College Basketball: Dec. 21st Update

The number one story in not only College Basketball, but in the entire sports world is the number of games that have been canceled or postponed due to COVID-19 issues and outbreaks. In a sport like College Basketball, where 36 teams are awarded an At- large bid into the NCAA Tournament, earning quality wins for your tournament resume during the Non Conference slate is very important.

It is even more pronounced, for a team like Memphis who plays in the American Athletic Conference and won’t get as many chances at earning wins that move the needle, compared to other teams in Power 6 conferences. Penny Hardaway’s Tigers we’re one of the more intriguing teams in College Basketball going into the season as they returned a majority of the players that led the team to an NIT Title last year and they added two 5 star freshman who reclassified to the high school Class of 2021 over the summer in Emoni Bates and Jalen Duren. After a really disappointing start to the season, Memphis earned their biggest win of the season on Tuesday night against Alabama and were scheduled to take on Tennessee this past Saturday in Nashville. This was such a big spot for the Tigers, as it wasn’t only a rivalry game but another chance to add to their resume and go into AAC play with a lot of momentum. However, the game was canceled approximately an hour and a half before scheduled tip as two Memphis players tested positive early Saturday morning. Hardaway seemed shook, in his first post game press conference since the game was called. “Initially, when I talked to the guys earlier, you know, they were all talking about getting vaccinated,” Hardaway said. “So, I never even thought about it again after that. I was probably quoted as saying (90%) because I talked to a lot of the guys about it going into this season and what happened to us last season (the Tigers went three weeks without playing a game due to COVID issues within the program), so I probably just misspoke on that.” It is after hearing quotes like that where I tend to question if Memphis will ever win big under Hardaway. Your job as a head coach is to educate your players and let them know that if they’re not vaccinated, there is a real possibility that chances for marquee wins can just be taken away and that is exactly what happened on Saturday. Most coaches around the country seem to feel like College Basketball should follow the NFL’s lead and loosen protocols for asymptomatic vaccinated players who test positive, but there could be a while to go until any of those rules change.

Quick Hits in Major Conferences

ACC –   After another bad week, it would be accurate to call the ACC the worst Power 6 league in College Basketball. Aside from Duke, there isn’t one team that is a definite bet to make the NCAA Tournament after North Carolina was smacked by Kentucky on Saturday. Overachieving Wake Forest team is a great story at 11-1, but just needed a buzzer beater to beat Charlotte and their best win came over Virginia Tech who only moves the needle so much.  Did anyone ever think we would see a year when the West Coast Conference had a higher number of NCAA Tournament bids then the ACC? Not only can that happen in 2021-2022, but it is likely.

Big East –  Since conference realignment in 2013-2-014, Villanova has dominated the Big East by winning the league in 7 of the last 8 years. However, we saw over the weekend that this year could be a different story as the Wildcats have 4 losses before Christmas, and teams such as Seton Hall, Xavier, Providence and more are threatening to compete at the top of the league. There is not one bad team in the Big East and every night is going to be an absolute war. It’s not a coincidence that in the year when it looks like Villanova may struggle a little in conference play, it is also when the league looks it’s best since the aforementioned realignment. Even teams that were supposed to be at the bottom of the league like Creighton, Marquette and DePaul have all shown some positive flashes including Creighton’s blowout victory over Villanova.. St Johns is one disappointment for the conference, as they came into the season with NCAA Tournament aspirations and just lost to hapless Pittsburgh.

Big 10 –  After Purdue, the rest of the Big Ten remains pretty wide open. Ohio State, Michigan State, Illinois and Wisconsin have all shown flashes that they could be in for a pretty good season, but have yet to put it all together. Michigan, who was projected by many to win the league, have been struggling of late after picking up their 4th loss against Minnesota last weekend. This was already Michigan’s second home loss of the season and they didn’t lose their 4th game last year until March 13th in the Big Ten Tournament. One of the weirder statistics in College Basketball, is that this league has not been able to win a National Title since Michigan State in 2000 despite having some really good teams. Besides Purdue, is there a team that can end that drought this year? Not one clear cut squad has emerged behind the Boilermakers.

Big 12 –  Over the past handful of years, the top 6-7 teams in the Big 12 have been really good and it seems like each night you’re playing a game in the NCAA Tournament. If this week proved anything, it’s that the teams toward that bottom of the league could be even better than expected. That doesn’t even include Iowa State who was projected to finish last in the conference according to the preseason poll. Instead, TJ Otzelberger has the Cyclones at 11-0 and currently ranked #11 in the AP poll. Both TCU and Kansas State were able to pick up road wins over Power 6 during the weekend which you don’t always see from your conferences’ worst teams. In addition, West Virginia has been flying heavily under the radar, after their road win over UAB improved them to 10-1 on the season. With Baylor and Kansas at the top and the depth from top to bottom this league is a juggernaut.

Pac 12-  The Pac 12 and ACC are in very similar positions as conferences due to the fact that most teams have underachieved compared to expectations. However, the one difference is that the Pac 12 has 3 really good teams at the top and the ACC only has one. It is unfortunate that it doesn’t seem likely that the rest of the “Conference of Champions” will be able to compete with Arizona, UCLA and USC at the top. The Pac 12 has been down for the past few years and the league is much more entertaining when there is some parody. Many have made the comparison, to the last time the Pac 12 really felt relevant during regular season in 2016-2017 when UCLA, Arizona and Oregon we’re all competing with each other at not only the top of the league but also at the top of College Basketball. Arizona who is one of the more surprising teams in the country ranked at #8 in the AP Top 25 still hasn’t suffered a loss but will face off against Tennessee, UCLA and USC in their next 3 games all of which come on the road.

SEC- Some separation is starting to develop at the top of the SEC, as a few teams have differentiated themselves. The SEC always had about 8-9 teams that most people felt good about their chances to make the NCAA Tournament but the question has always been does the league have an elite team that will be able to compete for a National Championship? Not only is the answer an overwhelming yes, but there are several teams that can. Alabama has already picked up wins over Gonzaga and Houston, Auburn looks like a top 10 team and that is without their starting Point Guard Allen Flannigan. LSU may have the best transfer in College Basketball with Tari Eason plus Kentucky showed just how good they can’t be with all of their new pieces when everything clicks in their blowout victory over North Carolina. Those seem to be the 4 best teams in the league right now, with Tennessee not far behind plus Arkansas and Florida with some potential to get back if a couple weaknesses get fixed.

Zac’s Elite 8

1. Baylor – What makes the defending National Champions such a scary opponent is that in a similar way to last year, they have 4-5 guys that can be the reason why the team won that night and just go off. On Saturday, after trailing by 10 points at one point in the first half, and 4 at the break while playing their first true road game of the season Baylor just took the game over. James Akinjo, Kendall Brown, and Adam Flagler all scored at least 16 points and once they got going the game was never in doubt. Baylor was still able to win a road game like this convingly against a good Oregon team when Matthew Mayer and LJ Cryer, who many would consider to be two of their better players, combined for 10 points. Baylor has a legitimate chance to repeat and then the more you watch them the more possible you leave thinking it is.

2. Duke – The Blue Devils are now 3-0 since their first and only loss of the season so far against Ohio State on November 30th. Even though the wins have been against South Carolina State, Appalachian State and Elon each of the three wins have come by at least 25 points. 5 star freshman, AJ Griffin who had suffered a knee injury in the month of October looked the healthiest he’s been since returning on Tuesday against South Carolina State when he added 19 points in 22 minutes. Duke need’s Griffin’s firepower off the bench as they haven’t gotten much offensive production outside of their starting 5.

3. Arizona – Tommy Lloyd’s club was able to pick up victories over Northern Colorado and California Baptist, as they anticipate a difficult stretch to end the new year going to Tennessee, UCLA and USC in consecutive games starting on December 22nd. Arizona doesn’t have any clear weaknesses and has been able to show the ability to win a game where not everything was necessarily going their way. The Wildcats victory over Illinois last Saturday after they gave up a 19-2 run to Illinois, blew a 9 point lead and were still able to leave Champagne with a victory after undergoing various travel issues while getting to Illinois and won in blowout fashion after coming back from first half deficits in both of their contests this week. When a team shows you mental toughness like that, it is a great sign come March.

4. Gonzaga – Mark Few is never afraid to play a big opponent in a big game. Gonzaga has now played games against Texas, UCLA, Duke, Alabama and Texas Tech since the season started. All 5 of those games gave Gonzaga experience playing in games where they actually feel threatened and have to come extra prepared to win. The win Saturday over Texas Tech was so important due to the fact that it showed Gonzaga can shoot over and score against an elite defense, which they have struggled with while facing Baylor and Texas Tech in their last 2 NCAA tournament losses. Even though last year at this time, Gonzaga had 0 losses and right now they have two, I feel a little better about Gonzaga now compared to a season ago.

5. Purdue – It was great to see Purdue get back to the team they looked like for the first month of the season that was ranked #1 on Saturday as they dominated a Butler team that was clearly overmatched from start to finish. Over the past few weeks Trevion Williams has shown that not only does he need to be the featured guy in this Boilermakers front court but maybe even the featured guy on the team to get a bucket when his team needs it most. That is exactly what Matt Painter did down the stretch against Rutgers and NC State and it nearly paid off both times. With Williams and Zach Edey as options for Matt Painter to go to down the stretch and Jaden Ivey looking like a lottery pick Purdue can still be dangerous and is the clear best team in the Big Ten.

6. Kansas – After dominating rival Missouri last week, the Jayhawks played a tightly contested game against a very good Stephen F Austin team. Kansas ultimately got the victory by a score of 80-72 after Arizona State transfer Remy Martin hit a 3-pointer with one minute left which gave the Jayhawks a six point lead and they never looked back from there. This is very encouraging for Kansas, as Martin was one of the most heralded transfers in College Basketball this past offseason. The hope going into the season was for Remy to play a little more unselfish considering the amount of talent he has around him. While he is averaging 12.7 points and 4.0 assists per game and playing much more unselfishly than he did at Arizona State, many Jayhawks fans have wanted Martin to make a little bit more of an impact on the offensive end. Although Stephen F Austin is a very good mid-major program, this is now the second time this season we have had Kansas play down to their competition including in their only loss to Dayton. When you play in a league like the Big 12 you need to come prepared and ready to play each and every night, and no one knows that better than Bill Self.

7. UCLA – Considering, they’re a “blue blood” not many people talk about UCLA as a legitimate top 10 team and this is just one year after they made the Final 4. Mick Cronin isn’t the flashiest coach but no one can deny that he has turned around the Bruin program quicker than anyone could have expected considering the shape it was in when Steve Alford left. Although their one loss came in a blowout to Gonzaga, UCLA has won every other game they played and can take advantage of a weak Pac 12 conference by rattling off some wins. While the Bruins already sit at 2-0 in conference play and had a very successful non conference slate by picking up wins over Villanova and at Marquette, their biggest challenge will come on New Year’s Eve when they host Arizona in a Clash of The Titans between the Pac 12’s elite.

8. Alabama – It wasn’t the best week for the Crimson Tide after they lost their second game of the season on Tuesday night at Memphis. Despite Memphis struggling mightily to start the season, the result in this one wasn’t necessarily shocking to me. Memphis was a team playing desperately from start to finish and that even rubbed off on Penny Hardaway as he finally played his best players. Alabama did play in a competitive game Saturday against a good Jacksonville State team and we’re able to rally behind Keon Ellis’ 20 point performance despite Jaden Shackelford not scoring in the contest. When it comes to Alabama it’s pretty simple. When they make threes they win and when they don’t they lose. That is why Rick Pitino and Iona have been very competitive and even pulled off an upset victory over the Tide. By limiting them to some of their lowest 3 point shots attempted in a game since Nate Oats got to Tuscaloosa.

Weekly Awards

Team of the Week: Providence

Player of the Week: Tari Eason (LSU)

Coach of the Week:  Speedy Claxton (Hofstra)

Flop of the Week: Villanova