As Christmas approaches, what becomes abundantly clear is that there is not a dominant team in college basketball this season, and similarly, there are many teams in a gray area. With respect to the latter, there are a lot of teams that we simply don’t know just how good they are, and even most teams we rank near the top of the polls or our own rankings have important flaws.
Villanova might be the exception, even if last year’s second-round loss in the NCAA Tournament is a good reminder that they are far from unbeatable. Jay Wright has built what almost seems like a machine now, and they showed his former school that on Friday as they handled Hofstra 95-71.
What has happened the last few years is that Wright has built the program to the point that they are as fundamentally sound as you can be, have players who compete and know their roles, and keep getting better. They have become a somewhat unexpected national power, as they were still very much a title threat last year and look like one this year, two years after winning it all.
While Jalen Brunson is the engine that makes this team go, Mikal Bridges has become the big star. Two years ago, he was basically a bit player on the national championship team, but all along many felt he might be the best NBA prospect on that team. His play continues to back that idea up, as he continues to show an emerging skill set and ability to fill the stat sheet, and once thought of as a forward, he may ultimately turn into a big guard. Last night, he had 20 points, five assists and three blocked shots. He’s shoot 46 percent from long range on the season, and that number has risen steadily since he shot just below 30 percent his freshman season.
They now have Omari Spellman to be a larger-than-life presence inside, and he had a double-double with 19 points and 10 rebounds. The most fun player on the team is probably Donte DiVimcenzo. Simply put, he’s a guard without a real position, but he competes as hard as anyone, does a lot of everything, and while good enough to start for just about any team in the country, he comes off the bench and is like a sixth starter.
Villanova hasn’t beat up on a bunch of patsies to get to their 12-0 mark. They have three top 50 wins and three more top 100 wins, five of which have come away from home. While they have two wins against teams with RPIs in the 300s, that can be excused given everything else they have done. They now await Big East play, where they open at DePaul and Butler. A few teams could challenge them, but at this point, the Wildcats are the clear team to beat.
And they might be the one team nationally that looks really good all the way around.
Side Dishes
UCLA now knows who they may have available the remainder of the season, and they won’t be getting a late lift. Cody Riley and Jalen Hill have been suspended for the remainder of the season, allowed to practice with the team but not suit up or travel. Riley has been the most significant loss of the three suspended players (including the since-departed LiAngelo Ball), as he was expected to make an impact right away.
On the other hand, Kansas may be on the verge of getting a boost, as Silvio De Sousa is now one step away from being able to play for the Jayhawks. He completed his coursework and is in the process of being certified for competition, and the hope is that he will be able to play in their Big 12 opener on Dec. 29. The 6’9″ post player is just what the Jayhawks need, as they are painfully thin up front with Billy Preston’s status still up in the air.
Seton Hall will be without Ismael Sanogo for their game against Manhattan on Saturday, as the senior forward has been suspended for a violation of team and university rules. A big defensive presence, he may be out longer as there is not a stated time when he will return.
The Hawaiian Airlines Diamond Head Classic opened up yesterday, and if you thought USC and Miami would be on a collision course for a championship matchup, nothing that happened would disabuse you of that notion. Both teams cruised to quarterfinal victories, while the other two games were dandies that came down to the end. Middle Tennessee edged Princeton 69-67 on Giddy Potts’ late jumper, then New Mexico State won a dandy over Davidson 69-68 after a deep three at the buzzer missed. USC blew out Akron 84-53 on the strength of a big second half as they outscored the Zips 55-20, while Miami broke away from Hawaii after being tied at the half to win 75-57.
St. Bonaventure scored a nice win at Syracuse, needing overtime but prevailing 60-57 behind 23 points and nine rebounds from Jaylen Adams. The Bonnies are now 4-0 on the road thus far.
Another good one was in Cedar Falls, where Xavier and Northern Iowa were tied at the half. The Musketeers trailed by ten in the first half, so they already had to rally, and still had plenty left in the tank to score a 77-67 win over the Panthers.
Trae Young’s great play continued, as he lifted Oklahoma to a 104-78 win over Northwestern that featured a 68-point first half. A great nugget from ESPN Stats & Info is that it’s the most points allowed by a major conference team in the first half of a game in the last ten seasons. Young had 31 points and 12 assists to lead the way, as the Sooners led 68-38 at the half and were never challenged. Also in the Big 12, Texas scored a nice road win at Alabama 66-50, with Mohamed Bamba posting a double-double of 17 points and 11 rebounds.
Other noteworthy results: Georgia beat Temple 84-66 to go to 9-2, getting 30 points and 12 rebounds from Yante Maten, while Clemson improved to 11-1 with an 89-60 thumping of a pretty good Louisiana team, Stony Brook surprised former coach Steve Pikiell and Rutgers in a 75-73 win in overtime as Jakub Petras hit a mid-range jumper with 0.2 seconds left in the extra session, and Rider beat Penn State 71-70 on a buzzer-beating three-pointer by Frederick Scott.
We would be remiss if we didn’t acknowledge the sudden passing of broadcasting legend Dick Enberg at age 82. Anyone who grew up watching sports has surely heard his voice on so many great calls, and college basketball was no small part as he spent nine years broadcasting UCLA in the 1960s and 70s, during which they won eight titles. He is the only person to win an Emmy award as a sportscaster, a writer and producer. We extend our thoughts and prayers to his family.
Tonight’s Menu
We have one more busy day before Christmas, as things are about to slow down for a few days.
- An underrated early game is Harvard visiting George Washington at noon.
- Wake Forest gets a good home test as they host Tennessee (12:30 p.m.)
- Grand Canyon travels to Louisville to give the Cardinals a test (1 p.m.)
- New Orleans plays host to the CBS Sports Classic, which starts with North Carolina taking on Ohio State (1:30 p.m.) before Kentucky plays UCLA (4 p.m.)
- Evansville hosts Illinois State in an early Missouri Valley game (2 p.m.)
- Connecticut hits the road for a battle with 10-1 Auburn (2:30 p.m.)
- The Continental Tires Las Vegas Classic has four games on tap at Orleans Arena, starting with North Carolina A&T taking on Lamar (3 p.m.), followed by Radford battling UC Davis (5:30 p.m.), Southern Illinois taking on Duquesne (8:30 p.m.) and finishing with San Francisco against Nevada (11 p.m.)
- Semifinal action is on tap in the Diamond Head Classic, with Middle Tennessee taking on USC (4:30 p.m.), then New Mexico State taking on Miami (10 p.m.). Mixed in are the consolation round games, with Princeton taking on Akron (7 p.m.) and Davidson playing Hawaii (12:30 a.m.)
- Wisconsin tries to get back on track against in-state rival Green Bay (5:30 p.m.)
- Mississippi State puts their 10-1 mark on the line against in-state rival Southern Miss (7 p.m.)
- The Braggin’ Rights Game between Illinois and Missouri takes place in St. Louis (8 p.m.)
