Cream of the Crop
1. Baylor-No Macio, no problem. Despite Macio Teague’s wrist injury (sidelined him for two weeks), all Baylor has done is win beating West Virginia 70-59 over the weekend. A big reason behind Baylor’s success has been the emergence of Jared Butler. The Sophomore superstar poured in 20 points off five three’s in the dub and now his squad has a chance to break Kansas’s 1996 record of 22 straight wins when they face Kristian Doolittle and Oklahoma in Norman on Super Tuesday and Kansas for the Big 21 Title on Super Saturday. 2. Gonzaga-The Few, the proud, not the many. The Bulldogs have been nothing short of dominant this season with Power-Five wins over Texas A&M, Oregon, Washington, Arizona and North Carolina. The Zags continue that dominance by destroying Pepperdine 89-77 over the weekend behind a stellar performance by Filip Petrusev. The Serbian Sophomore poured in 27 points and 12 boards in the dub. Petrusev (17 ppg) has been a big reason the Zags are second in the nation in team points-per-game (88.6). Next up, Gonzaga will take on San Francisco at home.
3. Kansas-Rocking their retro uni’s, the Jayhawks “looked good and felt good,” while routing Oklahoma 87-70 in Allen Fieldhouse. While KU’s Devon Dotson and Udoka Azubuike have been arguably the most dominant duo in college basketball, the recent offensive emergence of Marcus Garrett has been something special to see. Renowned as one of the top defenders nationally, Garrett hit a career-high six three’s during the blowout and if the Kansas junior along with fellow wings (Christian Braun, Ochai Ogbaji, Isaiah Moss) can continue hitting perimeter shots, this team could win it all. Kansas takes on Iowa State at home for Big Monday and Baylor in Waco for the Big 12 title Saturday.
4. San Diego State-Stay classy, San Diego. The Aggies have a chance for history as the first team since the 2015 Kentucky Wildcats to go undefeated in the regular season. This is only the second time in the last decade that San Diego State has won its first 20-plus games. Through stifling defense and efficient shooting the veteran team dismantled New Mexico, 82-59. The three-headed monster that is (Malachi Flyn (16 ppg, 2 spg), Yanni Wetzell (12 ppg, 60% field goal percentage) and Matt Mitchell (12 ppg) have been consistently clutch and will continue their shot as perfection as they play Boise State on the road and UNLV at home this week.
5. Dayton-Just as everyone predicted, Ohio’s Flyers (not the Browns) have been soaring high above their competition. Sophomore phenom, Obi Toppin has wrecked the A-10 averaging 19, 8 and 2 off 62% shooting and continued that dominance in a 71-63 dub over Umass. The most important piece to Dayton’s puzzle might be Jalen Crutcher (15 points-per game, 3 boards, 5 assists and 42% from three). The Junior’s steady balance has made Dayton have the second best duo in college basketball and the Flyers will need them as they face a tough VCU squad on the road and Duquesne at home this week.
The Next Tier
6. Duke-Tik Tok, the Blue Devils, they rock. Duke exploded for a 94-60 over Notre Dame in Cameron Indoor. It was their fifth win by over 30 points or more in an ACC game this season, a school record under Coach K. The Blue Devils -best offense has provided some firecrackers sparked behind the dynamic duo of Vernon Carey (18 ppg, 9 rebounds) and Tre Jones (16 ppg, 6 assists-per-game). That duo combined for 40 in the victory over the Irish and will need to continue to score as they play NC State in Raleigh and V-Tech at home this week.
7. Maryland-How Cowan help you? Everything starts ends and begins with Anthony Cowan Jr. . In their twenty-two wins, he has shot 42%, in their four losses, he has shot 28%. The senior Mayland native was clutch hitting five three’s and 24 points in a tough 67-60 win over Michigan State in East Lansing. Both he and double-double machine, Jalen Smith (15 ppg, 10 rpg) will have to keep that up as they take on Northwestern at home and Ohio State in Columbus this week.
8. Florida State-Is the glass half full or half empty? If the glass is half full, the Seminoles are a fiery 15-0 at home and continued that streak with an 80-77 nailbiter over Syracuse. If the glass is half empty they are just 6-4 on the road. Whichever way you see it Florida State under the direction of Leonard Hamilton (exceptional coach) is 21-4, continues to dominate defensively and get just enough offense from guys like Devin Vassel (13 ppg) and Trent Forrest (12 ppg). We will see where the glass stands next as the Seminoles take on Pittsburgh at home and travel to NC State Saturday.
9. Penn State-We are Penn State. The Nittany Lions have been one of the biggest surprises in college basketball and a big reason because of Lamar Stevens. The senior from Philly has become one of the nation's best-kept secrets averaging 17 and 7 helping Penn State defeat Northwestern 77-61 at home. Both he and Myreon Jones (14 ppg, 3apg and 3 rpg) will face a tough Illinois team at home Tuesday and then travel to Indiana to face the Hoisers Saturday. 10. Kentucky-The “W,” in Wildcats stands for “win,” and that’s all Kentucky seems to do...every year! Although it hasn’t been pretty, Coach Cal’s squad consistently exhibits toughness, grit and resilience. All of this was displayed during big blue’s 67-62 win over Ole Miss at home. Kentucky has a legit big three with Nick Richards (14 ppg, 8 boards), Immanuel Quickley (15 ppg and 4 boards) and Tyrese Maxey (14 ppg, 4 boards) and they showed out Saturday. The triplets combined for 47 points and will need to continue to produce when they face LSU in Baton Rouge and Florida at home.
Up-And-Comers
11. Louisville-Back-to-back losses to Georgia Tech and Clemson have the Cardinals reeling a bit but a back-to-back homestand where the ‘Ville are 14-1 can help the Cardinal get back on track. Superstar NBA Lottery Pick, Jordan Nwora (18 ppg) has shot 2-11 through two games and needs to bounce back for Louisville to enter March strong.
12. Villanova-Consistent, persistent and prowl with a growl. If a down year for Villanova is going 19-6 then Jay Wright should be up for Coach of the Year. The Wildcats starting five all average double digits with their leaders being Collin Gillespie (16 ppg, 4rpg, 5apg) and sharpshooter, Saddiq Bey. (15 ppg, 45% from three). Freshman hybrid (forward/center), Jeremiah Robinson-Earl (Overland Park, KS native)has been a pleasant surprise in the frontcourt providing a stable double-double (11ppg, 10 rpg). Nova routed Temple 76-56 last week and will look to build when they face DePaul and Xavier on the road.
13. Auburn-Despite losing Jared Harper and Bryce Brown the Tigers are having another tremendous season thanks to evolution of Samir Doughty (16 ppg), the emergence of Osaac Okoro (13 ppg) and consistency of Austin Wiley (10 ppg, 9 boards). Following three games decided by 3 points of less, Auburn’s shooting went ice cold going 1-17 from beyond the arc in a 85-73 loss to Missouri. Bruce Pearl’s crew will look to bounce back when they play Georgia in Athens and Tennessee at home.
14. Oregon-The Ducks are bringing the Quack back in Eugene. Dana Altman’s group spent their weekend routing Utah 80-62 behind Peyton Prichard’s 25 and Will Richardson’s 18. The win moved the Ducks to a stifling 14-0 at home and this guard combo is a big reason why. Pritchard, the senior Oregon native is up for player-of-the-year averaging 19-4-5 while shooting 46% from the field and almost 40% beyond the arc. Richardson, meanwhile is averaging 10-per-game while shooting a blistering 49% from beyond the arc. The Ducks will look to stay hot when they face ASU and Arizona this week.
15. Creighton-Following an impressive 87-82 win over Seton Hall, the Blue Jays encored that with an impressive 93-64 route over DePaul. A big reason for their success is terrific guard play from Ty-Shon Alexander (17 ppg, 40% from three) and Marcus Zegarowski (16 ppg, 47% from the field). The duo combined for 35 in the dub and will look to finish their season strong when they face Marquette in Milwaukee and Butler at home this week.
16. Seton Hall-Back-to-back losses have the Pirate sinking a bit, (74-71 loss to Providence most recently). To make matters worse each were by five points or less. Seton Hall needs superstar Myles Powell (22 ppg) and Quincy McKnight (12 ppg) to step their game up by creating better shot opportunities for themselves lessening their turnovers and fouls and playing towards Romaro Gill (4 blocks-per-game). All of this will be paramount when they play Butler and St. Johns at home this week.
17. West Virginia-The Mountaineers have had a gauntlet schedule the last couple weeks playing Oklahoma in Norman, Kansas at home and Baylor in Waco and their record (0-3 during that span) reflects that. West Virginia has to find an offensive spark to start winning again (averaging 56 points-per-game in that span). It looks like that player could be Oscar Tshiebwe 11ppg, 9rpg, 56% field goal, Derek Culver (10ppg, 9 rpg) or even freshman Miles McBride (9 ppg) but the Mountaineers need to regroup quickly as they take on Oklahoma State and TCU this week.
18. Colorado-The Buffalos (believe or not) are the best in the Pac-12. At least in the standings, that is. Colorado has had a wonderful season and head coach Tad Boyle deserves a lot of credit. The Buffs dismantled Oregon State 69-47 in Beaverton thanks to Tyler Bey’s monster double-double (21 points and 15 boards). Both he and junior McKinley Wright IV (13 ppg) have been a big reason for Colorado’s resurgence. The Buffs will play USC and UCLA at home this week.
19. Marquette-Despite losing the Hauser twins last season (via transfer) the Golden Eagles have continued to stay Golden thanks to senior, Markus Howard. The seasoned scorer out of Chandler, Arizona has continued his college dominance averaging 27ppg. Wings, Sacar Anim (13 ppg) and Koby Mcewen (10ppg) have certainly helped as well. Marquette will look to bounce back from their tough 72-71 loss to Villonva when they face Providence on the road and Georgetown this week.
On the Horizon
20. Iowa-The Hawkeyes showed resilience roaring back to shock Minnesota 58-55 over the weekend and that kinda epitomizes Iowa. Led by big-man extraordinaire, Luke Garza (24 ppg, 10 rpg, 56% from field, 39% from three), the Hawkeyes just have found ways to win, especially at home going 12-1 in the regular season. Iowa has a tough finish to their season playing #25 Ohio State at home, a tough Michigan State team in East Lansing and an even tougher team in Penn State yet again at home.
21. Butler-Butler has been rocky in Big East play going 7-6 in conference play. The Bulldogs lost another tough one at home to Georgetown, 73-66 and a big reason for their sporadic behavior has been poor shooting particularly from their best player, Kamar Baldwin. The senior lefty while averaging 16-per-game is shooting 41% from the field and a blistering 32% beyond the arc. Sean McDermott (the Robin to Baldwins Batman) has shot inconsistent beyond the arc as well, despite shooting 40% from there. Butler needs to develop consistent shooting fast as they face Seton Hall and Creighton both on the road.
22. Houston-No Name, no problem. I bet you couldn’t name a single player for the Cougars and that’s exactly how Kelvin Sampson would like it. Fresh off a tough 73-72 overtime loss to SMU, Houston still is sitting atop the AAC conference with 20 wins. A balanced diet of nearly five players scoring in double-digits and clutch defense has enabled the Cougs success especially from the guard triplets:Caleb Mills (12 ppg), Kansas-transfer Quentin Grimes (12 ppg) and Nate Hinton (10ppg). Houston will look to finish the season strong when they play Tulsa at home and Memphis this week.
23. BYU-February has been great to BYU going 5-0 with their most recent dub being over San Diego, 72-71. The Cougars have firepower with four players averaging double-digits. With BYU’s unquestioned leader Yoeli Childs (21 ppg, 8 boards of 59% shooting) sidelined with a finger injury, guys like Jake Toolson (15ppg, 46% from three) and TJ Haws (BYU legend Tyler Haws’ younger brother) (14ppg, 47% from field) will need to step up when they face Santa Clara, #2 Gonzaga and Pepperdine to finish the season.
24. Arizona-As Zeke Nnaji goes, so do the Wildcats. The freshman big man has destroyed the Pac-12 Conference averaging 16-points-per-game and 9 boards off 60% field goal percentage. His double double (21 and 11) powered the Wildcats to a 69-60 victory over Stanford. NBA lottery pick, Nick Mannion is the key to Arizona’s success. In their wins, Mannion has shot 43%, in their seven losses he has shot 31%. AU needs the Italian Stallions best performances as the Wildcats play Oregon State and Oregon this week at home.
25. Ohio State-Back-to-back victories for the Buckeyes feeling optimistic towards the end of the season. Their latest a blowout of Purdue 68-52 in large part from the dynamic duo of the Wesson brothers. The Wesson brothers combined for 22 in this game and are a big determiner when Ohio State wins or loses. Kaleb averages 14-points and 9 boards, shooting 43% from beyond the arc and his brother Andre averages 9 and 4-boards-per-game. The Buckeyes will face some tough teams and try to finish strong (Iowa and Maryland this week, Nebraska the next) while being short-handed (Luther Muhammad and Duane Washington Jr. academically suspended).
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