[nextpage title=” “]
The first month of college basketball saw Final Four-worthy games, impossible upsets, the debut of five-star freshmen, disappointments and so much more. BN chose the ten most interesting events so far, whether it was about coaches, teams, statistics, single plays or personal performances. BN’s top ten:
#10 Duke’s offense, despite injuries
Three top recruits sidelined with injuries. A six-men rotation. The best player shooting 40.5% from the floor. And it still is the most efficient offense of the nation. The Blue Devils didn’t really miss Giles, Tatum and Bolden, nor the fatigue generated by a very short rotation (341st in bench minutes %). Most of the credit goes to Luke Kennard and Amile Jefferson, both serious candidates to being named Player of the Year in the early part of the season. The former is still the usual sharpshooter, but he is also proving he can be a real leader and run the offense, showing unexpected court vision skills. And he scored 35 points in the game Tatum and Bolden are back in the rotation.
The message is quite clear: he is not just filling in, he is there because he belongs. Jefferson is the heart and soul of coach K.’s team, a great rebounder and a very efficient scorer (67.3%). In the meantime, the three injured players are back and the offense still runs smoothly. How will the rotation change once Harry Giles will be back without restrictions?
[/nextpage]
[nextpage title=” “]
#9 De’Aaron Fox’s triple double
De’Aron Fox had a triple double on November 28th in the game against Arizona State. It is only the second triple double in Kentucky’s history, despite the supreme talents that went through Lexington. And it is even more curious to know that the only other triple double was recorded by Chris Millis (not exactly the first name that comes up when thinking about the Wildcats history) in 1989, against Austin Peay. The freshman finished with 14 points, 11 rebounds and 10 assists in 31 minutes.
In hindsight, it had to be Fox night, since he went 1-for-1 from behind the arc, an unlikely event for someone shooting 13% on three-pointers. Considering his potential, it might not be the only triple double of the season, but he really should get another one by shooting and making more threes, if only to raise his draft stock a bit more.
[/nextpage]
[nextpage title=” “]
#8 Virginia’s pace and defense
There are two eye-popping marks in Virginia’s advanced statistics: defensive efficiency and pace (number of possessions per game). Virginia is the first defense in the nation (46.7 points allowed), the second defense in the nation in efficiency, top 10 in opponents two points field goal percentage, blocks percentage, opponents field goal percentage and opponents turnovers. Nothing new for a defense that was top 7 in the nation 5 times in the last 6 years.
On the other hand, the Cavaliers are dead last in pace with 59 possessions per game. That also explains why only one player is averaging over 10 points per game: London Perrantes. He scores only 10.2 points per game, but he is considered one of the best players in the nation. The Cavaliers have a very efficient offense (11th in offensive efficiency in the nation) despite a slow pace. Virginia is shooting 56% from inside the arc and 38.7% from outside the arc.
[/nextpage]
[nextpage title=” “]
#7 The NOT buzzer beater of the year
It could have been the Buzzer Beater of the year, if only Ikenna Ndugba, Bryant University’s freshman, had not done this with 3.8 seconds left against Brown:
Brown was up 91-90 but Ndugba believed his team had won the game, after being down by 8 points and coming back to take the lead with a three by Nisre Zouzoua that left 11.3 seconds on the clock. That’s why he received the ball and decided to dribble past an opponent and throw the ball in the air in celebration. Tavon Blackmon will certainly be grateful, since Ndugba’s choice made him and his game-winning layup the hero of the game. Didn’t he?
[/nextpage]
[nextpage title=” “]
#6 Big East Power
The Big East is the best conference in the nation so far. Villanova is ranked #1 in the AP ranking, and Creighton, Xavier and Butler are all top-13 teams with a combined 43-3 record and two teams (Wildcats and Bluejays) still have perfect record. The schedule was not unusually soft, since these teams played Purdue, Notre Dame, Wisconsin and Arizona. All four teams are in the top 25 in offensive efficiency and they all rely heavily on small ball, with four perimeter players and a fake center. It is not the deepest conference, since it includes only 10 teams, but it certainly is the one offering the best basketball.
[/nextpage]
[nextpage title=” “]
#5 TCU
The real surprise in this first month of college basketball is TCU, and it’s not even close. A unanimous coaches’ choice as the worst team in the Big 12 in preseason, the Horned Frogs are now 10-1. Even more surprising, TCU is one of the least experienced teams in the nation (210th in experience, per Kenpom) and has no seniors at roster. Most of the credit should go to new head coach Jamie Dixon, an ex TCU player who spent 13 seasons at Pittsburgh before going back to his Alma Mater. He immediately gave the team a strong defensive identity (TCU is 22nd in Division I in opponents turnover). The two wins against Markelle Fultz’s Washington and UNLV brought the program back to national attention. TCU joined the Big 12 only in 2012 and, in the four years with former head coach Trent Johnson, went a combined 8-64. TCU has been playing a team oriented basketball, with 6 players averaging between 8 and 11 points per game and with PG Jaylen Fisher as a true floor general and MVP.
[/nextpage]
[nextpage title=” “]
#4 The first head to fall
A coach losing his job 8 games into the season is an event worth of attention. It happened at Drake University, with coach Ray Giacoletti resigning after a 1-7 start. Giacoletti admitted he is leaving the team because the program is not where he wanted it to be, after three years and a combined 32-69 record. The only W for Drake came against Simpson College, a Division III team. The Bulldogs lost plenty of close games, including two points losses against DePaul and Fresno State. The team is now in the hands of Giacoletti’s assistant, Jeff Rutter, who will be tasked with bringing back the university to its former glory.
[/nextpage]
[nextpage title=” “]
#3 Long Beach State schedule
Coach Dan Monson prepared the non-conference schedule for the 49ers with sure that facing the best programs in the nation would have been the best course to prepare for the Big West Standings, where Long Beach State is the favorite. Playing against Wichita State, North Carolina, Louisville, UCLA, Washington, Kansas and Texas was in part instrumental to growing as a team and get some experience for his roster, and in part preparation to a possible “Cinderella” run in March.
Yet, the 49ers went 0-7 against the big programs and 4-10 overall, with coach Monson being disappointed because he could not see any growth or improvement from his players. The “best” loss came against UNC (93-67). However, fatigue might have played a role in the losses, since the team traveled over 15,000 miles through 6 different states. The only positive note was the play of wing Gabe Levin, who finished with two double-doubles, including one in the UNC game.
[/nextpage]
[nextpage title=” “]
#2 Manhattan’s 40-for-40
40 turnovers in 40 minutes is an impressive mark, although the university of Manhattan had an unfair fight against West Virginia‘s full court press. On November 29th the Mountaineers set the new university record for most opponent turnovers in a single game (40) and scored 46 points off opponent turnovers. The previous record was 36 turnovers in a game against VMI, two years ago. It is not really news for a team with such a defensive scheme. In fact, West Virginia is first in the nation in opponents turnovers and steals. The game was over after the first half (60-27) and finished 108-61. Manhattan had more rebounds overall (41-40) but that advantage was quite useless. Protagonist of the night was wing Zane Waterman, who had 11 turnovers in 19 minutes. Before the game against the Mountaineers, Manhattan had 11 turnovers per game as a team.
[/nextpage]
[nextpage title=” “]
#1 Fort Wayne’s upset
On November 23rd, most of the 11,076 fans at the Allen County War Memorial Coliseum in Fort Wayne, Indiana, were supporting the Hoosiers (although it was Fort Wayne playing at home). But for one night, the Hoosiers became the second team in the “basketball state” behind the Mastodons. The 71-68 final is not only THE upset of the season so far but the best result ever achieved by this small university who went from Division III to Division II in 2001 and to Division I in 2007, when they joined the Summit League. This season, they are the favorite in their own conference. The heroes of that magic night for the Mastodon are three: coach Jon Coffman led his team to a victory by accepting the frenetic pace Tom Crean prefers (Crean earns 3M/year, as opposed to 150k for Coffman).
Another hero was guard Bryson Scott, MVP of the game with 18 points and 12 rebounds. He is a teammate of Blackmon Jr with the Spiece Indy Heat, an AAU team. As for the third hero of the night, you will have to find out by yourself by watching this video.
[/nextpage]