College Basketball: February 16th Update

All eyes of the College Basketball universe, we’re on the Providence Friars and their much-anticipated home matchup against Villanova. Providence entered the game on an 8-game winning streak, while looking to capture the first Big East Regular Season Title in program history. Both Providence and Villanova were ranked in the Top 10 of this past week’s AP Top 10 and this was considered by many to be the most anticipated game in the Big East Conference since they realigned in 2014. There was a lot of excitement and buzz around the Providence Program, going into this one, fresh off another double digit comeback victory over DePaul on Saturday.

Even with Providence playing so well, there was a reason why this was labeled as such a big game and it is because it was against Villanova. Jay Wright has dominated the Big East since 2013 and it is clear that they are always going to be the program to beat until something changes. Wright has led the Wildcats to two National Championships and has won the Big East 7 out of the last 8 years. He has a legitimate argument as the best coach in College Basketball right now due to the combination of being a great in-game coach, connecting well with players, and more importantly just being a flat-out winner. That is all Villanova has done in the Big East of late and that is also what happened on Monday Night in front of fired up Dunkin Donuts Center.

The game certainly lived up to the hype, at the raucous Dunkin Donuts Center in Rhode Island as fans started entering the arena more than 3 hours prior to tip. When Villanova went out for pregame warmups, the Providence student section was actively booing them and made the players aware of every single shot they missed. That atmosphere was electric once the game started, but it was clear from early on that Villanova was not afraid of the moment and had what it took to be successful. The backcourt of Collin Gillespie and Justin Moore stepped up in a big way, combining for 52 points and hitting a number of clutch shots along the way. These two guards have played in a number of big games over the course of their college careers which includes playing in front of fans in crazy environments. Jay Wright said prior to the game would give Villanova an advantage, and he could not have been more right.

As soon as the ball was tipped Justin Moore made it clear that Villanova was not going to be afraid of the moment by hitting three 3 pointers that immediately silenced the Providence crowd. In addition, Gillespie provided 33 points which included the game seiling three pointer with about 28 seconds to put Villanova up 5. Not many teams in College Basketball have a weapon who they can go to late in the game and embrace being the guy who always takes the most important shot and actually comes through. Keep in mind this was a Villanova team that was playing like a legitimate National Championship contender last year prior to Gillespie tearing his ACL.

Despite the loss, Ed Cooley should be very proud of everything we witnessed on Tuesday night, from a great game, in a great atmosphere, between two great teams. The Dunkin Donuts Center’s atmosphere for a game of this magnitude, reflects everything that Ed Cooley has built during his decade plus long stint as Head Coach of the Friars. After missing the NCAA Tournament last year, and losing an NBA player in David Duke, the expectations for this year’s Providence team weren’t particularly high. Ed Cooley is one of those coaches, who seems to be at his best when his back is against the wall, and the fact that he has this team in position to win the Big East is beyond impressive. While many will claim that Providence has been “lucky” based on their own metrics, being able to win close games is a legitimately important skill. This loss to Villanova was the first time all season that Providence lost a game decided by 5 points or less, after winning their 5 games decided by that close of a margin. The Friars Al Durham has become the best closer in College Basketball, hitting so many clutch shots and Free Throws at the end of games, but hasn’t been able to shoot the ball compared to his Indiana days. If Ed Cooley could ever really get him going alongside Jared Bynum that becomes one of the most lethal backcourts in the country.

Providence does remain in first place with a conference record of 11-2, while Villanova is now 13-3. The race for the Big East will come down to the wire and these two teams will play at Finneran Pavilion on March 1st. Having fans back in the stands is a game changer for College Basketball who really missed that aspect of that game a season ago. Jay Wright said games like this are why You go to a school like Villanova. To play in the biggest environments and get everyone’s best shot every night and that was exactly what happened in one of the better games of the season so far.

ACC –   After many teams in the ACC started off the season in disappointing fashion, the league is very slowly making their way towards getting 4 or 5 teams into the NCAA Tournament. A lot of this has to do with the fact that even though Duke is the clear best team in the league, they have also dropped some games here and there, which has served as resume building wins for teams like Miami and Virginia. The Blue Devils are currently 21-4 overall and are tied for first place in the ACC with Notre Dame with a conference record of 11-3.

Notre Dame has a legitimate argument that they are playing the best basketball in the ACC. There was some pressure on Mike Brey’s Irish going into the season, considering Notre Dame has not made the NCAA Tournament since 2017 and their current Senior Class of Goodwin, Hubb and Laszewski still have yet to reach the postseason. Thankfully Freshman Blake Wesley has turned himself into a legitimate NBA prospect, who is likely to be drafted in the lottery. Wesley’s 14.2 points and 3.5 rebounds per game, has given the Irish offense a little more firepower, which was exactly what they needed. Following Saturday’s win at Clemson, Notre Dame has won 4 games in a row and 11 of their last 14 to kick off ACC play. Notre Dame’s tournament resume includes a win over Kentucky that continues to hold a lot of weight, along with wins over North Carolina and at Miami. The Irish are currently in the best position, out of anyone in the ACC not named Duke.

Saturday’s road win over Wake Forest, was one of the bigger wins of the year for Miami, considering they weren’t playing their best basketball going in. The Hurricanes barely found a way to beat Georgia Tech at home last Wednesday, and prior to that dropped back to back games to Notre Dame and at Virginia. Jim Larrinaga’s team is still in a very good position to make the NCAA Tournament, with their road win over Duke still carrying a lot of weight. However, this win was so big because it showed Miami still has the confidence to go on the road and beat a good Wake team, whose only other home loss this season came at the hands of Duke. The Canes still have a bevy of guards including Isiah Wong, Kameron McGusty, Charlie Moore and Jordan Miller that are very difficult to gamelan for, which is scary in March.

Finally, North Carolina’s NCAA Tournament case is fascinating to say the least. In Hubert Davis’ first year in Chapel Hill, it hasn’t necessarily been bad, but disappointing is the best way to describe it. North Carolina is currently sitting at 18-7 overall, and 10-4 in the ACC. Although those numbers do look pretty good on paper, there is a catch. The Tar Heels have not suffered a bad loss this year. They are one of only 9 teams in the country, who have not suffered a loss outside Quadrant 1. However, they also have yet to win a Quadrant 1 game, going 0-7 against their toughest competition. Considering they have the name value of North Carolina, odds are they are more likely to get into the tournament than not. With that being said, it hasn’t been a great first year for Hubert Davis in Chapel Hill. Considering North Carolina surprised a lot of people by not conducting a true coaches search, there is a good chance Tar Heel fans spark some chatter sooner rather than later.

Big 10 – One of the crazier statistics in College Basketball, that doesn’t get spoken about nearly enough, is the fact that the Big Ten Conference has not won a National Championship since Michigan State in 2000. The reason why this is so crazy is due to the fact that there have been a handful of really good teams that have made Final 4’s and National Championship games, but still nothing.

Sometimes, statistics like this could be deceiving as if a few bounces go differently most likely the final result is different. Last year was supposed to be when the narrative really changed for the Big Ten. They were clearly the best conference in the country from start to finish, while sending 9 teams to the Big Dance which was more than any other conference in the sport. Teams including Illinois, Iowa and Ohio State were able to land top 2 seeds in the Tournament, but couldn’t get out of the second weekend. Unfortunately, Michigan was the only one out of those 9 teams that ended up making it to the second weekend which ended in disappointing fashion in a loss to UCLA.

Purdue is seeking to get to their first Final 4 since 1980 and for the first time under Longtime Head Coach Matt Painter. There is no doubt that Purdue has the best offense in the Big Ten, which is also on par with any other offense in the country.  Their lead guard is also a lock to be a top 5 NBA Draft Pick in Jaden Ivey and there won’t be a team in the country who can match up with the two big men in Purdue’s Frontcourt, Trevion Williams and Zach Edey. The question is, can this Purdue team get enough stops and right now the answer is no. Purdue had given up 68+ points in each of their last 4 games prior to Sunday’s win against Maryland, which they were lucky to get. Purdue ranks 175th in defensive efficiency and that simply isn’t good enough to win games in March. This past week started off great for Purdue, when they used the Mackey Arena Crowd to their advantage, picking up their second win of the season over Illinois. However, shortly after on Thursday they got run off the gym by a Michigan team that has severely underachieved and barely beat Maryland, who is considered one of the worst teams in the Big Ten. It is very difficult to win a National Championship, in large part because you are going to have to win 6 consecutive games against 6 different teams that are all really good. What comes with this, is being able to adjust to many different styles of play and Purdue hasn’t shown they are capable of that just yet.

As great as Purdue may be on their good nights, if one team could do it, Illinois would be the most likely based on how they are built.  Illinois did earn a one seed in last year’s Tournament and the Illni’s season ended in painfully disappointing fashion against Loyola Chicago. In addition, they lost Ayo Dosumno to the Chicago Bulls, who has turned into a really good NBA player. With that being said, without Ayo the ball moves around better, and this team has so many guys that could beat you not named Kofi Cockburn compared to last. Cockburn has continued to dominate the game, this season at Illinois in very similar fashion to each of his first 2 years in school. The introduction of NIL into the college game has done a really good job giving players like Kofi a chance to make some money, while staying in school and improving on the basketball court and Illinois is the main beneficiary. The improvement of Trent Frazier has been evident, as he is playing the best basketball of his 5-year career by a wide margin. With other knockdown shooters like Alfonso Plummer and Jacob Grandison alongside him in the backcourt behind Kofi, there is no reason why this Illini team cannot make a deep run in March.

Brad Underwood has a legitimate argument for the most Underrated Coach in College Basketball, as he has won 20+ games in 6 of his 8 years as a Head Coach. In addition, the fact that Underwood has this Illini team rolling in very similar fashion to last years after losing a guy like Ayo, makes it evident just how good of a Coach this guy really is.

Big 12 – Since the start of the season, The Big 12 has had a legitimate argument for the best conference in College Hoops from top to bottom. Many would think that the primary reason for this would be the team at the top. These include the defending National Champion Baylor, along with a blue blood program in Kansas, along with really good teams like Texas Tech and Texas. However, the main factor of separation while comparing the Big 12 to other conferences was that there wasn’t one bad team in the league. The standards for bad being not making the NCAA Tournament. There was a time earlier this season that every single team in this league not named Oklahoma State (Who was ruled ineligible for Postseason play by the NCAA) was going to make the tournament.

With that being said, a handful of teams have fallen out of the tournament picture, and as good as the top of the league still is, other conferences might be starting to catch up, when it comes to National Championship contenders at the top. Baylor is not the same team that started off the season by winning their first 15 games in a row, after dealing with several injuries over the past few weeks. None of those injuries were too concerning, until Saturday when big man Jonathan Tchamwa Tchatchoua was lost for the season, with a devastating knee injury. As a member of last year’s title squad, this was someone who was very important to the Bears, due to his experience and consistent energy. Replacing everything he did could be a challenge because everyone always just assumes JTT’s energy is present, because it always is.

Kansas is one of the best 7 or 8 teams in College Basketball, however this roster isn’t a vintage Kansas roster when it comes to pure talent. Ochai Agbaji and Christian Braun are going to be first round picks, and while Jalen Wilson and DuJuan Harris have really been stepping up of late, if Kansas is talented enough to win 6 games in March remains to be seen.

The league has really started to beat up on each other a bit, which is going to cost the league some bids in the NCAA Tournament. For example, after starting off their season 13-2 and looking like an NCAA Tournament team, West Virginia has lost 9 out of their last 10 games, which has taken them out of contention. None of the losses even came against bad teams, because there are no bad teams in the Big 12.

It is going to be very interesting to see what the committee does with Iowa State. TJ Otzelberger’s squad had a better non-conference slate than most teams in the country that included wins over Xavier, Memphis, Iowa and Creighton. Those wins have a lot to do with why they remain in the tournament field. The Cyclones have a record of just 3-9 in Big 12 league play, which is the same as West Virginia. Iowa State also has Big 12 Conference wins over Texas and Texas Tech which will carry a lot of weight on Selection Sunday. There is zero doubt that Iowa State’s wins are good enough. The ultimate question will be, how many losses is it going to take, for the committee to say “It doesn’t matter how good your wins are, you have lost too many games to earn an at-large bid.” Assuming the Cyclones can finish around 7-11 in league play they should be good. If they don’t though, that’s when things really start to get interesting.

Big East –  It was great that the College Basketball universe was able to focus on such a big game inside the Big East Conference on Tuesday Night between two top 10 teams. With the Big East playing all of their games on Fox Sports 1 and CBS Sports Network compared to ESPN, sometimes the Big East Conference doesn’t always get the respect it deserves. That was not the case, when Villanova went to Providence and Villanova’s win made things in this league more interesting.

Providence has had a great season and is one of the best stories in all of College Basketball considering their expectations. That statement can be translated to the Big East as a Conference as well, considering just how disappointing of a year last season was when they only received 4 bids into the NCAA Tournament. This year, Villanova, Providence, Marquette, UConn, Xavier and Creighton all seem like pretty good bets to play in the NCAA Tournament. The question is, do they have a legitimate National Championship Contender? That question is why the Big East isn’t always talked about as the best league. Villanova will always be a National Championship Contender, as long as Jay Wright, Collin Gillespie and Justin Moore are ready to go. However, not having a great bench has cost Villanova games this year, that really would have improved their tournament resume against UCLA and Purdue. At the end of the day, if Jay Wright can continue getting production from guys like Chris Archidiacano and Jordan Longino that would be ideal, but it can’t be expected. Luckily, Villanova does have a 6th starter in Caleb Daniels that came off the bench and played 22 minutes, with 9 points on Tuesday night.

UConn is a team in the Big East that should be mentioned after playing three days over a 6 day stretch this past week. Danny Hurley’s team was able to go 2-1 in the process, picking up wins against Marquette and at St. Johns while losing to Xavier in the middle. Although the Xavier loss was disappointing, it was impressive for UConn to go on the road, less than 48 hours later and pick up the win over St. Johns. It is starting to become clearer that this UConn team is going to be at their best when Tyrese Martin is at his best. The Rhode Island Transfer stepped up against St. Johns, leading the Huskies with 17 points and 8 rebounds in the victory. The Huskies next three games will be against Seton Hall, Xavier and Villanova and all of them will be at home. This will be the most important stretch of the season for Danny Hurley’s club, as they will have a golden opportunity to really improve their resume.

Pac 12 – Very quickly, the top storyline in the Conference of Champions over the past week and change has been the struggle of UCLA. Mick Cronin’s Bruins have now lost 3 out of their 4 last 4 games, following Saturday’s loss at USC, which marked the 5th consecutive UCLA loss to their cross town rivals. Where this game becomes really concerning is, USC was missing their best player in Isaiah Mobley, and didn’t only but the Bruins but controlled the game from start to finish.

This is a UCLA team that was very polarizing heading into the season and there are a few reasons why. Part of it had to do with the fact they returned every relevant contributor from last year’s team that made it all the way to Overtime of the Final 4 against Gonzaga. However, the main reason why many’s opinion on UCLA differed, was that this was a team that barely got into the Tournament last year, in the first place and almost lost to Michigan State in the First 4. Just because they returned everyone, from a team that made the Final 4 as an 11 seed, does that make this team legitimate? The short answer is partly, depending on what your definition of legitimate is. This is a team that will finish Pac 12 play with a pretty favorable schedule, before ending the season at USC. The Bruins should be able to take advantage of that, and earn a top 3 or 4 seed in the NCAA Tournament. Just how far will they go once they get there though? That is something that remains to be seen. Injuries have been detrimental to this UCLA team since the start of the season, and that continued on Saturday night. Second leading scorer Jamie Jaquez was ineffective on Saturday, finishing with 5 points and shooting 2-11 from the field. He has been dealing with an ankle injury for the past handful of weeks, and clearly didn’t look like himself. Considering the COVID shutdowns, playing in front of no fans and the injuries, it could be a tough road ahead for the Bruins going forward if they want to get anywhere close to their preseason expectations.

Andy Enfield deserves some credit for having his team all set and ready to go for Saturday’s game without the services of Mobley. The elephant in the room going into this one, was that USC’s best win on their resume was over a San Diego State team that is not a lock for the NCAA Tournament. The Trojans knew going into this one that it was a game they really needed at the top of their resume, and can now operate as a clear lock for the NCAA Tournament and will likely get a top seed. Enfield deserves to be in the conversation for Maryland, Louisville or any other job that opens this offseason based on the job he has done during his 8+ years in Los Angeles.

With there being only 3 clear lock teams in the Pac 12 that will make the Tournament, Arizona is always going to come up in any conversation about the league. The focus of the College Basketball universe will be on the Wildcats this weekend when College Gameday comes to Tucson. What makes this so intriguing, is that it will be the first time since ESPN reported all of the information that got former Wildcat Head Coach Sean Miller suspended and since fired. There are still a large number of Arizona fans that think Miller got the raw end of the stick, they will definitely make their voices known. Arizona will host an Oregon team that is still fighting to get into the NCAA Tournament and will desperately to take advantage of any chance they get against the best teams in the sport.

SEC – While the Big 12 has been trending downwards in terms of, who is the best conference the opposite can be said about the SEC. Right now, the Southeastern Conference has a legitimate argument for best conference in the sport and at times there are some similarities between this SEC and the old Big East back in the day. What both leagues have in common is, they are filled with really good programs, playing in front of great crowds and environments, for great coaches. In addition, no conference over the last 3 years has produced more NBA players than the SEC.

Auburn and Kentucky have gotten a lot of the hype in the SEC this season. Having two legitimate National Championship contenders at the top, gives the league great teams that every time they go on the road, the opposing crowds are going to be insane, and the other team is going to take it like their Super Bowl. For the most part both Kentucky and Auburn have done a really good job winning both on the road and against some of the better teams in the league.

Unfortunately for Kentucky, they suffered their 5th loss off the season on Tuesday Night at Tennessee. Kentucky’s effort was somewhat disappointing considering Tennessee took control of the game in the first half and was able to extend their halftime lead all the way to 14. Rick Barnes’ Volunteers may not be the best team in the league right now, but no one can doubt that there is no one in the league that is currently playing better than them. After the victory, Tennessee has now won 8 consecutive SEC Conference games in a row and have finally found a lineup to get their offense going. Playing both of his Freshman Point Guards Kennedy Chandler and Zakai Zeigler on the floor at the same time has worked perfectly for Tennessee. There are very few coaches in the country that would have a 3-star recruit like Zeigler playing these many minutes as a Freshman on a really good team.  The Vols have now scored 70+ points in each of their last 5 games, in which they have all won. If Tennessee’s offense can keep anything close to this up for the rest of the way, matching their already really good defense, then this team will be a dangerous one come March.

Arkansas and Alabama are the other two SEC teams that deserve some attention, especially after their game on Saturday. Last week, Arkansas picked up a monster win over Auburn, in front of a raucous Bud Walton Arena Crowd that ended in a court storm. Just one year after making it all the way to the Elite 8 and losing an NBA Lottery Pick in Mosses Moody, Arkansas is now ranked 23 in the AP Top 25, and are playing really good basketball. JD Notae has emerged as the go-to guy, that Coach Eric Mussleman trusts the ball in his hands. When Notae plays well, that is when the Hogs are especially tough to beat. On Saturday at Alabama, Notae picked up two fouls in the first few minutes of the game and was never able to get going after that, only finishing with 12 points.

With the win, Nate Oats Alabama team remains one of the harder teams in the country to figure out. Alabama is a team that can beat anyone or lose to anyone on any given night, given their resume. Losses against Georgia and Missouri are not great, however wins over Gonzaga, Houston, Baylor and now Arkansas will definitely put them over the top and get them a decent seed on Selection Sunday.

Zac’s Elite 8

1. Gonzaga (21-2)
2. Arizona (22-2)
3. Auburn (23-2)
4. Kentucky (21-5)
5. Kansas (21-4)
6. Duke (22-4)
7. Baylor (21-4)
8. Purdue (22-4)

Mid Major Top 10

1. Gonzaga (21-2)
2. Murray State (24-2)
3. Wyoming (21-4)
4. Colorado State (20-3)
5. South Dakota State (23-4)
6. St. Mary’s (20-6)
7. Chattanooga (22-5)
8. Loyola Chicago (19-5)
9. Vermont (20-4)
10. Ohio (21-4)

Weekly Awards

Team of the Week: Memphis

Player of the Week: Collin Gillespie

Coach of the Week:  Rick Barnes

Flop of the Week:  Indiana