-Originally published 11/16/21-
Under Review
Opening week saw a couple Top 5 match-ups in #1 Gonzaga beating #5 Texas 86-74 and #2 UCLA knocking off #4 Villanova 86-77 OT win. The Zags behind 47 points on 15/19 shooting from Drew Timmie looked the part of a #1 and will be a force this season with freshman Holmgren playing a minor role and only seven players logging significant time. This squad still has room to grow. Texas shot 37.5% from three and 44% from the floor but were down 20 early as the Zags shot over 54% and 36.8% 3p and just couldn’t recover. The Longhorns slide to #10 in this week’s poll. The Bruins and Wildcats struggled to hit buckets in the first quarter of their matchup but both teams exploded for the last 30 minutes and UCLA outscored Nova 19-10 in OT. Jaquez Jr recorded 21 points and 13 rebounds, Juzang 25 and 8 but struggled from 3 going 1/8. All of Nova’s starters were in double figures led by Samuels with 20 & 5.
Short-handed #3 Kansas hammered MSU 87-74 adding a big win to the resume already. They’ll return forward Jalen Wilson from suspension next week and he’ll move right into the starting lineup.
Duke and Kentucky played eachother in a 79-71 win for the Dukies. Neither team looks like a National contender at this point but certainly top-15 teams. Juniors Tshiebew with 17p & 20r and Wheeler with 16p & 7a led the way for Kentucky while freshman Banchero for Duke had a nice debut with 22p & 7r.
North Carolina struggled to put away Brown 94-87. Florida knocked off #20 Florida State 71-55 Sunday in great 43 point 2nd half for the Gators. #25 Virginia fell to Navy in its opener. Ohio State struggled to beat Akron on a buzzer beater and Niagara. OSU’s poor play cost them in the AP pool.
As a result Gonzaga, UCLA, Kansas are still top 3 this week, Michigan slid up to #5 and Villanova down to #5. Purdue is #6, Duke is #7 both moving up, Texas is #8 sliding down three spots. Baylor played one game and slide down to #9 followed by Illinois to round out the top 10. Memphis, Oregon, and Kentucky, (falling three spots), followed by Alabama, Houston, Arkansas, (all three unchanged) Tennessee, North Carolina, Ohio State (falling two spots), and Maryland round out the top 20. Auburn, St. Bonaventure, UConn, and newcomers Florida and USC round out the top 25 with Florida State and Virginia falling out.
Lower end power schools were grabbed too: rebuilding Pittsburgh suffered a rough 78-63 home loss to The Citadel in its opener, Miami Ohio knocked off Georgia Tech 72-69 on a buzzer beater, Nebraska fell 75-74 to Western Illinois, Northern Illinois beat Washington 71-64, Arizona State lost to UC Riverside 66-65 on a buzzer beater, Louisville lost in OT to Furman, Oklahoma State lost to Oakland 56-55, Stanford was blown out by Santa Clara 88-72, Miami lost to UCF 95-89, Dartmouth took out Georgetown 69-60, and UNLV beat California 55-52.
Top Watches
Monday: 7:00 – #11 Illinois (2-0) @ Marquette (2-0) – FS1
Tuesday: 9:00 – Seton Hall (2-0) @ #4 Michigan (2-0) – FS1
Wednesday: 9:00 – St. John’s (2-0) @ Indiana (2-0) – FS1
Thursday: 6:00 – Milwaukee (1-1) @ Florida (2-0) – SECN+/ESPN+
Friday: 10:00 – Wichita State (2-0) @ Arizona (2-0) – ESPNU
Underrated Week Watch: Tuesday, 8:00 – Virginia (1-1) @ #15 Houston (2-0) – ESPN
Top Weekend Watch: Saturday, 4:00 – #18 North Carolina (2-0) @ #6 Purdue (2-0) – ESPNN
Underrated Weekend Watch: Saturday, 5:00 – Utah (2-0) @ Boston College (3-0) – TBD
Upset Watch: Friday, 7:00 – Ohio (3-0) @ #13 Kentucky (1-1) – SECN
Star Power: Saturday, 1:00 – #5 Villanova (1-1) @ #17 Tennessee (2-0) – ESPNN
Small School Shine: Friday, 3:15 – Brown (2-1) @ Creighton (2-0) – ESPN3
Watch List
Monday, November 15th
Noon – Nicholls (3-0) @ #9 Baylor (1-0) – Big12/ESPN+
6:30 – Bowling Green (1-1) @ #19 Ohio State (2-0) – BTN
Ohio State nearly lost its opener and struggled in both games so far this season. E.J. Liddell is averaging 27ppg, 8rpg and 3apg so far but this squad needs to figure things out and hasn’t shown that they can run away from anyone yet.
7:00 – #10 Illinois (2-0) @ Marquette (2-0) – FS1
The Illini look sharp early while the Golden Eagles have struggled in the Shaka Smart rebuild so far but have a star in Darryl Morseell averaging 23.5ppg, 3.5rpg, and 3.5apg.
9:00 – Alcorn State (0-3) @ #1 Gonzaga (2-0) – TBD
9:00 – Providence (2-0) @ Wisconsin (2-0) – FS2
Badgers have looked sharp so far and are projected to finish at the bottom of the Big 10. They stifled Green Bay 72-34 last week.
11:00 – Long Beach St (1-0) @ #2 UCLA (2-0) – Pac12
11:00 – UC Santa Barbara (1-0) @ Washington State (2-0) – Pac12
Gauchos traveling to Washington State could be another small school-Power 5 upset.
Tuesday, November 16th
Fresh Squeezed
6:00 – #25 USC (2-0) @ Florida Gulf Coast (1-1) – ESPNU
6:30 – Howard (3-0) @ #5 Villanova (1-1) – FS2
Freshman guard Elijah Hawkins is averaging 18.5p, 5r, 5.5a & 2s for Howard
7:00 – Wright State (1-1) @ #6 Purdue (2-0) – BTN
7:00 – Gardner-Webb (0-2) @ #7 Duke (3-0) – ACCNX
7:00 – Mount St Mary’s (1-2) @ #13 Kentucky (1-1) – SECN
7:30 – South Alabama (1-1) @ #14 Alabama (2-0) – ESPN+/SECN+
8:00 – Saint Louis (3-0) @ #11 Memphis (2-0) – ESPN+
Billikens run with guards Jimerson, Nesbitt, & Collins all shooting over 38% from 3. Star freshmen Emoni Bates & Jalen Duren already lead Memphis in minutes played and are shooting 56 & 76% respectively.
8:00 – Virginia (1-1) @ #15 Houston (2-0) – ESPN
A boring game for all but the most hardcore basketball fans. Two of the top defensive teams battle. It doesn’t help that VU’s offense is questionable.
8:30 – #18 North Carolina @ Charleston (3-0) –CBSSN
9:00 – Seton Hall (2-0) @ #4 Michigan (2-0) – FS1
Senior heavy Pirates aren’t a pushover for the Wolverines.
10:00 – BYU (2-0) @ #12 Oregon (2-0) – ESPN
BYU will compete in the WCC behind Gonzaga. Barcello is averaging 20.5ppg and shooting 57% from 3.
Wednesday, November 17th
7:00 – Michigan State (1-1) @ Butler (3-0)
Two teams rebuilding after a poor 2020.
8:00 – Central Arkansas (0-2) @ #9 Baylor (1-0) – Big12/ESPN+
8:00 – Northern Iowa (1-2) @ #16 Arkansas (2-0) – SECN+/ESPN+
8:00 – Tulane (1-1) @ Florida State (1-1) – ACCN
8:00 – VCU (1-1) @ Vanderbilt (2-0) – SECN+/SECN+
8:00 – NC State (2-0) @ Oklahoma State (2-1) – CBSSN
NC State snuck by Colgate 77-74 and the Cowboys lost to Oakland. Both need a bounce back.
8:30 – Northern Colorado (2-1) @ #8 Texas (1-1) – LHN
9:00 – St. John’s (2-0) @ Indiana (2-0) – FS1
Hoosiers could make a push in the Big 10. Johnny’s have two underrated players in Julian Champagnie (21ppg, 46% 3p) and Posh Alexander (15ppg, 8apg, 66% 3p%).
10:30 – North Florida (0-3) @ #2 UCLA (2-0) – Pac12
Thursday, November 18th
2:00 – #22 St. Bonaventure (2-0) @ Boise State (1-1) – ESPN2
4:30 – Clemson (2-0) @ Temple (1-1) – ESPN2
Temple nearly caught USC last week. Khalif Battle has scored 48 points on 50% 3p shooting this season.
6:00 – Milwaukee (1-1) @ Florida (2-0) – SECN+/ESPN+
Patrick Baldwin racked up 21 points and 10 rebounds in his debut and followed that up with a 19-11 performance in his 2nd outing. The #5 recruit in the 2021 class passed up major offers to play for his father, the head coach at Milwaukee. Gators are one of the few big games on the Panthers schedule.
7:00 – Marquette (2-0) @ Ole Miss (2-0) – ESPN2
7:00 – Oklahoma (2-0) @ East Carolina (3-0) – ESPNU
8:00 – Stony Brook (0-1) @ #3 Kansas (2-0) – Big12/ESPN+
10:30 – Arizona State (2-1) @ San Diego State (1-1) – CBSSN
Friday, November 19th
3:15 – Brown (2-1) @ Creighton (2-0) – ESPN3
UNC struggled to fend off the Brown Bears. Bluejays shooting 18% from 3 better beware.
7:00 – Ohio (3-0) @ #13 Kentucky (1-1) – SECN
KU freshman are still developing but junior Oscar Tshiebew has 31 points and 40 rebounds in 2 games. Ohio is shooting 41% from 3 with the top four scorers shooting over 38%. The young Wildcats better make sure not to get grabbed by the Bobcats.
7:00 – #21 Auburn (2-0) @ South Florida (1-1) ESPN+
7:00 – Coppin State (0-4) @ Virginia (1-1) – ACCNX
8:00 – Lafayette (0-2) @ #7 Duke (3-0) – ACCN
8:00 – Western Kentucky (1-2) @ #11 Memphis (2-0) – ESPN+
8:00 – Oakland (1-1) @ #14 Alabama (2-0) – ESPN+/SECN+
The Tide plays at one of the quickest paces of all power 5 teams. Lead by Shackelford’s 20 points and 6 rebounds per game on close to 39% from 3.
9:00 – Bellarmine (0-2) @ #1 Gonzaga (2-0) – TBD
10:00 – Wichita State (2-0) @ Arizona (2-0) – ESPNU
Shockers have won by a combined 9 points against inferior competition. Arizona’s first real test under new coach Tommy Lloyd.
12:30am – #4 Michigan (2-0) @ UNLV (3-0) – ESPN2
UNVL has dropped Cal and decent North Dakoda State.
A handful of tournaments will take place over the weekend. Matchups from Thursday’s results will be played for two of the better events below:
Shiner’s Children’s Charleston Classic
Nov. 18, 19, 21
Boise State, Clemson, Elon, Marquette, Ole Miss, St Bonaventure, Temple, and West Virginia.
Myrtle Beach Invitational
Nov. 18, 19, 21
Davidson, East Carolina, Indiana State, New Mexico State, Oklahoma, Old Dominion, Penn, Utah State
Saturday, November 20th
Fresh Squeezed
1:00 – #5 Villanova (1-1) @ #17 Tennessee (2-0) – ESPNN
Freshman Kennedy Chandler is averaging 18p, 3r, 5a and 1.5s while shooting 85.7 3p%. The Vols will look to rebound and play physical defense while Nova will do the same. The Wildcats shot only 41% against UCLA but 45% from 3. They’ll be challenged again on the road but should prevail.
4:00 – #18 North Carolina (2-0) @ #6 Purdue (2-0) – ESPNN
Purdue center Zach Edey is averaging 19p and 9.5r on half (19.5 minutes) a game and Jaden Ivey is averaging 19ppg, 3.5a, 2s on 58% shooting. The Boilermakers buried inferior opponents opening week. UNC sophomore Caleb Love is averaging 17.5ppg and shooting 40% from 3. This should be a high scoring affair with both teams shooting well early in the season.
Lower Grove
Noon – Binghamton (1-1) @ #23 UConn (2-0) – FS2
1:00 – Stanford (1-1) @ #9 Baylor (1-0) – Big12/ESPN+
1:00 – Richmond (1-1) @ Drake (2-0) – ESPN+
5:00 – Utah (2-0) @ Boston College (3-0) – TBD
5:00 – Eastern MI (1-1) @ Michigan State (1-1) – TBD
6:00 – San Jose State (1-0) @ #8 Texas (1-1) – LHN
Sunday, November 21st
5:30 – Loyola Marymount (1-1) @ Florida State (1-1) – CBSSN
7:30 – Louisiana (2-0) @ Indiana (2-0) – BTN
A handful of tournaments will take place over the weekend. Matchups from Friday’s results will be played for two of the better events below:
Shiner’s Children’s Charleston Classic
Nov. 18, 19, 21
Boise State, Clemson, Elon, Marquette, Ole Miss, St Bonaventure, Temple, and West Virginia.
Myrtle Beach Invitational
Nov. 18, 19, 21
Davidson, East Carolina, Indiana State, New Mexico State, Oklahoma, Old Dominion, Penn, Utah State
