC –  Earlier this College Basketball season, I let it be known in this same weekly report that the time is now for Basketball in the Southeastern Conference. Although Kentucky and Florida have dominated the league for the most part in the past 2 decades, the conference decided to start putting an emphasis on basketball with new facilities and just overall better coaching hires, after the launch of the SEC Network.

We saw just how much all of that hard work over the years paid off on Saturday, when Auburn defeated Kentucky in what was the most hyped up regular season Auburn Tiger basketball game since Charles Barkley on campus. It wasn’t only that Auburn won the game, but you were able to see just how much the hiring of Bruce Pearl changed this program for the better. Although Kentucky was able to hang around for most of the game, following TyTy Washington leaving with an injury, Auburn was able to pull away late after a big time pro jump shot from future Top 3 NBA Draftpick Jabari Smith and the rest was history.

Some other teams around the SEC, not including Auburn and Kentucky are starting to play a little better of late including Arkansas and Tennessee. After Eric Mussleman’s Razorbacks started off the season in very disappointing fashion, they have now won 4 games in a row, and are quietly starting to put it all together while building an NCAA Tournament resume in the process. It was around this time last year, when the Arkansas team that eventually made it all the way to the Elite 8 started to hit their stride. Despite consistent struggles on the offensive side of the ball Tennessee was able to pick up their second marquee victory of the season while using the great homecourt environment of Thompson Boling Arena to their advantage on Saturday against LSU. Although they may not be the most fun team to watch, Tennessee’s strength of schedule and quality wins will keep them near the top of the SEC, long term scoring the ball remains a concern. Finding another scoring option alongside Santiago Vescovi remains pivotal.

Finally, it has been a rough, rough stretch for Will Wade’s squad of late. Following their loss to Tennessee on Saturday Night, LSU has now lost 3 games in a row, and desperately needs to get healthy. All of the hope is not lost for Will Wade’s team after playing a not so great non conference schedule, going 3-4 to start off SEC play. Even with that record being under 500 it was a successful stretch for LSU considering it one of the most difficult stretches ever. Those 3 wins were against Kentucky, Tennessee and Florida, while the Florida game came without Pinson. Now the schedule eases up a little bit for Will Wade and company, with a home game coming up against Texas A and M and the Tigers will be back up and rolling soon.

Zac’s Elite 8

1) Auburn – Saturday, the College Basketball world got a front row seat, to what exactly Bruce Pearl has been building at Auburn since he arrived in 2014. Fans started camping out in front of Auburn Arena on Friday night, which led to an unbelievable atmosphere, helping Auburn earn the victory over Kentucky. Bruce Pearl stated after the game that “Auburn is a football school, but also an everything school.” This is an attitude that many future and present Athletic Directors and Head Coaches should use when starting to rebuild a program. The energy of Bruce Pearl, has rubbed off on an Auburn program that was irrelevant in the College Basketball landscape prior to his arrival. In the game, despite trailing by 4 at the half Auburn was able to hit another gear that not many other teams in the country would be able to match.

2) Gonzaga – The Bulldogs won their only appearance on the floor thi past week, as they earned a 78-62 lead over a solid San Francisco team. San Francisco has been able to compete with Gonzaga, better than most WCC teams over the past few years and that continued, as they were only down by 3 points at the half. However, Gonzaga used 20+ point efforts from both Drew Timme and Chet Holmgren in the frontcourt, to secure the victory. Even though there was never really a moment where you felt San Francisco was winning the game, the fact that Gonzaga actually had to play a competitive game in the second half, is something they didn’t do at all last year. This had a lot to do with just how shell shocked, the Bulldogs looked in the National Championship game when they first got punched in the mouth by Baylor and were never able to recover. With the Zags being a little under the radar compared to last, the hope is the results can also change and a National Championship on the horizon.

3) Arizona – Following Sunday’s blowout win over California, Arizona is now 16-1 overall and 6-0 in the Pac 12 just one year after letting go of Sean Miller. 1st year Head Coach Tommy Lloyd, has come in right away, and has done a really good job taking advantage of the talent that Sean Miller left behind, and using a more modern offense, based on ball movement that was a staple at Gonzaga. In addition, Lloyd took advantage of the transfer portal to put together his bench by bringing in a handful of high major transfers that include Pelle Larsson, Omar Ballo and Justin Kier. It was Ballo, who came to Tucson along with Llyod, from Gonzaga who had a career high 21 points against Stanford, and followed it up with 14 points against California. If Arizona had one weakness going into this week, it would have been bench play but with the play of Ballo and consistent toughness shown by Larsson, the bench can easily be considered a strength. All eyes will be on the Wildcats on Tuesday Night, when they head to Los Angeles to take on UCLA.

4) Baylor – After a bad week of basketball, Baylor was able to bounce back from their first 2 losses of the season in a big way. Without All American candidate James Akinjo on Tuesday, Baylor was able to go into Morgantown, West Virginia and leave with a big win over the Mountaineers. Throughout the first few months of the season everytime Baylor faced a deficit or any real adversity, they were able to respond in a big way by not panicking and eventually just finding a way to get back into the game. This even happened to them last year, when they were down 7 at halftime in their Sweet 16 games against Villanova, before coming back to win. Early in the West Virginia game, there was a quick feeling that Baylor would be in trouble with the lack of Akinjo, but sophomore guard LJ Cryer stepped up in a big way with 25 points. In their win on Saturday against Oklahoma, the Bears were able to take advantage of a controversial flagrant foul call, after Oklahoma made a nice comeback to even the game, after Baylor got off to the early lead. Getting future 1st Round NBA Draft Pick Jeremy Sochan as soon as possible, will be necessary.

5) Kansas – While many were locked into the NFL playoffs on Saturday, in the midst of the action the Jayhawks were able to put together a possible season changing victory over their in-state rival. After trailing by 16 points at the half, Kansas was able to outscore Kansas State 44-25 to lead to the victory. This is just days after, Kansas was able to go into Oklahoma and beat the Sooners in a back and forth affair. Against Oklahoma, Early Big 12 Player of the Year Favorite and All American Candidate Ochai Agbjai suffered a wrist injury midway through the first half, didn’t score until there was 5:30 remaining in the game. We also all saw on Monday Night, the Instant Classic between the Jayhawks and Texas Tech, in which Agbaji dropped 37 points to lead Kansas to victory. This included the game tying three, with a defender right in his face to send the game to Overtime, in which Kansas won. With the Big 12/ SEC Challenge and a visit from Kentucky upcoming, we will start to get a better idea of just exactly how good this Jayhawks team is.

6) Houston – It is about time for Kelvin Sampson to start seriously entering the National Coach of the Year Conversation. Following their 79-36 victory over East Carolina on Saturday, Houston improved to 6-0 in American Conference Play and have now won 9 games in a row. The winning streak comes immediately following devastating injuries to Marcus Sasser and Tramon Mark, which many people thought could derail the Cougars season. Just one year after making it to the Final 4 and losing multiple players to the NBA along with the injuries this year, Houston is right back in the Top 10 and has real aspirations to get back to the Final 4. In the absence of Sasser, Texas Tech transfer Kyler Edwards is becoming the guy for the Cougars as he had 25 points in the victory on Saturday. This is a kid who once contributed 12 points off the bench in the National Championship and has a ton of big game experience. In addition, Guard Jamal Shead is playing like a 1st team All Conference Guard, in the backcourt besides Edwards and Senior Forward Fabian White is playing the best basketball of his career. Considering the amount of talent that Houston has lost and the Cougars not skipping a beat, the only explanation is the elite culture of the program that Kelvin Sampson has built.

7) Purdue – Matt Painter’s team played in two of the biggest games over the course of this past week, and both came down to the absolute wire. Purdue was able to go into Illinois on Martin Luther King’s Day and leave with a victory over the Illini, but also fell at Assembly Hall on Thursday against Indiana. Purdue’s victory against Illinois was impressive, due to the fact that there were many points throughout the game, you were asking yourself “How is Illinois, even in this game?” Purdue missed free throws that would have sealed the game at the end of regulation and the first overtime, and were still able to leave with a double OT win on the road. However, after a quick turn  around on Thursday, Purdue lost a heartbreaker against the Hoosiers, for Indiana’s first win over Purdue in their last 9 teams. Losing on the road to a good team like Indiana isn’t overly concerning, however if Purdue wants to win to get back to the Final 4 for the first time since 1980 there are some things to fix. Number one is their defense, as the Boilers gave up 69 points in regulation to Illinois, and 64 points to Indiana. Late in games, Purdue needs future NBA lottery pick Jaden Ivey to want the ball and hunt shots, but it hasn’t worked up to this point. As great of a playmaker Trevion Williams is in the post, you need your top shot creator to have the ball in his hands.

8) UCLA – After UCLA lost to Oregon last week, and  with what could be the toughest road trip in all of College Basketball approaching with trips to Colorado and Utah, there was some level of concern for the Bruins. Primarily, UCLA dropped a home game last week against Oregon, blowing a 5 point lead in the process in front of an empty Pauley Pavilion. While watching both UCLA and USC it is apparent that the lack of fans has really had an effect. UCLA coach Mick Cronin said prior to the Utah game that I think it’s hugely demoralizing to our guys to play games in empty arenas when there’s 80,000 people at the Rams game [Monday], so our guys should be energized — I know they will when we run out in front of other people and get to play a game in front of fans.” UCLA responded to playing in front of a packed arena in a big time way as they were able to beat both Utah and Colorado, in close games after both opponents we’re able to provide the Bruins with a legitimate challenge. With Arizona coming to town on Tuesday Night and Johnny Juzang slowly starting to regain the form we saw in last year’s NCAA Tournament, the tides could be aligning for UCLA, to make a statement.

Mid Major Top 10

1. Gonzaga

2. Colorado State

3. Davidson

4. Loyola- Chicago

5. Iona

6. BYU

7. Boise State

8. San Diego State

9. Murray State

10. Saint Mary’s

Weekly Awards

Team of the Week: Marquette

Player of the Week: Isaiah Mosely (Missouri State)

Coach of the Week:  Leonard Hamilton

Flop of the Week:  Louisville