Now that college football season is over, everyone is turning back to college basketball so here’s a quick check in to see the latest storylines from around the country.
COVID Flashbacks
The season started off so well, with arenas full of fans and no more news of COVID cancellations. Then December hit, and it feels like the 2020 season all over again. The new variant Omicron is running rampant around the college teams, forcing cancellation after cancellation. Hopefully things will slow down and teams can get back in their groves again.
Baylor Hasn’t Changed
Not much has changed at the top since the end of last season. Baylor, the reigning national champions, is back in the driver's seat. Despite losing their top players, the Bears reloaded and are undefeated. They are great on defense and have multiple guys scoring in double digits each night. Baylor has already beaten multiple ranked teams, but they do have a very tough Big 12 schedule coming up. I don’t think they will stay undefeated, but expect the Bears to be a very, very high seed once March rolls around.
Big 10 is Good, but Complicated
The Big 10 was supposed to be the best conference, and you could still make the argument that it is, but things have gotten complicated.
The good thing for the league is that they currently hold the top three leading scorers in the country. Iowa’s Keegan Murray is averaging 24.7 ppg, Wisconsin’s Johnny Davis has 22.6 ppg, and Illinois Kofi Cockburn is averaging 22.5 ppg. These players are helping their teams to put up big offensive numbers night after night. Purdue also plays a great offense, but their problem is getting stops. They can put up huge numbers, but their two losses, to Rutgers and Wisconsin, have come because the defense can’t stop anything
Michigan, who was the preseason conference pick by many experts, is now a disappointing 7-6. The Wolverines have really struggled against good competition and center Hunter Dickson, who was a second team All-American as a freshman, has not played to expectations. And with the strength of the conference, it won’t get any easier for Michigan, who is currently on a path to miss the Big Dance.
Big East is Still Tough
Every year, everyone doubts how good the Big East will be, and time and time again they prove the doubters wrong. Besides DePaul, Marquette, and Butler, any of the other eight teams have a fair shot at claiming the league title. Everyone is going to beat up on each other, but they should be at least a five bid league, if not more.
ACC Struggling
Because the ACC is the home to the famous Duke and North Carolina programs, the conference always receives so much national praise and bias from the media. However, there’s no covering it up this year, the league just isn’t that great. Yes, Duke is one of the best teams in the country, but besides them, there is no other team in the league looking to be a threat. UNC, Syracuse, Virginia, and Florida State have all disappointed and could miss out on the tournament. The league hasn’t sent less than four teams since 2000, but don’t be surprised if that happens this season.
West Coast Quietly Good
There could be some really good teams on the West Coast, but it’s been hard to tell because they have been affected by Covid the most and there is so little media coverage on west coast college sports. Barely any west coast teams have played during the past month. UCLA, USC, Arizona, and Gonzaga are all currently top 15 teams. The Pac 12 race will be exciting and the WCC does not just have Gonzaga. St. Marys, BYU, and San Francisco could all make the tournament.
Local Check-in:
Since meeting in the Crosstown Shootout, both Xavier and UC have both had some struggles. Xavier has only had one game since, in which they collapsed in the second half and lost to Villanova. The Musketeers have had two games canceled because of other teams COVID issues, but will be back in action tonight at Hinkle. UC has beaten some really bad teams, but they also lost at home to a 5-7 Tulane team. Their next game is at Memphis on Sunday. Currently, Xavier is a projected tournament team, but the Bearcats are not.
Most Surprising Team:
After going 2-22 last season, Iowa State has done a shockingly fast turnaround and is currently 13-1 and ranked #11. Their new coach TJ Otzelburger hit the transfer portal hard, which has paid off. They have an extremely tough stretch of games coming up, but if they continue to force turnovers the way they do, they should remain in the top half of the league.
Best game of the season:
Although there’s been some good ones, the best game of this season has to be the epic Rutgers-Purdue game. Rutgers was on a four game losing streak, and Purdue had just checked in at number one for the first time in program history. Rutgers did the unthinkable and won on an unreal buzzer beater.
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