Who Are the Legitimate National Title Contenders in College Basketball? (So Far)

UConn

It is now Year #5 of the Danny Hurley era in Stores, and Huskies fans are seeing everything they dreamed of when the hire was made in front of their own eyes. UConn has started off the season with a 11-0 record with wins over a handful of good teams including Alabama, Oregon, Florida, Oklahoma State, Iowa State and more. The thing that makes UConn’s start to the season really impressive however, is the fact that none of these games have been particularly competitive and there was never a moment where anyone watching felt that the Huskies would be in trouble.

While there wasn’t any significant pressure on Dan Hurley going into the season, there were some UConn fans that were feeling frustrated after the Huskies had suffered first round exits in each of the last two NCAA Tournaments. It was apparent that Hurley had built UConn into a much better place compared to when he first arrived, but the program with four National Titles since 1999 rightfully expects the best. UConn has still not won an NCAA Tournament game since 2016, but finally it looks like UConn is back where they belong.

Preseason Big East Player of the Year, Adama Sanogo is living up to the hype, leading the conference in scoring, averaging 18.3 points per game. However, he is not alone, as Jordan Hawkins has taken the ultimate Freshman to Sophomore leap, improving his scoring average from 5.8 points per game as a Freshman to 14.4 as a Sophomore. In addition, Andre Jackson is one of the most underappreciated players in College Basketball, impacting the game in ways that don’t always show up in the box score. UConn has added some new players that also fit that mix in Alex Karaban, Joey Calcaterra and Donovan Clingan.

While no one expected any of these players to be anything more than role players, they have all stepped up in a big way and have been very important to UConn’s early season success. Clingan in particular, has broken out onto the scene as one of the most impactful Freshman in the country. The winner of the PK85 MVP, Clingan is averaging 10.0 points and 7.0 rebounds per game in only an average of 16.3 minutes a night. Having both Sanogo and Clingan on the same team is a scary sight for anyone scouting these UConn Huskies team. This Huskies team has a legitimate argument for the best team in College Basketball right now and is someone I would have no interest in playing in the month of March.

Arkansas

There aren’t a ton of teams in College Basketball that can lose a player that is a sure-fire future pro, and still have four other future pro bucket getters. With this Arkansas team however, that is the exact case, as Arkansas is still a legitimate National Championship contender even without the services of Trevon Brazil, following his torn ACL.

In Arkansas’ first game with Brazil on Saturday against Oklahoma, the Hogs were able to pull away in the second half from a Sooners team that beat them up pretty good last season in the same building. Wichita State transfer Ricky Council IV, has been one of the best transfers adds anyone has made from the portal so far this season and is playing like an absolute star. Council is leading the SEC in scoring, averaging 19.2 points per game. The baskets that Council is getting haven’t been easy either, considering he makes about three or four plays each game that you don’t even think would be possible while watching. Council has already found himself in the middle of SportsCenter’s Top 10 plays, many times so far this season.

At the very beginning of the season, Freshman and to some the best NBA Draft Prospect playing College Basketball this season, Nick Smith missed time with a knee injury. Even though he is back now, during that time missed it was another Freshman in this star studded class that took the reins at Point Guard and impressed in a major way. Arkansas has two options at the Point Guard position in Smith and Anthony Black. Black has proven to have elite court vision as a passer and will definitely have a future playing in the professional ranks. Jordan Walsh, who was the other 5 star recruit of the class, fits in perfectly considering he’s never afraid to do any of the dirty work while also being able to score the basketball.

With four future pros on this Arkansas team, alongside Mekhi Mitchell and Jalen Graham who provide depth after the Brazil injury, the Hogs are legitimate National Title Contenders. Eric Mussleman has taken Arkansas to the Elite 8 in each of the last two seasons and neither of those teams were as good as this Hogs team currently is in the month of December. That is a scary sight for the rest of College Basketball.

Alabama

After a very disappointing 2022 season that ended in a first round NCAA Tournament loss, Nate Oats’ team is back and they can do some serious damage in March. For all of 2022, Alabama never seemed to be on the same page and it was apparent that “me” was way more important than “we” in that locker room. Although Alabama entered the season with a ton of talent, I’m not sure Nate Oats himself could have expected for things to change from an attitude perspective this quickly.

The Crimson Tide are currently playing 4 Freshman in major roles, and each of them have contributed in a major way so far this season. Primarily, Brandon Miller has a legitimate argument as one of the best Freshman playing College Basketball this season. With great size at 6 ‘9”and the ability to score the basketball, Miller is very capable of leading a team to victory while he’s on the floor. What was really impressive about Miller, was he didn’t make a single Field Goal in Alabama’s victory over #1 ranked Houston on Saturday. Many future one and dones, have had something similar like this happen to them, sulking and looking upset while walking off the floor. This wasn’t the case with Miller at all, as you can see just how happy he was that his team got the win. In addition, Senior Guard Jahvon Quinnerly who has been up and down this season, was adamant to Coach Oats that Freshman Jaden Bradley stayed in the game because he was playing so well.

These were things that simply didn’t happen with Alabama last season, even though they had all the talent. The scary thing about this Crimson Tide team is the fact that they’re not only talented but also on the same page. Noah Clowney is another one of those Freshman that has burst onto the scene in a major way. The #78th ranked High School Player in the country in the Class of 2022 per 247Sports, The Freshman is currently averaging 9.6 points and 8.4 rebounds per game. Clowney was one of Alabama’s major contributors in their victory over #1 ranked Houston, when he scored 16 points with 11 rebounds.

There are a handful of future NBA players on this Alabama roster, along with being very well coached and on the same page. Alabama did pick up some massive non-conference victories during this time last season including beating Houston and Gonzaga, but it went for nothing as the Tide faltered during SEC play. Nate Oats will do whatever he can to avoid that from repeating this time around, but Alabama feels different and the Tide are a legitimate National Title Contender.

Houston

Although the Cougars dropped their game at home to Alabama on Saturday, Kelvin Sampson’s team still has all the ingredients to be a legitimate National Championship contender. This Houston program has an elite culture that has translated into winning, as the Cougs have made the Final 4 and Elite 8 in each of the last two NCAA Tournaments. There are also plenty of pieces from both of those teams that are still around and can help this Cougar team in a big way come March. Marcus Sasser entered the season as one of the best Guards in College Basketball, but he was limited to only 9 points in Houston’s only loss of the season to Alabama. Sasser is also recovering from a foot injury that occurred in December which cost him the remainder of the season.

While the loss to the Tide isn’t a major concern, Houston did blow a 15-point lead at home in by far their biggest game so far this season. The Cougars will have another massive opportunity to show the rest of the country that this is a legitimate team. In addition to Sasser, Houston also got Tramon Mark back after he suffered a season ending shoulder injury right around the same time as Sasser’s. This is part of what made Houston’s season so impressive last year, considering they were still able to make the Elite 8 and finish 32-6 overall, without two of their better players.

Houston also has some new players that they’re integrating into the system and could help in a big way come March. Freshman Jarrace Walker is the highest ranked recruit to ever come to the Houston program, and will have a legitimate future playing in the NBA. Walker also fits this Cougars system perfectly, considering how good of an offensive rebounder he is, but Houston will need him to be a little more aggressive scoring the ball when their biggest games come around in March. The other Freshman that falls into this category is Terrance Arceneaux, who played great in one of Houston’s early marquee wins against Oregon. In that game Arceneaux scored 15 points off the bench, but hasn’t had a game as productive since. Houston currently has some things to fix, but while playing a favorable American Athletic Conference schedule, these Cougars are in very good position to earn a #1 seed and have success in the NCAA Tournament.

Arizona

While Tommy Lloyd did a great job in his first season in Tucson competing for the National Championship and earning a #1 seed in the NCAA Tournament, there are a few major differences between this Arizona team and last year’s squad. Primarily, Arizona lost three players from last year’s team that were all drafted into the NBA. These included two first round draft picks in benedict Mathurin and Dalen Terry, alongside second round pick Christian Koloko. It was unknown what Arizona would look like heading into the season, considering the majority of the players on that team were not brought in by Tommy Lloyd and this season features a team filled of mostly players he brought into the program

Arizona has gotten off to a 9-1 start overall, which includes wins over Creighton, Indiana and San Diego State. The only loss during that stretch came in their Pac 12 Conference opener against Utah, which was shortly after their trip to Maui and every team that also made that trip struggled in their first game back. The Wildcats handled Indiana on Saturday Night, taking every punch that Indiana had trying to get back in the game and threw it right back at them. Azoulas Tubelis led the way with 21 points, and this was not long after Oumar Ballo gave them 30 points in Arizona’s Maui Invitational Championship victory over Creighton. There aren’t many teams in the modern-day version of College Basketball that has two players on the floor at all times that don’t shoot the three ball, but Arizona has that and they make it work in a very efficient way.

Ballo looks like one of the more improved players in the country, averaging 18.1 points and 9.1 rebounds per game compared to only 6.8 points last season. However, he is not the only member of this Arizona team that has improved in a major way, considering Kerr Krissa is playing much more under control and letting the game come to him compared to last season. Kriisa and his backcourt mates Courtney Ramey and Pelle Larsson can score the ball from all over the place, which with Ballo and Tubelis up front really makes this Wildcat team dangerous.

UCLA

As someone who was very high on UCLA entering the preseason, it was great to see the Bruins step on an opponent’s throat like they did to Maryland on Tuesday Night. After losing their first two marquee games of the season in Las Vegas to Illinois and Baylor, the Bruins showed everyone just how good they can really be blowing out the Terps, 80-67 and the game was really never that close. The Bruins have a lot of key components that many other teams that have had success in March also possessed which is a great sign going forward.

The Bruins have one of the best and most consistent Point Guards in the sport in Tyger Campbell. Tyger has led the Bruins team to a Final 4, and playing in his fifth season of College Basketball there aren’t a ton of things that this guy hasn’t seen yet. Part of what made the Maryland game so impressive to me, was the fact that Campbell picked up two early fouls within the first four minutes of the game, and UCLA still dominated Maryland in the first half without Campbell seeing the floor. Part of this was Jaylen Clark and the breakout season he has continued to have. A role player for UCLA each of the last two seasons, Clark has burst onto the scene as a legitimate star this season, averaging 15.5 points and 6.1 rebounds per game, while also guarding the other team’s best player. This goes along very nicely with Campbell and Jamie Jaquez Jr. who have also both played for Coach Cronin in each of the last three seasons, including making the 2021 Final 4.

The other thing that UCLA has is one of the best Freshman classes in the country that hopefully can really emerge by the time we get to March Madness. Amari Bailey has been better than most have expected so far, but will need to show more against better competition, as he has struggled in UCLA’s games against High Conference Opponents. In addition, Adem Bona has had some good moments, but has also struggled to stay on the court at times with foul trouble. If UCLA can get consistent production from these guys, there is no reason why this Bruins team cannot compete for a National Championship.