NCAA Week Rewind

It’s Christmas time, which means two things for college basketball:

1. It’s the last chance to score a big non-conference win for most teams.

2. Conference season begins very soon!

This Week’s Winners

Florida – Despite the announcement of losing Harris, Florida is looking stronger and stronger, this week defeating Memphis. They also are about ready to add Chris Walker, one of their big recruits.

Florida State – Smoked a decent Charlotte team (one that had beat Michigan) to start the week, and then handed Massachusetts their first loss. This will be a team to be reckoned with in the ACC.

Duke and Kansas – This week they finally played to expectations. Struggling role players stepped up, the stars shone bright, and they landed big wins against UCLA and Georgetown.

Kansas State – Now winners of six straight games, including Saturday’s win over Gonzaga. Bruce Weber is finally getting the most out of his players.

This Week’s Losers

Undefeated Teams – First losses came to Pittsburgh, Connecticut, Massachusetts, Missouri, and St. Mary’s. Most of those were unexpected.

Notre Dame – Blew an 8-point lead to Ohio State in the last minute, and then lost Jerian Grant for the year due to academic issues.

North Carolina – The inconsistency continued this week with a loss to Texas at home. Then, news broke that PJ Hairston will not be returning to the team after all. Then, they barely beat Davidson at home. Not good.

Marquette – Sustained their fifth loss of the season on Saturday (New Mexico). There isn’t a team that has failed to live up to expectations more than them.

My Impressive Starting Five

Tracy Abrams, Illinois – Illinois has proven to be a good team this year, but taking out Missouri in the Border War was a big statement. Abrams scored 22 big points in that game, including knocking down the game winning free throws at the end.

TJ Warren, NC State – NC State has been one of the best surprise teams this year. Warren has led the way, and this week he averaged 26.5 points and 9.5 boards in two victories.

Markel Brown, Oklahoma State – Smart may get the headlines, but Brown is silently having a great season. He was instrumental in their big road win at Colorado scoring 23 and grabbing 11 boards.

Julius Randle, Kentucky – Got back to his double-double ways with a line of 29 and 10 in a win over Belmont.

Adreian Payne, Michigan State – 19 and 7 in their first win, then 33 and 9 in their big win over Texas. He’s now scored at least 16 points in his last four games.

What to Watch this Week

Villanova at Syracuse – Two unbeaten teams go at it here, this one being a rivalry game from the now “old Big East.” Both teams are currently ranked in the Top Ten.

Louisville vs. Kentucky – Many polls had these teams 1, 2 in the preseason. Both are starting to play their best ball now. This is also a major in-state rivalry.

Missouri at NC State – This is a nice under-the-radar game, featuring two teams that have been surprises so far.

Massachusetts vs. Providence – UMASS has another sneaky good test, and Providence needs to prove themselves legit without a key scorer.

Enjoy this week in college basketball!

By: Andrew Miller